Tell me about Branson......

[travelhacker]

I've really enjoyed reading about Branson. I really don't have much interest in the shows, but the family friendly activities sound like they could be a lot of fun.

I may need to give it a shot some time.

 

[pieslapper]

Also drive north of town about 20 minutes to the tiger sanctuary and feed the cats.

 

[MLR]

We have been going every few years since our kids were small - approx. 40 years now. Last time we went we got a 3BR condo via RCI and almost the whole family went. We enjoy it because it is laid back and family friendly. Sort of an 'anti Vegas' atmosphere. :0) Not a lot of night life except the shows. Titanic museum was good. Enjoyed Branson Belle Riverboat/show. They have 'Big Name' shows from time to time. We always enjoy Legends in Concert. They have a good water park for kids in summer as well as Silver Dollar City theme park. It can get very busy there. If you have never been - it is worth a visit. We usually go to Branson for 1-3 days every few years. We live within driving distance - that helps.

 

[TBipp]

If you are a golfer, there are several brand new golf courses which have been built in the last couple of years in the Branson area. A bit outside of Branson (20 minutes) is the Johnny Morris Top of the Rock (two restaurants and a bar that also serves dinner) which is an upscale entertainment area and the view at sunset is probably one of the best in Missouri as the sun sinks into the lake with a bagpipe player on weekends. The patio and restaurants are jaw-dropping beautiful. There is also a 9 hole golf course there and they have held impressive celebrity golf tournaments in the past. My husband could not stop talking about the golf course--lots of waterfalls and outstanding landscaping. There is also a cave tour riding in golf carts and a natural history museum. Further afield is Dogwood Canyon which has a tram ride through a beautiful scenic park, giant water mill and waterfalls and water crossings. One can ride a bike or walk paved paths, and there is a restaurant for lunch only. Dogwood Canyon is a Johnny Morris property also--Johnny Morris owns Bass Pro. Further south (1 hour from Branson) is the very quirky town of Eureka Springs, Arkansas, where one could spend a day walking and shopping. An artist and boutique mecca with loads of charm and historical buildings.

 

[Bailey08]

I have a wonderful lockout unit at Westgate Branson Woods I have been trying to sell because my husband and I have both have had back surgery and are unable to travel. This unit is 2 bedroom, 2 bath - sleeps 6 with the couch that pulls out. It is useable every even year. I can be reached at 918-429-0325. This resort has everything to do right there on the huge property.

 

[bbodb1]

I missed this from earlier:

The closest high end resort to "the strip" is the Marriott Lodge. However, the strip is a couple miles long so you'll need a car regardless of where you stay.
-several parks and lakes (Dogwood canyon is my favorite park)
......

It is worth noting there are three traffic relief routes (the 'color' routes) in and around Branson. If your future vacation plans include Branson, it is most definitely worth your time to become familiar with them as you can get from place to place on US 76 much quicker and miss a bunch of traffic.

Click here for one map of the color routes.

 

[jmann]

It’s a great place to visit. We have stayed at the Wyndham. but our favorite by far is Big Cedar. Great restaurants, good entertainment at the bar, lots of activities, and a family fun zone. We always hit the festivals at Silver Dollar City when they bring in great and different entertainment and we try to see the new shows at Sight and Sound theatre when the play changes. Christmas at SDC is magical with millions of lights and special entertainment—Miracle on 34th Street and Christmas Carol. Lots to do on the strip.. while it used to be more country the shows now are very diverse but we don’t do a lot of the shows. If you go be sure to try out Grandma Ruth’s cinnamon rolls and Billy Gails for breakfast but get there early for both.

 

[mdurette]

Thanks all.....you have made my decision to go this summer. A couple follow up questions.

1. Airport: It appears Branson has an airport that only Frontier flies into??? Workable, but their flight schedule is extremely limited. What is the best 2nd option? I hold a Southwest companion pass, but doesn't appear SW flies nearby.

2. Would 2nd week in June or last week in August be better? Or doesn't matter?

 

[Shankilicious]

August will be much less busy. Kids will be back in school but all the shows and attractions will still be open. STL airport is about a 3.5 hour drive, but is expensive to fly in and out of.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[GetawaysRus]

We usually fly into Springfield (Missouri) on American. Easy to rent a car there and drive to Branson (about an hour, if I remember).

 

[bbodb1]

If you are willing to drive 3.5 hours from the airport, consider Little Rock as it might be a better cost alternative on SW.

Also XNA may be a possibility....

Weather will be better in June than August...

 

[mdurette]

Ugh, 3 1/2 hour drive from the airport may be a deal breaker.......

I'm ok not going with Southwest, I have plenty of Chase UR stockpiles for other airlines.

 

[Charles11png]

I was there in Branson last summer and we did visit Silver Dollar City like many others. We also did go-carts and a mountain coaster which were a lot of fun. My favorite activity was Branson Belle showboat on the lake that we did a dinner show on, and I highly recommend trying it out, my family had a lot of fun.

We stayed at Wyndham Branson Meadows, while not on the strip, it was a nice resort, but definitely a car ride anywhere. I'd recommend a car regardless because the area in general isn't really walkable.

 

[chalee94]

I arranged an extended family vacation to Branson a couple summers ago, around 20 folks using a tremendous amount of II deposits I had accumulated. We stayed at Stormy Point resort a few miles outside the strip, and it was AWESOME. All the units are actual individual Cape Cod themed cottages. We were staying in 2, 3, and 4 upscale and well furnished bedroom houses (the for bedroom was amazing).

