Family vacation ideas / where should we go?

[countthestars]

Our kids are 8 and 10 and we all love to travel. We do Disney very often (and love it) but are trying to expand our horizons and are working on a family "bucket list" of places we'd like to go. We live in New England and are open to flying or driving. We all have valid passports. 

Where have you been or what's on your bucket list? 

So far we've done: 
- Disney & Disney Cruise
- NYC
- Washington, DC
- Austin/San Antonio
- Nashville/Pigeon Forge 
- all over New England but always open to seeing more! 

We have a work trip to Anaheim, CA next summer that the kids will tag along for! 

[countthestars]

On our list:

US
- Chicago
- Savannah or Charleston
- Destin/30A area of Florida
- Denver
- Utah

International
- Montreal
- Italy
- England
- Ireland
- Costa Rica

[Susie]

There are a lot of national parks on our list.  Acadia and Zion are up there.

[egishere]

Places we have been with the kids and enjoyed:

Paris
Rapid City, South Dakota- was so surprised by how much we liked this destination! Very family friendly
30A area of FL multiple times
New York City- going for Spring Break, kids first time
Disney World and Land
Cancun- multiple times, going to try Cabo next year
Various CO mountain towns

[devonpow]

We are lucky that we have travelled a lot with our kids (now 11 and 16). Places we have gone and really enjoyed:

- Park City, Utah
- Breckinridge, CO
- Stowe, Vermont (we don’t ski - all were summer trips)
- Wisconsin lakes
- California coast trip (Santa Barbara, Monterey, San Francisco stops)
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Hawaii (Maui and big island with the kids)
- New York City
- Coastal Maine
- Disney World
- Puerto Rico

International with the kids we have done ;
- Costa Rica
The bahamas
- Denmark
- Switzerland
- Iceland
- Italy

The kids liked Costa Rica the best, I think Hawaii, Italy, and Iceland were my favorites.

Places we still want to go with the kids: England, France, Spain, Canada (Banff and Quebec City are on our list), Lake Tahoe. We think we are doing a family trip to North Carolina/lake Norman area this summer.

[shauni27]

Grand Canyon
Montreal
Toronto
San Diego
San Francisco
Chicago
NOLA
Rehoboth
Puerto Rico
Florida Keys
fort Lauderdale
We hope to do more international travel with our kid; we just did Ireland and I think London and Amsterdam are next.

[ohgillian]

We liked London as a family!

[CrazyLucky]

We started trying to do either one major city or one National Park per year. We've been to San Francisco, NYC, Washington DC, Yosemite, Acadia. We've been to Disney twice and I think we're done. We enjoyed it, but not more than we enjoy other vacations, and it's not worth the expense to me. We're planning to do low key cheaper vacations the next two years because I really want to take the kids to Europe in 2026.

[luckystar2]

Anything specific you guys like to do that could narrow it down more?

There are a lot of things dh and I would like to do/places to go but dd is not interested.

As a family we have gone to:
Disney
NYC
DC
Niagara Falls
Caribbean cruise
Hawaii
St. John, usvi
Charleston, SC
North Carolina beach and also trip near mountains


Dh and I would love to go to these places but dd isn’t interested:
National parks - I really want to go to Acadia but we’d love to do anything out west too
Banff
Grand Canyon
Alaskan cruise
Italy

I love beaches but dh doesn’t so places I’d still love to go
Aruba
Turks and Caicos (we went here on a cruise but I’d love to spend a whole vacation here)
Costa Rica

[Velar Fricative]

Montreal is one of my favorite places and would be a super easy trip for you from New England. You could do that plus another bigger international trip in the near future.

[mrsGreeko]

With kids we’ve went to and enjoyed:
- Puerto Rico
- southern CO (Durango and Alamosa, Mesa Verde and great sand dunes)
- Oahu
- Maui
- San Diego
- Galveston and San Antonio, TX
- Black Hills, SD
- London and Edinburgh, UK
- Lisbon and Sintra, Portugal
- Zagreb, Split, Plitvice, and Krka, Croatia
- Costa Rica (Arenal, Monteverde, and Ostional. We also went to Tamarindo on another trip, but I don’t like it as much)
- San Ignacio and Caye Caulker, Belize
- Chiang Mai, Koh Samui, and Bangkok, Thailand
- Navarre Beach, FL


Yellowstone National Park
Dinosaur National Monument
We live in CO so we’ve spent a lot of time in places like Rocky Mountain National Park, Glenwood springs, keystone, etc.

