My Parents coming to Columbus for a month, need tips for their vacation! (Cleveland: best cities, 2015)

[donia82]

HI everyone,

I just moved to Dublin,Oh last month and my parents are coming to visit me from Egypt in September. They will stay for a month and this is their first visit to USA. I want to make it a nice memory for them, yet I am on a budget unfortunately!

I thought about taking them to Niagara Falls for a weekend end, but really don't know where else can I take them!!

I would definitely appreciate your help if you can give me planning tips for their vacation please!!


Thanks in Advance

[candle16]

I took my parents from Hong Kong to Washington DC, it's 8 hours drive and my dad loved to see the White house and all the government buildings, also a national mall. If that's too far Chicago is 5 hours and plenty of things to see. What is your budget? I believe I spent $150 on gas that was 2008 when it cost $4 a gallon and driving a jeep. We spent a night at local hotel for $100 and some food and such.

[PerryMason614]

1. West Virginia is very pretty. If you go to Washington by car, come home through the Shenandoah National Park (great scenery). Then cut over to I-64 to come home through West Virginia. The drive along I-64 is more impressive than the park.

2. Smokey Mountains.

3. Chicago is a cool city to see. Don't know what your parents are into, but they have museums, lakefront beaches and a very, very, very nice downtown. Strictly from the standpoint of curb appeal, I think Chicago, San Francisco and Washington are the best cities in America.

Pittsburgh - Another cool downtown, take them to a baseball game. PNC Park is my favorite. The rest of Pittsburgh sucks from what I've seen.

Downtown Cincinnati
Downtown Indianapolis
Downtown Cleveland

4. Parks/Attractions:

Columbus Zoo
Hocking Hills
The National Park near Cleveland

5. Ohio State - It was the largest college in the United States, but I think a few of the Florida commuter schools now have more students

6. Amish Country in Wayne County!

7. Great Lakes Beaches - Dr. Beach rates the top 5 in the link below. He does not list the Indiana Dunes and they are also supposed to be nice

Presque Isle Beach in Erie, PA is the closest ones; Don't waste your time with Ohio beaches. For the most part they suck

Dr. Beach's 2011 Great Great Lakes Beaches:* Detailed List

8. Columbus Clippers and Columbus Crew

9. Casinos - put a few bucks in the slot machines and drink all the free Diet Coke you feel like drinking. Hollywood Casino has musical acts on the weekends - No cover charge. At Scioto Downs they can watch the horses race.

When I was younger, we went to Wheeling Downs just for fun (Greyhound racing). You can gamble there too.

That's all I have.

[PerryMason614]

P.S. Niagara Falls is a good idea, but the Canadian side is nicer than the American side. I don't know if they can get over there or not. You may want to check first.

[WRnative]

Here are some threads that perhaps would help.

Long weekend options (max 6-7 Hours drive) from Dayton area?

See post 7 here:

Where all we can go on weekends (preferably saturdays only) for some time out, myself in Sidney

Check out tripadvisor.com. These forums perhaps especially would be helpful, and you could post in them as well. Be certain to check out top questions, if any, in the right margins of any TA forums. Note that TA has individual forums for every Ohio city, including Columbus. When in the Ohio forum, note the pop-up menu that shows individual cities. Once in the individual city forums, go to the upper left margin, and click on the destination's name, then "Things to Do."

Ohio Forum, Travel Discussion for Ohio, United States

Road Trips Forum - TripAdvisor

Join AAA and get the guide books for Ohio and for neighboring states. Check out the top attractions in each state. AAA discounts on lodging, restaurants, and attractions will quickly pay for the membership, typically about $50/year. AAA also has an excellent search engine for cheap gasoline prices.

Missing from Perry's list in post 3 are Mammoth Cave NP and the great aviation history attractions in Dayton. The best part of Ohio Amish Country is in eastern Holmes County. See Ohio Amish Country and Mohican Region and perhaps the Lake Erie islands here:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g5...Day.Trips.html

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g6...The.World.html

Check out The Wilds, Hocking Hills, and Adena Mansion and Gardens in Chillicothe.

http://www.nps.gov/state/oh/index.htm

http://www.nature.nps.gov/nnl/state.cfm?State=OH

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...dmarks_in_Ohio

Yellows Springs is a charming small town, and has the Glen Helen Nature Preserve, a National Natural Landmark. Other nearby charming small towns include Granville and Lebanon, where the Golden Lamb is oldest inn in Ohio.

http://www.goldenlamb.com/pages/history/

If your parents will be here in very late September or especially early October, definitely check out fall colors. Excellent destinations near Columbus would include the Hocking Hills, one of the top state parks in the U.S. and a great visit at any time, Tar Hollow and Great Seal state parks. The Mohican Region, Ohio Amish Country, Cuyahoga Valley National Park and the Holden Arboretum are other top-notch destinations for fall colors. Fall colors will emerge first in the more northern locations. Perhaps check out the Allegheny National Forest in PA, or Letchworth State Park, the "Grand Canyon of the East," if you head to Niagara Falls.

