Need a break from mountain living? If you fancy a beach holiday, Florida has miles of beautiful beaches like Lake Worth Beach in Palm Beach County. Photo credit: Palm Beach County CVB.

Charlotte wrote this guest post about seeing the real Florida.  She writes for Ocean Florida and blogs about travel, beauty, food & drink, covering everything from the latest fashion to food trends.

If you’re looking for the ‘real’ Florida, a holiday exploring some of its many natural parks and preserves could be just the holiday for you.

Of course, it’s not the usual choice of holidays which typically send you to the theme parks or the coast. One of the things you’ll notice about Florida is that it is devoid of hills in the main part. Its geography is definitely closer to flat than anything else. Surrounded on three sides by sea, it also has plenty of water inland too.

Water, water everywhere

Florida boasts a coastline of almost 2,000 miles of which 663 miles are some of the most beautiful beaches. It has almost 8,000 lakes of 10 acres or more, the largest being Lake Okeechobee which covers 700 square miles. Florida also has 11,000 miles of rivers and waterways. No wonder at every turn there are opportunities to fish or kayak or take part in other water sports.

In Florida’s St. Petersburg/Clearwater area, there are thirty-five miles of white-sand, island beaches. Photo credit: VISIT Florida.

Parks and preserves

Florida also has more than 160 state parks and preserves, where you can get a real feel for the Sunshine State, whether it is inland and near a lake or on the shore. The biggest preserve is of course, The Everglades. There are many ways to explore this great expanse of natural Florida swamps and prairies.

Florida villa holidays offer you the opportunity to visit The Everglades and see this amazing landscape, its flora and fauna such as American crocodiles, the Florida Panther and manatees. There are many tours you can take. You can explore the Everglades in airboats which skim the surface of land or water to ‘show you round’. Or on a fun swamp buggy, or by canoe or kayak. If you’re a keen walker, then there are many self-guided hiking trails, which will give you a good tour of the preserve. Two shorter trails which are great for wildlife spotting are the Gumbo Limbo and the Anhinga. You can find out more about these at one of The Everglades four visitor centres.

Mountains

Hills are less easy to find. The highest point in the state is in the North West at Briton Hill in Lakewood Park. Briton Hill rises to 345 ft above sea level. It’s true to say that many of Florida’s skyscrapers are taller than this!

It has no real competitors either. One that doesn’t even come close is Caldwell Point which sits on the northern edge of Lake Jesup just over 20 miles north of Orlando. Caldwell Point is essentially a cliff which rises a whole 6 ft above the lake. The lake itself is home to a huge population of alligators, osprey and bald eagles.

One thing is for sure, wherever you choose to take your Florida holiday you will have plenty of opportunities to take in the natural scenery.

Want to learn how to mountain bike? Colorado may be the perfect mountain destination to start. Photo credit: Colorado Tourism.

Mountain destinations can be the perfect places to go on learning holidays.  Whether you’re a lifelong learner or just crossing items off your bucket list, you might want to head to the hills.

In USA,  Colorado is a four-season mountain destination known for its ski areas and resorts, natural hot springs, rivers and lakes, 12 national parks and monuments, 54 mountain peaks (at 14,000 feet) and more.

This Rocky Mountain state also has endless opportunities for learning from independent to organized holidays.  Learning holidays are often relaxed, slower-paced, perfect for retired mountain travelers who need only book their travel plans including senior travel insurance.

Here are 4 Learning Holidays in Colorado:

• TELLURIDE: Interested in health and wellness?  Then look at the Telluride Yoga Festival (July) which aims to give yoga students enriching experiences. Every  year, the festival donates 25 percent of its net proceeds to a local non-profit.

• CORTEZ: Culture vulture?  Then head to the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center and learn about the lives of the ancestral Pueblo Indians who inhabited the Mesa Verde region for 1,500+ years.  Check out the week-long Archaeology Research Program.

• VAIL: Beer lover? Then the For the Love of Beer AND Food program at the Vail Cascade Resort & Spa might be to your taste. The program offers craft beer enthusiasts the chance to sample and learn A-Z about craft beer – trends, recipes,  ingredients and characteristics.

• BOULDER: Lifelong learner? At the city’s Lifelong Learning, you can take a range of classes. Class topics include how to build a greenhouse using recycled material; planning green weddings and events; artisanal cheese making and Colorado artisan spirits.

New Hampshire’s White Mountains: Mountain View Grand Resort & Spa has a wind turbine. Photo credit: Mountain View Grand.

David Elliott wrote this guest post about traveling the mountains of New England by car. He is a freelance writer who loves to travel, especially in Europe and Turkey. Elliott has spent most of his adult life in a state of restless excitement but recently decided to settle in North London.

Many mountains can be relatively easily accessible by car.

When you’re mountain traveling, if you’re pushed for time or not qualified for getting up to the summit on foot, car hire is the perfect answer and car hire compare sites make it easy to get a good deal.

Driving in the mountains can be one of the most exhilarating ways of seeing them, as long as you make sure that all is in perfect working order, especially the defroster, windshield wipers and brakes.

Remember that when descending a mountain road your speed should not be greater than that used to go up it. You should get into a lower gear on steep upgrades and switch off the air conditioning if the engine begins to overheat.

Vehicles going uphill are generally given right of way, and taking frequent breaks is always a sensible idea.

In North America, some stunning mountains are found in New England which has good mountain roads that go right to the top for spectacular views across the surrounding landscape.

The starting point for an ascent of Mount Greylock in Massachusetts starts in Lanesborough at the Visitor Centre. From there, it’s an eight-mile drive to the summit at 3491 feet. The views across the Southern Green Mountains and the Taconic Range are breathtaking and you can even see as far east as the Hoosic River without needing binoculars.  On the top of Mount Greylock, there’s overnight accommodation at Bascom Lodge with bunk-room and private beds.

A slightly shorter car journey will take you to the top of Pack Monadnock Mountain in New Hampshire. The summit stands at 2290 feet and the views are naturally great. On a radio tower at the top, there’s an observation platform where you can get a view of Mount Monadnock itself, as well as Mount Wachusett in Massachusetts and the Green Mountains of Vermont.

The highest peak in the northeast region is Mount Washington, and you can get right to the top via the Mount Washington Auto Road in New Hampshire. The road has been in place since 1861, and it takes about half an hour either way by car. Not for the nervous, the winds up here are crazy and the route has no guardrail as it takes you through the low clouds and on up into the dizzying heights. From the summit on a reasonable day, you can see for 30 or 40 miles in all directions, all the way to the Adirondacks of New York and the Atlantic shoreline of Maine, at Portland. The Mount Washington Observatory is state-of-the-art and has a small museum attached to it.