Vacation/Travel ideas with 3 year old

[chocolatepie]

We are in a travel rut - pre-kids, we loved to travel and explore. We live near the beach and about an hour from Disney World and visit both a lot - including multiple staycations at Disney a year in addition to day trips. We also recently did a Disney cruise.

My DH made a comment last week to someone that 'we only go to Disney' and he's not wrong. Disney is cheap (for us), easy with a toddler, and accessible.

Our child has become a threenager overnight and was a bear to deal with on a plane last week (visiting family), though I realize any age child can act out while traveling.

Where have you vacationed (or would vacation) with a ~3 year old that was enjoyable? Open to just about anyplace, really. Before kids, we loved places like NYC, Montreal, Quebec City, London, Dublin - big cities with museums, restaurants, and shows... all places we avoid with a small child  

[puppylove64]

Honestly at 3, I would do things I enjoy and drag thekid along. I like Chattanooga, Greenville, Nashville, Atlanta, Austin. I like weekend getaways in cities with lots to do, see and eat. We enjoy spending time outside hiking or exploring cities.

[wanderingback]

I’m only a new mom so I don’t have specific experience, but I’ve started planning for the near future and found this website with kid friendly all-inclusives. I know you said you live by the beach, but this type of trip might be something that works for a node vacation.
www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/family-vacations/best-all-inclusive-family-resorts

[Susie]

We did San Diego when my DD was about 2 and my friend's daughter was about 3.5. It was a last-minute planned trip, bc we were supposed to go to Tybee Island, GA together but the county was under a state of emergency (hurricane) and the SAV airport was closed the week we were supposed to go. Our bicoastal friend group all had the week off, so we pivoted quickly and picked a new city.

We did a VRBO in La Jolla, and took the kids to San Diego Zoo, tide pools in La Jolla, beach (which looked and felt a little different from east coast beaches), did a kayak trip (not sure if your LO would be good doing that with a life jacket on), and ate tons of tacos. There's also Balboa park, the wild animal park, and probably other stuff.

ETA:  My kids are now 7 and 3.5, and we're talking about Costa Rica next year, when they're 8 and 4.5 (also a friend group trip).  Generally my kids do best when the trip is lots of outdoor stuff, so they can run off steam -- so long as we get them the rest they need.  My 3 yo has never flown (thanks pandemic) but my 7 year old did cross country flights at ages 1-3 pretty well.  It's just a lot to manage, plan, and pack for, to have any hope of it going well.

[clairebear]

Big trips on an airplane with a 3-year-old sound miserable honestly. I would embrace the phase of life you are in. If that means Disney and beach trips, great! Enjoy it knowing she will be bigger soon and you'll be on to the next phase of life where it will be easier to do bigger trips. My kids are 5 and 6 and we are just starting to think about vacations with plane travel. We just started a 12-hour road trip to NC in the summer and an 8 hr trip to GA in the fall. But again, these trips mean hiking, state parks, kid friendly festivals etc. Nothing crazy as they just aren't going to do big musuems or shows (unless you count the Jack Hartmann concert we did over Christmas break!). Give it a couple more years and we can do some more city-centered trips. Until then I just spend my free time at Legoland and the beach. I must be near you because I'm also about an hour from Disney and the beach.

[mrsGreeko]

Maybe not your target audience, but these are some of the places we went with at least one kid between 2 and 4 that wasn’t Disney. All were enjoyable (and I do not have particularly easy children and that age was particularly difficult):
- Puerto rico
- Oahu and Maui
- outer banks, NC
- southern Colorado (Mesa verde, Durango, alamosa, great sand dunes)
- Galveston and San Antonio, TX
- Florida Keys
- London and Edinburgh, UK
- black hills, SD
- San Diego, CA




We just went where we wanted and found things to do that fit our kid life style in those places. Plane rides are at least easier these days with the invention of the iPad. Back when we took these trips it was in the dark ages before iPads were invented.

[mpm]

This is probably not helpful, but we go to… different beaches. Lol. Part of that is covid, we’re still not comfortable with planes, eating indoors, etc… but really, our 5yo and 2yo are just really happy swimming and playing in sand so we are embracing that how we vacation for a few years is various beaches, playgrounds, zoos, aquariums, and so we just switch up which beach we rent a house near to keep it interesting for us.

[krystee]

I like a mix of city and beach, so maybe Charleston/Isle of Palm or a couple days in Boston and then a couple in Cape Cod, or a couple in Seattle and a few in Olympic National Park (haven’t done that last one, but it’s on our list!). Our 3YO’s longest flight was Chicago to LA and it was fine ( H did it solo with him and a 1YO and survived!).

