Please help us plan a non-Disney summer vacation

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

After 4 trips in 2023 and 3 scheduled already for 2024 we are looking for a non-Disney alternative for summer 2024. We were tentatively planning on going to Costa Rica until someone pointed out just how rainy the rainy season was where we were interested in going. The word of the day: deluge. So now we’re back to square 1. We’re looking for ideas for something with a good mix of activities and relaxation (my kids have…different…interests, and we need to have a lot of DIFFERENT things to try to satisfy them). We aren’t opposed to flying, but my husband has issues sometimes so we are leaning towards the possibility of driving or something with a short flight, which nixes most of Europe and Asia. My daughter isn’t great in the car, so we’ll need to keep individual drive segments pretty short. Budget is not really a consideration just yet, as we’re going to start with what we want and then figure out if we can afford it.

The idea of a southeast driving trip has come up - some combination of maybe Charleston/Kiawah, Savannah/Hilton Head, maybe some of the mountains, and possibly all the way to New Orleans. We could break up the drive by going to Washington DC and ?. I’d have to look at a map. My biggest concern though is that the new word of the day will either be sauna or inferno. My daughter doesn’t do that well in heat.

Boston/Maine/Canada driving trip - same idea but in the opposite direction. I worry here that there may be less variety of activities than heading south, especially because my daughter isn’t really outdoorsy either and wants a lot of downtime.

Cruise - we would need a lot of space for my husband to feel comfortable, and I worry that anything we do would feel crowded and overwhelming. But the kids have raised the possibility, so I need to at least consider it. My kids are old enough that we probably don’t need to pay the DCL premium, so I’d need an alternative. Royal Caribbean?

Fly to Vancouver and then do some combination of Vancouver (maybe Seattle), Calgary, Banff, and possibly head down to Glacier. We did a national parks/Vegas/Disney trip this past summer and had a blast, but I worry that this might be too similar.

Alaska - either by cruise or driving. I’m a bit worried here about the range of potential activities available, even though my husband and I really enjoyed it pre-kids.

Rent a big house or stay at an all inclusive somewhere on the beach (near home or in the Caribbean). My fear here is that we have done the Mexico All Inclusive thing before and while it is great, the kids definitely got bored after a few days. They say they are willing to try again, but I don’t want to spend $25k for them to hang out on their iPad/phone and complain that they don’t have anything to do.

Thoughts? Ideas? Alternatives? Have you done anything amazing recently?

THANK YOU!

 

[Magical2017]

All of your ideas sound great to me, but I would have your family help choose/research. I would totally go to Costa Rica even during the rainy season. We are going to travel to Iceland next summer for the first time but if you do not want to fly, what about a national park trip? We went to Puerto Rico last summer and that was great with teens and only a short flight from the east coast. There are so many things to do, including the El Yunque tropical rainforest.

eta: You mentioned Royal. We last cruised pre-COVID. I would book connecting balconies (depending on how old your kids are) or a suite. We were on the Oasis of the Seas. We enjoyed the ports (that is why we went back to visit Puerto Rico for a week). The food was fine, and there were many things to do. They do have port-intensive itineraries or those with just a few ports, which would allow more time on the ship. This might bore your kids so you can find one that you think will appeal to them. The private island has a water park but you have to pay to go to the water park. The other things on the island are included.

 

[VandVsmama]

A week in Hawaii

 

[Skippyboo]

Charleston, Savannah, New Orleans are super hot and humid like Florida is in the summer. Would not recommend going there in the summer.

What about Nashville and then go over to the Smokey Mountains area of pigeon forge/gatlinburg?

 

[nycdisneygal]

Well its a long flight but we did Hawaii in 2022 summer which I had expected to be a one and done and we are going back this spring! Its great for all ages. Other than that the other amazing places we did were japan and europe last year but I do really want to do South Dakota.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

We are on the east coast so Hawaii is too far for my husband to fly. Otherwise we’d be heading to Asia.

Would you do Costa Rica even in the rainy season? Even the tour operator we were talking to seemed like she was trying to steer us away from it. We want to do zip lining, see the hot springs, look for animals, etc. That part of the country estimates 20” of rain that month(!) She’s trying to push us towards the beaches but if I just want a beach there are plenty of other (nicer) options.

Puerto Rico sounds interesting. I went once many years ago on the way to somewhere else but it hasn’t been on my radar since. I’ll check it out.

 

[Skippy918]

Hotel xcaret mexico. All inclusive and lots of activities.

 

[Scootin'By]

If you're looking for variety, you could do a few days at an all inclusive Dude Ranch in NY, CT, or VT. Then hit up a city like New York or Boston (baseball games are always fun in a new city), then keep going over to a beachy area and rent a house or something for a few days in either ME or MA. There's a really fun puffin cruise in Maine, just a day trip, but still fun.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

If you're looking for variety, you could do a few days at an all inclusive Dude Ranch in NY, CT, or VT. Then hit up a city like New York or Boston (baseball games are always fun in a new city), then keep going over to a beachy area and rent a house or something for a few days in either ME or MA. There's a really fun puffin cruise in Maine, just a day trip, but still fun.

Dude Rance in NY - is that Rocking Horse Ranch? If so we have been there many MANY times. It’s great fun with little kids. Unfortuantely my son has now outgrown it but my daughter will be back there again this summer.

I should investigate this puffin cruise in Maine.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

Hotel xcaret mexico. All inclusive and lots of activities.