Next year we are going to Turks and Caicos for one trip, Munich, Salzburg, Venice and Rome for another. And hopefully Rhode Island and Boston for a third.

[DarcyLongfellow]

We've really enjoyed Canada -- we've gone there twice in the past couple of years.

Trips we've taken:
- Montreal and Quebec City
- London, Cotswolds, and Paris
- NYC
- Toronto, Montreal, and Quebec City (our kids love snow and we live in Florida!)
- Ireland

We're thinking about a trip to Italy soon-ish, but we're sort of waiting to see.

DH really wants us to start going out west to see the national parks.

[mrshandy]

My kids are 13 and 10 and I definitely am excited to really travel with them as much as we can afford. Here is what we have done:

Maine (family lives there so we've been a lot)
Florida (same with family)
Canaan Valley West Virginia
Lake Lure, NC
Puerto Rico - I didn't see this on your list, but it far exceeded my expectations. Beautiful, easy cheap flight from the east coast
NYC
Boston
Fingerlakes in New York

International
Montreal
Ireland
Portugal - This was great and the kids loved it. Cheaper than the rest of Europe and food is amazing. Plus less Americans go there which I liked.

We're headed to France next year. I'm very excited about this since I speak French and spent 5 months there in study abroad.

On my shortlist in the future
Germany (we have friends who may be going there)
Peru?
Morocco
Alaska
Northwest

I just need to win the lottery so we can travel all the time. Money is basically the only thing holding me back at this point. I'm ready to get out and see the world and happy to take the kids in tow.

[wanderingback]

I think if you do want more specifics it’d be helpful to know what you like to do/want to do? Really you could go anywhere with your kids!

[wanderingback]

I think if you do want more specifics it’d be helpful to know what you like to do/want to do? Really you could go anywhere with your kids!

[joy]

So. We are going to Finland this Dec to see Santa. We are flying to Helsinki then taking the overnight Santa Express to Rovaniemi above the arctic circle. We are staying in a wild hotel where one wall is glass - better to see the northern lights. Aside from meeting Santa in the unofficial North Pole and all the elvish play that they do, we are visiting huskies, deer and taking rides in the snowy landscapes.

It feels magical. From what I hear, this is a popular destination for Europeans during Christmas but feels very special for us Americans!

[wanderlustmom]

We love travel too, our school has a balanced calendar with extra breaks so this is what I would recommend--all of these trips were great for the four of us:

Seattle, Whistler and Vancouver
Costa Rica, Arenal, Monteverde, Manuel Antonio
Iceland (amazing)
Italy (loved)
Vietnam, Ho Chi Mon City, Mekong Delta, Phu Quoc, Dalat
Grand Cayman (only the snorkeling was good here)
Ecuador
Panama (loved)

[dcn]

We’ve lived all over so have been able to explore that way.

Anchorage Alaska and other spots
Seattle
San Diego
We drove from Alaska to Kansas so stopped in Idaho, Montant, Yellowstone, South Dakota
Kansas City
St Louis
Colorado - We lived in Colorado Springs and explored that area, and visited Denver, Rocky Mountain NP, Breckinridge, Crested Butte, Steamboat Springs,
Georgia - we lived near Savannah and spent time at Jekyll Island, and Charleston
We did Legoland and Universal as well as the Space Center in FL
Asheville
Blowing Rock NC
Pigeon Forge/Smoky Mountains
Michigan
Boston


On our list to do:
Maine/Acadia (H and I have done this but want to take the kids, hopefully this summer)
Gettysburg and Washington DC - going to try to do this over spring break
Oregon coast
Alaska- We lived there but want to bring the kids back. Ds1 was 2 when we left - thinking in 2 years or so.
New York City
Niagara Falls (my parents live 2 hours from there and I don’t know why we haven’t taken them yet?)
Arizona
Zion and other National Parks in that area

We’ll do an international trip at some point I’m sure, likely when the kids are a little older.

[quesyrah]

My kids are 10 and 13. Here is our family bucket list including ones we’ve done.

Hawaii- done
Disney cruise- done
Disney World- done
Alaska
Mount Rushmore- done
Yellowstone/Jackson Hole
DC/Philly/NYC/VA- hoping for 2027
Canada (most like Vancouver)
Japan- currently planning for 2026
Denmark
Norway

[chedifuen]

We just got back from Monterey CA and it was freaking awesome. I cannot wait to go again and take our kids.