I would probably pay for WiFi and let the 3YO play endless games of Endless Alphabet or puzzle apps or Daniel Tiger or whatever on the plane as soon as they started to get restless. Travel is worth the hours of screen time!

[steamboat185]

We went all over with kids when they were that age. New Zealand, Australia, San Diego, Belize, Mexico, Florida, Aruba. Pick a spot and go! There will be times that it isn’t super fun, but there will also be lots of things you get to do that are great. Wherever you end up try to visit a playground or kid centered activity at least once a day. Spend time outside and plan on eating at casual spots. Our trips even when they go askew have all been awesome. Our youngest has had her birthday in 3 different countries. For her 7th birthday she asked for Egypt, which won’t happen, but maybe for her 8th.

[gastro]

A place with water - beach, pool, lake.
Is it possible to leave the kid with a relative?

[devonpow]

Any place with water or mountains were great when my kids were little - Park City, Breckinridge, Southern California, vermont, maine, we did a lake resort in Wisconsin a few times, Mexico, etc etc etc. We didn’t do a lot of adult museums or fine dining but you can still get great food, go on hikes, hang at pools or the beach, etc

[devonpow]

Jan 31, 2023 20:19:16 GMT -5 mrsGreeko said:

Maybe not your target audience, but these are some of the places we went with at least one kid between 2 and 4 that wasn’t Disney. All were enjoyable (and I do not have particularly easy children and that age was particularly difficult):
- Puerto rico
- Oahu and Maui
- outer banks, NC
- southern Colorado (Mesa verde, Durango, alamosa, great sand dunes)
- Galveston and San Antonio, TX
- Florida Keys
- London and Edinburgh, UK
- black hills, SD
- San Diego, CA




We just went where we wanted and found things to do that fit our kid life style in those places. Plane rides are at least easier these days with the invention of the iPad. Back when we took these trips it was in the dark ages before iPads were invented.

omg yes. When my teen was a toddler traveling all we had was a mini portable dvd player and we weren’t allowed to use it during take off or landing. Torture! These days it’s so easy - we have done multiple 10+ hour flights starting with DS2 being around 5 and there’s so much built in entertainment now it’s awesome

[erbear]

I wouldn’t do a big city. We did beaches when our kids were that young.

[mccallister84]

We have done family oriented AIs the last two winters (my youngest was 3.5 and 4.5). Honestly they have been perfect. She would go to the kids club for a few hours here and there so we would get some downtime and then we would all hang out and rotate between the beach, water park and pool.

[chocolatepie]

Jan 31, 2023 21:07:33 GMT -5 devonpow said:

Jan 31, 2023 20:19:16 GMT -5 mrsGreeko said:

Maybe not your target audience, but these are some of the places we went with at least one kid between 2 and 4 that wasn’t Disney. All were enjoyable (and I do not have particularly easy children and that age was particularly difficult):
- Puerto rico
- Oahu and Maui
- outer banks, NC
- southern Colorado (Mesa verde, Durango, alamosa, great sand dunes)
- Galveston and San Antonio, TX
- Florida Keys
- London and Edinburgh, UK
- black hills, SD
- San Diego, CA




We just went where we wanted and found things to do that fit our kid life style in those places. Plane rides are at least easier these days with the invention of the iPad. Back when we took these trips it was in the dark ages before iPads were invented.

omg yes. When my teen was a toddler traveling all we had was a mini portable dvd player and we weren’t allowed to use it during take off or landing. Torture! These days it’s so easy - we have done multiple 10+ hour flights starting with DS2 being around 5 and there’s so much built in entertainment now it’s awesome

I think my kid is broken - ha! My father in law recently died and we traveled (by plane) several times in the last 2 months to see him, services, etc. We caved and bought him his first tablet for the plane. He plays games/watches videos for about 15 minutes and then hands it back to me, says "I'm done" and starts unbuckling his seatbelt to get off the plane (and then is frustrated that we can't get off yet). He begs for screen time at home and when we were willing to give him unlimited access, he wasn't interested.

I brought snacks on snacks on snacks (like, high value stuff), cars and trucks, crayons, stickers, tablet, headphones, etc and it got us through about an hour. I was jealous of all the other families with their kids happily staring at screens until touchdown. 

Three year olds, man. 

