best family vacation place????

[StitchBuddy]

We love to go to Estes Park, Colorado.

 

[buzz5985]

We are in MA and we would like to fly. Have to keep flyer miles active.

Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park. Beautiful country.

 

[JaymeC]

To me it all depends on how you want to spend your vacation For beach relaxing I love the beaches of NC and FL. For trips, I'd love to go back to NYC, but that's going to be way out of our budget for awhile! We only spent 4 days there on our last trip and loved it. And San Diego holds a pretty large part of my heart. So much to do there and such lovely weather and beaches. It's like a combination trip You have the beaches to keep you happy as well as sites to see and even amusement parks

 

[FLAngie]

I would totally second (or third) the Great Smokey Mountains. I live about 1 hour away in Knoxville, TN and seem to spend almost every other weekend in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area. We take all of our out of town guests to TGSM. The smokies are great for hiking, camping, history seekers, nature lovers, picnickers. There are waterfalls and cades cove is great to nature watch and see some old cabins and cemetaries. So cool. There are tons of cabin rentals. I could suggest some if any are interested. Also, there are waterparks and amuesment parks and lots of shows and other attractions.

My second choice would be Washington DC. A trip to our Nation's Capital is one that should be on everyone's list. We took a train ride to Philadelphia to see the liberty bell, Independance Hall and Benjamin Franklin's House. We have made this trip two Summers in a row and will likely return next year in the Fall.

If you would like any information on either of these destinations just let me know.

I would love some suggestions for cabin rentals.

 

[crisi]

Here are the vacations we've done with kids....

North Shore of Lake Superior - a friend has a family house up there, so we go almost every year. Its a great nearly free trip that involves hiking and hanging in the cabin. The North Shore is gorgeous, lots of waterfalls.

Mexico - we've done the all inclusive in Mexico thing a few times. July isn't any hotter than any other time, and rates are great. The kids play in the pool and we drink margaritas and read. We've also stayed in a private home down there - which is very nice, but you have to do your own cooking.

Cruises - We've cruised Disney twice, but I like the all inclusive better. Cruise is too restrictive.

ABD to Germany - this was wonderful, but expensive. However, if you are going to take elementary school age kids overseas and you aren't a veteran international traveler (or don't want to bother researching your own hotels and sightseeing) this is a fantastic way to do it.

San Francisco/Monterey - beautiful and lots to do out there. From whale watching to Alcatraz to museums.

Camping - we aren't great campers, but the kids really wanted to try it. So we booked a family trip with an outdoor group that specializes in "so you don't camp....." The weekend we went was too hot, and there are reasons I'm not a camper, but the kids got their chance.

Still on the list - Washington DC/Boston/NYC - either in one long trip or broken up into several longish weekends. Also England and France. And we'd like to get to Asia.

 

[BubMunkeyBles]

Europe. You can get great deals from big US cities to London or Paris usually and its a great trip for everyone. Can also be done on a budget.

 

[nsmith]

We took DS 12 and DD 14 to California two summers ago. The only trip that they really want to duplicate right now (14 and 16). Flew into LA stayed in Santa Monica did the Xgames Thurs and Friday. Sooo much fun, great crowd and really cool for teens but still fun for parents. Held at two different venues Staples Center in LA and one of the UofC campus'. Then drove down to Anaheim and did Disney. They wish we had spend longer at the Xgames (they run Thurs night till Sunday) and less time in Disney (we did 3 days). While in Santa Monica we did the piers, beach, Venice Beach and the Getty Museum in LA. We brought our GSP and had no trouble driving all over.

 

[holden]

I've been looking into Paws Up in Montana. It's a "glamping" resort - glamorized camping. Looks great!

www.pawsup.com

 

[hambirg]

I'm pretty interested in the National Parks but dont know where to begin. We will be travelling 2 families with 5 kids all together ranging in age from 8-16. 3 girls, 2 boys. Some of us are into hiking, some of us are into the beach. Is there a place that will satisfy all of us?? Is Grand Canyon way too hot in July??

Come to Washington.

The Olympic Peninsula sounds perfect for you.

 

[ENSOCK]

Here are the vacations we've done with kids....

North Shore of Lake Superior - a friend has a family house up there, so we go almost every year. Its a great nearly free trip that involves hiking and hanging in the cabin. The North Shore is gorgeous, lots of waterfalls.

Mexico - we've done the all inclusive in Mexico thing a few times. July isn't any hotter than any other time, and rates are great. The kids play in the pool and we drink margaritas and read. We've also stayed in a private home down there - which is very nice, but you have to do your own cooking.

Cruises - We've cruised Disney twice, but I like the all inclusive better. Cruise is too restrictive.

ABD to Germany - this was wonderful, but expensive. However, if you are going to take elementary school age kids overseas and you aren't a veteran international traveler (or don't want to bother researching your own hotels and sightseeing) this is a fantastic way to do it.

San Francisco/Monterey - beautiful and lots to do out there. From whale watching to Alcatraz to museums.

Camping - we aren't great campers, but the kids really wanted to try it. So we booked a family trip with an outdoor group that specializes in "so you don't camp....." The weekend we went was too hot, and there are reasons I'm not a camper, but the kids got their chance.

Still on the list - Washington DC/Boston/NYC - either in one long trip or broken up into several longish weekends. Also England and France. And we'd like to get to Asia.

Could you let me know the name of the all inclusive in Mexico? Thanks!

 

[buzzgirls&dad]

Out top choice is Beaches Turks & Caicos...not too budget friendly but so awesome!!!

So Ca. would be our second choice. There is so much to do between L.A. and San Diego and this can be done on a budget and get a Disney fix as well.

 

[lukenick1]

Out top choice is Beaches Turks & Caicos...not too budget friendly but so awesome!!!

So Ca. would be our second choice. There is so much to do between L.A. and San Diego and this can be done on a budget and get a Disney fix as well.

Could you please inform on doing this CA trip on a budget??
Thanks

 

[jackie101]

Could you let me know the name of the all inclusive in Mexico? Thanks!

we are taking out 4 children to Mexico this Nov to Crown Paradise in Cancun

 

[3boymthr]

We live in MA too and have to say the western NP are a great vacation in the summer. We actually drove, but if you can afford to fly that's a great way to go. As a great starting point to finding out more about the National Parks I recommend looking at Fromer's Guide to the National Parks of the American West and the National Geographic Guide to the National Parks.

We've done both Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon in July.

The Grand Canyon on the Rim had temperatures in the 80s but when you got down off the Rim it was really hot - like 110 degrees at 10PM hot. If you want to spend more than a few days in the area I would recommend waiting until September. But I have to say the kids loved the Grand Canyon. We hiked the Rim Trail - which is 8 miles and my youngest was 4 at the time.

Yellowstone is perfect in July. Temps can be hot but they can also be really cold - we had a day when there were SNOW FLURRIES! The next day it was in the 80s. This is a great trip to combine with Grand Teton or you could combine it with Mt. Rushmore, Custer State Park, The Badlands NP, Wall SD, Cody and Devil's Tower National Monument.

Another couple of parks that we've been to in July were Crater Lake National Park in Oregon (They had snow on the ground in July - there was enough snow the kids had a snowball fight ) and Redwood National and State Parks - we combined this tour with a trip down the Californal Coastal Highway (CA Routes 1/101). These areas were definitely not too hot in July.

 

[summerrluvv]

We really loved Lancaster, PA.

 

[blessedby3]

Hilton Head Island, SC. It is so nice and quiet compared to so many other beaches It is our second favorite next to Disney!