Vacation For Extended Family

[CalDisneyMomof2]

Any ideas for a decent priced vacation for a large multi-generational family?

Here's the facts:

Family in SF Bay area, us in Southern California, Denver, Minneapolis and Sioux Falls

Ages will range from 1 to 66 (anywhere from 16-24 people)

FIL refuses Disney, aunt refuses cruising and I refuse Hawaii because it's just so darn expensive (Unless Southwest gets their act together and offers some sort of incredible fares. Right now it's difficult to get flights for under $500 RT PP)
Looking for next summer (2019)


Would love some thoughts and suggestions!

 

[TwoMisfits]

My 1st response would be Vegas...b/c you could all cheaply and quickly fly there...you can find off strip very nice condo accomodations...and you can enjoy on strip and off strip (Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, etc) entertainment for all ages...http://www.familyvacationhub.com/la...o-do/things-to-do-with-kids-in-las-vegas.html

 

[a742246]

What about Tahoe?

 

[Soarin4us]

Yosemite or Yellowstone! There's reasonably priced lodging in West Yellowstone MT, rather than the hotels the park.

 

[HeatherC]

How about a beach rental in Florida...maybe Destin or Alabama Gulf Shores?

Or a huge house in the Outer .Banks, NC...some of the houses sleep 20 plus people and have pools, hot tubs, indoor theatres, etc.?

Myrtle Beach?

 

[goodeats]

Cancun - I actually prefer the beaches in Cancun to Hawaii, but you can't beat Hawaii.

Dude Ranch in Colorado - they are all inclusive which is nice, but pricey

Mountain resort - Park City, Rockies, Tahoe, etc. We like to ski, but in the summer the mountains are great too. Hiking, relaxing, mountain biking, hot tubs. Good times!

Depends what you want out of your vacation.

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

My 1st response would be Vegas...b/c you could all cheaply and quickly fly there...you can find off strip very nice condo accomodations...and you can enjoy on strip and off strip (Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, etc) entertainment for all ages...http://www.familyvacationhub.com/la...o-do/things-to-do-with-kids-in-las-vegas.html

I'm sure some of the crowd would enjoy Vegas. My immediate family has been there several times as we live just under 4 hours from there. Would be SUPER cheap for us just not sure it'd be DH's ideal destination as we use this as a couple's getaway almost yearly.

What about Tahoe?

My FIL and his wife have a family home up there in which they visit fairly often (at least twice a year) and we've been a few times ourselves. I LOVE it there. It is an option, and would be cheap for us California people but we may want something different.

Yosemite or Yellowstone! There's reasonably priced lodging in West Yellowstone MT, rather than the hotels the park.

I've always wanted to visit each of those. On my radar!

How about a beach rental in Florida...maybe Destin or Alabama Gulf Shores?

Or a huge house in the Outer .Banks, NC...some of the houses sleep 20 plus people and have pools, hot tubs, indoor theatres, etc.?

Myrtle Beach?

I was looking for something tropical or beachy myself so I will look into all of those! And I've not visited any of those destinations (just WDW and Port Canaveral for DCL) so another plus.

Cancun - I actually prefer the beaches in Cancun to Hawaii, but you can't beat Hawaii.

Dude Ranch in Colorado - they are all inclusive which is nice, but pricey

Mountain resort - Park City, Rockies, Tahoe, etc. We like to ski, but in the summer the mountains are great too. Hiking, relaxing, mountain biking, hot tubs. Good times!

Depends what you want out of your vacation.

I think Mexico is out of the question for everyone, unfortunately. Just too many bad stories in even the popular resort towns. Makes me sad actually because I love a lot of the Mexican resort towns!

We actually did Winter Park, CO last year so probably something different. Park City may actually be a great location for everyone as it's in the middle essentially.

 

[a742246]

Vancouver Island?

 

[Jen4400]

You could rent a big cabin in Whitefish, MT and go to Glacier. Yellowstone is wonderful too!

 

[NinaBella]

Locations that have been discussed on the boards lately is Niagara Falls, Vegas, and Myrtle Beach. I know you said no to Vegas, but what about Niagara Falls? I would go to the Canadian side. Great Wolf Lodge would be great for those with little kids.

How active are the older folks in the group? How about Tennessee and rent a cabin, white water rafting, etc.?

