Vacation Ideas...NO Disney

[elmo2wdw]

I need some help...my family wants to go on a non-Disney vacation this year. We live in PA but I was thinking out west or the carribean. We are a family of 5 and my kids are DS14, DS 11 and DS 6. I would love some suggestions. I was thinking an all-inclusive if we go to the carribean. My budget is $8000 - $10000 for everything.

Thanks!

 

[bicker]

Go hiking on St. John USVI.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

Totally different than an all inclusive beach resort, but Yellowstone/Grand Tetons makes a wonderful family trip.

 

[kacaju]

how do your kids like nature type things?
We did 1 day in Vegas and then drove to the Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon, Bryce and Zion National Parks when our kids were about your kids ages. My girls LOVED it, but then my girls love nature type things.
We had a wonderful time and would do it again.

 

[eliza61]

Totally different than an all inclusive beach resort, but Yellowstone/Grand Tetons makes a wonderful family trip.

2nd. We're heading there for the first time this summer.

 

[golfgal]

Europe somewhere
Cruise
I like the National Park idea
San Diego/California
Hawaii
Banff, Alberta, Canada

 

[hercamore]

I also suggest doing a Western National Parks trip. Just stunning.


herc.

 

[Ilivetogo]

Our family went on a cruise to Alaska and it was AMAZING. The kids have been having "cruise dreams" ever since because they had such a good time. Wouldn't have to be to Alaska, but a cruise is really awesome.

 

[bitohoney]

The non-Disney places I've been (really hard NOT to go to Disney)
1. Smokey Mountains/Gatlinburg, TN Stayed in a beautiful log cabin.
2. Universal Studios Hollywood
3. Universal Studios Orlando

Non-Disney places I'd like to go
1. Myrtle Beach, SC
2. Daytona Beach
3. Busch Gardens, VA and FL
4. Cedar Point, OH
5. Grand Canyon
6. San Diego
7. San Antonio
8. Atlantis Resort, Jamaica
9. Disney Cruise (ok so it's Disney but it's not the parks)
10. Cape Cod, MA Never been and I live in MA

Maybe this will help you?!

 

[cntrygal]

I know you said no disney but what about one of those adventures by disney trips.

ETA if you book by the by fri you get a free 3 day disney cruise!!

 

[Darcy03231]

If you decide on an all inclusive in the carribean I highly recommend the Iberostar resort chain. We've stayed in several and never been disappointed. My kids always have a great time! Their preference for area is the Mexican Rivieria.

 

[puffkin]

Well, we are in PA too and I am currently planning a weekend getaway to Washington DC for DH and I. I have never been there (ridiculous I know). Absolutely amazed at how much there is to do there, and most of it is FREE!

But, with your kind of budget my dream is to go somewhere to do a Zipline through the rain forest. I just think that looks so fun! Have you thought about an Adventure by Disney trip? I know there are some good deals with kids being free and there are some Central America itineraries.

Another option would be to do a Caribbean cruise or maybe even a Panama Canal cruise and see a bunch of the islands.

 

[JessicaR]

Look into Costa Rica. There is something for the entire family and the area is magnificent!
Paradisus Playa Conchal
http://www.paradisus-playa-conchal.com/

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...hal-Playa_Conchal_Province_of_Guanacaste.html

 

[AndreaDM]

Our family of 5 went to Puerto Rico last August and we loved it! We have 3 daughters who were 20, 17 and 6 at the time and there was so much for all of us to do. We rented a house with a pool for $750 for the week! Flights from Ohio were around $300 each and we did 2 big excursions, snorkeling ($60 per person and included lunch) and kayaking ($40 per person). Other than that, the only money we spent was on food and we ate at the house a lot since we had a grill, etc. Free stuff we did was walk around Old San Juan (toured the forts for $5 or so), go to the beaches and hiked the rain forest. Bonus, since it's a US territory we didn't need passports and it was nice to be able to us our money and not have to worry about converting it. If you'd be interested, I could give you a lot of more specific info.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

I've been to both the Caribbean and out west, both make excellent family vacation spots. If you go Caribbean, I wouldn't go to an all inclusive resort as that would tie you down to one spot and, as much fun as playing on a beach in a beautiful locale can be, it wears thin after a few days. I would suggest a cruise. There is no better vacation with kids (well, maybe Disney). They have excellent children's programs, good food, and you'll be able to enjoy a variety of fascinating locations.

However, all that being said, I'm going to put a vote in for going out west. I took a 17 day road trip with my husband this last fall and it was amazing. The variety of things you can see, and expose your kids to, is pretty much unbelievable. You could spend a month in Utah alone!

