Suggestions for next years vacation...

[ajwolfe]

Okay, I'll admit I'm a planner, lol. But I've started thinking about next years vacation already - I think we are planning on skipping WDW next year but that could always change. I'm wanting to head somewhere we haven't been before and looking for suggestions/thoughts on the below areas. My family consists of DH, me and 2 boys (right now 7 & 11). Kids are both into history and outdoors type things, but love a good amusement park too.

So I'm thinking of the following:
New Orleans
Tybee Island GA and Savannah (would likely take this and New Orleans trip at different times during the summer)
Gulf Shores area
Niagra Falls
Or going West of us (Missouri), so like Texas, Arizona, North Dakota, etc.

We would likely drive any of the places, as we tend to like the road trip element of the vacation...So we could look at doing other things along the way.

I'm really curious what you thought of these areas and the cost of visiting vs the fun of what you did.

Thanks!!

 

[worm761]

Okay, I'll admit I'm a planner, lol. But I've started thinking about next years vacation already - I think we are planning on skipping WDW next year but that could always change. I'm wanting to head somewhere we haven't been before and looking for suggestions/thoughts on the below areas. My family consists of DH, me and 2 boys (right now 7 & 11). Kids are both into history and outdoors type things, but love a good amusement park too.

So I'm thinking of the following:
New Orleans
Tybee Island GA and Savannah (would likely take this and New Orleans trip at different times during the summer)
Gulf Shores area
Niagra Falls
Or going West of us (Missouri), so like Texas, Arizona, North Dakota, etc.

We would likely drive any of the places, as we tend to like the road trip element of the vacation...So we could look at doing other things along the way. I'm really curious what you thought of these areas and the cost of visiting vs the fun of what you did.

Thanks!!

Gulf Shores has plenty to do in the area.
There is Fort Morgan for history: http://fortmorgan.org/
And there are plenty of nature trails to hike/walk in the area. A favorite of ours is about an hour north. It is the Weeks Bay Pitcher Plant Bog. http://outdooralabama.com/public-lands/stateLands/WeeksBay/Pitcher Plant Bog/

And if you want, New Orleans is only a few hours from Gulf Shores too. So you could hit them both up if you like.

 

[amydj79]

We vacationed at Gulf Shores this summer. Our only regret is that we didn't stay longer. We were beach bums the entire trip so we didn't sight see or anything like that. It wasn't crowded, the beaches were very clean and the water was clear. It is a beautiful area.
ETA: We went without a reservation. I was not happy about that at the time but we ended up scoring a condo on the beach for $1800 that slept 9 people. We split it with our friends and their kids my daughter's age. It was very affordable.

 

[Pigeon]

We loved NOLA, but if you go in summer it is really, horribly hot.

 

[ajwolfe]

Gulf Shores has plenty to do in the area.
There is Fort Morgan for history: http://fortmorgan.org/
And there are plenty of nature trails to hike/walk in the area. A favorite of ours is about an hour north. It is the Weeks Bay Pitcher Plant Bog. http://outdooralabama.com/public-lands/stateLands/WeeksBay/Pitcher Plant Bog/

And if you want, New Orleans is only a few hours from Gulf Shores too. So you could hit them both up if you like.

Thanks for the info! We are not huge beach bums so I'm worried about planning a week or two with just laying on the beach. But if there are other things in the area to do we could probably make it work.

 

[ajwolfe]

We loved NOLA, but if you go in summer it is really, horribly hot.

Did you find that there was enough that you were able to do with kids - assuming that you took kids along? I've been told that they have a really nice zoo and park area for kids, as well as a few other things.

 

[GaBelle]

I'm a Savannah native, so if you have any questions or anything regarding Savannah or Tybee I will be happy to help!

 

[ajwolfe]

I'm a Savannah native, so if you have any questions or anything regarding Savannah or Tybee I will be happy to help!

Awesome!! Would love to hear your suggestions on what to do in Savannah with the boys and which tours are neat to take. I'm really leaning towards this trip just because I think it looks like it would be fun to see all the old houses and such.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

5 days at the beach is about all I can hack & that's with us staying at a resort with activities.

Road trip to CO, SD, or WY is more my speed.

Here's one we haven't done yet, but want to: STL to Springfield, MO, to Amarillo, to Albuquerque, to Durango, CO, to Silverton, to Montrose, to CO Springs, to Dodge City, KS, to home

 

[cajaput]

Okay, I'll admit I'm a planner, lol. But I've started thinking about next years vacation already - I think we are planning on skipping WDW next year but that could always change. I'm wanting to head somewhere we haven't been before and looking for suggestions/thoughts on the below areas. My family consists of DH, me and 2 boys (right now 7 & 11). Kids are both into history and outdoors type things, but love a good amusement park too.

So I'm thinking of the following:
New Orleans
Tybee Island GA and Savannah (would likely take this and New Orleans trip at different times during the summer)
Gulf Shores area
Niagra Falls
Or going West of us (Missouri), so like Texas, Arizona, North Dakota, etc.

We would likely drive any of the places, as we tend to like the road trip element of the vacation...So we could look at doing other things along the way.

