We need to come up with a destination for a July vacation. Probably one week. We're traveling from the northeast. 2 adults and 2 babies who will be 17 months old. 2 grandparents will be traveling from the midwest. Grandparents are not very adventurous but theoretically want to travel. DW and I desperately want to go on a fun adventurous trip but this is not practical with the babies.
Domestic or international. Bonus points if it won't cause me to file bankruptcy.
The Rocky Mountains are fun - we stayed here and loved it with kids: www.douglasfir.com/ Lots of fun things to do for a variety of "adventure" levels - hot springs, gondola ride, nice places to eat, etc. With the Canadian dollar doing so poorly, you get a nice discount for coming north.
We did the Jersey Shore with my parents last summer, so I think we want to do something a little bit further flung with the in-laws this summer. Definitely a good kid vacation though!
The Rocky Mountains are fun - we stayed here and loved it with kids: www.douglasfir.com/ Lots of fun things to do for a variety of "adventure" levels - hot springs, gondola ride, nice places to eat, etc. With the Canadian dollar doing so poorly, you get a nice discount for coming north.
I was all set to say we're going to Colorado already, ha, but apparently the mountain range it is large. That place looks nice, I want to go now!
The best/easiest vacations I have taken with my toddler have been cruises.
Granted, I have never been on a cruise.... but isn't it true that you can't take kids in diapers in cruise pools? That sounds so lame to me.
My sister is a mission to convince us to do a Disney cruise and I keep telling her we won't go until the babies are old enough to go in the pool and go to the magical free kids club I keep hearing about (aka age 3).
Black hills, SD San Diego, CA Colorado (Estes park, denver, Durango, not all on same trip) Florida keys Outer banks, NC Puerto Rico Hawaii Orlando Galveston, TX
I think renting a beach house would be great. sandbridge VA is more quiet than the rest of the outer banks (and therefore more boring lol) BUT the houses are much more affordable, even the beach front ones.
Or what about going some place in the mountains? Deep Creek Lake MD comes to my mind first but I'm sure you could find similar places in the smoky mountains. There's a state park with a beach, you can rent a boat, go on hikes, there's white water rafting in that area and also a white water rafting "track" at the ski resort.
So there or some place similar could be a good cross between adventure and relaxation. And it wouldn't be that pricey. But again, it's pretty quiet.
Oh, I am totally investigating this Deep Creek Lake MD. We could drive there (yay $$ saving) and SIL in WV might even be able to join us. It's so hard to find out about these random touristy places when you didn't grow up in the area.
Any advice on locating a rental house in Sandbridge, VA? Airbnb or VRBO type thing or is there another way?
Black hills, SD San Diego, CA Colorado (Estes park, denver, Durango, not all on same trip) Florida keys Outer banks, NC Puerto Rico Hawaii Orlando Galveston, TX
All places we've taken young kids.
I am sworn no Disney until we go just before their 3rd birthday!
The best/easiest vacations I have taken with my toddler have been cruises.
Granted, I have never been on a cruise.... but isn't it true that you can't take kids in diapers in cruise pools? That sounds so lame to me.
My sister is a mission to convince us to do a Disney cruise and I keep telling her we won't go until the babies are old enough to go in the pool and go to the magical free kids club I keep hearing about (aka age 3).
A lot of ships have splash pads for tots especially the Disney Ones. Carnival has free kids club from 2+ but you have to stay on board and they page you if there is a dirty diaper. We loved the DC on Royal Caribbean. They changed diapers and it was six dollars the hour. When we booked they gave us 200 dollar free credit and we used most on DC.
We're getting to the point where a kitchen is essential when it comes to traveling with DS.
I'd rent a beach house for a week. In Puerto Rico.
Or go on a cruise ...but I love cruising
This is what we are doing. We are renting a house in Puerto Rico in June! Jet Blue has really good fares to San Juan right now. We booked yesterday.
JealousE.
We love P.R.