Our trip included: the Badlands, Mt. Rushmore, Wind Cave, Crazy Horse, Jewel Cave, Devils Tower, the Bighorn Mountains, Bighorn Canyon (a little out of the way spot that really is not to be missed), 3 days in Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, Grand Staircase Escalante, Capitol Reef, Bryce, Zion, a number of Utah state parks (which are seriously cool, by the way, Utah knows how to do state parks), the Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon, and Mesa Verde. We didn't get to do everything on our list either, we have to go back for Arches and the whole Moab area.

You can get an America the Beautiful pass and that gets you entrance to all the national parks. It lasts a full year and we'll be using ours again this spring when we go to Kentucky. Your budget would allow for you to stay in local hotels, but alternatively you could think about renting an RV and "camping" to a certain extent.

Here's the website of a road tripping family that we read for inspiration when planning our own adventure:

http://www.cross-country-trips.com/

 

[lovespring]

The non-Disney places I've been (really hard NOT to go to Disney)
1. Smokey Mountains/Gatlinburg, TN Stayed in a beautiful log cabin.
2. Universal Studios Hollywood
3. Universal Studios Orlando

Non-Disney places I'd like to go
1. Myrtle Beach, SC
2. Daytona Beach
3. Busch Gardens, VA and FL
4. Cedar Point, OH
5. Grand Canyon
6. San Diego
7. San Antonio
8. Atlantis Resort, Jamaica
9. Disney Cruise (ok so it's Disney but it's not the parks)
10. Cape Cod, MA Never been and I live in MA

Maybe this will help you?!

I like Myrtle Beach, SC...

 

[kristilew]

I know you said no disney but what about one of those adventures by disney trips.

ETA if you book by the by fri you get a free 3 day disney cruise!!

We've done two ABDs. They are way over OPs stated budget for a family of five. But, OP, if you're willing to raise your budget, they're awesome. Check out the ABD board on the Dis to learn more.

Last year, before our Southwest Splendors ABD, we spent several days in Sedona, AZ. That was an awesome family vacation spot, we'd love to go back.

Charleston, SC combines a lot of fun things in one place: history touring, outdoor adventure activities, relaxed pampering, shopping, great food. We're headed back there for spring break this year.

 

[robinb]

What about Hawaii? You can rent a 2-bedroom condo somewhere and snorkel and boogie board the days away. The Big Island also has an active volcano and you can snorkel with HUGE Manta Rays at night. IIRC we did it with this company: http://www.fair-wind.com/hula-kai/manta-dive-hawaii and your 6-year old can also participate.

We had a discount card that cut the price a bit.

 

[mom2travel]

Our kids are 10 and 14. Here are some things we've done and some on our to-do list...

Beaches all-inclusive Turks & Caicos
Hawaii
Cruise - Caribbean or Alaska
Grand Canyon (we're doing AZ/CA trip)
Costa Rica
Ireland
Canada - Banff, Vancouver, Victoria
Coast trip from N. Cali, Oregon, WA state
London

 

[czycropper]

Even though we like Disney, my Dh wants us to have vacation that our DDs actually see some of the country/world as opposed to only going to WDW, here are some of the places we've gone and loved!

USA
Colorado - took 10 days, flew into Denver, spent some time there and then rented a minivan and drove to Colorado Springs (went up Pike's Peak), then to the Rocky Mountain National Park from beginning to end-stayed at hotels on both ends. It was great. It was about $6,000 for the 4 of us but we really stayed at high end hotels, I'm sure it can be done for cheaper.

East Coast Lighthouses - yep, we drove from NJ down to SC and visited every lighthouse in between. It was off-main roads (I-95) and we had a great time. We mostly stayed in B&B and then rented a house in the Outer Banks for a week in mid-August and it was very reasonable since most of the schools down there are back in school at that time.

Other Florida
Flew to Tampa from Newark-rented a car and drove up and down the west coast of Florida.

Thrill-ride
Drove to all the amuseparks in NJ & PA for 8 days.

NY, Philadelphia, & DC - started in NY (stayed in the City for a couple of nights) and did all the historical aspects of the City; drove to Philli and toured Center City & the Museums; then finished off by spending a few days down in DC.

International
Riviera Maya
Puerto Rico - stayed in Fajardo and did mostly water activities, ie. snorkeling trip, sailing trip, went to the phosphorecent bay, as well as going into Old San Juan for a day
Tortola & Virgin Gorda- again all water actvities

Trips planned:
Ecuador & Galapagos - during this Spring Break
Spain
London & Finland - to visit my college roommate & friends

Have fun planning something! Update as to what you decide!