My best friend and I are considering a vacation in August of this year. I was wondering if anyone has some secret spots that are off the beaten track but are great. I thought I would throw it out there and just see.

Key Largo, the northernmost island of the Florida Keys island chain, lies only an hour's drive from South Florida's two major airports. A great place to explore coral reefs, kayak and fish. Most of the best fishing guides operate out of key largo.

Thanks. We will check it out.

I'll tell you the best spot, Seaside or Seagrove Beach, Fl. It's located in the panhandle and not too many people come hear like Destin, it's very peaceful and the beaches are beautiful. There's all kinds of things you can do here.

Cancun isn't a hidden spot, but there's tons of stuff to do & it's inexpensive. You can do lot's of 'off the beaten track' trips. My favorite is what my kids refer to as the 'jungle trip'. It's a full day trip into Mayan jungle with ziplining across the tops of the trees, biking through the jungle, swimming in underground cenotes (rivers), and depending on which trip you pick, you can see some partially uncovered ruins & the highest pyramid on the Yucatan...or participate in an ancient Mayan purification ceremony. Either way it's a great day of ecotouring.

Pigeon Forge and Gatlingburg Tennessee. It is tourist trappy but there is some great scenery up in the mountains and some pretty good shows there (The Comedy Barn being one of them) and don't forget about Dollywood

Someplace I'm considering going back to this summer, Ocracoke Island, NC. I was there off-season, it's just beautiful. Seemed to be stuff to do but laid back and peaceful at the same time in the summer.

colorado is nice

It all depends on how off the path you care to go. I know of places in the Northern Sierras, or the Siskiyou's in California, The Cascades, here in Oregon... that you are not likely to see signs of human life for weeks at a time. If that is too far off the path... Lake Tahoe is really nice that time of year. Bring everything from layered warm clothing to swim wear for both though.

The North California and Oregon Coast are always great too. There are little places all along the coast highway to either camp or lodge. Anything from 5 star hotels to 4 room B&B's, private cabins perched on cliffs overlooking the ocean.

This is a site with links to a lot in the Sierra's. Note the Pack Station links. That is the best way to get off the beaten path in my opinion.
http://www.sierravisionsstock.com/sierravisions/sierra-nevada-links/

If you're looking for an unusual, but luxurious vaca, we take an annual cruise to Bermuda (not the unusual part) & do classes in stained glass fusing while at sea..

This may not be so far off the beaten track but one of my favorite vacations was to Charleston, SC. Lovely city, lots of history. Plenty of water, seafood and shopping.

I love Charleston, used to live there, it's a great place. Stay on one of the islands and you have the best of all worlds.

I love going back home (pa) and really appreciating what I didnt appreciate as a child. In the fall it is awesome.
if you check out travel chan there are some cool ideas

Panama City or Colon, Panama are pretty cool places to visit. make sure you go during the first four months of the year though, as those are the dry months- after that, the rains will pour in like mad.

Osaka, Japan is another place to visit. TONS of restaurants, and the people are fun... not like Tokyo, where the people are a bit stuffy.

Seoul, Korea is yet suggestion. Nice people, interesting places, cool shopping.

costa rica. flights for less than 4 hundred. ukraine flights for under 7 hundred and everything there is very cheap except womens clothes. romania same as the ukraine but not as pretty. new zealand is georgous but expensive. same with australia but worth it. lol. you need more