[sent]

Embrace Disney. We go to Sesame Place almost once a month as locals and my 4 year old thinks it's the best weekend activity ever. My DD who is older loved Disney more so I took her at age 3, 5, and 6. On the trip where she was 6, the trip was still super fun but the magic was fading. She is 9 now and still asks to go all the time but it's a different kind of trip now. She's at an age where I don't have to do Disney again, she will understand and appreciate us visiting somewhere new. I'm trying to fit in one more Disney experience while DS is 5 and is still in on the fantasy. I'm thinking we will do a Disney cruise rather than another park trip.

My husband has been whining about going to Quebec City since DS was 1.5 and complains non-stop when I say we are going to Disney again. The thought of taking a small baby/toddler to Quebec City in the winter time made me want to shut down. I said we weren't going until I felt ready. After DS turned 4.5, he seemed to be more amenable to longer travel and societal norms in general like behaving in a restaurant, not trying to draw all over the hotel furniture, etc. Not great, just barely amenable. By contrast, DD was much more pleasant out in public right after she turned 4. I said we can go to Quebec City when DS will be 5.5.

DS will be 5 soon and we are doing our first 6 hour plane ride with both of them this summer. They've finally reached an age where I feel comfortable taking them both on a plane ride that is longer than 3 hours for leisure. DD was also ready at age 5 but since DS was only 1, I had to put my dreams of returning to Hawaii, my favorite vacation place, back on hold for longer.

[sent]

Jan 31, 2023 22:41:45 GMT -5 chocolatepie said:

He plays games/watches videos for about 15 minutes and then hands it back to me, says "I'm done" and starts unbuckling his seatbelt to get off the plane (and then is frustrated that we can't get off yet). 

DS did this too during dinner at the California Grill as a new 4 year old. The phone was not doing it for him and he never gets the phone at home otherwise. He and I took an impromptu trip down to the gift shop to buy 2 toys to occupy him for the rest of the time during dinner and it was still not great. He was just trying to crawl under the table, climb on the window, take his 100th trip to the bathroom, etc. I've been to the restaurant twice before or else I would have been so upset (it's our favorite Disney restaurant). But that's also why I loved Disney at this age because there is a gift shop where we could go in the middle of dinner. Also no one will object to a kid being in an expensive restaurant. 

[steamboat185]

Jan 31, 2023 22:41:45 GMT -5 chocolatepie said:

Jan 31, 2023 21:07:33 GMT -5 devonpow said:

omg yes. When my teen was a toddler traveling all we had was a mini portable dvd player and we weren’t allowed to use it during take off or landing. Torture! These days it’s so easy - we have done multiple 10+ hour flights starting with DS2 being around 5 and there’s so much built in entertainment now it’s awesome

I think my kid is broken - ha! My father in law recently died and we traveled (by plane) several times in the last 2 months to see him, services, etc. We caved and bought him his first tablet for the plane. He plays games/watches videos for about 15 minutes and then hands it back to me, says "I'm done" and starts unbuckling his seatbelt to get off the plane (and then is frustrated that we can't get off yet). He begs for screen time at home and when we were willing to give him unlimited access, he wasn't interested.

I brought snacks on snacks on snacks (like, high value stuff), cars and trucks, crayons, stickers, tablet, headphones, etc and it got us through about an hour. I was jealous of all the other families with their kids happily staring at screens until touchdown. 

Three year olds, man. 

What got us through the crazy long flights to New Zealand and Australia was having a small new package to open every hour (like blind bag size). Some had candy, some were toys, my kids were very into the opening aspect. Having a bag with 19 blind bags wasn’t my favorite, but it did work!

[niq]

When V was 2.5 we did an AI near Puerta Vallarta. We spent most of the time at the resort, but also visited a botanical gardens, hired a babysitter so we could go to downtown PV child-free, and went out in the Pacific on a boat. We probably could have done a few more things in town if we really wanted. The resort also had live music on most nights, we went "out" after V's bedtime to watch the live music once.

We went to Japan when V was not quite 4 and O was a baby but ... I would not recommend that lol.

We really loosen up on snacks and screen time rules during vacation, there was definitely one day the kids did almost nothing but watch Disney Junior. Tablets at every restaurant until food shows up.

[sparty04]

We've done Chicago a few times with 4 young kids and it was pretty enjoyable

[dreamcrisp1]

My kid (also 3) loves travelling and loves restaurants so that has made it easy.

We’ve taken him to:

Germany
Switzerland
Italy
Malta
Portugal
Spain
Canada

We are going to Greece in April and perhaps France in July.

We’ve done a mix of beach trips (Malta and Greece will be a beach) and cities. He is happier being out and about than being stuck at home (same). He keeps asking to go back to Spain.

We also plan to do a Scandinavia trip at some point before we leave europe.

Maybe try a beach resort at the first trip and see how it goes?

