Other holidays...what do you do?

[Sillyminny40]

Other than Orlando, what other holidays do you take and give specific details as to where you stay and what activities your family can do there! Thanks!

 

[Charleyann]

This year we are doing a Carnival Cruise. We will stay in Ft. Lauderdale for three days(Right on Beach Hotel) and then do the cruise and then decided to go to Disney. We got the crusie, inside state room for $209pp Canadian. We are going for 4 nights and 5 days! We leave Miami and then head off to the Key West and then Cozumel, Mexico. For my son and I it was just $532 Cn, all inclusive.

We are very excited and leave on Nov 28th for FT. Lauderdale. Board the ship on Dec 1st in Miami. Return to Miami on Dec 5th and check into Disney. We stay at Disney until Dec 18th and going offsite for Christmas and enjoying the parks offsite Disney. We will relax at Discovery Cove on Dec 25th with low crowds!!!!! Head back home on Dec 28th!

Charleyann

Charleyann

 

[SandraC]

We love Disney and average a trip every 2 years years [or sooner], but we also like vacationing rather locally too.

We have a tent trailer and camped all over Southern Ontario for about 5 years until last year when we bought a permanent site trailer in Acton. It's only 30 minutes from home so we head up there for "glamping" trips for the day or several days. It's "our place in the woods" and we love it! We take small trips from there too....St. Jacobs for shopping, Rockwood for canoeing, Mohawk for horseracing, Elora for nature and lunch, Medieval Festival in Waterloo...etc.,. Anyone up for a Dismeet at my trailer this summer?

My sister and mum live in Cornwall, Ontario so we head there a couple times a year. While there we sometimes visit Montreal, Ottawa, and Kingston on the way home. We love Kingston and do lots of stuff there....the Haunted Walk is fun and we always have lunch at Tir Nan Og.....we are Irish/Canadian.

DD14 loves the show "Creepy Canada" so we visit LOTS of haunted places from the show during our vacations.

We love amusement parks/theme parks [although DH says he's parked-out] so we visit Ohio for Kings Dominion and Cedar Point. Ohio is close and we really like it! Friendly people and lots to do!

We do an annual cottage thing with 12 family members for Thanksgiving in Muskoka or Parry Sound.

I go on an womens-only weekend in October called "Womynspirit Festival" in Orangeville. [let me know if you are interested, all are welcome!]

DH goes on a mens-only weekend with a buddy in January to the buddy's cottage near the Sault. Nothing "Brokeback Mountain"......not that there's anything wrong with that.

We always love a family weekend away in Niagara Falls for the waterpark resorts or just a weekend away in a nice hotel with a great pool.

We are daytippers too....LOVE Halton Conservation Areas; Crawford Lake for the Indian Village and lake, Mountsberg for the birds and animals. There are TONS of waterfalls in Hamilton and Devil's Punchbowl is awesome to see! [google it] There are LOADS of daytrips from my home [Mississauga].

Saying that....we are also a family that really enjoys being home together and just hanging out, walking the dog and going for lunch!

Blessings, Sandra

 

[East Coaster]

What?? You mean there's other places to go besides Disney.....no one ever told me that.

Seriously all joking aside, Ottawa is a beautiful city anytime of year and now that our son is there year round we will probably visit many times. My all time favourite would be to see the fireworks at the parliament buildings July 1, crowds and all.

As a maritimer, there are many beautiful beaches that are as nice as the carribean in the summer, (sorry no palm trees) but just as peaceful.

 

[cabmom]

Cuba, we just got home early Saturday morning. What a beautiful place to visit! The water, beach and hotel were awesome!
We were at Sol Cayo Guillermo, Cayo Coco.

 

[minnie56]

Well--our Daughters are 21 and 24 now so we are looking for different things in a vacation these days!

We do WDW every year, at least once..last year we combined it with 5 days at The Don Ce'Sar on St Pete's Beach and that was just lovely. A perfect retreat..

We cruise, once or twice yearly. The Caribbean in the Winter and someplace else at another time which varies..have done the Mediterranean, Panama Canal, Alaska.

This September we are going to Venice, Italy..then a week at a Villa in Tuscany and then a few days south of Rome before flying home from Rome. This is 4 couples, no 'kids'.

Usually go to England (London) every other year. We are from there and my sister lives in Scotland. Have visited her there and then we head South to London and sometimes the South of England too. Like to stay in the South Kensington, Kensington Palace, area in London. Easy to get into the heart of the city via the tube.

Love Barbados, Sandy Lane Resort, Almond Beach Resort and Spa is nice too.

Aruba, The Marriott and the Hilton are lovely and the island has much more to offer than it used to with little boutiques springing up.

St Maarten, love it too. Maho Bay and Divi Little Bay are both great spots. Nice island.. Fist visited Aruba and St Maarten on cruises and liked so much I made a point to get back there for a land holiday.

..and always 1x a year we end up finding our way to New York City! We were there last May which was so pretty as things were beginning to really bloom and then again at New Years which was BUSY! No fave hotel, just wherever the location and price seem right!!

