The Family Vacationer

Welcome to The Family Vacationer. In this episode, we have invited Carla Thompson to help us dig in and look at all that Dyersville offers. Carla is the executive director of the Dyersville Area Chamber of Commerce. She's worked at the Dyersville Chamber for the past 23 years, where she started as the assistant director, dealing with tourism and marketing for the Dyersville area the day after she...

what makes Casper a family travel destination all its own? I think a couple of things. Right, that's such a great question. I think number one is the accessibility. So we obviously have an abundance of outdoor rec opportunities that aren't very expensive and they're not very hard. I think you could be a novice or somebody that's intermediate and and access some of those things outdoors. Then we ju...

Kalispell is about 34 miles from Glacier National Park, making it a place to stay if you're visiting the area, the town sits among several mountain ranges in a valley with crystal Clear Lakes. I like the state of Montana itself. Kalispell is known for its outdoor culture. The city offers that old West Charm due to its history as a railroad town forming in 1891 where the railroad quickly made this...

So as we were looking across the country for places feature for this small town series, Ashland kept coming up on list after list of small towns. In fact, one of the lists was places you must see in 2021. So what do you feel are some of the reasons that families would want to spend time in Ashland. Well, we've certainly been welcoming a lot of families, even of the past couple of years, you've bee...

Special Guest Mike Kent stopped by to talk to Rob and Danny about Traverse City, MI. When asked what separates Traverse City from other places families can travel, Mike says that hands down it's the people that make the difference. Traverse City has all the attributes of a larger city with more natural beauty. Mike talked about some incredible biking paths and walking trails in the area. He also t...

Newport is a beautiful town, but in your opinion, what makes it a family travel destination? Well, let me have to correct you first rob because Newport is a city, it's a city of Newport. Yes, it is a city and I know that sounds super cliche, but I have to say in the 35 plus years I've lived here. I feel like it is totally a family destination for travel. It's got a little bit of something for ever...

So, Deanna, we've been talking a lot in this series about the personalities of the different Hawaiian islands. How would you describe the personality of the big island of Hawaii there? You're absolutely right. So because each island is so different, it does have its own qualities for us. Everybody is just so unique and you know, the one word that we relate to as the kind of the essence of our isla...

Tropical rainforest, forking rivers, cascading waterfalls. They're all part of this island's charm and Hawaii is a mecca for all things outdoors and it includes eight state parks and three national Tropical Botanical gardens And maybe laying on the beach is your family's favorite vacation activity? Well, Kaua'i boasts 70 beaches to choose from. That sounds good to me, Joining us today to talk abou...

One of the best things about speaking to people about these different destinations is the obvious passion displayed for these amazing locations.  This week this is absolutely true as Danny and Rob welcome Karishma Chowfin. Her love for Oahu is contagious.  One of the interesting things Karishma pointed out was that Hawaii and Oahu, specifically, is a perfect place for multigenerational travel. Oah...

Rob and Danny welcomed Randy Parker to the show to talk about "The Valley Isle" of Maui. Randy characterized the spirit of the island as laid back, friendly, not contrived. An island of discovery with small towns meeting natural wonders. Must-see places on the island? Great beaches of different colors. Randy joked that you could just about go to a beach with different colored sand every day. Sunse...

Rob and Danny were excited to welcome Shirley Rourke from GoWay Travel to talk about Australia! Shirley Rourke surely is a passionate travel industry veteran, has specialized in the South Pacific for over 25 years. After working in several sectors of the industry that includes education, inbound, retail and wholesale, Shirley found her home and go away for the past 17 years. Shirley's traveled ext...

So let's, let's start off talking about hiking with the family just in general. So how old were your kids when you first started taking them on hiking trips? Well, we lived in the Rocky Mountains about 15 miles to the nearest town. So hiking is kind of a lifestyle and not, not in that cheesy. Oh, It's a lifestyle kind of way, but more along the lines of like we didn't have sidewalks. So if you're...

Garrett and Mandy live in Utah with their two sons who love to join them on their adventures and have even planned a few of their own and that's what we're gonna be talking with him about letting the kids planned the family vacation. Garrett Mandy, welcome to the show. Hey, thanks for having us on. We're excited to be here. We're glad to have you. So what made you guys decide that you're going to...

