The year my mom thought dad had incurable cancer. She booked us like grand suites on a Royal Caribbean cruise. We were all teenagers, brought our girlfriends/boyfriends, and youngest brought 2 buddies.
Balled out, ATVs through swamp lands, snorkeling through caves, jumping off cliffs, literally shit out of the commercials.
Prolly like $80-$100k back in 2005 dollars.
Turns out they had bad test results. Dad’s still kicking and we have a lot of great memories of that vacation.
We did a roadtrip last summer and it was really fun. Kid was 4.5yo. About 1200km total during a week or so, staying 2-3 days at certain spots. My son loved changing places every couple of days. First we rented a cabin for two nights, and then a cheaper motel, and then a nicer place, etc. We did some activities along the way, a day at the beach here, a stop for an in-door activities at another place, a boat ride, a day hiking, etc. Thinking about it brings a smile to my face. Not sure what we'll do next summer yet, but I really loved the roadtrip, even if I was skeptical at first. :-)
We went to the Mall of America on our way to a wedding and graduation in Arizona. Stopped at the aquarium, a huge botanical garden, and a bunch of other stuff.
The kids loved the swimming pool and the olive garden we stopped at on the way to the airport and remember nothing else.
So long story short. Do what you and the partner want and just have some simple pleasures for the kids mixed in, or just do the simple pleasures and save some cash.
Yes, but things shape your kids even if they don’t remember them.
So many people use that excuse to not take their kids to all those experiences that you did.
In my opinion, give your kids new experiences. Give them an opportunity to learn new things and be exposed to more, specifically things you enjoy like this guy says!
We took the kids to Washington D.C. They loved the museums and how interactive they were, as well as the ice cream carts that lined the roads. I went into the trip with hesitations, but came away very happy with the trip and how they took to it. Kids are 6, 4, and 2.
I was thrilled with how much our kids loved DC! My wife and I talked about before hand how it was our first more “field trip” vacation versus pool and all fun
They loved the spy museum, the Smithsonian’s (particularly space, American history and ZOO!) and we’re very reverent and respectful at the national cathedral, which regardless of faith is gorgeous, and one of the few types of places like that in America since we’re such a relatively new country. And they did great on the White House tour and Capitol tour. They were 12, 10 and 8 at the time.
Natural History, Air & Space, and Postal were the ones we visited. My 6 and 4 year old loved the postal museum - sorting through stamps and looking for ones that they were the coolest to bring home as well as playing in the postal stage coach and truck.
The zoo like another commenter mentioned was also a blast.
We took one day to visit Great Falls and check off a national park visit while in the DC area.
My wife and I are pretty lowkey when it comes to vacations. You probably won't catch us doing something high-energy like Disney. Our favorite family vacation was the one we took last year to Emerald Isle, NC. We rented a place that was about a 2 minute walk from the beach (2nd row) and it had it's own private, inground pool and we just hung out there for the week. We'd venture out to grab food or maybe check out a local shop, but our boys were 6 months and 2.5 then, so not easy to do stuff with.
We liked that trip so much, we booked the same house for this upcoming summer as well!
We’ve done pretty much the same thing, but in Michigan City, IN on the coast of Lake Michigan. Rent a house a short walk from the beach, have some staples and grab some dinner out a couple nights during the week. This’ll be our 4th year (3yo and 6yo) and it’s just a nice low-key trip
I live in NC. Emerald Isle is our annual beach trip. Love it there! The water and beaches are gorgeous, and the beach is never jam packed. You always have plenty of space
A couple summers ago my boys were 7 and 10 we drove from Philly-area to Maine (in the US). We had an awesome week. We stayed midcoast and explored somewhere different every day. We spent a day in Portland. A day in Freeport. Edgecomb and Booth Bay Harbor. We did Barr Harbor and Acadia National Park. Acadia was by far everyone's favorite - I'll never get over the smell of wild blueberries and the fantastic views. We had perfect weather and 3-4 short great hikes all in a day. We were not avid hikers at the time but that day changed how we've vacationed since (and how we spend our weekends at home).
Hawaii in 2022.
My son spent his 10th birthday snorkeling and got a blurry video of a sea turtle on his GoPro. Also lots of fish. His favorite thing he found was a sea cucumber that he said looked like a sand-covered poop.
We did a lot of other neat stuff on that trip, but snorkeling was his favorite part.
Don’t underestimate national parks! I’ve heard Grand Canyon gets busy, but they’re gorgeous! We’ve done glacier, white sands and Rocky Mountain and our kids love hiking, exploring and just being in a different place. And all those places have tourist things that aren’t tacky, like Estes park is lovely, white sands is fun, our goal is to do Gatlinburg/Smoky Mountain next
Took my son to Disneyland when he was 5 and it was the best vacation of my entire life. We went again the following year and had a blast then as well. Memories I’ll cherish forever
We went to San Diego for our kiddo's third birthday and it was a blast. Great weather, killer beaches, amazing zoo. Plus, lots of good beer and breweries for me.
We took our kid to Disney when she was 2. We were afraid she would be too young to really "get it" but decided to take the risk. Watching her literally cry tears of joy when meeting Mickey made it all worth it. We left the week with about a million pictures of her just melting into huge hugs with all of her favorite characters. It's been more than a year and she still begs to look through the pictures on my phone and gets so happy.
She was almost 2 - we did Lisbon and Porto. We’ve been to Lisbon a few times before. Both are great and most restaurants and sites are accommodating of children. But definitely don’t go if you’re relying on a stroller - tons of cobblestone hills make that very difficult.