Though there are other places we have travelled, these seem to be the ones we repeat most often. Just booked a trip to Las Vegas, it's a place I am good with every 5 yrs or so.

I love travelling--too much!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[F4disneyfan]

Well we go up to the cottage in the summer and the wife takes the kids camping around Ontario in the summer with her trailer. Not much into specifics we go out in teh boat and go fishing and dad drinks beer.

 

[iluvwesties]

I love travelling--too much!!!!!!!!!!!!

Me Too!!!

I was in Barbados in November 2007 (Almond Beach Village ) My DD & DS swam with the turtles and DS loved the ocean

I am also from UK originally and have been back a few times to visit relatives in Southern England (Kent, Wiltshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire) but also try to do some sightseeing while I'm there. I like to stay in Bloomsbury area of London (easy to get to West End shows) also love Covent Garden and cruising the Thames on a sunny day.

Have been to Scotland twice (after emigrating to Canada)
Took my DS to the Isle of Mull - just off Oban to go to Duart Castle (my last name is McLean, and this is the homestead of the clan McLean) we visited Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Loch Ness - NO, I didn't see Nessie

Took a trip to NZ & Fiji in 2007 - Both BEAUTIFUL places
Drove from the South Island (Dunedin up to Picton, visiting Greymouth, Fox Glacier, Christchurch, Queenstown, Te Anau, Punakaiki, Omaru & Kaikora) took the inter-island ferry to the North Island and visited Wellington (the Capital of NZ) Rotorua & Auckland)

DD & I on boat trip , Milford Sound NZ

then continued on to Fiji (where at the time they were experiencing a coup!!!) but it didn't effect us (DD & myself) we just laid back and enjoyed the South Pacific - took a catamarran tour of some of the islands including Castaway where they filmed the movie with Tom Hanks.

Have done a road trip to Branson, Missouri and on the way visitied the St. Louis Arch - Gateway to the west, Nashville, Memphis (went to Graceland) and also took a trip on the Mississippi on a Paddlewheeler.

Have also been on 2 cruises - Carribean and Bahamas and Stayed in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

and WDW/Florida - too many trips to count!!

But...... Canada is TRULY a BEAUTIFUL country and I am still exploring it
So far, have been to Montreal, Ottawa, Halifax, Peggy's Cove, Lunenberg, Cape Breton, Moncton, Victoria, Nanaimo, Vancouver, Whistler and many places right here in Ontario

Thanks for starting this thread...........it brought back many special memories and it makes me start to think about........where next!!!

iluwesties (aka Carol)

 

[DearDaisyinDurham]

thanks OP! terrific post and thread! I love reading about travels. We usually stay close to cottage country b/c of our family being there. What I really want to do is visit each province. So far out of province I've been to Montreal, Vancouver and Whistler. I've only been in Canada a few years so there's lots of making up to do to see all that I want to see.
I also want to visit each state and see Europe.

I LOVE the pictures everyone thanks!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

 

[disneynovic]

Last summer we drove the kids out East with my parents for 2 weeks. We drove thru the US, crossing at Cornwall, and spent the night in Vermont at Big Bear Inn, up in the mountains. DS, 7, thought it was cool to walk thru the clouds. We spent the afternoon in Maine, shopping (LL BEAN) and eating at Freeport, then drove on to St. John, New Brunswick. Spent the day in St. John (it rained all day, DS, 14 was sick) and took the afternoon ferry over to Digby, Nova Scotia. We rented a cottage in Digby, and ate seafood for 3 days (THE BEST SCALLOPS I've EVER HAD!!). We did a day trip to Yarmouth, timing it so that we were there for their Seafest, and attended the Cherry festival in Bear River(cute little town). We also spent the day whale watching, which was an incredible experience. Next it was on to Halifax for 3 nights. Lots to do for kids and the family. My parents went to the casino every night, and we walked the boardwalk seeing the sites. We did a day trip to Peggy's Cove and Lunenburg. We then drove up to PEI and spent 4 days in Charlottetown. We did a day trip to Summerside to catch up with the Bluenose, played on the ocean shore in Victoria, spent the day at the beach in Cavendish, stopped in North Rustico, and explored Charlottetown. On the way home, we drove thru Quebec. It was a great trip, and the drive prepared us for our Nov. drive to Disney.

 

[BitsnBearsMom]

My dh has started calling all my travel planning my 'mid life crisis'
Last August we did a Carnival cruise - didn't do our original ports b/c of a hurricane but did lots of other great ones. We also tacked on a week at Disney after.
A few weeks ago we did another carnival cruise our of San Juan, PR - loved loved loved the S.Caribbean islands and will do that again for sure.
This summer we are driving to Nova Scotia and have a cottage rented there for a week - 20 hrs in a car with 2 kids and a dog.... what AM I thinking??
Next Spring I want to plan another warm destination vacation again - thinking perhaps disney land and other sites in California and I'd like to visit my great aunt who will be 105 and a half by then.
Next summer we are thinking of an alaskan cruise.
in 2009 December we will do Disney for a week and add on a cruise for over Cmas - thinking we might try a Disney cruise but depends on the price.
2010 we will be at DW in May for my 40th birthday
then nothing else planned after that (yet) except we know we are going to take the boys on a long vacation to England/scotland/ireland in 2012 - we figure our youngest will be 12 and should be able to handle sitting for a flight that long by then!

