For those of you who are not aware of the Michigan landscape, Mackinac Island is located in Northern Michigan just south of the Upper Peninsula near the “famous” Mackinac Bridge that is claimed as a must see for all tourists. Save yourself the hassle.

Northern Michigan is a beautiful place to see in the summer time and you should set up your itinerary just so see the beauty but avoid Mackinac Island at all cost. It’s a tourist trap designed to rake in as much of your cash as possible. Naturally, you pay to take the ferry to the island but from there on, every experience is an assault on the wallet. Every six feet there is a fudge shop…because Michigan is noted for it’s sweet, expensive and thirst inducing fudge. Once you pay for your fudge, you have to pay handsomely for your bottled water. I would like to add that you should not even bother looking for water fountains or asking one of the “happy” shop owners for a glass of water as it would be completely futile. There is no fast food venues on the island either so look forward to spending five to six bucks for a lousy hamburger and a small cup of pop. Want to take in the beauty of Mackinac Island while riding a bike? You can only walk or take a bike and they don’t tell you this before you go on the island that there are no taxi’s or buses to pay for. You have to pay for a bike rental. If not, you have to pay for a horse tour or walk. For a good price you can go aboard a horse drawn cart to see nothing but…..trees! Your final destination on the other side of the island is to stare at a huge rock! Oh, yes, forget about taking a good tour of the famous and beautiful Mackinac Island Hotel. You can only glance at it from a distance because you have to pay just to walk on the great front porch. During the evening, you must wear “formal attire” to attend the tour. Forget about getting a meal there, too. Reservations are required and no tours are given of the lobby and interior which means for those that paid for the porch tour are getting exactly what they paid for. The locals that live on the island are fed up with the tourists and they are rude and uninviting as well. I went to Mackinac Island when I was 14 and it was horrible experience for me, my sister, and parents. We had a much greater time driving through the Upper Peninsula to Sault St Marie and seeing the “Soo Locks”. Go there instead, save some money and enjoy the scenery. It’s a much better experience.