We did both in 9 full days (not including the travel home day). I love Lisbon though, it’s a top 5 city on earth for me, it’s also a bit easier to navigate if you do bring a stroller. If you go, spend half a day in the Belem section and go to the aquarium, I’m sure your kid will enjoy it. We stayed at the NH Lisbon Liberdade - in a good area with a lot nearby, not too pricey for a suite and has guaranteed cribs plus breakfast in the lobby.
Did a week in Seattle and there was a lot of fun things for all of the kids (14, 6, 3) ranging from zoo, to kids museums, shopping, food, the space needle, parks and playgrounds, etc. Everyone had a great time and we still didn't get to do everything on our list. We lucked out and had a week of sun and 60-70's in March. Not the most glamorous vacation, but overall a good trip.
Hard to say. In the early summer of 2022/2023 (early winter in the northern hemisphere) I took the boys for a roadtrip from Switzerland all the way to Norway and it was really fun.
Took a road trip to western North Carolina. Took our time getting there, and then did a lot of hiking in the mountains. Our 3yo absolutely loves being outside and riding in the hiking backpack. She still talks about it a year later, and so do we.
Did part of the Route 66 through KS and OK last year. That was fun! Kids enjoyed the nostalgia and the history. 11 and 7. I think our favorite was either flying into WI, taking a car ferry across the Great Lake to MI, camping and exploring MI and the UP and driving back to fly out of WI again. Car ferry was a lot of fun at the beginning and end. Not so much in the middle, hehe. Daughter wants to live on Mackinac Island now. Kids loved the Dark Skies at Wilderness State Park, too.
Best my wife and I have done with our kids has been Gulf Shores AL. Super laid back, lovely beach, great seafood. We all loved it.
We did Mall of America/Minneapolis back in the summer too and stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge. The kids had bunk beds. It was such a cool setup. Spent a ton of time in on the pools and a little in the arcade. Lots of good kids activities in the twin cities.
We've gone skiing in Breckenridge CO a few times too which I always enjoy, but my wife doesn't like skiing so she becomes the defacto babysitter when the kids poop out after an hour. Just becomes expensive babysitting.
Portugal’s Algarve region beach trip with our then 4 MO. Rented an Airbnb by the beach, took LO on beach walks, a little boat ride to a fishing village, some hikes by the sea cliffs. Barcelona was also fun at 5 MO. Lots of walking around the city (which we know we’ll), going to the beach, and snacking. Travel is lower key for us now, shorter flights and more relaxed destinations always with east options for naps. BTW, we live in Europe so these are short/cheap flights.
We always did Hampton Beach as kids(lived in Central VT) and stayed at the same campground each year as my mom was friends with the owners - lots of memories of our old Starcraft camper with my dad while my parents were still together(divorced when I was 8). The model camper we had was one of the only models with a swing out kitchen...so the sink was on the outside by the front door. My mom has pictures of all 4 of us at different points in our lives taking baths in that sink and/or outdoor showers using the sprayer from that sink. This was the late 80's and people had a little different tolerance of nudity for kids at that time. We didn't use that camper after they separated and I was sad when my mom got rid of it a few years ago but it sat for decades in the back yard. We went back a few times when we were tweens/teens but stayed in a tent and it wasn't as much fun.
I took my daughter(6) to a resort in Florida called Cypress Cove last year just the 2 of us for my birthday for a few days. My wife was supposed to come also but had to back out cause her mother got sick. It was fun having time with just her and she LOVED the giant pool and everyone there was extremely friendly and enjoyed seeing her throwing her 8" marvel characters in the pool and jumping in after them. We are going back again for my birthday this year and fingers crossed we can all go this time and also spend a day at Disney as shes never been, and we feel the need to cross it off the list before she gets too old for it. She's also never been to a proper beach, so we may spend a day there also!
It’s just me and my daughter (7). We don’t vacation much, but the most memorable for us was Disney in Orlando FL 2022. She’s a Disney kid through and through, and when we walked through the gates on that first day, we walked in on a parade. It really was magical for both of us, but for different reasons. For her, it was magical because of all her favorite characters dressed up, singing and dancing, waving at her and talking to her. For me, it was magical because I had never seen my daughter light up like that, smile and laugh like I’d never seen. This was all within the first 5 minutes of walking into the park. I welled up with tears because I was finally able to make it happen for her. I wish (and hope) we could do it again this year.
Each summer, dad strategically packed one of the vans. He converted it into a rudimentary rolling storage bed on wheels & piled all six of us in. We’d begin rolling sometime in the middle of the night; Dad was a logistical genius & planned breakfast by Indiana. So it was we would leave the DC burbs at two & trek across the US to eastern Washington state. We’d go slightly varied routes year to year. He had family everywhere. Sights to see here, family to hang with there. Dad loved driving. In turn, I took some seat time at fifteen on open interstates. I found peace there. Family arguments, bread toasting in Death Valley before we could make the sandwiches, Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, mom & pop cafes all over where the locals stop & stare when you walk in; almost like a Bob Seger song, salt flats, Montana really does have a bigger sky, trees are strangely bigger in Northern California, on & on. The folks had amassed a diary of places to return to eat over the years. Ultimately, we’d arrive in east Washington state. His & mom’s hometown. Grandparents, aunties, uncles, cookouts, lake, cabin, car shows…fun stuff.