Hawaii Travel Guide A family-friendly look at the Aloha State with Robin Basso from the Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau Episode 44 – The Family Vacationer with Rob and Danny 🌴 Beautiful beaches, rich culture, unforgettable experiences — Hawaii has it all. In this episode, Rob is joined by Robin Basso, Senior Director at the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, to explore the islands of...

Special Guest, Tia Froehle talks with Rob and Danny about all the 49th state has to offer! Anchorage is the highest populated city in Alaska and has 223 parks in and around this city alone! It's urban and it's wild at the same time, so you can get all the amenities that come with a major city coupled with all the outdoor activities you could want. The state of Alaska has 8 national parks, so again...

Rob and Danny give a quick look at what's new in the Theme Park Capital of the World. We specifically look at: Legoland Florida: https://www.legoland.com/florida/ Sea World Orlando: https://seaworld.com/orlando Universal Studios Florida: https://www.universalorlando.com/web/en/us Walt Disney World: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/ Plenty of new food and fun at these four parks! If you're ready t...

LEGOLAND New York is a theme park people have been waiting on. The Family Vacationer, ourselves, listed this park as a 2020 place to visit. LEGOLAND NY was due to open on July 4 of last year but, due to COVID-19, the opening was delayed. The park has not set an opening date yet, the excitement is building. In some ways, this is a "Best Of" LEGOLAND with some of the favorite parts of other LEGO pro...

Dollywood! This is such an amazing park and worth a family visit. Amber Davis, Publicist for Dollywood, was our special guest on Episode 40. We started out the show talking about a small sliver of Dolly Parton's accomplishments. She is truly an incredible singer, songwriter, entertainer, businesswoman, and humanitarian. Bringing it back to the park. Amber mentioned the eight coasters at Dollywood....

Rob and Danny welcome Quinn Bryner to The Family Vacationer to talk about "the sweetest place on earth", HersheyPark.

So much excellent information on this episode of the Family Vacationer. Thanks to our special guest, Sonia Bekhaazi. Aspen gets 300 blue sky days a year. Couple that with legendary powder that comes largely from natural snowfall, this is one exciting place to ski. There are four mountains within the Aspen/Snowmass complex: Aspen, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk, and Snowmass. Free transportation will...

Rob and Danny welcome special guest, Karina Duran to the show. This episode is a little bit different in that instead of looking at one specific location, we're looking at all of the family-friendly resorts by Karisma Hotels. Here are the links to the hotels for more information. Generations Riviera Maya Azul Beach Riviera Cancun Azul Beach Negril Nickelodeon Punta Cana Sensatori Punta Cana Margar...

Dan Howard, Director of Communications for Park City Utah and the Convention and Visitor's Bureau is our guest on today's show. Park City is absolutely beautiful. The main takeaway is that there are so many outdoor activities year-round. Dan mentioned that Park City is one of the most accessible skiing destinations located only 25 minutes from the Salt Lake City International Airport. Skiing in Pa...

Rob and Danny welcome Nicole Krekeler to the show. Nicole is Tourism Sales Manager from Experience Scottsdale and a Scottsdale native. Things to do: McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park - therailroadpark.com Old Town Area - oldtownscottsdale.com Hot air balloon rides at sunset! - rainbowryders.com Learn to be a Cowboy! Arizona Cowboy College - cowboycollege.com Who doesn't love a ghost town? Goldfield...

There have been times that I felt like as a parent, I've sabotaged some of our family trips before we've even left the driveway. How well, by not being mindful of what my wife and my kids might be wanting out of a family vacation and how that might stack up what my expectations are originally called this episode the psychology of the family vacation. What we are talking about today is being honest...

So much has been said about 2020. This has truly been a year unlike any other. With COVID rates continuing to rise all over the world, not everyone may feel comfortable talking about travel. We totally understand. However, with vaccines on the way, we are going to look ahead to 2021. Stacey Cabell, owner of Starstuff Travel joins us to talk travel in the coming year and what's it been like for her...