 

[lisalonglash]

Other than Orlando, what other holidays do you take and give specific details as to where you stay and what activities your family can do there! Thanks!

We tend to go to France for vacations - we just love it there! Last year was the best trip so far - we spent 10 days in Nice, 2 days in London, 2 days in Paris. Nice was the best! It's so close to so many wonderful places - we drove to Italy twice, went to Monaco five times, went to Antibes, etc. We rented a villa (pretty cheap compared to a hotel room and we had our own pool and gorgeous views!) and our boys loved having the whole house and big backyard to explore.

As an adult-only excursion, we went to the Monte Carlo Casino - well now, I never need to see another casino in my life, because nothing could possibly compare to that amazing historic building!

We find the French so welcoming and friendly, and they love making children feel welcome too! My boys learnt so much about local culture, food, etc. both from the owners of the villa (who spoke a very small bit of English, so our French got better really quickly LOL) and from the local children, who invited my boys to play on a regular basis

My best friend and I once did a "Thelma & Louise" trip (without the violence or bad ending though ) throughout the southeastern US states when we were in our early 20s - that was a riot As for the US, we do go to WA, OR, etc. on a regular basis - but I'm not sure that counts, as the US border is only 5 minutes from our house

Again with my best friend (pre-dhs and dks for both us), we've been to Santorini, Crete, Mykonos, Athens, etc. - lovely country, very friendly locals, great food!

I'm a bad Canadian - I tend to stick to out-of-country vacations, always have I have been to various places in BC, of course, though (the Okanagan, etc.).

 

[BKMETV]

Have been to Scotland twice (after emigrating to Canada)
Took my DS to the Isle of Mull - just off Oban to go to Duart Castle (my last name is McLean, and this is the homestead of the clan McLean) we visited Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Loch Ness - NO, I didn't see Nessie

LOVE the photo. I went to Duart Castle on my honeymoon 10 years ago (my mother is also a MacLean) Unfortunately it poured the whole day we were on Mull...looks like you had a great day.

As for where we vacation: Every summer our family goes to Manitoulin Island and stays in a cabin at one of the lodges. Very relaxing...they do the cooking

 

[iluvwesties]

LOVE the photo. I went to Duart Castle on my honeymoon 10 years ago (my mother is also a MacLean) Unfortunately it poured the whole day we were on Mull...looks like you had a great day.

As for where we vacation: Every summer our family goes to Manitoulin Island and stays in a cabin at one of the lodges. Very relaxing...they do the cooking

We were very lucky to have great weather while in Scotland

What is the name of the lodge on Manitoulin Island that you go to?

I haven't been further than Owen Sound and would love to take the ferry over to the Island.

Do they allow pets?
I like to take my westie with me when I travel in Ontario

iluvwesties (aka Carol)

 

[BitsnBearsMom]

We've found lots of places that allow pets in Ontario - we have been looking b/c we are taking Cricket our Brittany spaniel to Nova Scotia with us this summer.
www.petswelcome.com is just one of the sites I've found. I just googled 'hotels that allow pets' and came up with lots.

 

[iluvwesties]

We've found lots of places that allow pets in Ontario - we have been looking b/c we are taking Cricket our Brittany spaniel to Nova Scotia with us this summer.
www.petswelcome.com is just one of the sites I've found. I just googled 'hotels that allow pets' and came up with lots.

Thanks for the link

Does Cricket travel well?
My westie MacKenzie is very fidgitty at first but she does settle down after the first hour in the car

 

[tigger2on]

We go to England every 2 -3 years to visit family. We do London, Blackpool and Manchester usually. WE also sometimes hop a cheap flight over the channel to Ireland and visit more family there.
We have a cruise planned followed by a few days disney in either 2010 or 2011.
We do Niagara Falls, Buffalo and visit friends in upstate NY. We also have friends in PEI and BC so we have options.
But we tend to be loyal to our DVC points and try for at least an annual trip!

 

[BitsnBearsMom]

Thanks for the link

Does Cricket travel well?
My westie MacKenzie is very fidgitty at first but she does settle down after the first hour in the car

The longest he's been in the car for is 5 hrs and he did fine - we usually lay his bed in the back of the van for long trips and he'll sleep most of the way - for shorter ones he's usually right at the window watching the world go by . He's just happy whenever he doesn't get left behind!!

I'm looking forward to taking him to NS - he'll be one happy dog being able to bird watch and go swimming!

 

[iluvwesties]

The longest he's been in the car for is 5 hrs and he did fine - we usually lay his bed in the back of the van for long trips and he'll sleep most of the way - for shorter ones he's usually right at the window watching the world go by . He's just happy whenever he doesn't get left behind!!

I'm looking forward to taking him to NS - he'll be one happy dog being able to bird watch and go swimming!

He's sooooooooooooooooo cute

 

[BitsnBearsMom]

thanks - we think so too!! Mac is a cutie too!! Cricket just loves posing for the camera!!