There’s more to an evening out in the USA than trying out the latest restaurants and bars, or crashing out in your hotel room. Make the most out of your holiday in the USA by discovering your destination in the dark Here’s our pick of the best night time tours to try in 2019.
Lit-up stand-up nightboarding, Florida
If paddleboarding is more your thing, go nightboarding in a clear-bottom kayak or board, right, at
Ibis Bay in
Key West, Florida. Fitted with LED lights to illuminate the water beneath, they allow you to see wildlife in the ocean at night. You’ll be able to see jellyfish, lobsters, stingrays and small sharks as well as colourful sponges as you paddle through the mangroves, also home to ibis, herons and pelicans. Tours leave at sunset.
Get haunted in Savannah, Georgia
If you’re interested in the paranormal, take a night tour in the city of
Savannah, Georgia, is considered to be the most haunted city in America and should interest anyone with paranormal interests. Take a ghost tour and you’ll be guided round historic homes including The Hamilton-Turner Inn and the 17Hundred90 Inn chi both claim to have former residents roaming the halls. Other haunted houses include the Marshall House, which was a Civil War hospital, the Kehoe House, a former funeral home and Moon River Brewing - which is said to have a ‘lady in white’ in the basement.
Take a cruise round New York City
You can watch the sunset on the Circle Line: Harbour Lights Night Cruise, as
New York City lights up for the night before a night out for one of the best tours possible in the city that never sleeps. Harlem’s Jazz Night Out tour, features three hidden jazz joints and stories of Harlem’s storied past and current jazz scene.
Tour icons by night in Washington DC
Take a nighttime bike tour of
Washington DC and you’ll be able to see the city’s icons without the crowds. On a
DC Monuments @ Nite Bike Tour, you’ll cycle along the National Mall and see the city’s historic sights including the new WWII memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, Jefferson, Lincoln, FDR memorials, the new Martin Luther King Jr memorial. In the evening, these monuments are less crowded, and it’s cooler, more magical even.
Try night fishing in the Keys, Florida
Florida Keys is one of the world’s greatest fishing hotspots and Islamorada is considered to be the sport-fishing capital. Take a night-time trip aboard the fully rigged, 65-foot deep-sea Capt. Michael for a night fishing trip and you could enjoy some of the best fishing you’ll ever experience. The boat leaves at 7.30pm and returns after midnight.
Step back in time in Alexandria, Virginia
If walking around in the dark through some of America’s oldest streets in
Alexandria’s Old Town with its cobbled sidewalks and historic 18th and 19th-century buildings sounds spooky, wait until the
‘Footsteps to the Past Ghost Tour’ guide throws in some ghost stories. You’ll be glad for your lantern.
Go deep after dark on a night dive, Florida Keys
As any experienced diver knows, sunset is when the action happens.
Key West is a great spot for divers of all abilities and there are plenty of
night time dive trips, leaving early evening to arrive at one of several shallow reef sites by sunset allowing divers to experience the transition from twilight to darkness in an areas that is known for its teaming wildlife.
Discover Dark Sky Parks in Utah
The state of
Utah is home to the highest concentration of certified International Dark Sky Parks - where you can see the stars without any light pollution - anywhere in the world. You’ve got a choice of 11 places to head to, including two national parks, four state parks, four national monuments and one dark sky community. Take a tour, or join a ‘star party’, right. In Dark Canyon-Star Park, for example, you’ll be able to see 7,500 to 14,000 stars, the Milky Way, many Zodiac constellations, celestial objects, shooting stars and several planets.
Go kayaking in Kissimmee, Florida
Explore Florida’s Everglades wetlands after dark on a kayak or stand up paddleboarding tour from
Kissimmee, Florida. Your guides will take you through the area’s dark lagoons on one of the best paddling trails in the USA. You can take to the water on either a single or tandem kayak or a paddleboard on the two-hour tour and you can do it with no previous paddling experience.
Sail by full moon, Florida
Looking for a romantic outing?
Set sail on one of
Key West’s most beautiful sailboats, the 105-foot wooden schooner America 2.0, leaves on its monthly 1.5 hour moonlight champagne sail. Guests are encouraged to bring their own picnic.
Walk with lost souls in New Orleans
The French Quarter in
New Orleans has long been known for lost souls wandering its streets (and not all of them dead). A
two-hour evening walking tour takes you through the dark corridors of the French Quarter to hear of the city’s vampires, voodoo, witchcraft and famous hauntings. Sites include Muriel’s Restaurant, the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum, the LaLaurie House – the most haunted location in town and the St Germain House, former home of rumoured vampire Jacques Saint Germain.
Get spooked like Stephen King in Estes Park, Colorado
It was a stay at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park,
Colorado, that inspired Stephen King to write his horror novel The Shining. It turns out King wasn’t the only guest to be creeped out by the place. So if you’re a horror fan and fancy getting your own Scooby-Doo on, the hotel’s Night Spirit Tour – where guests might encounter spirits and strange happenings themselves – could be just the kind of spooky experience you’re looking for.