What About These Summer Travel Possibilities?

If you are like me, you are watching your travel budget carefully, asking where you can go that’s interesting but affordable. A good candidate for your summer travel plans would be Southern California. There you will find theme parks, beaches, great weather and a lot more.

Hawaii would be another option. You can almost feel that warm ocean water right now, but remember that there are offsetting advantages to the Golden State. The Southern California Vacation Guru has written about the differences between vacations in Southern California and Hawaii. In Southern California you don’t need to worry as much about underwater rocks; also, the humidity is generally lower and the sunshine less intimidating. You’ll find the ocean water to be warmer in the Aloha State, but the cooler California water might actually seem more inviting on a hot summer day.

Hawaii does have an advantage with such beautiful natural countryside and vegetation, enhanced by the local Polynesian culture. However, the California coastline, mountains and desert are quite beautiful as well, and the place is a melting pot of cultural diversity.

Southern California offers much more than great beaches. You could spend a week checking out the seven top-notch theme parks between San Diego and Los Angeles County. You will find world-class thrill rides at Knott’s Berry Farm and Six Flags Magic Mountain; the Six Flags roller coasters are particularly plentiful. You’ll discover many intimidating coasters and thrill rides at Knott’s and Six Flags. You won’t find as many true thrill rides at Disneyland as at the other parks, although Space Mountain and the Matterhorn Bobsleds certainly qualify.

You won’t find many roller coasters in Hawaii, although surfing on the North Shore of Oahu in winter would qualify as a thrill ride. California is probably a more budget-friendly summer travel option, but now and then you really do need to get over to Hawaii.