We visited Vancouver Island this summer and we all loved it. Great outdoor activities and it's really beautiful.

The Oregon coast is magical. Probably one of the most beautiful places in the country.

[scm1011]

Oct 26, 2023 11:33:24 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Montreal is one of my favorite places and would be a super easy trip for you from New England. You could do that plus another bigger international trip in the near future.

Second this! We love Montreal and usually do a pit stop somewhere in the Montpelier / Waterbury / Stowe area for lunch to break up the drive.

[countthestars]

Oct 26, 2023 13:04:59 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

I think if you do want more specifics it’d be helpful to know what you like to do/want to do? Really you could go anywhere with your kids!

We are open to most things! We aren’t really the relaxing type, so we wouldn’t love a vacation where the beach is the only choice. We don’t love to hike. We like exploring cities, tours. My kids are very picky eaters, so having a lot of food choices is helpful!

[erbear]

My kids are 14 and 12. We have traveled extensively with them since about 8 and 6, have been to and highly recommend:


For kinda chill beach vacations:
Bahamas 
Bermuda
Costa Rica
Puerto Rico
Turks and Caicos

For more outside adventurey things:
Banff
Scotland
Iceland
Ireland
Provence
Swiss Alps (we went to Murren and Interlaken...amazing)


For cities:
Portland 
Seattle
NYC
DC
London
Paris
Budapest
Vienna
Munich

We're hoping to go to Barcelona and Amsterdam this year. 

On the bucket list:
Tanzania and the Seychelles
Norway
Japan
Australia
Bali 
Vietnam

[sent]

Niagara Falls, Niagara-on-the-Lake & Toronto (can all be in one trip)

[countthestars]

Oct 26, 2023 13:18:50 GMT -5 joy said:

So. We are going to Finland this Dec to see Santa. We are flying to Helsinki then taking the overnight Santa Express to Rovaniemi above the arctic circle. We are staying in a wild hotel where one wall is glass - better to see the northern lights. Aside from meeting Santa in the unofficial North Pole and all the elvish play that they do, we are visiting huskies, deer and taking rides in the snowy landscapes.

It feels magical. From what I hear, this is a popular destination for Europeans during Christmas but feels very special for us Americans!

Please report back!! This sounds amazing! 

[woot16]

We did a spring break trip to Seattle (split the week between the city and Suncadia). The kids were 5 & 7 at the time and they still talk about it fondly 2 years later.

[sdlaura]

I grew up on the east coast but now live on the west coast, so we do a lot of exploring out here. My kids are 11,9,6 and 3 and we’ve had fun at national parks lately. We went to Jackson hole/grand Teton and yellowstone this summer and had a great time. Also went to the Grand Canyon last spring break, then Joshua tree and palm springs on the way back. The San Juan islands northwest of Seattle are another favorite. Bend, Oregon too. And we loved Sandpoint, Idaho.

[jeaniebueller]

Oct 26, 2023 10:31:26 GMT -5 egishere said:

Places we have been with the kids and enjoyed:

Paris
Rapid City, South Dakota- was so surprised by how much we liked this destination! Very family friendly
30A area of FL multiple times
New York City- going for Spring Break, kids first time
Disney World and Land
Cancun- multiple times, going to try Cabo next year
Various CO mountain towns

ITA. South Dakota--if your family is into outdoorsy stuff, is great! I would not stay in Rapid city, but would stay closer to Custer. We stayed at the Mt Rushmore KOA, there is a lodge, so you don't need to camp, there are tons of kid friendly activities, you are central to the black hills, etc. You can fly into Sioux falls, rent a car and hit the Badlands (corn palace, wall drug) and then the black hills, between custer state park, Mt Rushmore, crazy horse (do not skip this, the museum is great!), wind cave national park, hot springs, deadwood, devils tower (if you have time for a day trip), the little towns, there is a lot to see. We barely scratched the surface when we went. 

[jeaniebueller]

I know that Maine is in the midst of a huge tragedy right now, but we did a trip to Portland/Bar Harbor/ Acadia national park a few years ago, and that was my kid's favorite trip that we have taken. both of them still talk about it. We did a lot of hikes. I took advice from a few ladies on these boards (megachoo maybe?) to plan.

[jennistarr1]

Definitely Acadia/Bar Harbor...we just did that and it was soooo awesome.
I'll also throw in Asheville