It's tropical, it's American, it has NOMS of my favorite variety, the rum flows freely, so much to do and see... I really cannot wait to get back there to stay for a longer visit.
Black hills, SD San Diego, CA Colorado (Estes park, denver, Durango, not all on same trip) Florida keys Outer banks, NC Puerto Rico Hawaii Orlando Galveston, TX
Some cruises now have nurseries for smaller toddlers and infants. Also, you may find a cruise out of NJ/NY and you will not have to fly to the port. Saves a bunch of money.
When traveling with young toddlers, we like the All inclusive or rent a condo. We have also taken our toddlers to San Diego, Puerto Rico, Cancun, and Punta Cana. All good places.
Puerto Rico - You could rent a condo (and a car) and stay in San Juan, or outside in a place like Luquillo - 1 hr from San Juan. Great Food, no passports needed and fun things to do. Visit the rain forest near Luquillo and the main fort in San Juan. You can also take a ferry to Vieques or Culebra, beautiful!
San Diego - plenty of kid-friendly things to do. We did the Zoo, visited the seals in La Jolla, just walked around.
This year, we will probably go the NC beach area. The smoky mountains in the NC/VA area are also beautiful too. Plenty of cabins to rent and great reviews.
We also took our toddler to Lisbon,Portugal once - she was almost two. We rented an apt and had a great time.
Black hills, SD San Diego, CA Colorado (Estes park, denver, Durango, not all on same trip) Florida keys Outer banks, NC Puerto Rico Hawaii Orlando Galveston, TX
All places we've taken young kids.
I'm tired just looking at that list!
Well our oldest is 8.5 so we've been traveling with little Kids for that long now! We highly value travel so we carve time and money out for it (and get creative, using miles for tickets, condos with kitchens to save money, etc).
Black hills, SD San Diego, CA Colorado (Estes park, denver, Durango, not all on same trip) Florida keys Outer banks, NC Puerto Rico Hawaii Orlando Galveston, TX
All places we've taken young kids.
I'm tired just looking at that list!
I want to go aaalll the places. Nevermind that going to the grocery store with my kids makes me tired.
Well our oldest is 8.5 so we've been traveling with little Kids for that long now! We highly value travel so we carve time and money out for it (and get creative, using miles for tickets, condos with kitchens to save money, etc).
I hope that in 7.5 years I can look back and write the same!
kershnic Sure! The mountains are beautiful! We love going down there.
We have stayed in the Bryson City area (about 3 hours drive from ATL). There is the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad (a bit long for the kids,but grandparents might enjoy). The Outdoor Center at the Nantahala River is a great place to view the rafters/kayakers. Asheville is also in the area. You can visit the Biltmore Mansion, WNC outdoor center (zoo). Driving west about 1.5-2 hours from Bryson City, you can also visit Gatlinburg, TN, which has an aquarium and other tourist attractions.
We need to come up with a destination for a July vacation. Probably one week. We're traveling from the northeast. 2 adults and 2 babies who will be 17 months old. 2 grandparents will be traveling from the midwest. Grandparents are not very adventurous but theoretically want to travel. DW and I desperately want to go on a fun adventurous trip but this is not practical with the babies.
Domestic or international. Bonus points if it won't cause me to file bankruptcy.
Several friends have gone to this resort and say it is AWESOME! We plan on going with our family soon =)
My favorite vacation spot is the Adirondacks. It's just so peaceful and relaxing. I look forward to our trip every year. Asheville NC is beautiful too. The Biltmore is always great to visit. Outer Banks and Myrtle Beach are too commercialized IMO. H used to work in Maine, and he always says how nice it was up there too. Good luck!
Post by cherry1111 on Jan 16, 2015 19:25:33 GMT -5
We took DS to Tampa just before he turned 2. We only had 1 full day there so the day we arrivedwe went to the beach. The sand was soooo soft. The next day we went to Busch Gardens where DS loved the Sesame Street area of the park. The park was practically empty so I think the plan is to go back the same time next year!