Points, Miles and Martinis is back again to give away a cool 5,000 American Airlines miles. This time it is small that wins BIG! Here at PMM we value redemptions that avoid the usual suspect tourist cities of the world and seek out unique places we could never get to otherwise.
For part II of the Points, Miles and 5,000 mAArtinis Giveaway, we want to know your favorite small towns. For this giveaway, we will define a small town as any city in the world with a population less than 5000.
Contest Entry
- Leave a comment in this official entry post with your favorite small town to visit and the reason why you recommend others visit.
Example: My favorite small town is Marfa, Texas because of the minimalist art museums, West Texas landscape, incredible remoteness, and the Marfa Lights.
Grand Prize – 3,000 American Airline Miles
PMM will select the commenter who best ‘sells’ their favorite small city. The winner will receive 3,000 American Airlines. The miles will be deposited into their American Airlines account.
Prizes – Two Sets Of 1,000 American Airlines Miles
Two winners will be selected at random to each win 1,000 American Airlines. The miles will be deposited into their American Airlines account.
Promotion Rules
- Limited to the first 350 comments
- Limit one entry per person
- Comment must include a small town with less than 5,000 people AND a reason
- Winning comments will be subjectively selected
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About alex
Alex loves to travel and does so a lot. Logging 100,000 flight miles each year over the past 4 years, Alex uses points and miles to power his passion. Alex is continuously striving to experience the far reaches of the globe. In his day job, Alex is a Management Consultant frequently on the road advising Technology organizations. I love thinking about, reading about, and talking about all things travel. Feel free to reach me at pmmalex@gmail.com
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Centralia, PA. It’s not even much of a town anymore now that the gov’t has bought out or forced most people to move out because of the coal vein fires underneath the town. It’s pretty neat to see an old 4-lane highway with a big crack down the middle with smoke pouring out. It’s probably as close as you’ll get to a post-apocalyptic wasteland without having to run from zombies and scrounge for food.
Glen Arbor, a small town in the northwest corner of Michigan’s lower peninsula, gets my vote. Nestled between pristine Lake Michigan beaches and inland Glen Lake, Glen Arbor offers beautiful lake and forest vistas across rolling dunes sand dunes. Outdoor activities in the area are plentiful, from hiking, biking, and every watersport imaginable in the summer to skiing and snowmobiling in the winter. The few quaint blocks of Glen Arbor’s “downtown” offer wonderful restaurants spanning every genre from fine New American dining to organic vegetarian to pizza. Numerous art galleries, studios and shops provide plenty of diversion. It’s also a short drive from neighboring small towns with their own charms ripe for exploration. Good Morning America recently named the region the most beautiful in the country, and it’s not hard to see why.
My favorite small town to visit is Eureka Springs Ar becuase of thier quiant Victorian B&Bs & southern Hospitality.
My favorite small city to visit is Haiku, Maui. It’s located in a very isolated section of Maui, and is only 30 minutes away from Kahului. It has fantastic views of the lush green side of Maui and has access to some fantastic water sport beaches.
Luray, Va. Located in the beautiful shenandoah valley. It has incredible underground caverns open daily!
Liberty, NC – It’s like a television parody. I realize stereotypes are often bad, but if you really want to venture and experience “small town USA”, then this is it. Homemade Ice cream on a farm, with live cows, picking strawberries, swimming in a swim’n hole (Lake Juno), a old-timey theatre that still has the segregated balcony and back door (though not used any longer). There’s the local chili-burger restaurant (Kidd’s) that’s been around for 50 years, and the annual Christmas parade and tree lighting that is straight out of an ABC made for TV special. Population is about 2800, but it has it’s own small airport (for tiny planes), a caboose as it’s center attraction, a winery, a Boss Hogg like watering hole (Hurricane Janes) and numerous other quaint businesses.
Ingram, Texas down in the Hill Country on the Guadalupe River. You can float a while on the River, go dam sliding, see Stonehenge II, and maybe mosey over to Luckenbach close by.
I second the vote for Glen Arbor Michigan.
My favorite small village is Greenport, Long Island, NY. It has many charming small shops and boutiques with lovely water views and is surrounded by beautiful wine vineyards that make you feel like you are in Provence, France but really only a few hours from bustling NYC.
New Haven, VT. Great small town with lots of farm land. Close to Middlebury, VT, so you have a very cute small town nearby, and a ski slope at Middlebury college as well. My grandfather owns an old farm house here, and used to go up to ski or see the beautiful Fall leaves when I was younger. Great place to just get away from it all and relax (and get amazing maple syrup)
Our fav small town is South Haven, Michigan. The downtown over looks the lighthouse and Lake Michigan. You can park for free and walk the two blocks to the beach. When you are hot you walk back and either shop or get ice cream. Small town and very family friendly!
tryon, nc. beautiful horsefarms with a background of the blue ridge mountains.
