February is a great time to go on vacation. While it tends to be more popular to take trips during the summer months, there is plenty to do in the middle of winter if you know what areas to visit. The weeks leading up to Lent offer major celebrations, and sporting events make for a good backdrop for a sports fan's vacation.
Visitors to Quebec City, Quebec, in the first two weeks of February are in for a wintry treat. The city has hosted the Quebec Winter Carnival for nearly 60 years, and its popularity continues to grow. Travelers to the city spend more than $40 million during the carnival each year, making it the largest and most popular winter celebration on Earth.
Visitors to Quebec City will experience the best of French-Canadian culture, history and entertainment. The carnival features snow sculptures, winter sports and canoe and dogsled races. Giant lighted parades roll through the streets at night as locals sip on the traditional Caribou drink made from vodka and brandy.
New Orleans, Louisiana, is an excellent destination for a February vacation. The weather is typically mild at an average of 54 degrees, meaning most of what the city has to offer is comfortably accessible even in the middle of winter.
In most years, the Mardi Gras celebration takes place in February, making for an especially memorable trip to the Crescent City, but even in the rare years when Shrove Tuesday falls in March there is plenty to do.
Visitors to New Orleans can experience the French Quarter party scene every night of the year, take historic tours of plantations, historic sites and the city's above-ground tombs. Guests of this city on the Mississippi River can cruise on a riverboat, listen to music in the birthplace of American jazz and eat some of the nation's finest cuisine all within a few blocks.
Daytona Beach is a popular tourist destination throughout the summer months. The beachfront hotels, the proximity to Kennedy Space Center and the short drive to places like Universal Orlando or Walt Disney World make Daytona a family vacation favorite.
In February, the city is a hot destination as NASCAR fans flock here for Speed Week. A series of stock car races leads up to the grand finale of Daytona 500, which kicks off the NASCAR season.
Motor sports fans will enjoy using their vacation to come to the races and spend some time in a warmer winter climate offered by the Atlantic Coast of Florida.