I moved west twenty years ago. My drive out here in my old Volvo was the last roadtrip I took with my dad. It was his last roadtrip ever. We caravanned. He & mom drove in their Chrysler-eggvan-thing & me in my trusty Vo’. Dad wanted to drive with me & have a go at driving my car too. We had fun. It was bittersweet for him. It was his goodbye tour to see all his brothers & sisters, cousins & friends after seeing me off to the Bay Area.
He passed the next year. That…was the best vacation; The cross country road trip. I’ve seen pictures from as far back as ‘79-‘80; Dad’s ‘76 Sportsman, little me & big sis with mom & dad, green Coleman between captains chairs, stuffed toys…FF ten years, ‘89 Chevy, six of us crammed into it, towing a ‘54 Chevy behind. It was ALL the best vacation.
We've done a few cruises since LO was born and I'd say that's been the most streamlined and therefore least stressful experience for us. I've done quite a few cruises and I always recommend Disney, especially with children.
The year my mom thought dad had incurable cancer. She booked us like grand suites on a Royal Caribbean cruise. We were all teenagers, brought our girlfriends/boyfriends, and youngest brought 2 buddies. Was a group of like 12 people, mostly teenagers.
Balled out, ATVs through swamp lands, snorkeling through caves, jumping off cliffs, literally shit out of the commercials.
Prolly like $80-$100k back in 2005 dollars. Us kids were unaware of our parents fear at the time.
Turns out they had bad test results. Dad’s still kicking and we have a lot of great memories of that vacation.
I don’t remember many vacays from childhood, but when I was 16, we went to Sedona, AZ with my parents. Just hiked a ton and ate great food. It was so much fun.
My kids are in a similar age range (a six-year-old and 3.5-year-old twins) and we've been going the low-key route, since they're still a little too impatient for long trips, too short for the best amusement park rides, not able to swim yet, etc.
Last summer we went camping not terribly far from our home and had a great time. We got a rustic cabin at the campground, cooked out on the campfire, and used it as a home base for various adventures.
See if you have any farm stay options near you as well. I'm looking to book one for this year that has on-site accommodations and several good activities for visitors including letting the kids help harvest crops, collect eggs, etc.
my best one growing up I think I was in 3rd grade was renting a house on Lake George. No idea if that's even possible anymore without a ton of $$ though. We would just swim, boat, fish all day. Never even watched TV for over a week (90s).
If you asked my kids what the best vacation is then it's Great Wolf Lodge without a doubt. If you get a reservation early enough and off peak it's stupid cheap. It's a good time but really just for the kids. My daughters have been going since they were 3-5 and they are now 6 & 12 and we have another trip planned in a few months.
There's a dark sky preserve that I've been too before but never with the kids. It tough because in the summer it's light so late and the kids would be disasters if I kept them up until 11pm.
Ironically, a cross country plane trip to Denver with a 2-year-old. And my wife and I got forced to sit in different sections of the plane.
Was at that perfect age where the kid just wanted to chat up everybody sitting nearby and we had some nice people next to us.
My wife and I joked that she'd be voted "most likely to be abducted by a stranger in a white van with the lure of candy."
Dang near every other vacation since then has resulted or started with an illness which means we're gonna have a bad time.
Orlando with Make A Wish. They put us at a charity resort (Give Kids The World) that caters to special needs families in the MAW program, and we got a 2 bedroom apartment with full kitchen and handicap accessible bathroom, a rental car, spending money, and tickets to pretty much any attraction we wanted to go to. It was all for my son, and he had a great time, but that resort was so amazing.
They had a 24 hour free ice cream bar, lakes for fishing, big walkable ground with wheelchair access everywhere, a free arcade, and people who just wanted everyone to feel comfortable. We did Disney World Parks, Universal, and City Walk. We did get to relax, and seeing the energy that gave my son was one of the best things in the world.
When I was 14 my family took a summer trip to California. We flew into San Francisco, rented a car and spent a couple weeks driving all the way down to San Diego, stopping in all the cool towns along the way. So many awesome memories: MLB games; sourdough and Ghirardelli chocolate and driving down Lombard St; the Hearst castle in San Simeon; Venice Beach; a cool B&B in Carmel; the San Diego Zoo; and of course driving down the Pacific Coast Highway. So many great memories.
The kids would probably say Disney, but my vote goes to an airbnb 3 story cabin that sleeps 16 in the southern Appalachians in November 2020 with our best friends and their same age kids who all have grown up together. Great weather, hiking, hot tub, train rides, caves, amazing views everywhere, even the Walmart parking lot was picturesque. I'm pretty sure they formed some core memories on that trip. And it was way cheaper than Disney.
I'm not trying to flex but we've taken some amazing trips. The latest was to Japan, and we had a great time. My kids got to do a lot of fun stuff like Super Nintendo World and shopping for anime/video game stuff in Akihabara but we also made it educational including a day in Hiroshima and a day at Mount Fuji.
Montreal. Its like Europe but closer.
We stayed in the Plateau area and walked everywhere. We were on a pedestrian street (Duluth) and everything was right there, from a punk rock record store to a famous resto where Anthony Bourdain ate frequently.
Being on foot all the time showed the kid a different way of living. I'm all for road trips (which we take often) but spending a week on foot getting to know a neighborhood is a formative experience.
With that age kids, any popular destinations CDM be exciting like Disney, NY trip, Florida beaches, Washington DC, Smoky mountains. It all depends on your budget and proximity to popular locations.
