The 100 Best Affordable Vacations (35 page)

For a tiny settlement (pop. 500), the town has a sophisticated diving community, with several dive shops and even a hyperbaric chamber in a local hospital. Most divers and snorkelers wear 7-millimeter wet suits even during the summer.
G+S Watersports
(8 Bay St. S, 519-596-2200,
www.gswatersports.net
) charges $40 Canadian for a single-tank dive. The dive shop also rents snorkeling gear, including wet suits, for $30 Canadian per day; a half-day snorkeling trip runs $40 Canadian.

Tobermory, which sees more traffic than you’d expect because it’s a ferry port, has a variety of lodging options.
Bruce Anchor Motel & Cottage Rentals
(7468 Hwy. 6N, 519-596-2555,
www.bruceanchor.com
) is one of the best bets. Look for rates under $100 Canadian before July and in September, when the weather is still wonderful. Or for camping, Bruce Peninsula National Park has sites from $23.50 Canadian a night. While in town, make sure to try the local whitefish. Housed in a former gas station,
Craigie’s
(519-596-2575) in Little Tub Harbor serves fish-and-chips for about $12 a plate. Afterward, walk over to the
Sweet Shop
(18 Bay St., 519-596-2705) for fudge or ice cream.

$PLURGE

ECO-LODGE ON THE BAY

E’Terra proves eco-friendly doesn’t mean giving up luxury. The exclusive six-bedroom resort faces the Georgian Bay and is surrounded by forest. It has a spa, organic restaurant, and dreamy four-poster beds. Better yet, you can leave your guilt about carbon footprints at the door. The lodge has unshakable eco-cred, reusing rainwater, using saltwater filtration in its pool, and proudly touting gold-certification by the Canada Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). Two-night stays begin at $760.
E’Terra, Bruce St. (Hwy. 6), Tobermory, ON N0H 2R0, Canada,
www.eterra.ca
.

HOW TO GET IN TOUCH

Fathom Five National Marine Park,
P.O. Box 189, Tobermory, ON N0H 2R0, Canada, 519-596-2233,
www.pc.gc.ca/amnc-nmca/on/fathomfive/index.aspx
.

DIVING THE YUCATÁN’S CENOTES

Mexico’s Riviera Maya can be little more than a package tourism experience. But leave the hotel compound, and you can explore the world of cenotes, which are natural wells or springs found in the Yucatán jungle. They’re a treat for swimming and diving, and they play a large role in Maya history and mythology. Cenotes vary from highly developed to overgrown swimming holes. And some are full-blown tourist attractions.
Hidden Worlds
(www.hiddenworlds.com) tends that way with zip lines, but the setting is certainly authentic. Snorkeling tours include equipment and begin at $20 for adults.
Gran Cenote
(www.grancenote.com), located near Tulum, also offers cave tours for scuba divers.

go wild in utah

MOAB, UTAH

You can’t see anything from a car; you’ve got to get out of the goddamned contraption and walk, better yet crawl, on hands and knees, over the sandstone and through the thornbush and cactus.

—
AUTHOR AND ENVIRONMENTALIST EDWARD ABBEY,
DESERT SOLITAIRE
(1967)

42 |
The Grand Canyon may snag top billing as the nation’s most ruggedly picturesque panorama. But the late environmentalist and author Edward Abbey declared the stony red-rock arches of southeast Utah the “most beautiful place on earth,” and once you’ve been there, you’ll find it hard to argue the point.

Tim Gearn, an engineer from a small town in Texas, definitely agrees. “People say to me, why do you want to go to the desert? To me, this is the most beautiful country in the world. I think about it almost every day, I absolutely love this part of the world…it is so grand, such a magnificent place. And it seems to be unaffected by man.”

The rigors of visiting southeastern Utah have been tempered since great portions of this wind-scoured landscape were declared national parklands—you’ll find staggering views even from roadways and gentle hiking paths. But there’s good reason why outdoors enthusiasts have dubbed the area around Moab the extreme sports capital of the United States. To fully experience this region’s vast sweeps of arches, canyons, pinnacles, needles, mountains, and slickrock—more than 900 square miles of public land—get out of the car and onto the trail, on the back of a horse, atop a mountain bike, or ATV; into a Jeep or raft or rock-climbing gear; or even take to the skies in a hot-air balloon.

Spring and early summer are the best time to visit, as the snow will have melted off the La Sal Mountains—which means reasonably warm camping if you’re heading on a horse packing trip, wildflowers in the desert parks, and lusty waters in the Colorado and Green Rivers. April and May also bring the UTV rally and classic car show, stargazing events, bird-watching walks, and an art festival. Though temperatures may leap above 100°F in summer, you’ll need to come in late August to catch the
Moab Music Festival
(
www.moabmusicfest.org
).

The area is home to two national parks—Arches and Canyonlands—plus state parks and national forest. That translates into plenty of free and budget-friendly activities including hiking, kayaking, and ranger-led walks and talks. Equipment including bikes and kayaks are often available for rent at reasonable prices. Outfitters abound if you’d rather leave the planning to the experts. But even if you book a trip with an outfitter, allow time to spend three to four days for wandering around the region on your own.