My favorite small town is Telluride, CO. In the summer you can take the Durango Silverton train there and enjoy a beautiful scenic ride. The old village is a perfect place for lunch and in the winter months they have some really incredible skiing!
Empire, MI home of the National Lakeshore
Harbor Springs MI. Great place on lake Michigan north of Traverse City. Small town atmosphere, great golf, tennis, water activities etc.
Luckenbach, Texas. Not sure it still qualifies as an actual town anymore or not. But, as the song suggests, you truly do get back to the basics there. The only thing that it has is a dance hall, a stage for live music, a souvenir store, and a place to buy adult beverages. Love it.
Black Earth, WI. As the name states, the dirt is black here. Home of the Midwest’s largest independent shoe store, The Shoe Box, which was once involved in a shoe scandal with the Wisconsin Badgers sports programs. Cave of the Mounds is nearby, as is the World’s Largest Mustard Museum (recently moved to Middleton, WI).
Baileys Harbor, Wi – Located in Door County on Lake Michigan. When my children were old enough to go somewhere by themselves for the first time, they got to walk or bike to the Yum Yum Tree for homemade ice cream or penny candy. The 4th of July Holiday is awesome. Small town parade, ice cold beer, roasted corn on the cob, brats, fried chees curds, bands, art fair – followed by fireworks from the city pier at night. Great culture with The Folklore Theatre, Peninsula Players (one of the oldest summer stock in Midwest), Shakespeare and lots of music are nearby. The salmon fishing is spectacular and the Fish Boils are a regional favorite. The White Gull Inn is nearby (voted best breakfast in America). Every Sunday in the Fall the town turns into Green Bay Packer Country. Greatest Place on Earth!!
My favorite small town is Mystic, CT. It not only has a nice aquarium, but also Mystic Seaport. The Seaport has been around since the 1600s and it is a great place to visit to learn about how ships were built and maintained centuries ago and not to mention a great glimpse of colonial history.
Spring Green, WI. Great food, great festivals (Bobfest!), fun tiny shops, American Players Theater (outdoor Shakespeare), Frank Lloyd Wright architecture everywhere, farmers markets, rolling green hills, and a beautiful river. It’s only about an hour from Madison, making it a convenient but not over-run getaway!
Potomac, MD. Home of Winston Churchill High school, the number one ranked high school in the state, and #57 in the nation according to US News. This is where Darren Star (creator and producer of 90210), ’79 alum of the high school, based his show on. EVERYONE back in the day watched this show. come on, ADMIT IT!
Rockwood, Maine
The beauty of the Northern Maine Woods, combined with a near complete lack of people, makes it one of my favorite places to go and relax. Heck, one of the “official” stats about the town is that moose outnumber people 3-1!
Cooperstown, NY Home of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Lots to do in that area throughout the year and some great restaurants.
Relliance TN eastern trout fishing on par with that out West
Bellingham WA, Its a gorgeous town situated about an hour north of Seattle near the Canadian border. It has some of the best small businesses including a great record shop and an ice cream parlor that usually has a line out the door. Not to mention some awesome scenery and parks including one with a nice stream and lake and cliffs you can jump off from. Additionally the town has the University of Western Washington which has a beautiful campus. I’ve only ever been once but it made me want to move to Washington state.
Crested Butte, Colorado is a fantastic small town. Great little mountain village with great skiing, mountain biking, lots of shops and bars. They have a terrific wild flower festival in June which is a great opportunity for photography. Best of all, it’s not as commercialized as Vail or Aspen. It’s worth the effort to fly into Denver and make the beautiful drive to Crested Butte.
Santa Catalina Island, CA. It’s wonderful. You can take a lovely boat ride to it, sightsee, bar-hop, shop, snorkel or just let the wind breeze through your hair. Very relaxing – you can sense the peace in the air.
My favorite small town in the world is Solitaire, Namibia. It’s population is something like 5 people. There is a small gas station (usually without gas) and a great bakery. A hotel was recently opened here too, which is rather a shame.
Dover, Tennessee. It sits on the Cumberland River and the neighboring Fort Donelson was the site of a Civil War battle. When the fog is thick over the river and the sun isn’t over the horizon just yet, you are transported back in time and can almost see blue and gray uniforms emerging from the mist.
Hanalei on the island of Kauai, HI. Picture perfect little town full of aloha nestled on the drop dead gorgeous Hanalei Bay. If you can’t forget your problems here, you’ve got big problems.