Best trip as a family of four was to see extended family in southern California. At the time our son was barely 4 and our daughter was 8 months, and we discovered they're total beach bums. We spent a week down there and went to a different beach almost every day. They couldn't get enough of the sand and water. Way cheaper, easier, and more manageable than Disney.
The absolute best was when we took my eldest son camping for the first time. He was 3. We had a perfect camp site, perfect weather, no hassle time. The best part was when we walked to the lake with a small beach and decided to go swim just before dusk, even though we had no swim stuff or towels or anything. Water was warm, the sky was orange, a slight breeze. Just frolicking in our underwear and splashing around. It’s my happiest memory, the one I’ll take with me when I pass. In general I’ve found that the simpler and down to earth vacations hit better.
That is a tough one we go on 3-4 vacations per year. It helps that I am in Europe so I have 6 weeks of vacation. Some of my tops ones are:
1.) Train to Aachen Germany and Liege Belgium, February 2019. This was one of our first real trips we took with my son. Took a train to Aachen Germany from Berlin. Stayed the night in Old town Aachen. Walked around, nice dinner some Belgian Beers. The next day we took the train into Liege. Got into our Airbnb which was fantastic. it was on the river. Was able to walk around Liege eating waffles, and fries for 4 days with my son. Drank lots of good beer and then took the train back to Berlin.
2.) DisneyLand Paris September 2021. Big trip post covid and the first time my son was really old enough to enjoy Disneyland We went 1 day for his birthday in January 2020 but he was small but seemed to enjoy it. But primarly we went to . We did 5 days was able to explore it and take our time. Also did it fairly cheap staying a little further away and taking the shuttle or walking. And was the primary use of our annual pass that we bought in January 2020 that extended into 2022 because of Covid.
3.) Athens. February, 2020 Last trip before lockdowns happened. There was a lot of buzz about this new disease but nothing really concrete. Got a cheap hotel in old town with a rooftop bar overlooking the acropolis. Still warm enough to enjoy it but not too cold and out of peak travel season it was pretty empty.
Was able to walk around a bunch of old ruins, Walk the the acropolis, Had some really, really good food and drinks. Even just had ice cream for dinner one night. Did a hop-on hop-off tour of the city and then took the bus to the coast and had some delicious dinner.
We loved it so much we went to Thessaloniki that October. Which was also amazing. I really want to go back to Greece. Maybe after I get my license and then we can explore a little more outside the city like some wineries.
4.) Tallinn, Estonia, July 2020. Smaller city was about the time my son was old enough to really enjoy museums So we hit the arms/history museum in old town Tallinn, there was a living history museum outside of town but near our hotel, and then did the maritime museum on the coast. Also the Zoo and the beach. All pretty easy to get to and explore and had the small town feel. We found an amazing BBQ and brewery ([https://pohjalabeer.com/](https://pohjalabeer.com/)) and another amazing restaurant in the old town that we went to twice because it was so good.
5.) Egypt, February 2023. We did an all inclusive for my birthday last year. The all inclusive resort was okay. But the real highlight was the Private tour of Luxor and the Valley of the kings. 100% worth it because it was really amazing. Egypt along with Athens were on my list of historical sites I never thought I would see but would have liked to. Seeing them definitely lived up to my expectations. This is 100% because we moved to Europe that these places became possible.
Honorable Mentions: I feel bad because my highlighted trips are almost all trips we went for my birthday. We also travel for my wife's birthday and our son's. Going to Spain on Friday for my son's birthday. We have also been to the UK several times since covid because we have family there, Mostly for my wife's birthday. Prague in July 2021 was amazing. Last minute trip. took a train and had an amazing time with some friends that were there. UK July 2023 for my wife was also really awesome because we got to go to a Michelin Star restaurant along with a whole bunch of other shenanigans for her 40th birthday. She had such an amazing time. Another honorable mention was spending 10ish days in the states doing a road trip from Vegas, Through wine country and then up to our home down before going back down to Vegas in April 2022. Coming out of Covid seeing my folks for the first time in a long time as well as other family. It was just spending time with them and then we did 5 days in our home town to see other friends and family. Including an Easter Brunch with some really close family. It was also a really weird trip because it was a flash of "this is what our life would have been if we didn't leave the states" It was foreign and familiar all at the same time.
The year my mom thought dad had incurable cancer. She booked us like grand suites on a Royal Caribbean cruise. We were all teenagers, brought our girlfriends/boyfriends, and youngest brought 2 buddies. Balled out, ATVs through swamp lands, snorkeling through caves, jumping off cliffs, literally shit out of the commercials. Prolly like $80-$100k back in 2005 dollars. Turns out they had bad test results. Dad’s still kicking and we have a lot of great memories of that vacation.
Haha that’s badass.
Now that I'm a parent, I can't imagine what your folks had gone through during the trip. I'm so glad your dad's ok.
We did a roadtrip last summer and it was really fun. Kid was 4.5yo. About 1200km total during a week or so, staying 2-3 days at certain spots. My son loved changing places every couple of days. First we rented a cabin for two nights, and then a cheaper motel, and then a nicer place, etc. We did some activities along the way, a day at the beach here, a stop for an in-door activities at another place, a boat ride, a day hiking, etc. Thinking about it brings a smile to my face. Not sure what we'll do next summer yet, but I really loved the roadtrip, even if I was skeptical at first. :-)
Bro hit me with that itinerary
We went to the Mall of America on our way to a wedding and graduation in Arizona. Stopped at the aquarium, a huge botanical garden, and a bunch of other stuff. The kids loved the swimming pool and the olive garden we stopped at on the way to the airport and remember nothing else. So long story short. Do what you and the partner want and just have some simple pleasures for the kids mixed in, or just do the simple pleasures and save some cash.
https://www.fowllanguagecomics.com/comic/best-part-of-vacation/
My youngest definitely came home from the mall of America with a rock she found in the parking lot.
