Need ideas for a fun family trip!

[connorlevismom]

Looking for some ideas for a family vacation. Please give me any place your family has been that was amazing and had great family activities. OR is there a place that you would love to go but have not yet? We have a 7 year old girl and 13 year old boy who while they enjoy time with mom and dad, would love a place where they could go off and do their own thing at kids/teen clubs. We did a cruise last year and they had a blast, but wanted to try something different. Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Beach resort?

 

[mamacatnv]

Best family vacation ever (yep, beat WDW)
We spent 10 days in central Texas at the Original Schlitterbahn Water Park Resort in New Braunfels, TX. We rented a cabin on the property, played at the park daily and also wandered all over Central Texas playing tourist. Had the best time ever. We were living in Nevada at the time and my kids were 8 & 17.
Now we live in Central Texas and still love that water park - we always have the best time there

 

[justussix]

The National Parks are amazing. We've been on a bit of a kick lately where our latest vacations have involved one or more parks. We rent houses vs. hotels and stay very close to the parks. Then head in for day hikes to water falls, up mountains, on scenic drives, spend time in the touristy towns near the gates, go horseback riding or rafting. Got the kids some good Merrell hiking shoes and purchased a couple good backpacks. Saw some incredible things. Parks we've been to since 2014 include: Great Smokey Mountains NP, Acadia NP, Rocky Mountain NP, Arches NP, Bryce Canyon NP, Zion NP, Grand Canyon NP, Sequoia NP, Yosemite NP, and we're heading to Badlands, Yellowstone, and Glacier this year.

 

[holden]

Our trip last summer to Colorado was the best! We did horseback riding in the mountains, white water rafting on the Arkansas River, mining for gold in a real gold mine (Hidee Gold Mine), Dinosaur Ridge, Red Rocks, Garden of the Gods...the list goes on! Our home base was Denver for 2 nights and then 6 nights at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. Best vacation ever!

 

[CdnCarrie]

All national parks in Canada are free this year for the 150th! Come up here and visit.

 

[connorlevismom]

Thanks so much for all the ideas! I have a lot of researching to do!

 

[Wishing on a star]

You had said 'THEY had a blast' on the cruise...
You mention the availability of kids and teen club.

Did you have a great time on the cruise?
What would you, and your DH's vision of a vacation look like.

Most of the ideas so far are outdoors, national parks, type of vacations. But, I think any real kids and teen clubs would be very hard to find.

I am not sure if you are, or are not, looking for something different, but similar, with kid and teen clubs???

One thing that would compare to a cruise, with kids clubs/activites, etc, would be an All Inclusive beach resort.
I would recommend the Cancun Area, or the Mayan Riviera area.
Many types of resorts and price ranges to choose from!

Plenty of great nature and adventure activities.
Snorkeling, Cenotes, Zip-lines, just anything imaginable.
Also, theme parks like Xcaret, too.

 

[Planogirl]

Atlantis in the Bahamas?

 

[DizBelle]

You know the "DIS" in DISBoards stands for "Disney" right?

 

[PollyannaMom]

We tend to alternate Disney and Universal because we combine it with trips to visit relatives in Florida, but we have really enjoyed Texas (Dallas - Fort Worth area) and Lake George, NY as well.

A lot of places are on our "want to do" list, too, including the Grand Canyon, Hawaii, Washington, D.C. and the a Great Smokey Mountains.

I'm not sure what to recommend specifically for kids' clubs, as we've never really looked for that, but I have been hearing a lot of ads lately for Hard Rock resorts that mention it.

 

[Poohforyou]

San Diego. I think a few of resorts on Coronado have kids clubs during the summer. There are so many things to do there - beach, zoo, balboa park museums, baseball, sea world, different neighborhoods/towns to explore. We were planning to head there but the airfare made me look for other options and we ultimately picked London.

 

[QueenIsabella]

We went to Myrtle Beach for a few days this month, and DD13 cried when we left. We'll definitely go back. There are a ton of resorts to choose from--not sure on kids' clubs, because we weren't looking, but I think I saw a few that listed them as an activity. Tons to do in the area, in addition to the fancy resorts. You could stay in a hotel room, a condo, or a house. There's the beach, of course, but most resorts also have pools and water features. When we left, our list of "things to do next time" was longer than our "things to do" list was when we arrived, if that makes sense.

A few possible activities:

banana boat rides
parasailing
shopping
Wonderworks
wax museum
helicopter rides
fishing
Mirror Maze
aquarium

Our favorite, aside from the lazy river at the resort, was doing an escape room challenge. But, I think your DD may be a little young for that just yet. We had 2, 10-11yo boys in our group, and they had a blast.

 

[AppleDumpling]

Smugglers Notch in Vermont. Very family-oriented with tons of activities for all ages.

 

[LovesTimone]

Cruising is the best options for kid and teen clubs that we found when our girls were those ages.

All Inclusive will offer something, Beaches in Turks and Caicos was really fun, we love the water so this worked out great.

One year we rented a large cabin near Gatlinburg, and went to relax, we did some tubing I think 3 days found coupons for one price for a family all day, white water rafting on the Nantahala, went to a huge craft fair, the rest of the time, we laid around, watched movies with all the trimmings, cooked out, s'mores nightly we tried to see how many combos we could come up with, we played board games, did a few puzzles. We napped, read books, made a couple of crafts, watched the lighting bugs.

But hands down Disney was always their 1st choice.

 

[katie111]

Our best family vacation ever was to Costa Rica. So much to see and do there and it's really affordable (except the airfare has gone up a lot recently). We also loved the Grand Canyon/Sedona but I think it would be too hot if you were looking to go this summer.

For what you are describing, I would go to a resort in the Mayan Riviera. We've been 5 times to 5 different resorts and my kids absolutely love it there. So much to do on the resorts as well as lots of adventures off the resorts.

 

[MIGrandma]

I'd go with the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area. You can stay in hotels, or do as we do and rent a cabin in the mountains. We love having a cabin, and there are so many to choose from. We enjoy ones with pool tables/air hockey, rockers on the porch with a nice view, and a hot tub.

There is so much to do in the area, lots of touristy type things, Dollywood, great restaurants, etc. And of course the Smoky Mountains, lots of scenic drives and hiking and waterfalls, etc.

 

[SMD]

If you enjoyed a cruise, what about a cruise to a different location or on a different class of shp with different activities or a different line. I don't know if this is common everywhere, but in CA several universities have family camps with various activities and kids groups.

 

[dclpluto]

Aulani

 

[tcufrog]

You know the "DIS" in DISBoards stands for "Disney" right?

So? Disers have been very helpful to me when I've been planning nonDisney trips.