We have done Grand at Moon Palace a few times but I don’t know anything about Hotel Xcaret. I’ll check it out.

 

[Skippy918]

We have done Grand at Moon Palace a few times but I don’t know anything about Hotel Xcaret. I’ll check it out.

There’s several parks included which have all sorts of activities arranging from river swims, zip lining, ropes courses and lots of other fun things. All food is included too. It’s an epic trip.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

Boston, Salem, Cape Cod/Nantucket. Then up to Maine if you have time.

 

[jimmymc]

The southeast is hot in the summer, so I would avoid that.

Of the options you listed, either Alaska or the Northeast sound the best to me. I'm personally waiting to visit upstate Alaska because the main road in Denali was washed out with a rockslide, but you could still do a cruise and see everything the southern stretch has to offer. A cruise is also probably more economical.

In the Northeast, I definitely recommend Maine if you're going to do it. Lots of fun vacation towns, nature parks, and good food up there.

 

[adkkev]

I'm personally waiting to visit upstate Alaska because the main road in Denali was washed out with a rockslide.

In the Northeast, I definitely recommend Maine if you're going to do it. Lots of fun vacation towns, nature parks, and good food up there.

@jimmymc …. There is so much more to Alaska than Denali. Visit Wrangell-St. Elias instead. Or go to Homer. Fairbanks and the nearby hot springs. Travel the Denali Highway. Haines is beautiful.

 

[SpaceMan5]

Oh man, 4 trips in 2023 and 3 planned for 2024....I don't think you need much advice. Sounds like you are a pro at it.

However, I would stay away from Seattle. It is no longer the Emerald City as it was once known as. Visit the Olympic National Forest, the Northern beaches of OR. Anything outside of Seattle

 

[tony67]

Portugal is very nice and still very reasonable price wise - and still way cheaper than Disney.

Porto and Lisbon are great cities with lots of history and lots to see.

The Algarve in the south is pretty amazing - lots of beaches and cliffs and lots of history too.
I highly recommend it, but avoid the party cities. I based in Faro at a hotel near the harbor.

Was also able to go to Spain for lunch, its a very short ferry across to Spain from the last stop on the train.

The trains are reliable, but very slow - you really want a car in the south.

The food is really good as long as you avoid the tourist places - those are hot or miss.

It will be hot though so keep that in mind - they get very little rain.

 

[AgentMama]

We are on the east coast so Hawaii is too far for my husband to fly. Otherwise we’d be heading to Asia.

Would you do Costa Rica even in the rainy season? Even the tour operator we were talking to seemed like she was trying to steer us away from it. We want to do zip lining, see the hot springs, look for animals, etc. That part of the country estimates 20” of rain that month(!) She’s trying to push us towards the beaches but if I just want a beach there are plenty of other (nicer) options.

Puerto Rico sounds interesting. I went once many years ago on the way to somewhere else but it hasn’t been on my radar since. I’ll check it out.

I wouldn't do Costa Rica during rainy season, their rain is no joke, and if you're seeing more of the country than just one location, landslides regularly block portions of roads.

We loved Iceland, from the east coast, the flights aren't that long. Otherwise Banff and that area are beautiful. If you're considering Mexico, would you consider Belize?

Our kids also get bored at all inclusive resorts now to. We joke that we don't vacation anymore and we travel, because we're always go go go and seeing and doing as much as we can.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Boston/Maine/Canada driving trip - same idea but in the opposite direction. I worry here that there may be less variety of activities than heading south, especially because my daughter isn’t really outdoorsy either and wants a lot of downtime.

I love the Northeast in summer!
I'm near Boston, and there is a lot of variety. - When DS was a kid, we used to do the science museum, the various art museums, the maparium, the history stuff (of course!) and the library is awesome if your DD wants some down time.

South a bit is Plymouth and Cape Cod, North you could do Salem and Hammond Castle.

If you include NY state, we loved:
Howe Caverns, Lake George, and the
Finger Lakes (especially Watkins Glen State Park).

Southern Maine has some great little beach towns, and I agree about the puffin cruise. There's an animal refuge where you can see moose too.

 

[cedricandsophie]

if you are considering the northwest I hVe two favorite itineraries.

Fly to Portland. Spend a day exploring the city. Drive to canon beach and stay a couple days. Drive down the coast to at least Newport. Stop at the aquarium. Then drive inland back up to mt hood and the Columbia River Gorge. Beautiful.

Or fly to Seattle. Spend a couple of days. Be sure to see the art museum and the chihully garden. Then drive to anacortes and get on the ferry to Vancouver islavd thru the San Juan islands. Spectacular . You can get off at Friday harbor in the San Juan islands and explore. On Vancouver island go to Victoria. It’s one of the most beautiful harbors in the world. Visit the beauchart gardens. I could stay in Victoria for days and just watch the harbor, the sea planes, the water taxis, the ferries etc.

 

[mjkacmom]

We live in NJ, 5 kids, my family loves cruises because we have together time, plus individual time. NCL has the haven, a ship within a ship (we just sail in connecting balconies). There are add ons like the thermal spa or Vibe area to have less crowded areas. We live 20 minutes from Manhattan so it’s just SO easy. I’ve also looked into RCL out ofBayonne, also 20 minutes. Our annual summer vacation is a house down the shore with my sisters family, but its like $15,000+ just for the house, plus all of the food, I cook all week, do laundry… but the kids like it (8 all together ranging from 17 - 27).