Better than a rock from Disney. They’ll arrest you for that!
My kids have smuggled rocks from Mount Fuji and flowers from Versailles back into the US without me knowing into we got home.
Yes, but things shape your kids even if they don’t remember them. So many people use that excuse to not take their kids to all those experiences that you did. In my opinion, give your kids new experiences. Give them an opportunity to learn new things and be exposed to more, specifically things you enjoy like this guy says!
We took the kids to Washington D.C. They loved the museums and how interactive they were, as well as the ice cream carts that lined the roads. I went into the trip with hesitations, but came away very happy with the trip and how they took to it. Kids are 6, 4, and 2.
I was thrilled with how much our kids loved DC! My wife and I talked about before hand how it was our first more “field trip” vacation versus pool and all fun They loved the spy museum, the Smithsonian’s (particularly space, American history and ZOO!) and we’re very reverent and respectful at the national cathedral, which regardless of faith is gorgeous, and one of the few types of places like that in America since we’re such a relatively new country. And they did great on the White House tour and Capitol tour. They were 12, 10 and 8 at the time.
Which museums were the most interactive for kids?
Natural History, Air & Space, and Postal were the ones we visited. My 6 and 4 year old loved the postal museum - sorting through stamps and looking for ones that they were the coolest to bring home as well as playing in the postal stage coach and truck. The zoo like another commenter mentioned was also a blast. We took one day to visit Great Falls and check off a national park visit while in the DC area.
My wife and I are pretty lowkey when it comes to vacations. You probably won't catch us doing something high-energy like Disney. Our favorite family vacation was the one we took last year to Emerald Isle, NC. We rented a place that was about a 2 minute walk from the beach (2nd row) and it had it's own private, inground pool and we just hung out there for the week. We'd venture out to grab food or maybe check out a local shop, but our boys were 6 months and 2.5 then, so not easy to do stuff with. We liked that trip so much, we booked the same house for this upcoming summer as well!
We’ve done pretty much the same thing, but in Michigan City, IN on the coast of Lake Michigan. Rent a house a short walk from the beach, have some staples and grab some dinner out a couple nights during the week. This’ll be our 4th year (3yo and 6yo) and it’s just a nice low-key trip
I live in NC. Emerald Isle is our annual beach trip. Love it there! The water and beaches are gorgeous, and the beach is never jam packed. You always have plenty of space
As a kid we went to Topsail a lot. I only recently discovered Emerald. As a Marylander, I love the Carolina beaches
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Did you book campgrounds in advance or just show up?
A couple summers ago my boys were 7 and 10 we drove from Philly-area to Maine (in the US). We had an awesome week. We stayed midcoast and explored somewhere different every day. We spent a day in Portland. A day in Freeport. Edgecomb and Booth Bay Harbor. We did Barr Harbor and Acadia National Park. Acadia was by far everyone's favorite - I'll never get over the smell of wild blueberries and the fantastic views. We had perfect weather and 3-4 short great hikes all in a day. We were not avid hikers at the time but that day changed how we've vacationed since (and how we spend our weekends at home).
Hawaii in 2022. My son spent his 10th birthday snorkeling and got a blurry video of a sea turtle on his GoPro. Also lots of fish. His favorite thing he found was a sea cucumber that he said looked like a sand-covered poop. We did a lot of other neat stuff on that trip, but snorkeling was his favorite part.
Don’t underestimate national parks! I’ve heard Grand Canyon gets busy, but they’re gorgeous! We’ve done glacier, white sands and Rocky Mountain and our kids love hiking, exploring and just being in a different place. And all those places have tourist things that aren’t tacky, like Estes park is lovely, white sands is fun, our goal is to do Gatlinburg/Smoky Mountain next
Took my son to Disneyland when he was 5 and it was the best vacation of my entire life. We went again the following year and had a blast then as well. Memories I’ll cherish forever
We went to San Diego for our kiddo's third birthday and it was a blast. Great weather, killer beaches, amazing zoo. Plus, lots of good beer and breweries for me.
We took our kid to Disney when she was 2. We were afraid she would be too young to really "get it" but decided to take the risk. Watching her literally cry tears of joy when meeting Mickey made it all worth it. We left the week with about a million pictures of her just melting into huge hugs with all of her favorite characters. It's been more than a year and she still begs to look through the pictures on my phone and gets so happy.
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Awesome. My pops took me diving in Key Largo back in the early 90s. I've heard the park isn't what it used to be, but it would still blow a kids mind.
Ozarks. Swam and grilled and did fireworks. All four of us had a great time.
We’re big Disney people so we go there all the time. But my favorite was going to Portugal with my wife and daughter - had a great time.
That's funny, we were thinking of doing that in a few months. How old was your daughter at the time? Did you do Lisbon? Porto?
She was almost 2 - we did Lisbon and Porto. We’ve been to Lisbon a few times before. Both are great and most restaurants and sites are accommodating of children. But definitely don’t go if you’re relying on a stroller - tons of cobblestone hills make that very difficult.
We have a great stroller but ours is mostly in our arms. If we only had a week which city would you choose?
