Travel news from the sources

Ohio lodges offer discounts for kids' good grades

News from Ohio State Park Lodges: Families can save up to $50 per day on state park vacation

Ohio State Park Lodges’ discounts for kids' good grades is now in its third year. The program, called Stays 4 A’s, has proven to be an effective tool for parents to inspire and motivate their schoolchildren. The popular program allows students with A’s on their report cards to transform those A’s into lodge room discounts.

Each A is worth a discount of $10 off the published rate per room per night up to five A’s or $50. Families need only show their star students’ report cards at check-in to earn the discount. One report card per room may be applied for the discount, and families must present the original report card upon check-in.

Bird watching and golf on Scotland's west coast

News from Connoisseurs Scotland

Inver Lodge, overlooking the quiet village of Lochinver, and Blanefield House, an exclusive-use property a stone’s throw away from the island of Ailsa Craig, have joined Connoisseurs Scotland’s impressive collection of properties – and Inver Lodge is celebrating with a special offer for the coming season.

Both provide luxury accommodations on the breathtaking west coast. Each offers a unique experience defined by stunning vistas, award-winning cuisine and outdoor activities ranging from championship golf to bird watching.

Rock Creek is a National Park getaway

News from the National Parks

If you’re planning a trip to Washington, D.C., here is a stop you may not have considered on your itinerary of several days of marble monuments, glass display cases, rooms of paintings, and iconic buildings.

Slate a day or two to get away from the Mall and explore a much different national park — a pocket of America’s great outdoors within the boundaries of the District of Columbia.

Rock Creek Park, in northwest D.C., offers a mixture of scenery, tranquility, adventure, and activity. Read this week’s feature in the National Park Getaway series to find out how you can take an outdoorsy “vacation within a vacation” when you travel to Washington.

To plan your excursion and get a taste of the history of Rock Creek Park, one of 45 national parks in the Getaways series, CLICK GETAWAYS. 

Golfing in the shadow of the Antarctic

As more ships cruise the coasts of South America, ports are developing new shore excursions. One is the unique opportunity to play golf on the world's southernmost golf course in Ushuaia, Argentina, which is arguably the planet's southernmost city.

Furlong Incoming, a major Argentina shore excursion operator, has introduced a golf tour which provides golfers with green fees and equipment to play Ushuaia's 9-hole course, with two different tee layouts providing an 18-hole round. No motorized carts.

Cruise passengers who complete the round are presented with a certificate, said Furlong's Santiago Lovari.

During a recent port call in Ushuaia by the Carnival Splendor, Allen Normey of Maple Ridge, British Columbia was one of a dozen passengers who chose the golf tour. He said the round the was the "highlight of his golfing experiences."

Non-golfers can book an excursion on the narrow gauge "End of the World" train with it's station adjacent to the course.

Green fees and rental clubs total about $90 for a round of 18 holes. Some cruise ships include the golf course as a shore excursion, with fees and transportation. The course is about 25 minutes from Ushuaia city, on the way to the Tierra del Fuego National Park.

-- Submitted By Stuart Newman of Newman Public Relations, Miami. Newman sailed on the Carnival Splendor.

10 adventures at Ohio state parks

Ohio has vacation adventures, from easy to extreme. Ohio State Park Resorts provide a comfortable, affordable and inviting home base for travelers seeking a memorable Midwestern vacation.

Employees of Xanterra Parks & Resorts are experts on places to go and things to do. Anglers, extreme hikers, golfers and birding experts can be found behind the front desks, in the restaurants, on the golf courses and at the marinas at many of the resorts.

Here are some of their favorite Ohio adventures, ranked from the easiest to the toughest physical experience.

1. Pack a picnic lunch – all seven resorts will prepare box lunches for visitors – and set out for a picnic shelter or scenic spot within any of the parks. Box lunches cost around $11 and typically include sandwiches, drinks, chips, fruit and cookies. Some particularly idyllic spots include anywhere along the Buckeye Loop Trail in Burr Oak State Park, the Covered Bridge spanning the Clear Fork River in Mohican State Park, on a grassy knoll along Punderson Lake in Punderson State Park or on the Lake Erie beach in Maumee Bay State Park.

2. Go “shrooming,” count butterflies, catch catfish, build a bat box. Ohio State Park naturalists offer a variety of programs to teach visitors about the natural world. Future fungus aficionados can learn about safe mushroom-hunting during the spring and early summer months. Because of its “ick-factor” – and the built-in side benefit of getting really dirty – this particular adventure ranks high among young participants. For a list of naturalist events.