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.
Completely agree. We went to SD over the summer for 6 days and definitely could have spent more time there. I was honestly surprised at how beautiful it was.
All National Parks are on my bucket list, but my favorites were: North Cascades, Olympic, Acadia, Zion, and Bryce.
Other great places we've been: Ireland Turks and Caicos Columbia River Gorge and the coast of OR (I want to go back and spend 10-14 days there) Asheville (much preferred it to Pigeon Forge) Charleston SC
Bucket List: Iguazu Falls All over Italy (I did some travel there but H and DD have never been) Scotland Puerto Rico Costa Rica Iceland (hopefully next year) Japan (I lived there for 3 years but again.... want H and DD to go)
My kids will say that their favorite vacations have been
1. Indonesia 2. Cambodia 3. Dubai 4. Mt. Rushmore/Badlands/Rocky Mountain driving trip over 4th of July (4ofJuly fireworks over Rushmore were so cool!)
My son is 14 and loves history so we did Philadelphia/Gettysburg/Washington DC when we picked him up from camp this summer and he loved that.
ETA: I just asked my kids, 17 yo DD would add winter vacation to Japan (skiing in Niseko) and DS would add summer trip to Japan because we rode the bullet train and went to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial. (and stayed at the Godzilla Hotel)
Keeping my eye on this list—DD is a senior in high school and we’ve told her she gets to pick where we go for spring break. So far her top two choices are Greece or Amsterdam. We’ve given her until Christmas break to decide.
4. Mt. Rushmore/Badlands/Rocky Mountain driving trip over 4th of July (4ofJuly fireworks over Rushmore were so cool!)
I saw 4th of July fireworks over Mt Rushmore when I was in high school- it was hands down the best fireworks show I have ever seen, by a long shot. Like PPs, I agree South Dakota was an amazing vacation.
A lot of places have been said already, but I'll add in- a vacation doesn't have to be far. Our big family vacation next summer is getting cabins at a local Jellystone campground with my mom and sibling and nieces and nephews.
Post by ellipses84 on Oct 30, 2023 16:11:28 GMT -5
I would go to Europe more frequently if we were on the East Coast. You can find really cheap flights out of NYC and can spend a night there on each end, or try Philly or Boston. It’s often a similar flight time and price to flying to the west coast. This summer we went to Paris, Normandy, London and Scotland with the kids and it was amazing. There’s so much history. I usually fly into one city and out another but keep it to 1 region or 2 cities/ hotels if you only have a week. Iceland is a pretty easy destination to get to and tour.
Any niche interests (kids and adults)? What vacation has been most enjoyable for everyone?
For Anaheim, are you going to do Disneyland or spend extra days? There’s so much to do in OC, LA, San Diego, Palm Springs, Joshua Tree, etc.
For the US, New Orleans is unique. Seattle / PNW is an amazing vacation in summer. Chicago is great for a big city vacation. We are driving distance so we go to Vegas and Phoenix (Sedona/ Grand Canyon) often. I know a lot of people don’t like taking kids to Vegas or New Orleans due to the party town atmosphere but there is tons for them to do.
4th graders get a free National Park Pass. You can do a route from the Grand Canyon through all the Utah parks.
Post by dancingirl21 on Oct 30, 2023 16:30:22 GMT -5
Our kids are 10 and 7. They are at such a fun age for travel, and we can’t wait to do more with them. What we have done so far:
Gatlinburg/Smoky Mountains Michigan beaches Disney World San Diego/Disneyland North Carolina mountains South Carolina beaches - Kiawah, Folly, Isle of Palms Charleston North Carolina beaches - Ocean Isle, Carolina Beach Florida - Fort Myers Cancun Colorado/Utah skiing - Breckenridge, Winter Park, Park City, Deer Valley Washington DC
Future wishlist: Puerto Rico Costa Rica USVI/BVI Turks and Caicos Italy Switzerland Iceland Norway
Post by midwestmama on Oct 31, 2023 6:50:00 GMT -5
We loved our trip to South Dakota (western side - Keystone/Rapid City area). The Spearfish Canyon scenic drive is beautiful and so is Custer State Park. Part of this trip was going to Yellowstone, and we loved that part of the trip as well. (My kids were 10 and almost 12 for this trip.)
We enjoyed a trip we took to Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg/Great Smoky Mountains a couple of summers ago. If you go, go to Hillbilly Golf in Gatlinburg. It's a fun mini-golf course, but bears have been known to wander onto the course, so not a great place to go if you are afraid of bears. (My kids were 11 and almost 13 for this trip.)
This past summer we went to Munich (including a day trip to Neuschwanstein Castle), Salzburg, Strasbourg, and Frankfurt. Our favorite parts were Neuschwanstein Castle, Salzburg, and Strasbourg. I think we would have enjoyed either more day trips to smaller towns or spending more nights in different smaller towns as opposed to cities (Frankfurt specifically, we weren't really fans of that city). (My kids were 12 and 14 for this trip.)
I know the Olympics are controversial but we want to go to LA for the 2028 games. My grandparents lived in Atlanta during the 1996 games and it is still one of my favorite experiences.
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!
Ok based on this I think these would be good fits (lol that people are recommending national parks if you don’t like nature/hiking ) -
Montreal DC LA Dubai London Paris Tokyo Mexico City (never been but on my list and have heard it’s easy to navigate with kids)
- Monterey CA - various FL resort destinations (Amelia Island, Naples, and Destin) - Kalahari resort in Austin (Texas-sized indoor water park) - Hilton Head
My kids (9 and 6) still love the resort/pool/beach experience. As they get older, we plan to do more cities, international destinations, and national parks.
We went to Barcelona last summer when my boys were 8 and 10 and had a great time. Our food rule was we would order them something we knew they would like, but they had to at least try and few bites of what we were having! There is loads to see and do and it is very manageable (we used public transport for everything). WE had 4 nights in Barcelona (and could have stayed longer) and then we met my family for a week in a villa in the north of Spain near to the beach but there were also cute towns to wander around (including Girona which is apparently major in Game of Thrones)