Midwest

Best Places to Visit in Illinois

For me, Illinois isn’t just about its big cities. It’s about the unique destinations, the favorite traditions, and the underrated gems that make the state worth exploring.

14 Best Places to Visit in Michigan

Whether you are looking for outstanding scenery, best food, great family activities or gracious historic architecture, Michigan ticks all the boxes for an amazing vacation.

Weekend Getaways from Chicago

For me, weekend getaways from Chicago are some of the best and most unique escapes, underrated favorites that always deliver a memorable break.

Things to Do in Nebraska

From wide-open prairies to historic towns and dramatic natural landmarks, I think that Nebraska offers some of the best and most unique attractions, many of which feel surprisingly underrated.

My photo of spring tulips in a Wisconsin botanical garden

10 Places to Visit in Wisconsin

Wisconsin is filled with some of the best places to visit in the Midwest, and it’s become one of my favorite states for a mix of outdoor adventure, small-town charm, and vibrant cities.

Best Iowa Weekend Getaways

Iowa is home to beautiful scenery, a diverse choice of outdoor activities and unique attractions such as the Crystal Lake Cave and West Lake Okoboj.

Best Places to Visit in Missouri

For me, Missouri is one of the best places to visit in the Midwest because it combines unique landscapes, vibrant cities, and underrated small towns that always leave me with new favorite memories.

Things to Do in Middleton, WI

Middleton, Wisconsin is known as the ‘The Good Neighbor City.’ It’s a small and inviting town with a strong cultural heritage.

My photo on a relaxing summer afternoon in Missouri

Best Hotels & Resorts in Missouri

What makes Missouri so special is its variety. You can book a luxury resort overlooking the Lake of the Ozarks, enjoy a historic boutique hotel in St. Louis or Kansas City, or find an underrated lodge tucked into the Ozark Mountains.

My photo of flowers on the trail in late Minnesota summer

Places to Visit in Minnesota

What I love most is how versatile Minnesota is! There’s always something new to discover, and my every visit feels like the best kind of adventure.

My photo of fall foliage on our road trip in the Midwest

Places to Visit in the Midwest

The Midwest is full of some of the best weekend getaways in the United States, and it’s become one of my favorite regions for a mix of small-town charm, vibrant cities, and natural beauty.

Hi, We are Ema and Chris, completely independent small content creators with a small blog of 200 pages called "VacationIdea - Dream Vacation Magazine". While our home is in Texas, we've lived in many different places months at a time researching vacations. While our website VacationIdea.com is small with under 200 pages and all the content written by just the two of us, you'll find a host of diverse and hidden vacation ideas for weekend getaways, day trips in the USA, and longer vacations, based on our personal travels. Keeping this website small allows us to keep it up to date with our latest discoveries and photos while we travel. We hope that reading this inspires you to travel to our favorite hidden gems. Why trust us? We founded this site decades ago and not only are we expert road trippers, but we also stay plugged into the latest openings and what's new and unique in travel. Chris is an award-winning photographer and designer, giving our content a visual polish. To us, our independence is paramount! Since 1999 we've remained independent content creators and aren't associated (and never were!) with any other companies, channels, networks or marketing groups. We do not employ any freelance writers and editors. We've kept the original full name "VacationIdea.com - Dream Vacation Magazine" as a reminder of our roots because when we first started writing about travel in 1999, we printed a small quarterly magazine which we produced ourselves (just Chris and Ema). While we quickly moved to the blog format as the Internet took hold, we kept our original magazine title to remind ourselves of our journey and our life-long passion for inspiring others to travel. Click here to find our one and only Youtube channel @VacationIdea. We are not associated with any other YouTube channels, networks or marketing companies (especially those using the terms "vacation ideas", "vacation idea", "dream travel", "dream vacation", etc). We've received many awards and media mentions for our work on VacationIdea.com, including Forbes Best of the Web, abc6 Morning Show, UMich, 7News, WA State Department, and many others.