Connecticut Vacation Planning

There’s so much to see and do in Connecticut vacation planning is a must to get the most from your trip.

There are so many great things to do on your vacation in Connecticut; you’d have to stay the whole summer long to see them all. Well unfortunately not many people can afford to do that, unless you’re a millionaire in which case you’d probably want to go to lots of other places too, so let’s try and pick out a few of the real gems that you can add to "the plan" of your Connecticut vacation.

First of all, it depends on which part of Connecticut you’re actually going to spend your vacation. It’s easily accessible from New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey so they’re used to getting plenty of day-trippers or weekenders as well as those who plan to spend a little longer, and every area has plenty to see and do.

Connecticut by Area

You could stay in a boring hotel that looks like any other hotel in the country or you could stay in Connecticut rentals that give you the feeling of being a Connecticut resident, not just a tourist. Heck, you can even pretend that you’re a townie and yell at the tourists who come to see the leaves in the fall. Just leave your camera at home and pretend to be uptight about how bad the traffic can get. Well, that might not take a lot of pretending. The traffic can get pretty horrible when people are slowly, slowly, slowly driving to look at the lights.

• Southwest – Fairfield is the coastal region of Connecticut and boasts a great variety of outdoor activities and great fun things to do. For those who like to see their fish before it’s deep-fried and served with fries, there’s the Maritime Aquarium, they’ve even got some African penguins (penguins in Africa, maybe they were lost!) and loads of other fishy goings on. If you’re more of the sporty type you can play golf at the Sportscenter whatever the weather because it’s protected, or skate on the double decker ice arena, mind out for the ramp, aahhh, no brakes.
• South Central – New Haven is full of the studious types, well, it is the home of Yale University, so if you class yourself as a bit of an academic you should certainly head there and be amongst your "own kind". It has great architecture, terrific museums and if you feel like you have a case of information overload, there are also miles of sandy beaches to chill out and relax. What could be more perfect?
• Central – Hartford is a real haven of literary history. If nothing else you must visit the quirky and irrepressible Mark Twain House, the actual home of the quirky and irrepressible Mark Twain and his family from 1874 until 1891. Don’t be averse to the odd tin rattling though, after all, the man did say "The lack of money is the root of all evil" and they are always in need of donations to keep this great treasure alive. After you’ve had your culture fix how about going a bit more high octane and heading on down to the Stafford Motor Speedway and watching the NASCAR races – oh, it’s enough to make you all shivery.
• Eastern – Mystic is on the eastern shores of Connecticut and is world renowned, among other things, for its casinos. If you fancy your luck at the turn of the cards of the roll of the dice, head on over, the tables are always busy. If you have any money left (or win the jackpot) there’s plenty of other things to see and do, including beaches, shopping, the wonderful Mystic Aquarium and the rather unique Mystic Seaport which is a real life living museum and shows you all about coastal life in New England a couple of hundred years ago.
• Northwest – Litchfield is a wonderful place just to stop and take the time to look at the rolling landscapes, pretty villages and traditional churches. It really is an area for all seasons and has tons of great things to see and do, including hiking, bicycling, fishing and not to mention the late dinners in the cozy inns. Are you feeling sleepy? Well, for the more adventurous types there’s also great amusement parks and theme parks, railways, museums, in fact, just about everything good that New England has to offer.

And if at all possible, it’s worth remembering that Connecticut is the base of the Fifers and Drummers, who carry on marching to the traditional music – Soldier, soldier will you marry me with your musket, fife and drum…..?