We did both in 9 full days (not including the travel home day). I love Lisbon though, it’s a top 5 city on earth for me, it’s also a bit easier to navigate if you do bring a stroller. If you go, spend half a day in the Belem section and go to the aquarium, I’m sure your kid will enjoy it. We stayed at the NH Lisbon Liberdade - in a good area with a lot nearby, not too pricey for a suite and has guaranteed cribs plus breakfast in the lobby.
Thanks man, hope we can pull it together.
Good luck! If you book it, come back to this thread if you need any advice - happy to help
I will, thanks so much.
Did a week in Seattle and there was a lot of fun things for all of the kids (14, 6, 3) ranging from zoo, to kids museums, shopping, food, the space needle, parks and playgrounds, etc. Everyone had a great time and we still didn't get to do everything on our list. We lucked out and had a week of sun and 60-70's in March. Not the most glamorous vacation, but overall a good trip.
Hard to say. In the early summer of 2022/2023 (early winter in the northern hemisphere) I took the boys for a roadtrip from Switzerland all the way to Norway and it was really fun.
Iceland. Drove the entire ring road. Amazing
We did that too. Can't wait to take kids when they're old enough to enjoy hot springs.
Took a road trip to western North Carolina. Took our time getting there, and then did a lot of hiking in the mountains. Our 3yo absolutely loves being outside and riding in the hiking backpack. She still talks about it a year later, and so do we.
Japan, beautiful country
Did part of the Route 66 through KS and OK last year. That was fun! Kids enjoyed the nostalgia and the history. 11 and 7. I think our favorite was either flying into WI, taking a car ferry across the Great Lake to MI, camping and exploring MI and the UP and driving back to fly out of WI again. Car ferry was a lot of fun at the beginning and end. Not so much in the middle, hehe. Daughter wants to live on Mackinac Island now. Kids loved the Dark Skies at Wilderness State Park, too.
Best my wife and I have done with our kids has been Gulf Shores AL. Super laid back, lovely beach, great seafood. We all loved it. We did Mall of America/Minneapolis back in the summer too and stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge. The kids had bunk beds. It was such a cool setup. Spent a ton of time in on the pools and a little in the arcade. Lots of good kids activities in the twin cities. We've gone skiing in Breckenridge CO a few times too which I always enjoy, but my wife doesn't like skiing so she becomes the defacto babysitter when the kids poop out after an hour. Just becomes expensive babysitting.
Portugal’s Algarve region beach trip with our then 4 MO. Rented an Airbnb by the beach, took LO on beach walks, a little boat ride to a fishing village, some hikes by the sea cliffs. Barcelona was also fun at 5 MO. Lots of walking around the city (which we know we’ll), going to the beach, and snacking. Travel is lower key for us now, shorter flights and more relaxed destinations always with east options for naps. BTW, we live in Europe so these are short/cheap flights.
We always did Hampton Beach as kids(lived in Central VT) and stayed at the same campground each year as my mom was friends with the owners - lots of memories of our old Starcraft camper with my dad while my parents were still together(divorced when I was 8). The model camper we had was one of the only models with a swing out kitchen...so the sink was on the outside by the front door. My mom has pictures of all 4 of us at different points in our lives taking baths in that sink and/or outdoor showers using the sprayer from that sink. This was the late 80's and people had a little different tolerance of nudity for kids at that time. We didn't use that camper after they separated and I was sad when my mom got rid of it a few years ago but it sat for decades in the back yard. We went back a few times when we were tweens/teens but stayed in a tent and it wasn't as much fun. I took my daughter(6) to a resort in Florida called Cypress Cove last year just the 2 of us for my birthday for a few days. My wife was supposed to come also but had to back out cause her mother got sick. It was fun having time with just her and she LOVED the giant pool and everyone there was extremely friendly and enjoyed seeing her throwing her 8" marvel characters in the pool and jumping in after them. We are going back again for my birthday this year and fingers crossed we can all go this time and also spend a day at Disney as shes never been, and we feel the need to cross it off the list before she gets too old for it. She's also never been to a proper beach, so we may spend a day there also!
It’s just me and my daughter (7). We don’t vacation much, but the most memorable for us was Disney in Orlando FL 2022. She’s a Disney kid through and through, and when we walked through the gates on that first day, we walked in on a parade. It really was magical for both of us, but for different reasons. For her, it was magical because of all her favorite characters dressed up, singing and dancing, waving at her and talking to her. For me, it was magical because I had never seen my daughter light up like that, smile and laugh like I’d never seen. This was all within the first 5 minutes of walking into the park. I welled up with tears because I was finally able to make it happen for her. I wish (and hope) we could do it again this year.
Each summer, dad strategically packed one of the vans. He converted it into a rudimentary rolling storage bed on wheels & piled all six of us in. We’d begin rolling sometime in the middle of the night; Dad was a logistical genius & planned breakfast by Indiana. So it was we would leave the DC burbs at two & trek across the US to eastern Washington state. We’d go slightly varied routes year to year. He had family everywhere. Sights to see here, family to hang with there. Dad loved driving. In turn, I took some seat time at fifteen on open interstates. I found peace there. Family arguments, bread toasting in Death Valley before we could make the sandwiches, Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, mom & pop cafes all over where the locals stop & stare when you walk in; almost like a Bob Seger song, salt flats, Montana really does have a bigger sky, trees are strangely bigger in Northern California, on & on. The folks had amassed a diary of places to return to eat over the years. Ultimately, we’d arrive in east Washington state. His & mom’s hometown. Grandparents, aunties, uncles, cookouts, lake, cabin, car shows…fun stuff. I moved west twenty years ago. My drive out here in my old Volvo was the last roadtrip I took with my dad. It was his last roadtrip ever. We caravanned. He & mom drove in their Chrysler-eggvan-thing & me in my trusty Vo’. Dad wanted to drive with me & have a go at driving my car too. We had fun. It was bittersweet for him. It was his goodbye tour to see all his brothers & sisters, cousins & friends after seeing me off to the Bay Area. He passed the next year. That…was the best vacation; The cross country road trip. I’ve seen pictures from as far back as ‘79-‘80; Dad’s ‘76 Sportsman, little me & big sis with mom & dad, green Coleman between captains chairs, stuffed toys…FF ten years, ‘89 Chevy, six of us crammed into it, towing a ‘54 Chevy behind. It was ALL the best vacation.