Yountville, CA. It’s a very charming small town of about 3000 people. They have amazing bed & breakfasts like Maison Fleurie (part of the Four Sisters Inns which are all beautiful with stellar service). It has some of the finest dining you’ll ever find in a town of this size including Chef Thomas Keller’s French Laundry and Chef Michael Chiarello’s Bottega. You can bike ride past beautiful hills and vineyards. Plus, it’s right in the middle of wine country so there’s wine tasting galore. In the summer you can go on hot air balloon rides and in the winter you can go on horse drawn carriage rides. This town is completely loveable and would give anyone a vacation to remember!
Sonoma, not sure small it actually is, but think, wine and wonderful California Weather! Nothing else to sell here!
I would check out Wittenberg, WI. The Walls of Wittenberg (WOW) was founded in 2005 and is dedicated to honoring the history of Wittenberg, revitalizing the downtown, and attracting visitors. Since 2005, 18 murals have been painted which creates a 24/7 art gallery and an art park has been added. This has become a source of pride for the local residents and a tourist attraction that draws visitors from around the Midwest. Plus, there are delicious Wisconsin dairy shops with yummy ice cream and cheese!
Davis, Oklahoma! The home of the Fried Pie Shop. http://www.theoriginalfriedpieshop.com/Pies.html
The deep fried coconut cream pie is delicious! We drive there from the Dallas area for the pie 🙂
Julian, CA just 60 miles northeast of San Diego. Nestled in the mountains west of the Anza Borrego desert. A quaint mountain town known for their apples. Go camping, try their homemade apple pies and have a sip of wine at their locally winery. Perfect place to unwind.
Seaside, Florida is a lovely small community to the east of Destin in the panhandle. It is most famous for it’s role as the setting for the movie, The Truman Show. It is an idealized, planned community which sounds terrible on the surface to many travelers, but over time it has developed into a true community with a school, theater, and events throughout the year. It really is beautiful with all of the small houses and streets and the main square. Plus you have the pristine white sands of the gulf just steps away. I highly recommend a visit if you are in the panhandle area.
Wiscasset, Maine: quintessential, small New England town on the Maine coast. Fabulous historical architecture, intriguing Revolutionary War history, and it’s where you will find the smallest church in the world (per the Guinness Book of World records). It’s home to Red’s Eats, where you will get the best lobster rolls and fried clams on the east coast! Yum! And, for the points collector (that’s all of us!), it’s less than a 3 hours drive from Boston or under an hour from the Portland, Maine airport. You know it’s a small town when there are no chain hotels!
Ida Grove Iowa is a small town that has a castle theme to it. There are Castle gates, Drawbridges, Suits of Armor…it is just the character of the town that is a pleasure to drive through or stop in for a picnic. Such a positive difference from most other little towns.
Marfa is my favorite small town too!!!! Because I live in Marfa. I moved a year ago from L.A. to Marfa and I’ve never been happier in my life.
Silverton, Colorado
Almost alps like in it’s spot smashed between two sets of mountains. It’s quiet, the outdoor activities are endless, and there’s a plethora of small niche stores that are known for their quality goods. Everything from small batch spirits, to custom skis, to fine woodwork. It’s the best!
My favorite town is Jerome, Arizona for the gorgeous views of the surrounding valley, dinner at the Asylum, great local wine at Caduceus Vineyards (owned by Tool lead-singer Maynard Keenan), its proximity to the Sedona Red Rocks and its quirky sense of community.
My favorite small town is Hawley, PA. My family’s been going there for three generations to experience the great outdoors. It stays largely the same in the ways that matter, and moves with us through our lives. A special thing.
Haleiwa, Oahu is my favorite small town because North Shore is the Hawaii of Hollywood with tropical jungles and mysterious Hawaiian temples. The North Shore has good restaurants, shopping, and cultural activities, and the place comes with quiet country living style.
Colorado Springs, CO. I love the Garden of the Gods and Pike’s Peak!
My favorite small town is Koyasan, Japan. It’s a small temple town located in a mountainous region south of Osaka. It takes some effort to get to, but if you have the means, going there to visit the famous graveyard and Okunoin, and staying a night or two with the local Buddhists in a temple, will be an experience you’ll never forget.
I love the enchanting town of Paleokastritsa on the Emerald Island of Corfu, Greece! With the blue waters of the Ionian Sea set against majestic rocky cliffs and lush green mountains, I find “Paleo” to be one of the most lovely towns on earth! Not only are there incredible views from the local castle and monastery, the beach-lover will find a variety of aquatic activities in this little piece of paradise!
Favorite small town is Romance Arkansas, where everyone takes there Wedding Invitations to be mailed! Sweet little town with diner, fried chicken, sweet tea and a Romance Stamp:)
Bisbee, AZ. Bisbee is a funky old mining town with lots of interesting lodging, including the former jail and The Shady Dell where you can rent vintage campers. Lunch at Tachos Tacos is simple and delicious.
Williamsburg, VA. It’s one of those historical small towns with lots of fun things to do for everyone. Museums, historical re-enactments, theme parks, haute couture, etc.