I have a friend who goes to Callaway Gardens each summer. Georgia might be too far, but if there may be a similar place closer?
http://www.callawaygardens.com/

I live in Florida and one of my co-workers did a multi-generation trip to NC Outerbanks. They did some beautiful family pictures there.

There are so many choices, how far are you willing to travel?

Upper Peninsula Michigan ?
Maine?
New Hampshire?

I was recently looking at Christmas Farm Inn. It looks beautiful. Since I live in Florida, I am looking for non-beach vacations. http://christmasfarminn.com/

If you want a Florida Beach, but not Disney DESTIN Florida is a beautiful option. I use to live in Panama City as a kid (dad was stationed there) and I went there as an adult for the military school (that my dad ran as the commadant when I was a kid. LOL) and PCB while the white sand beach and water is beautiful, the hotel and surrounding areas built up are less than desirable. We went over to Destin and preferred the Destin area.

There is also aways St. Augustine.

 

[katyjeka]

I suggest Puerto Rico. We spent two weeks with extended family and enjoyed the island. Gatlinburg TN is fun and you'll find a lot of large beautiful cabins to rent. Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo is a must for any age. Carlsbad Caverns/White Sands National Monument make for a great vacation for anyone. All inclusive in the Caribbean is another option. St. Louis is a beautiful city with a lot for everyone as is Chicago. The biggest vacation surprise for us was Dearborn Michigan. The Henry Ford Museum was more fun than we ever imagined and we spent an entire day, Greenfield Village is also a day. Have fun deciding!!

 

[Hikergirl]

Sedona
Grand Canyon

 

[TwoMisfits]

Any ideas for a decent priced vacation for a large multi-generational family?

Here's the facts:

Family in SF Bay area, us in Southern California, Denver, Minneapolis and Sioux Falls

Ages will range from 1 to 66 (anywhere from 16-24 people)

FIL refuses Disney, aunt refuses cruising and I refuse Hawaii because it's just so darn expensive (Unless Southwest gets their act together and offers some sort of incredible fares. Right now it's difficult to get flights for under $500 RT PP)
Looking for next summer (2019)


Would love some thoughts and suggestions!

Okay, if you hate Vegas, DC/VA is another great trip idea that can be done inexpensively...3 airports to fly into and plenty of direct flights from everywhere, tons of free historical and natural sight-seeing sites (as well as other inexpensive fun places for many), cheap hotels and transport (especially on the VA side...also the availability of condos on this side), etc...

Mix history, nature, and fun for a great trip for all ages...

 

[Maddie2]

Have you thought about all meeting in the Black Hills? Maybe your Sioux Falls family has already been there? SO many fun things to do and places to stay!

 

[Lvsdisney]

Palm Springs is nice! There are some really nice boutique hotels. There are mountains and the Salton Sea so many outdoor activities.Lots of good restaurants.

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

Vancouver Island?

I LOVED Vancouver. Call me naive, but are they the same thing/same geographic location?

You could rent a big cabin in Whitefish, MT and go to Glacier. Yellowstone is wonderful too!

Looking into these! We did mountains last year so looking for something different but it's a possibility.

Locations that have been discussed on the boards lately is Niagara Falls, Vegas, and Myrtle Beach. I know you said no to Vegas, but what about Niagara Falls? I would go to the Canadian side. Great Wolf Lodge would be great for those with little kids.

How active are the older folks in the group? How about Tennessee and rent a cabin, white water rafting, etc.?

I have a friend who goes to Callaway Gardens each summer. Georgia might be too far, but if there may be a similar place closer?
http://www.callawaygardens.com/

I live in Florida and one of my co-workers did a multi-generation trip to NC Outerbanks. They did some beautiful family pictures there.

There are so many choices, how far are you willing to travel?

Upper Peninsula Michigan ?
Maine?
New Hampshire?

I was recently looking at Christmas Farm Inn. It looks beautiful. Since I live in Florida, I am looking for non-beach vacations. http://christmasfarminn.com/

If you want a Florida Beach, but not Disney DESTIN Florida is a beautiful option. I use to live in Panama City as a kid (dad was stationed there) and I went there as an adult for the military school (that my dad ran as the commadant when I was a kid. LOL) and PCB while the white sand beach and water is beautiful, the hotel and surrounding areas built up are less than desirable. We went over to Destin and preferred the Destin area.