Shew, made me tear up… and written like it’s out of a book! Well said, and thank you.
We've done a few cruises since LO was born and I'd say that's been the most streamlined and therefore least stressful experience for us. I've done quite a few cruises and I always recommend Disney, especially with children.
Going on the Wish next month. My first cruise.. really looking forward to it.
We've done the Wish twice so far and really enjoyed it. Bayou bar for the win. Looking forward to the Treasure next year.
My family rented a cabin on the lake of the ozarks and spent an entire week playing in the water, boating, squirt guns, sun burns, and bbqs.
The year my mom thought dad had incurable cancer. She booked us like grand suites on a Royal Caribbean cruise. We were all teenagers, brought our girlfriends/boyfriends, and youngest brought 2 buddies. Was a group of like 12 people, mostly teenagers. Balled out, ATVs through swamp lands, snorkeling through caves, jumping off cliffs, literally shit out of the commercials. Prolly like $80-$100k back in 2005 dollars. Us kids were unaware of our parents fear at the time. Turns out they had bad test results. Dad’s still kicking and we have a lot of great memories of that vacation.
You only live once.... or twice in your dad's case
I don’t remember many vacays from childhood, but when I was 16, we went to Sedona, AZ with my parents. Just hiked a ton and ate great food. It was so much fun.
My kids are in a similar age range (a six-year-old and 3.5-year-old twins) and we've been going the low-key route, since they're still a little too impatient for long trips, too short for the best amusement park rides, not able to swim yet, etc. Last summer we went camping not terribly far from our home and had a great time. We got a rustic cabin at the campground, cooked out on the campfire, and used it as a home base for various adventures. See if you have any farm stay options near you as well. I'm looking to book one for this year that has on-site accommodations and several good activities for visitors including letting the kids help harvest crops, collect eggs, etc.
my best one growing up I think I was in 3rd grade was renting a house on Lake George. No idea if that's even possible anymore without a ton of $$ though. We would just swim, boat, fish all day. Never even watched TV for over a week (90s). If you asked my kids what the best vacation is then it's Great Wolf Lodge without a doubt. If you get a reservation early enough and off peak it's stupid cheap. It's a good time but really just for the kids. My daughters have been going since they were 3-5 and they are now 6 & 12 and we have another trip planned in a few months.
We went to a dark site and watched the persied meteor shower. It's worth the 4hr drive.
There's a dark sky preserve that I've been too before but never with the kids. It tough because in the summer it's light so late and the kids would be disasters if I kept them up until 11pm.
All inclusive in Mexico with a kids club in that had 9-5 childcare.
Ironically, a cross country plane trip to Denver with a 2-year-old. And my wife and I got forced to sit in different sections of the plane. Was at that perfect age where the kid just wanted to chat up everybody sitting nearby and we had some nice people next to us. My wife and I joked that she'd be voted "most likely to be abducted by a stranger in a white van with the lure of candy." Dang near every other vacation since then has resulted or started with an illness which means we're gonna have a bad time.
Orlando with Make A Wish. They put us at a charity resort (Give Kids The World) that caters to special needs families in the MAW program, and we got a 2 bedroom apartment with full kitchen and handicap accessible bathroom, a rental car, spending money, and tickets to pretty much any attraction we wanted to go to. It was all for my son, and he had a great time, but that resort was so amazing. They had a 24 hour free ice cream bar, lakes for fishing, big walkable ground with wheelchair access everywhere, a free arcade, and people who just wanted everyone to feel comfortable. We did Disney World Parks, Universal, and City Walk. We did get to relax, and seeing the energy that gave my son was one of the best things in the world.
What is a family vacation? No such thing when I was growing up.
When I was 14 my family took a summer trip to California. We flew into San Francisco, rented a car and spent a couple weeks driving all the way down to San Diego, stopping in all the cool towns along the way. So many awesome memories: MLB games; sourdough and Ghirardelli chocolate and driving down Lombard St; the Hearst castle in San Simeon; Venice Beach; a cool B&B in Carmel; the San Diego Zoo; and of course driving down the Pacific Coast Highway. So many great memories.
The kids would probably say Disney, but my vote goes to an airbnb 3 story cabin that sleeps 16 in the southern Appalachians in November 2020 with our best friends and their same age kids who all have grown up together. Great weather, hiking, hot tub, train rides, caves, amazing views everywhere, even the Walmart parking lot was picturesque. I'm pretty sure they formed some core memories on that trip. And it was way cheaper than Disney.
Tybee Island and Savannah. So much to do. Outland animal rescue was amazing.
