The 100 Best Vacations to Enrich Your Life (Paperback)

by Pam Grout (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Travel statistics say that baby boomers travel more than any other age group in America—and that an ever increasing number of them are looking for ways to spend their leisure time in substantial, meaningful ways. One especially fast-growing area of interest is the "experience-driven" or "wellness" vacation, a proactive approach based on the idea that true recreation involves positive engagement: acquiring a new skill or volunteering to share your own expertise; exercising your intellect or extending yourself in some creative, physical, or spiritual way.

In response to such aspirations, this timely book showcases a broad range of the most life-enriching getaways in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, with something for every taste and every interest. Here are programs dedicated to kayaking lessons, mountain biking, yoga instruction, and more. Perhaps you'd prefer to spend an arts and crafts holiday focused on a creative activity like cooking, painting, or woodworking. Imagine studying French in a Maine village, learning about nutrition at a historic North Carolina spa, or helping rebuild the devastated communities of the Gulf Coast. Weave a Navajo rug; make a film in New York; learn to surf in Mexico; or choose any of scores of other possibilities.

Elegantly designed and packed with attractive and fun descriptions, detailed travel information, lists of unique activities, and special sidebars, this unusual resource tells you all you need to know to ensure that your next vacation won't just be time off—it will be time well spent.

About the Author
Pam Grout is the author of 13 travel and self-help books, as well as numerous articles for such publications as Travel & Leisure, Outside, Modern Maturity, New Age Journal, Scientific American Explorations, Snow Country, the Washington Post, and many others. She is also the midwestern stringer for People magazine and writes a travel column called "Now, Where Was I?" She lives in Lawrence, Kansas.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: National Geographic (May 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1426200951
• ISBN-13: 978-1426200953
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #148,416 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A guide to fun for adults who want to have fun again!, August 2, 2007

By	Dorothy J. Ownes "Librarian at large" (Golden, CO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If we could just forget about work, children, pets, parents, and other responsibilities, it might be easier to find the time to have fun. The great thing about this book is that you don't have to search - the best possibilities and ideas in 4 distinct categories will guide you - Arts & crafts getaways; volunteer vacations; brain retreats; and wellness escapes. Each entry is jam-packed with the kind of important as well as peripheral information that makes me veer toward an out of the way destination. From an Architecture Fantasy Camp in Oak Park (IL), home of Frank Lloyd Wright to a Frontier Science Workshop at the Institute of Noetic Sciences (CA), there is truly something here for everyone, no matter what part of the country they hail from. Index and many Web site references included. This is a perfect birthday gift for that person in your world that is realizing a milestone in their life.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific Vacation Planner, August 28, 2007

By	Bonnie Neely - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The 100 Best Vacations To Enrich Your Life by Pam Grout is a new National Geographic travel guide book with a special twist: these vacations are not to get away and veg out but to get your creative juices flowing, or to educate you, or to heal you, or to enable you to share what you know to help others. The 100 best vacations book is divided into four sections, each focusing on one of the types of trips mentioned above. The vacation experiences are described in detail, as well as what you will learn, how you can give back, and the type of people who will enjoy such an experience. The trips are within the U.S.A., Canada, and Mexico and the book is written by an outstanding experienced travel writer, published frequently in top publications and the author of 13 travel books. This compilation of tour ideas and opportunities is meeting the needs of the new kind of travelers who want to have a meaningful vacation and give back to the places and people they visit, or to learn away from stresses of their normal environment. The book is EXCELLENT, with all the information you need to choose and sign up for leisure time well spent which will keep you smiling and promises to change you forever.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent US Based Volunteer Vacations, September 30, 2008

By	Jane Stanfield "Janestanfieldwish" (Lakewood, CO) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have been an international volunteer vacationer for several years and have longed for a reference that focused on the North American Continent. Chapter Two of THE 100 BEST VACATIONS TO ENRICH YOUR LIFE does just that. From digging in George Washingtons' back yard in Virginia, sewing costumes for a theatre in to Kentucky, being your version of Patch Adams at his clinic in West Virginia, to cleaning up the 3000 mile long Continental Divide Trail, Ms. Grout offers something for everyone. With many people hoping to vacation closer to home recently, here are 24 options to consider if you want to volunteer while you vacation. Thank you Pam!