There is also aways St. Augustine.

Vegas isn't out but it's at the bottom of the list just because DH and I find ourselves there fairly often.

How far we travel isn't really the issue. It's more the cost to get there. If we can get flights for under $350 per person it's on the list!

I'll definitely put the others on the list to research! Now that you mention all these places I've never thought about, it'd be great to just explore parts of the country that normally weren't on my list.

I suggest Puerto Rico. We spent two weeks with extended family and enjoyed the island. Gatlinburg TN is fun and you'll find a lot of large beautiful cabins to rent. Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo is a must for any age. Carlsbad Caverns/White Sands National Monument make for a great vacation for anyone. All inclusive in the Caribbean is another option. St. Louis is a beautiful city with a lot for everyone as is Chicago. The biggest vacation surprise for us was Dearborn Michigan. The Henry Ford Museum was more fun than we ever imagined and we spent an entire day, Greenfield Village is also a day. Have fun deciding!!

I looked at flights to the Caribbean and they're so pricey. But didn't look at Puerto Rico. I'll look into it. It's a place I'd love to visit!

As for the others, I'll look into them.

Sedona
Grand Canyon

LOVED Sedona with DH. May want to keep it a couple's destination but am open to sharing with the kids lol. Grand Canyon is something I haven't done since I was a young child. It is going on the list!

Okay, if you hate Vegas, DC/VA is another great trip idea that can be done inexpensively...3 airports to fly into and plenty of direct flights from everywhere, tons of free historical and natural sight-seeing sites (as well as other inexpensive fun places for many), cheap hotels and transport (especially on the VA side...also the availability of condos on this side), etc...

Mix history, nature, and fun for a great trip for all ages...

I don't hate Vegas. We love it actually! It's just that it wouldn't be new for our family. But it's on the list because it's cheap lol

And we are actually going to D.C. this July with MY parents. Too funny you mention it! I've been there 3 times and it is one of my favorite places to visit. Now that my boys are older we are taking them and can't wait!

Have you thought about all meeting in the Black Hills? Maybe your Sioux Falls family has already been there? SO many fun things to do and places to stay!

They all did Black Hills 3 years ago actually. It is on our immediate family's list for the next couple of years to visit DH's other grandma that is moving back there in March.

Palm Springs is nice! There are some really nice boutique hotels. There are mountains and the Salton Sea so many outdoor activities.Lots of good restaurants.

We all did Palm Springs 7 years ago. It's a day trip for us (which I'm not opposed to) but isn't something at the top of our list. And Palm Springs in the summer, ugh. 115 degrees is the norm!

Thank you for all of the great suggestions everyone! I'm compiling a list to see what the others would think.

 

[kathy884]

We are doing a multigenerational trip this coming June in Sedona, Arizona. We have three condos rented that are next to each other. The condo resort has swimming (indoor and outdoor pool and hot tub, tennis, game room, etc.) There is great hiking in the area that many will do. Some of us will just do easier family friendly hiking and others will do more challenging hikes. June is a little late for hiking, so morning and shaded hikes are best -- April / Sept. are perfect. We will do a 1/2 day trip to nearby Indian ruins (40 minutes away), a 1/2 day trip to Jerome (40 minutes away). And as some have not been to the Grand Canyon before mid week we will do one very full day trip there and back (doable for sure). There is lots to do right in Sedona and it is such a stunning place.

We have done extended family trips here before and it is one of our favorite places for this. It's exotic enough and so beautiful that everyone wants to come, but so much less expensive than Orlando (the theme park tickets are the culprit), cruise -- we've done this a few times too, Mexico (high airfares - we did this once with an extended family group - very fun, but not cheap). For Sedona, family from Idaho and San Diego, California will drive. Those from Orlando, St. Louis, and Valparaiso will fly in and out of either Phoenix (closest - two hours away) or Vegas (the Orlando and Chicago group are doing a few days in Vegas before coming to Sedona so are flying into Vegas and out of Phoenix). Round trip air is just 1/2 the cost of flying to Mexico, about the same or maybe a little higher than flying to Orlando.