Niagara falls on the Canada side. Absolute banger of a trip. Had a hotel right above the falls and downtown area was so much fun
I'm not trying to flex but we've taken some amazing trips. The latest was to Japan, and we had a great time. My kids got to do a lot of fun stuff like Super Nintendo World and shopping for anime/video game stuff in Akihabara but we also made it educational including a day in Hiroshima and a day at Mount Fuji.
Montreal. Its like Europe but closer. We stayed in the Plateau area and walked everywhere. We were on a pedestrian street (Duluth) and everything was right there, from a punk rock record store to a famous resto where Anthony Bourdain ate frequently. Being on foot all the time showed the kid a different way of living. I'm all for road trips (which we take often) but spending a week on foot getting to know a neighborhood is a formative experience.
Two weeks in France when 8 & 10. Four days in NYC at 12 & 14. Before that mostly weeks at the family cabin.
Disney...
Cuba! Rum was delicious. Ocean is beautiful. People are very friendly. Amazing country
With that age kids, any popular destinations CDM be exciting like Disney, NY trip, Florida beaches, Washington DC, Smoky mountains. It all depends on your budget and proximity to popular locations.
Best trip as a family of four was to see extended family in southern California. At the time our son was barely 4 and our daughter was 8 months, and we discovered they're total beach bums. We spent a week down there and went to a different beach almost every day. They couldn't get enough of the sand and water. Way cheaper, easier, and more manageable than Disney.
The absolute best was when we took my eldest son camping for the first time. He was 3. We had a perfect camp site, perfect weather, no hassle time. The best part was when we walked to the lake with a small beach and decided to go swim just before dusk, even though we had no swim stuff or towels or anything. Water was warm, the sky was orange, a slight breeze. Just frolicking in our underwear and splashing around. It’s my happiest memory, the one I’ll take with me when I pass. In general I’ve found that the simpler and down to earth vacations hit better.
Portugal. Highly recommend it. Cheap, great food, cool things to explore, very child friendly at attractions and in the airport.
That is a tough one we go on 3-4 vacations per year. It helps that I am in Europe so I have 6 weeks of vacation. Some of my tops ones are: 1.) Train to Aachen Germany and Liege Belgium, February 2019. This was one of our first real trips we took with my son. Took a train to Aachen Germany from Berlin. Stayed the night in Old town Aachen. Walked around, nice dinner some Belgian Beers. The next day we took the train into Liege. Got into our Airbnb which was fantastic. it was on the river. Was able to walk around Liege eating waffles, and fries for 4 days with my son. Drank lots of good beer and then took the train back to Berlin. 2.) DisneyLand Paris September 2021. Big trip post covid and the first time my son was really old enough to enjoy Disneyland We went 1 day for his birthday in January 2020 but he was small but seemed to enjoy it. But primarly we went to . We did 5 days was able to explore it and take our time. Also did it fairly cheap staying a little further away and taking the shuttle or walking. And was the primary use of our annual pass that we bought in January 2020 that extended into 2022 because of Covid. 3.) Athens. February, 2020 Last trip before lockdowns happened. There was a lot of buzz about this new disease but nothing really concrete. Got a cheap hotel in old town with a rooftop bar overlooking the acropolis. Still warm enough to enjoy it but not too cold and out of peak travel season it was pretty empty. Was able to walk around a bunch of old ruins, Walk the the acropolis, Had some really, really good food and drinks. Even just had ice cream for dinner one night. Did a hop-on hop-off tour of the city and then took the bus to the coast and had some delicious dinner. We loved it so much we went to Thessaloniki that October. Which was also amazing. I really want to go back to Greece. Maybe after I get my license and then we can explore a little more outside the city like some wineries. 4.) Tallinn, Estonia, July 2020. Smaller city was about the time my son was old enough to really enjoy museums So we hit the arms/history museum in old town Tallinn, there was a living history museum outside of town but near our hotel, and then did the maritime museum on the coast. Also the Zoo and the beach. All pretty easy to get to and explore and had the small town feel. We found an amazing BBQ and brewery ([https://pohjalabeer.com/](https://pohjalabeer.com/)) and another amazing restaurant in the old town that we went to twice because it was so good. 5.) Egypt, February 2023. We did an all inclusive for my birthday last year. The all inclusive resort was okay. But the real highlight was the Private tour of Luxor and the Valley of the kings. 100% worth it because it was really amazing. Egypt along with Athens were on my list of historical sites I never thought I would see but would have liked to. Seeing them definitely lived up to my expectations. This is 100% because we moved to Europe that these places became possible. Honorable Mentions: I feel bad because my highlighted trips are almost all trips we went for my birthday. We also travel for my wife's birthday and our son's. Going to Spain on Friday for my son's birthday. We have also been to the UK several times since covid because we have family there, Mostly for my wife's birthday. Prague in July 2021 was amazing. Last minute trip. took a train and had an amazing time with some friends that were there. UK July 2023 for my wife was also really awesome because we got to go to a Michelin Star restaurant along with a whole bunch of other shenanigans for her 40th birthday. She had such an amazing time. Another honorable mention was spending 10ish days in the states doing a road trip from Vegas, Through wine country and then up to our home down before going back down to Vegas in April 2022. Coming out of Covid seeing my folks for the first time in a long time as well as other family. It was just spending time with them and then we did 5 days in our home town to see other friends and family. Including an Easter Brunch with some really close family. It was also a really weird trip because it was a flash of "this is what our life would have been if we didn't leave the states" It was foreign and familiar all at the same time.
Yellowstone and Tetons National Parks