Clear skies and warm days in the summer months are made for exploring new places and traveling with your friends and family. Setting off on an adventure to explore a new destination, or to somewhere that feels like home away from home is exciting enough, but something about summer vacation (whether you’re a student or not) seems so much more relaxing, rewarding, and fun!
To beat the summer heat, we’ve created a list of ways to plan a trip for this year or next that are all located on the water. Whether it’s lakes, rivers, springs, or oceans, this video will not only help guide you in navigating your Palmera Vacation Club Member Dashboard, but hopefully will inspire you to make a splash this summer.
Let’s get started!
Lakes
As a Palmera Vacation Club Member, you have access to resorts around the world through the RCI Exchange. There are many ways to find the perfect accommodations for your next trip by using your membership points. A neat feature that’ll help us with our search for lakeside getaways is the Vacation Type filter. We’ll set it to “Lake,” and let’s see what RCI finds for us!
Straight away you can tell where the popular lakeside getaways are. Using the Map Tool, we can easily find areas where there are numerous resorts to choose from, like Branson, Missouri. The Lake of the Ozarks is a popular attraction for those visiting Branson, if not the reason for going in the first place! If you’d like to learn more about planning a trip to Branson, take a look at the Destination Highlight on the Palmera GO page.
Love a resort but can’t find a time that works for you? Create an ongoing search for that exact resort, and even similar ones in the same region.
Rivers
Another one of the Six Ways to Travel on your Palmera Vacation Club Member Dashboard, Quest Travel Club is a great resource for planning your trip, allowing you to find the best deals on accommodations, transportation, and activities.
Let’s try finding a hotel for a river retreat this summer. The Colorado River is 1,450 miles long, and cuts through multiple states, 11 national parks, and one of the Eight Natural Wonders of the World: The Grand Canyon. There are a few lodges within the National Park, but if you’re wanting more options, you’ll obviously find the best deals the further out you get. If you’re willing to drive an hour and a half, stay in Flagstaff. You’ll find plenty of restaurants and shopping, and you’ll only be an hour from another popular travel destination, Sedona, Arizona.
Whether it’s your main focus of a day trip, The Grand Canyon is full of amazing sights to see and fun activities to do, like taking a guided rafting trip, going fishing, or even taking a boat tour on nearby Lake Powell. We can find the best deals on activities to add to our trip’s itinerary on Quest as well.
Springs
In keeping with our theme in today’s video, let’s take a look at visiting a few of Florida’s stunning freshwater springs. There are more than 1,000 springs that stem from Florida’s aquifer system, and they say that no two are alike. For a comprehensive map of the springs in the northern half of the state, take a look at floridasprings.org. If you want to visit multiple of these beautiful springs, we recommend having a car to make traveling back and forth a little easier, especially if you want to stay in a big city with other activities to enjoy like Orlando or Tampa.
Among other things that Quest Travel Club offers, you can find discounts on booking all of the transportation that you’ll need during your trip. Not only can you purchase plane tickets for your group, you can find a rental car that’ll suit your group’s needs at a great price too!
Islands & Beaches
As far as being on the ocean, Hilton Head Island has this category covered! Although there are many beautiful destinations you can access by planning a trip through RCI or even Quest, there is only one place that is the easiest to plan a trip back to through your Palmera Vacation Club Member Dashboard, and in our opinion, it’s the best summer vacation destination!
For planning a trip to Hilton Head in the summer, simply book your stay through the Palmera Resorts tab if you’d like to use your points. If you’ve already visited the island or have another trip on the books, you can always squeeze in a stay by booking a VIP Week. This exclusive and highly-discounted cash-only option is great for additional vacations back to your home away from home.
You’ll definitely want to join us back on the island this summer, especially when there are so many events, live entertainment, and more to look forward to! Find out what’s happening on the island year-round on Hilton Head Guest Service’s calendar, including festivals, markets, live music, and well, pretty much everything else! We’ve also collected a few ongoing, holiday, or specialty events that are coming up within the next few months for you to easily keep track of on the Palmera GO page.
You can always count on finding more island information and travel inspiration on the GO page, like discovering what water sports are offered on the island, and recommended restaurants and other activities perfect for summer. Another great resource is exploring the latest edition of the Palmera Compass. View the digital version by clicking the link on the GO page, and if you want to ensure you receive your personal copy in the mail, update your address under Manage Account in Account Setting. This year’s spring and summer magazine is currently posted, but you can always give you the back versions on the Issuu website.
We can’t wait to see you on your next trip to the island. Safe travels!
