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Anybody got a great hidden vacation spot they go to?

Amelie Island Florida is a great place to visit. Not a lot of people there and you almost have to beach to yourself. A lot of old historical buildings. And not far Jacksonville and St Augustine. We are hopeful heading down there in july.

I'm always wanted to vacation there. Please tell us all about the place. We've been to Daytona many times over the years but have never been to Amelie Island. Plus, we love St. Augustine.
 
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Amelie Island Florida is a great place to visit. Not a lot of people there and you almost have to beach to yourself. A lot of old historical buildings. And not far Jacksonville and St Augustine. We are hopeful heading down there in july.
It’s a great spot to go! I’ve been there a couple times. Reminds me of a smaller Savannah that’s affordable. Considered moving there a few years ago after looking at home prices.
 
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We visited there a couple of years ago. And we are going back. Hopefully.
 
Well, it's not "hidden" so it's somewhat off-topic, but I just recently discovered Myrtle Beach in the fall. My folks live in PA now and typically take a trip down to MB each fall. My family went down and stayed with them a few years ago in October. It was fantastic. I'd only ever done MB in the summer when it's scorching hot and overcrowded with people (had also done a weekend at New Years, but it was cold and so many restaurants were closed).

The temperature was perfect. Mid-70s or low 80s. Absolutely perfect with the breeze. Great for kids b/c it's not so blistering hot on the beach that you have to worry about them, and you don't have to slather sunscreen on every hour. It's also FAR less crowded. Traffic is lighter, you don't have ridiculous waits in restaurants, you can spread out on the beach. But everything is still open.

My wife can't wrap her mind around MB and just sees it as trashy. I can't disagree with her on that, but that's part of it's charm. If MB wasn't tacky, it wouldn't be MB. But it's an affordable place to take a family to the beach and there's plenty of fun, non-trashy family things to do. And once you're on the beach, beach is beach. And I have strong sentimental ties from going there as a kid growing up in SC.

So, this was "hidden" to me in that I'd never even thought about MB in the fall. It was a summer destination. Now I don't know if I'll ever go back in the summer.

We had our pre-kid beach vacations to Cancun, Phuket, Boracay, etc. Kids get Myrtle Beach.
 
Apalachicola/St. George Island, FL. Tiny, good seafood everywhere. Apalach is like a very small Beaufort. SGI is like a small Folly Beach. Had the beach at SGI to myself second weekend of August a few years ago. Get down there before ACF Basin shrinks so much that the Apalach Bay won't produce oysters anymore. It's dropped 90%.
 
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Yes. But since there is only one way to make sure a secret stays kept . . .

Yes, like the Black Canyon of Colorado. Upsss, I just leaked the secret. I loved that place and want to return. We just drove through the Black Canyon and I could easily spend an entire week there.
 
Sanibel/Captiva Great location similar to Hilton Head with lots of undeveloped areas and absolutely the best inshore fishing I have ever seen.
 
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Amelie Island Florida is a great place to visit. Not a lot of people there and you almost have to beach to yourself. A lot of old historical buildings. And not far Jacksonville and St Augustine. We are hopeful heading down there in july.
Love it there. On the island I always go to Fernandina. The historical district is to the left with numbers of house rentals and restaurants. The beach is to your right with hotels and condos. My preference is the historical area.
 
Helen, Georgia. It’s modeled after an old German town but in the mountains of Ga. Log cabins everywhere with a ton of stuff to do. Also some good eating places. If you enjoy some mild hiking, there are a ton of waterfalls all around.

www.helenga.org
“It´s the charm of Bavaria, in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains”
 
Apalachicola/St. George Island, FL. Tiny, good seafood everywhere. Apalach is like a very small Beaufort. SGI is like a small Folly Beach. Had the beach at SGI to myself second weekend of August a few years ago. Get down there before ACF Basin shrinks so much that the Apalach Bay won't produce oysters anymore. It's dropped 90%.

I'd add Cape San Blas to this. We've been staying on St George since the hurricane but we are heading back to the Cape. The beach has been refurb'ed and it is now nicer than St George. We head into Apalachicola to eat and shop regardless of where we are staying down there. We also love Lynn's Oysters.
 
Saratoga Springs NY.

If you are a horse racing fan that enjoys a touch of history then this town is for you in August. The track is over 150 years old and still uses some of the same old traditions from way back when it is like time stood still.

The downtown area can be described as charming with outdoor dining and bars that line the street of this cozy town.

And you can't beat the Upstate NY august weather with delightful cool Sumer time comfort

It is well worth the trip from S Carolina.
 
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Amelie Island Florida is a great place to visit. Not a lot of people there and you almost have to beach to yourself. A lot of old historical buildings. And not far Jacksonville and St Augustine. We are hopeful heading down there in july.

or you could keep the yer monie$ in the state?.....DeBordieu
 
Sanibel/Captiva Great location similar to Hilton Head with lots of undeveloped areas and absolutely the best inshore fishing I have ever seen.

Flew into there for biz meeting 35 yrs ago at Night, they’d put me up on captiva beach. U can imagine my reaction when I walked out next morning and thought I was on inland side of island seeing no waves.
It was a great little spot on earth.
 
Sun Valley, ID
Unfortunately, there is not much "hidden" about that one any more. At one point early in the pandemic, I think Blaine County, ID had the highest per capita infection rate in the country. The whole world was in Sun Valley in February and early March and they brought the virus with them.
 
Yes, like the Black Canyon of Colorado. Upsss, I just leaked the secret. I loved that place and want to return. We just drove through the Black Canyon and I could easily spend an entire week there.
You are right about that place being one of the best kept secrets. Which is kind of ironic since you'd think the "National Park" in its name would attract some attention.

Actually, I wish the NPS would do more to develop and market places like the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Bryce Canyon, Big Bend, and other western national parks in order to disperse some of the summer crowds that descend upon Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Glacier, and other "must see" parks.
 
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Unfortunately, there is not much "hidden" about that one any more. At one point early in the pandemic, I think Blaine County, ID had the highest per capita infection rate in the country. The whole world was in Sun Valley in February and early March and they brought the virus with them.

Its ordinarily a wonderful summer destination. One of a few dark sky reserves in the northern hemisphere. It has become more of a global resort town as more symposiums and conferences have become more common there.
 
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I found this hollow in the upstate mountains with ZERO cell phone coverage. I love that place.
You gotta know where you’re going when you strike out to explore Oconee county. Couple wrong turns and you can end up in some places where the kids learn to count to twelve, instead of ten, at an early age. Just saying. (I’ve done a lot of trout fishing up there in my day.)
 
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Ritz-Carlton on St Thomas USVI. Had to ride in a open air shuttle bus for 30 minutes to get to it. Other than that I can only offer Dollywood and Disney World as suggestions.

We have a timeshare on the south end of STT. We always rent a car you don't want to depend on those safari buses.
 
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