Southern Illinois Holidays
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Your Southern Illinois Holiday
Design the adventure you've always longed for with a customised Southern Illinois holiday package. A great starting point is Belleville, where you'll experience culture, history and other highlights. Kick off your trip to Southern Illinois with some time exploring O'Fallon visiting popular attractions like O'Fallon Family Sports Park and FanDuel Sportsbook and Horse Racing. Effingham is another city that lures travellers from far and wide. Lake Sara and Effingham Performance Centre are two of the top places to see in this destination. Expedia is your one-stop shop for organising your Southern Illinois holiday. From accommodation and flights, to activities and rental cars, we know how to create a travel experience like no other.
Where to stay in Southern Illinois
Eastport
While visiting Eastport, you might make a stop by sights like Gateway Conference Center and Splash City Family Waterpark.
Southern Illinois Holiday Packages
Surrounded on three sides by powerful rivers, this region is richly textured with antebellum estates, farmland, vineyards and tracts of protected forest.
Discover the unique identity of Southern Illinois, a region renowned for its riverside communities, historic estates, rolling plains and rich pasturage. Nicknamed Shawnee Forest Country for the vast tracts of forest and parkland that stretch downstate, Southern Illinois is studded with oak-hickory woods and hardy palms. Explore the area along a network of trails that showcase its natural scenery, heritage grandeur and regional wineries.
Southern Illinois is strewn with historic townships nestled within the lush greenery. Visit Cairo to experience the romance of a preserved 19th-century river town and learn about the region’s Civil War history. MetropolisOpens in a new window is an intriguing little town that is heralded as the home of Superman. Visit the Super MuseumOpens in a new window to learn about the world-famous DC Comics superhero. At the village of Cave-in-RockOpens in a new window, you can discover the area’s enduring connection with the Ohio River and visit a vast limestone cave once used as a hideout by river pirates.
Pretty Makanda is the gateway to Giant City State Park, a stunning preserve peppered with enormous sandstone bluffs known as the Giant City Streets. More breathtaking natural scenery can be found in the Shawnee National Forest within the Ozark and Shawnee hills. Go on a zip-lining tour, hike scenic trails and ride on a bike or on horseback through towering canyons and dense forests. The park’s waterways are also ideal for canoeing, boating and fishing. Learn about awe-inspiring geology on a walking trail through the Garden of the Gods. Discover a unique landscape of floodplain forests in the Cache River Wetlands, which is renowned for its cypress swamps and diverse birdlife.
Southern Illinois has an extensive network of scenic trails and byways. Explore the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail to reach 12 wineries offering sumptuous tastings or check out the heritage riverside towns on the Ohio River Scenic Byway. Leave the car at home and travel from Harrisburg to Karnak on a bicycle or cross-country skis along the former railroad bed of Tunnel Hill State Trail.
Reach Southern Illinois by plane to Lawrenceville-Vincennes International Airport or catch the Amtrak service to Carbondale or St. Louis in neighboring Missouri. Stay overnight in heritage homestead accommodation or pitch a tent in one of the region’s stunning state parks.
Southern Illinois Essential Information
Language | English |
|---|---|
Currency | U.S dollars |
Closest Airport | Lambert-St. Louis Intl. Airport (STL) |
Top hotels in Southern Illinois
Drury Plaza Hotel Mt. Vernon
"I've stayed at this property probably 6-8 times and it's always a flawless stay. This last time, I was unhappy with my room due to the family next door and the noises from their children. I went downstairs and asked Kyleigh if there was another room available (30 minutes after I checked in). She ..."
Reviewed on 8 Jun 2026
Drury Inn & Suites St. Louis Fairview Heights
"Totally messed up my reservation. We reserved for two rooms only received one. My friend had to go and reserve a room for themselves. No one was willing to look into problem. Just blamed it on Hotels.com and advised I reserve direct with them next time. There will be no next time for this chain."
Reviewed on 7 Jun 2026
Baymont by Wyndham Effingham
"We had a booking issue. Accidentally booked the room for the wrong date. We needed a room at 12:30am at night - last minute - to stop on our way to our destination. The room was accidentally reserved for the following day. I contacted support immediately. Less than a minute after confirming and realizing ..."
Reviewed on 8 Jun 2026
Popular places to visit
Garden of the Gods Recreation Area
See for yourself why Harrisburg’s unearthly sandstone formations, tucked within lush Shawnee National Forest, earn their ethereal name.
Superman Statue
Superman fans will love getting a photograph taken in front of this giant statue of the Man of Steel himself, dressed in his iconic red-and-blue guise.
Lake Shelbyville Beach
Why not spend a care-free afternoon at Lake Shelbyville Beach during your travels in Shelbyville? While you're in the area, wander around the forests.
Frequently asked questions
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- Heartland Regional Medical Center
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- William Jennings Bryan Boyhood Home and Museum
* Savings based on package bookings compared to the price of the same components booked separately. Savings not available on all packages. Flight-inclusive packages are ATOL protected.
