My wife, Diana and I are adventurers at heart. Every weekend, we look forward to doing cheap local travel. We have never been “stay at home” or “put our feet up and watch the game” people. We always felt the adventure was always outside our door. This is probably a big reason why we like to move around every few years and experience different places.
Every time we think about the next place, we make sure the area has a lot going on. This is why we currently live in Rockville, Maryland. We are about 20 miles from downtown DC, giving us full range of museums and other tourist activities. We also enjoy hiking, biking or visiting nearby historic towns, giving a great balance of city sophistication and country doughnuts (mmm… doughnuts).
Unfortunately, traveling can be expensive, and thought by sharing a list of cheap resources we use, you may able to find ways to enjoy new and interesting places as well.
Ideas for places to go
* Frommer’s
* Virtual Tourist
* Fodor’s
* National Park Service
Special event happenings around town
* Zvents
* Museums USA
* Your local paper or city site
* Here are some local event resource sites: South Florida, SF Area, Boston, Washington Post, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, NYC, Chicago. Houston
Other Ideas to find places and events
* Check out the library for great local travel guides, such as Off the Beaten Path, Insider’s Guide, Moon, Mobil, Frommer’s, Fodor’s, Falcon, and others.
* AAA members can use their website for discounted attraction tickets and FREE maps.
* Each state has a Department of Tourism, where they can mail out literature directly to you
* Local visitor’s bureaus and kiosks can provide ideas when you get there
* Local Chamber’s of Commerce – local tourist businesses seek out the chamber to gain exposure
* Tour America’s Factories (most free) – I went to the Jelly Belly factory out in Northern California – delicious!
* If you enjoy a specific activity, there will probably be a specific national association that can provide local and regional ideas, such as American Hiking or American Sportfishing
* Meetup – local meetings for special interest groups, or make your own (I joined a dodge ball meetup awhile back)
* Craigslist
Let me know of any great resources, and I will add them to the list.
