Into the loop…how travel loops can maximize your vacation dollars and time.

By: Peter Hans

You’ve probably heard the expression, “we’ve come full circle”. In some circles, pardon the pun, that may mean you’ve gotten nowhere. When it comes to traveling by car, however, planning your destinations in a circle or loop can help you take in more sights, visit more destinations and put you on the fast track home.

For example, let’s say you’re planning a trip east to New England, with Boston as your starting point. After a few days of taking in the Freedom Trail, the Old North Church, Fenway Park and a few other sights, you venture north along the coast, spending a few days each in the port cities of Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Portland, Maine before returning to Beantown—completing the loop.

While that may seem like a fairly broad scope for a trip, using a loop as your guide can help you focus on the things you want to see. In fact, the travel loop lends nicely to creating a theme trip. For example:

Lighthouse loop – Starting from Maine or Cape Cod, Massachusetts, create a loop of all the great lighthouses along this coastal route.
Florida loop – Staying at Disney doesn’t mean you can’t go anywhere else. A loop from Disney World to Daytona Beach, Kennedy Space Center and other interesting sites in Florida will certainly keep you well-entertained.
Colorado Rockies loop – Starting in Denver, you can hit the slopes or hit the sights with a loop to Red Rocks, Summit County and Breckenridge, then to Eagle River Valley, Vail and Beaver Creek and onto the Flat Iron Mountains and University of Colorado in Boulder, continuing to Ft. Collins then to the Rocky Mountain National Park in Estes Park.

Of course, these are just a few suggestions. The beauty of the loop is that you can make it as small or large as you want, for whatever theme you desire. And while there are certain parts of the country better suited to the travel loop, you can conceivably create one anywhere based on your interests and the interests of those you’re traveling with.

Some more examples:

Antique Loops – If antiquing is your thing, chart out a loop of antique shops in your part of the country or, better yet, head out on a road trip.
Factory Outlets Loop –What better way to shop for the holidays than a fall trip to factory outlet stores. Here’s a perfect fall foliage/factory outlet loop (Manchester, Vermont to Kittery, Maine).
National Parks – How about a loop of some of the United States’ greatest treasures, its National Parks. For example, how about a loop from Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor, Maine to Lake Placid, New York in the Adirondacks to Sugarbush, Mad River and Stowe in the Green Mountains of Vermont.
Major or Minor League Baseball Stadium Loop – While loops involving stops around major league baseball stadiums have been around for years (e.g. Chicago-Detroit-Cleveland), minor league loops have become more popular in recent years. Plus, the shorter loop and cheap ticket prices are a winning combination.

Whether you choose a theme or simply pick a part of the country that interests you, the travel loop gives you a practical system to visit the sights you want to see while limiting backtracking and shortening the return ride home.

Peter Hans is the president of Resort Maps Franchise, based in Waitsfield, Vermont. Resort Maps creates customized travel maps over 90 cities and towns across the U.S. and U.K. For more information, please visit www.resortmaps.com.