I think Las Vegas is expensive -- $30 pp for all the one hour attractions (aquarium, coaster, gardens, etc. - easy to do three of these a day), great, but expensive shows that easily can run over $100 pp). Some say it's inexpensive, as they just walk around and look at the hotels. That's OK, but not my idea of a great vacation. The themed hotels aren't all that interesting. I like the looking at the Disney deluxe hotels more for sure. As a non gambler I get bored with Vegas pretty fast. I'm not a shopper either. That's just me, though. Many love Las Vegas.

 

[Runnergal]

Dominican Republic? Too far? I suggest it because we did a spring break trip with 7 other families from dc's school last year -I think there were 40 of us total-and it was great. We stayed at Paradisus Punta Cana. All inclusive was so easy with lots of people, and we were able to negotiate some perks since we were such a large group. I think it might be little cheaper to fly there in the summer.

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

We are doing a multigenerational trip this coming June in Sedona, Arizona. We have three condos rented that are next to each other. The condo resort has swimming (indoor and outdoor pool and hot tub, tennis, game room, etc.) There is great hiking in the area that many will do. Some of us will just do easier family friendly hiking and others will do more challenging hikes. June is a little late for hiking, so morning and shaded hikes are best -- April / Sept. are perfect. We will do a 1/2 day trip to nearby Indian ruins (40 minutes away), a 1/2 day trip to Jerome (40 minutes away). And as some have not been to the Grand Canyon before mid week we will do one very full day trip there and back (doable for sure). There is lots to do right in Sedona and it is such a stunning place.

We have done extended family trips here before and it is one of our favorite places for this. It's exotic enough and so beautiful that everyone wants to come, but so much less expensive than Orlando (the theme park tickets are the culprit), cruise -- we've done this a few times too, Mexico (high airfares - we did this once with an extended family group - very fun, but not cheap). For Sedona, family from Idaho and San Diego, California will drive. Those from Orlando, St. Louis, and Valparaiso will fly in and out of either Phoenix (closest - two hours away) or Vegas (the Orlando and Chicago group are doing a few days in Vegas before coming to Sedona so are flying into Vegas and out of Phoenix). Round trip air is just 1/2 the cost of flying to Mexico, about the same or maybe a little higher than flying to Orlando.

I think Las Vegas is expensive -- $30 pp for all the one hour attractions (aquarium, coaster, gardens, etc. - easy to do three of these a day), great, but expensive shows that easily can run over $100 pp). Some say it's inexpensive, as they just walk around and look at the hotels. That's OK, but not my idea of a great vacation. The themed hotels aren't all that interesting. I like the looking at the Disney deluxe hotels more for sure. As a non gambler I get bored with Vegas pretty fast. I'm not a shopper either. That's just me, though. Many love Las Vegas.

We LOVE Sedona (DH and I at least). I'm definitely considering it. The only thing keeping me from suggesting it is I'm selfish and I secretly want to keep it for DH and I With the 5 of us, we'd drive. Nor Cal family may fly. Denver family may do either. And Minnesota/South Dakota family would probably fly.

We're an easy family to please. Just being together is truly enough for us. We may do an activity a day if we were to go to Vegas. But just hanging out at the pool, going hiking etc. that's enough for us. But Vegas in July/August SO hot! We went to Sedona in July and it was about 15 degrees cooler than it was in Phoenix. It's on our list - if I'm willing to share

Dominican Republic? Too far? I suggest it because we did a spring break trip with 7 other families from dc's school last year -I think there were 40 of us total-and it was great. We stayed at Paradisus Punta Cana. All inclusive was so easy with lots of people, and we were able to negotiate some perks since we were such a large group. I think it might be little cheaper to fly there in the summer.

I have no problem with traveling and neither does anyone else. It's mostly the cost. Ideally I'd like to stay under $350 RT per person. If there are flights for that price I'm all for trying out the Dominican Republic! Punta Cana looks like a lot of fun.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

JMHO, I would gladly pay $500 to fly to HI.
From the east coast, it's more like $900 and ridiculously long.

I haven't heard much on the news about how some of the Caribbean islands are doing now after all the hurricane damage. I know Turks and Caicos was hit pretty bad and also St. Maarten/Martin. A few years ago we looked into fares for flying directly to an island instead of cruising and flights were around $600 pp. Chances are HI would still be cheaper for you. St. Thomas and St. John are beautiful. Lovely beaches & warm water. Since they're USVI, no passports needed IIRC.