$PLURGE

GO WITH AN OUTFITTER

Outfitter-arranged trips and activities are more expensive but may be a better value in terms of safety and ease if you’re looking for a rugged adventure. There are plenty of outfitters to choose from, offering vacations designed for families, singles, women, and other groups. Recommended outfitters include
Adrift Adventures
(800-874-4483,
www.adrift.net
),
Canyon Voyages Adventure Co.
(800-733-6007,
www.canyonvoyages.com
),
Moab Adventure Center
(866-904-1163,
www.moabadventurecenter.com
),
Navtec Expeditions
(800-833-1278,
www.navtec.com
), and
Western River Adventures
(866-904-1160,
www.westernriver.com
). The Moab Area Travel Council (www.discovermoab.com) keeps an up-to-date list of which companies offer which types of trips.

One Adrift Adventures excursion includes an overnight ride into the La Sal Mountains plus a two-night white-water ride through the maze of 500-foot-high walls of Cataract Canyon, and down to Lake Powell. The trip is wild enough for a teen, safe enough for urbanites who aren’t put off by the inconveniences of toilet-free camping. The cost for this three-day adventure—$950 per adult, $850 ages 10–17—includes experienced guides, gear, and all meals.

Moab
(pop. 5,100) is growing, but it still has a small town allure. Some affordable in-town lodgings have a chain-like feel—but then, this isn’t a place you come to sit in a room watching TV. Recommended options include the newly renovated
Apache Motel
(166 S. 400 East, 800-228-6882,
www.moab-utah.com/apachemotel/
, rooms from $45), once John Wayne’s hotel of choice; and the family-owned and remodeled
Bowen Motel
(169 N. Main St., 435-259-7132,
www.bowenmotel.com
, rooms from $74). Affordable eats include
Moab Brewery
(686 S. Main St., 435-259-6333) for handcrafted ales plus hearty salads and sandwiches, and
Miguel’s Baja Grill
(51 N. Main St., 435-259-6546) for yummy fish tacos and margaritas from scratch.

If you’re up for a leg-burning hike, make the 3-mile round-trip trek to the Dali-esque Delicate Arch, in
Arches National Park
(435-719-2299,
www.nps.gov/arch
, $10 per vehicle) located 5 miles north of Moab; go in the afternoon for spectacular photos. If you’re interested in one of the ranger-led tours of the Fiery Furnace ($10), reserve well in advance. Campsites at the Devils Garden Campground cost $20; reserve online at
www.recreation.gov
or call 877-444-6777.

The Green and Colorado Rivers run through the 530 square miles of
Canyonlands National Park
(435-719-2313,
www.nps.gov/cany
, $10 per vehicle). No roads link the park’s three major sections—the Needles, the Maze, and Island in the Sky—and getting from one to another requires several hours of driving. Closest to Moab (32 miles) and easiest to access is Island in the Sky, where the spectacular overlooks show best in the morning light. Campsites are first come, first served ($10 at Island in the Sky, $15 at the Needles).

Near the entrance to Island in the Sky lies
Dead Horse Point State Park
(435-259-2614,
www.stateparks.utah.gov
, $10), on a mesa overlooking the Colorado River. If you don’t have the energy to enjoy one of its hiking and biking loops, at least pay homage to the setting for Thelma and Louise’s final celluloid leap. Campsites cost $20; reserve at 800-322-3770.

If you’re overnighting on a horse trip or looking for a mountain experience, head for the
La Sal Division of Manti-La Sal National Forest
(435-259-7155,
www.fs.fed.us/r4/mantilasal
), acres and acres of lovely woods blanketing the La Sal Mountains some 20 miles south of Moab. Interagency Access passes are accepted. (Tip: A lifetime pass for an American 62 and older is $10 and good at all national forests and parks.)

Experienced mountain bikers should head east of Moab to the
Sand Flats Recreation Area,
where the famous Slickrock Bike Trail offers 9.6 miles of rugged adventure riding. Less rigorous trails, including the 3-mile Circle O Trail and the family-friendly 8-mile Bar M Loop, can be found a couple miles north of the entrance to Arches National Park on U.S. 191.

HOW TO GET IN TOUCH

Moab Area Travel Council,
800-635-6622,
www.discovermoab.com
.

hunt for it

NATIONWIDE

The sport where you are the search engine.

—
SLOGAN FOR
GEOCACHING.COM

43 |
When engineers designed the first navigation satellites, they perhaps envisioned the devices helping guide drivers to a shopping mall across town. But you can bet they never imagined geocaching. It’s hard to believe even now that more than one million caches lie hidden all over the planet for anyone to find—if you have the GPS coordinates and a lot of patience.

Put simple, geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunt combining the power of the Internet and GPS navigation with the craftiness of a spy attempting to leave a clue out in public without anyone seeing it. “I can’t believe this,” teenager Mackenzie Sexton said the first time he tried the sport at a state park in Alabama. “It’s like discovering a secret society that’s been hidden all around us.”

All you need to geocache is a GPS unit and a free account at geocaching.com, an Internet gaming portal. Type in a zip code and you’ll get a list of caches that fellow players have hidden in the area. Enter the latitude and longitude in your GPS unit and off you go. The caches are often plastic containers or surplus army ammunition boxes that might be hidden in bushes, a hollow tree, or anywhere you can (and often can’t) imagine. Once you find the cache, you sign a log and take a small prize or gift, and then leave one in return. Prizes are usually trinkets or a gadget from a dollar store. The thrill is the hunt, not the prize.

Caching is addictive, so it’s no surprise cachers want to play on vacation. Cities, states, and parks even have created geocaching trails to attract and guide visitors. Many resorts, too.

“Usually people place caches in locations that are historic or places of interest off the beaten path,” says Susan Kelley, former president of the Maryland Geocaching Society.

GEOCACHING LINGO

 
FTF:
“First to Find” a cache. A designation of pride, and quite often very competitive.