http://www.hockinghills.com/

http://www.discoverohio.com/season/fall

http://trekohio.com/fall-color/

Check out the foilage reports in the left margin here, once the season is underway in late September.

http://fallcolor.ohiodnr.gov/calendar

Don't forget about Halloween. Your parents likely would especially enjoy Greenfield Village, but advance ticket purchases are necessary. If they are more adventurous and would enjoy a top scream fest, check out HalloWeekends at Cedar Point, which begin in September at the roller coaster capital of the world.

http://www.thehenryford.org/events/halloweenEvent.aspx

http://www.pumpkinshow.com/

If they would enjoy white water rafting, or just great hikes, check out the New River Gorge National River in West Virginia. Beckley, WV, and Marietta, OH, are great small towns in the U.S., and could be visited on a trip to the New River Gorge.

http://www.nps.gov/neri/index.htm

There are months worth of options for short trips from Columbus.

[WRnative]

BTW, I don't agree Ohio beaches are all bad. Unfortunately, toxic algae issues due to insufficiently regulated agricultural run-off have impaired the great beaches in the western Lake Erie basin, especially this year with even more excessive run-off due to a wet early summer.

Beaches such as Edgewater, Mentor Headlands, Fairport Harbor and Geneva State Park in the eastern basin are enjoyed by many. The Lodge at Geneva State Park offers a popular wine shuttle to the region's great wineries.

Due to cooler water, you likely won't swim in September and all Lake Erie beaches can be pleasant visits. Wild beaches, such as at Lake Erie Bluffs Metropark in Lake County, might particularly interest your parents.

http://ianadamsphotography.com/news/...s-lake-county/

I would agree that Presque Isle, a National Natural Landmark, has likely the best Lake Erie beaches in the U.S.

[WRnative]

You could save money by tent camping. With air mattresses in September, it can be quite comfortable. However, reservations for camp sites often must be made well in advance, especially for state and national parks, for weekends, and during fall colors. You can rent camping equipment at many outdoors stores, certainly REI, but it may be more economical to buy some equipment online, perhaps through Wal-Mart or Amazon. Wal-Mart delivers online purchases for free to stores for pick up.

There is a well reviewed and well located hostel in Cleveland's Market District. It doesn't have an elevator, however, if that's an issue for your parents. Cleveland has a relatively robust mass transit system and there's a rail station about a block from the hostel. Day passes are $5, but cheaper for seniors.

Check tripadvisor hotel reviews for any city. TA also has a budget hotel search option. Hostels are listed under specialty lodging. There also is a hostel at Malabar Farm State Park in the Mohican Region, just north of Columbus.

Red Roof Inns often are well reviewed and cheaper than other hotels. Rates are even lower if booked many weeks in advance.

[WRnative]

Don't miss the small American bison herd at Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park!

Bison at Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park! | The Columbus Experience

Bison born at Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park, just in time for Mother's Day | The Columbus Dispatch

Binoculars may be handy for your tour.

[PerryMason614]

Originally Posted by WRnative

Missing from Perry's list in post 3 are Mammoth Cave NP and the great aviation history attractions in Dayton. The best part of Ohio Amish Country is in eastern Holmes County. See Ohio Amish Country and Mohican Region and perhaps the Lake Erie islands here:

...

Yellows Springs is a charming small town, and has the Glen Helen Nature Preserve, a National Natural Landmark. Other nearby charming small towns include Granville and Lebanon, where the Golden Lamb is oldest inn in Ohio.

...

If they would enjoy white water rafting, or just great hikes, check out the New River Gorge National River in West Virginia. Beckley, WV, and Marietta, OH, are great small towns in the U.S., and could be visited on a trip to the New River Gorge.

New River Gorge National River (U.S. National Park Service)

There are months worth of options for short trips from Columbus.

Originally Posted by WRnative

You could save money by tent camping.

The suggestions are going to depend on her parents and what they like, how educated they are and whether they live in the city or in a small town. Based on my knowledge of ethnics (my parents and extended family are from Southern Europe), ethnic people are not camping people and I don't think they would "get" the charm of a small town like Marietta. They want to see "Disco" - the places everybody talks about ... Chicago, Washington, San Francisco, New York, Mount Rushmore, Disney World, Mount Rushmore, etc.

I would show them these sites: Niagara Falls, Washington DC (with the West Virginia loop back), Presque Isle, Chicago, Amish Country, Cleveland and The Wilds. Definitely show them the Amish!!! (I thought Millersburg was in Wayne County, I forgot it was Holmes.) For a foreigner that would be a side of America they would never guess existed.

I know the Greek Festival is lame, but it's a way to blow off a couple of hours over Labor Day weekend.

In the same vein, isn't there an Indian reservation in Michigan?

For evenings, there's Polaris, Easton, the Clippers and the Columbus Zoo.

The Air Force Museum is a great idea since this is the "Birthplace of Aviation", or at least that's what our license plates say.

Mammoth Cave isn't bad, but it's kind of a long drive unless you also want to go to Nashville. I can't imagine Egyptians being country music fans.

That's enough to keep your parents busy for a month.

[joe from dayton]

Do you have a month available to entertain them, or are you only available at certain times? How fluent are they in English?