I did the Stormy Point 3BR a few years back and had a great experience also. Easy access to the strip and nice accommodations. I wish I had splurged for the 4BR with the pool table... With a 14 year old, I would recommend looking at the zip line adventures. I also liked the Rick Thomas magic show.

My info may be old but I would stay away from the discount show places with the target signs. There are a couple of places with discount tickets that don't involve timeshare tours but the target signs were bad news a few years ago...

 

[rickandcindy23]

I would go at Christmas, if we went again. Our friends just went in early December and said the lights were beautiful and the shows were geared toward Christmas, which is great for us.

I loved Branson, and it's one long day of driving from home, so we would do it in two days next time because we are older now. I would drive though because I love a good drive. Of course, I don't do any of the driving. LOL!

 

[rickandcindy23]

Ugh, 3 1/2 hour drive from the airport may be a deal breaker.......

I'm ok not going with Southwest, I have plenty of Chase UR stockpiles for other airlines.

So don't book it with points you transfer to airlines. Look at the price for booking it directly through the portal with a points-to-cash purchase. The points for a $600 ticket are only 45,000, if you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve. $300 ticket is 22,500. It's just a better deal that way for most of our travel.

 

[Kelso]

Here is our itinerary when we went to Branson last time in 2018. This was our 8th trip of one week there. I use www.tripadvisor.com to look at how other visitors rated the attractions, lodging and restaurants.

Arrived on a Sunday: Lodging at Cabins at Green Mountain; 3864 Green Mountain Drive; 417-332-3238; check in 4 pm; https://www.festiva.com/cabinsgreenmtn.php - Our Favorite; Rustic cabin feel with big screen porch

Monday: Promise Land Zoo during the day; This is a smaller zoo and about a half day and we had so much fun there; 32297 Hwy 86, Eagle Rock; held a baby kangaroo, fed sloths and played with Lemurs – Must go back. Phone 417-271-3324, Must Do VIP admission

8 pm; Jerry Presley doing his cousin Elvis; $34.05; God & Country Theatre; 1840 W 76 Country Blvd; Excellent

Tuesday: 10 am; Kenny Rogers impersonator; $34.05; God & Country Theatre; 1840 W 76 Country Blvd, Was outstanding.

7:30 pm; Raiding the Country Vault; $39.37 & 2nd half price; Rated #1 on Trip Advisor; Starlite Theatre; 3115 W 76 Country Blvd; Was real good but nothing special.

Wednesday – Our favorite of every trip; 3:30 pm; Sight & Sound Theatre; We saw Samson but our favorite is Noah's Ark, Purchased $109 for both tickets. Live Bible Theatre with animals in a huge theatre; 1001 Shepherd of the Hills Expressway; Phone 800-377-1277. Also do the backstage tour.

7 pm; Perry Stone Visiting; TheHarvestOG.org; 9866 Hwy 21 N Oak Grove, AR

Thursday: 2 pm; Dublin & Irish Tenors; $40.13; Kings Castle Theatre; 2701 W 76 Country Blvd; this was terrible and not an Irish show. It opened the second half with a half hour of opera

Friday: Day at Top of the Rock where there are lots of waterfalls; and Lost Canyon; beautiful; rent the golf cart to tour using paved paths. Loved the buffalo up close. We go here every time we come to Branson.

8 pm; Six (Acappela group); $38.06; Hughes Brothers Theatre; 3425 W 76 Country Blvd; It was a lot of fun to see an acappela group without instruments – was very memorable

Saturday: 10 am; Beach Boys songs; $32.26 & 2nd half price; 3090 Shepherd Hill Expressway: They sing Beach Boy hits but are not impersonators – good

Day time – IMAX Theatre; Pandas; 3562 Shepherd of the Hills; Phone 417-335-4832; this was great and impressive

Theatre costs for the week for both of us - 14 tickets for 7 shows total cost $555. Average $40 per ticket.

Sunday: Return Home

Note: You can go to the Branson website to see a list of all the shows that will be playing on the dates you will visit. I do this after I lock down the lodging. We also did a murder mystery. Be sure to visit Dick’s Five and Dime in old Branson for a free trip down memory lane. Have fun.

 

[dougp26364]

We use to go to Branson several times a year because it’s within driving distance. I have a photo album of the general area. Nice lake, decent shopping, LOTS of go-cart tracks, arcades and mini-golf. There are a few really nice golf courses as well.

View my photos at: https://dougp26364.smugmug.com/Travel/Branson-Table-Rock-Lake

 

[Luanne]

My sister lives north of Branson, between Branson and Springfield. There is, or used to be, an airport in Branson. I flew there one year using Southwest, but that was before Southwest pulled out of that airport.

My only experience with Branson (and I guess it's not really Branson itself) was going to a very nice spa, at one of the resort hotels, with my mom and sister when I was visiting.

I only visit MO because I have family living there.

 

[slomac]

We just finished our first trip to Branson with our 3 teenagers and they said it was the best vacation ever. These are kids that live in So Cal and have been on cruises, Hawaii, Europe etc. They love the lake and the area. Not crowded, friendly people and lots to do. Granted this was the first trip in 9 months due to Covid but we would definitely return. The only downside for us is that we had to fly into St. Louis and drive the 3 hours since we have lots of Southwest points and had to use them instead of buying 5 tickets on another airlines.