I'm really curious what you thought of these areas and the cost of visiting vs the fun of what you did.

Thanks!!

Our kids are 8 & 10. We really enjoyed St. Louis! Have gone twice this year. We did The Gateway Arch which was so neat! They have a great zoo & science museum & a great Six Flags. But the coolest by far is a place called City Museum!!! A big giant place of fun!!

Have you ever looked into St. Augustine? Beautiful beautiful place with TONS of history & fun ways to see it all! We've been there numerous times as well.

I'm looking into an Amtrak vacation to Niagara Falls. We always drive, but I think the all inclusive Amtrak train vacations look amazing!!! My kids would really get a kick out of that & so would my hubby & I.

I love vacation brainstorming!!!! It's my very favorite pastime! =0)

 

[trinchick]

Kids are both into history and outdoors type things, but love a good amusement park too.

If you're looking to add to your short list, Williamsburg VA has all of these things and is lots of fun. We stayed at a timeshare resort there for a very reasonable rate and had a 1BR unit that was a great base for visiting Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, Busch Gardens, and Water Country. There is a combo pass available (or there was a couple of years ago anyway), that included admissions and parking for a whole week so we were able to break up our days and do a little of everything. There are also outlets and if you wanted to expand your radius you could also visit Virginia Beach, Kings Dominion Amusement Park, or even Washington, DC.

We found that Williamsburg offered a lot of bang for our vacation buck and will be going back in a few years!

 

[ajwolfe]

5 days at the beach is about all I can hack & that's with us staying at a resort with activities.

Road trip to CO, SD, or WY is more my speed.

Here's one we haven't done yet, but want to: STL to Springfield, MO, to Amarillo, to Albuquerque, to Durango, CO, to Silverton, to Montrose, to CO Springs, to Dodge City, KS, to home

Sounds fun!! If you need thoughts for the STL to Springfield portion of the trip, let me know..We live in that are and have done all sorts of stuff in between there.

 

[marthachick]

We did the Southwest this year. Flew to Las Vegas, went to Kolob Canyon part of Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon, Four Corners, Durango, Arches National Park and then to Denver.

We packed a lot into a week. I'm sure we missed a lot of great things, but we had an awesome time and made some great memories. Something like this might interest you. There was a lot of outdoorsy stuff there with some history thrown in.

DH (who doesn't get really excited about vacations) has already asked me to plan a trip to South Dakota, Montana and Wyoming.

 

[ajwolfe]

Our kids are 8 & 10. We really enjoyed St. Louis! Have gone twice this year. We did The Gateway Arch which was so neat! They have a great zoo & science museum & a great Six Flags. But the coolest by far is a place called City Museum!!! A big giant place of fun!!

Have you ever looked into St. Augustine? Beautiful beautiful place with TONS of history & fun ways to see it all! We've been there numerous times as well.

I'm looking into an Amtrak vacation to Niagara Falls. We always drive, but I think the all inclusive Amtrak train vacations look amazing!!! My kids would really get a kick out of that & so would my hubby & I.

I love vacation brainstorming!!!! It's my very favorite pastime! =0)

I' m with you on loving the vacation planning!! We live about an hour and a half from St Louis so we are there at least once a month. Sounds like you hit some of the key things. If you ever come back, you might also check out Grant's Farm or Purina Farms and the Botantical Gardens; fun little spots.

Hmmm, I hadn't thought about the all inclusive amtrak trip to Niagara Falls. Off to Google,

 

[ajwolfe]

Also loving the ideas for the southwest.....Thanks!!

We talked about Williamsburg, but I think I wanna wait till the kids are a bit bigger and do that with a trip to DC and Gettusburg area.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Sounds fun!! If you need thoughts for the STL to Springfield portion of the trip, let me know..We live in that are and have done all sorts of stuff in between there.

My area too - I actually jump on 44 at Sullivan if headed West or Gray Summit if heading East

 

[tink_lover]

We are looking to try something new also! Early thoughts are Grand Canyon, just not sure what else to include. Love the ideas.

 

[cajaput]

I' m with you on loving the vacation planning!! We live about an hour and a half from St Louis so we are there at least once a month. Sounds like you hit some of the key things. If you ever come back, you might also check out Grant's Farm or Purina Farms and the Botantical Gardens; fun little spots.

Hmmm, I hadn't thought about the all inclusive amtrak trip to Niagara Falls. Off to Google,

There are a ton of all inclusive family trips on the Amtrak website! So many I'd love to take! Grand Canyon is high on our list, too. =0)

Amtrakvacations.com

 

[marthachick]

For those of you planning to go to Grand Canyon, if you're wanting fewer people and less commercialism, go to North Rim. We haven't been to South Rim, but had several people to tell us it's way busier. Order travel books from the areas you're thinking of or get on their websites and decide what's good for your family. We spent a night in a cabin at the Lodge at North Rim. It was a great experience. And we rode the mules on the rim of the Canyon!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

We are looking to try something new also! Early thoughts are Grand Canyon, just not sure what else to include. Love the ideas.

Painted Desert
Petrified Forest
Saguaro National Park (?)
Vegas
SW Utah
Etc