[sdlaura]

My kids started being willing to watch tablets on planes for hours when they were 3-ish, so it may get easier for you soon. I have 4 kids 10 and under and we’ve never done a Disney vacation. We tend to do the same kind of trips we did pre-kids, typically staying in vacation rentals or resorts that have multi-bedroom rooms, and just moderate our expectations about how much we can do in a day.

We’ve been to Hawaii, Park City, Idaho, Vancouver, Portland, the San Juan Islands, Valle de Guadalupe wine area in Mexico, Bend Oregon, etc at those ages. We do tend toward more outdoorsy/beachy trips vs museums. We like to travel with friends because then we can all hang out after the kids are in bed and not worry about a babysitter. The flights are not at all relaxing for me or DH but we still feel like they’re worth it. A 6-ish hour flight has been our max so far and we’re planning to do our first really long flights (to New Zealand) when our youngest son is 4.5 years old.

[pittpurple]

We live in Scotland so the options are a bit different but my kids do much better with outdoor themed activities. My daughter has some social challenges and hates crowds (covid era didn't help this at all) so she would never like Disney and isn't a huge fan of cities (we live just outside Edinburgh, Scotland so she spends a lot of time in a city anyway). If your kid is happy in a crowd that opens up much more of the world!

This year we are just leaning into what the kids most like and staying in Scotland/UK for lots of beach trip. For our kids that means beaches, hiking and castles. If your kid isn't reliably watching a screen yet I'd give it a year before a long flight - it's totally doable if you both really want to of course but it really got a lot easier for us once the kids were happy with their kindle fires. Pre and post covid we usually fly to the states once/twice a year and last year was so insanely easy I just couldn't believe how much it had changed!

[melmaria]

We didn’t do any traveling involving planes for 2 years during Covid (we resumed plane travel in March 2022), which overlapped with my DD1 being almost 1 to almost 3. But since then, we have done a Caribbean island trip, a Caribbean cruise, and trips to AZ and CA (northern and southern). I’d like to do something like Iceland or Alaska in the not too distant future.

I very much agree with PPs who mentioned outdoorsy trips at young ages. We love beaches, mountains, boating, hiking, being outdoors. Cruising is not generally my thing (it was a large extended family trip, so not something I would have chosen just for my immediate family), but the kids club was awfully convenient. We did a mini hike in AZ and the kids (now almost 4 and 1) had a blast. We look up children’s museums and zoos wherever we go too.

As the adage goes, as long as you consider traveling with young kids to be a “trip” or “offsite parenting,” and not a “vacation” (meaning your expectations are set appropriately lol) you can have a great time.

[cricketwife]

At that age, our “vacations” were visits to my mom’s house in Florida. She had an incredible pool. And we would do short visits to the beach, the Mote aquarium. It was great for us. I understand for you, that doesn’t feel like a vacation.

Do what you feel like you can manage. Some kids travel well and some don’t. DS1 is a beast if he is slightly out of routine, whereas DS2 is so easy going and you could take him anywhere, even now, at 6 and 9, Ds2 approaches travel as “this is so great! I love this” and Ds1 is all snarly because (fill in the blank complaint), it truly is who they are. It’s great if people enjoy traveling with their young children and it’s also great if you recognize what will actually be enjoyable at this season and do that. You aren’t doing it wrong if your 3 year old isn’t fun to travel with.

[joy]

What’s wrong with London and Quebec City for a three year old?

Plan things that are fun for them and for you. We just got back from London where we did afternoon tea and a playground, London Eye and London Aquarium, Westminster Abbey and Harrods, etc. We pair days with an adult activity and a kid one. If the adult activity was too much then we split up and let an adult do something in peace and the other does something more kid-friendly.

We took our three year old to Charleston and had more trips planned but covid. We’ve had good luck with Puerto Rico and the beach, too.

I think the trick is to just try. It won’t go quite like it did before, but you’ll figure it out and when you do, you’ll see the trips aren’t so bas and you’ll branch out!

[melmaria]

Feb 1, 2023 7:21:07 GMT -5 joy said:

What’s wrong with London and Quebec City for a three year old?

Plan things that are fun for them and for you. We just got back from London where we did afternoon tea and a playground, London Eye and London Aquarium, Westminster Abbey and Harrods, etc. We pair days with an adult activity and a kid one. If the adult activity was too much then we split up and let an adult do something in peace and the other does something more kid-friendly.

So obviously, nothing is wrong with London for a 3 year old.

But for people who have limited travel budgets, a trip to someplace like London may be a once in a lifetime kind of trip - and those people may not want to spend the $$$$ to do a trip like that until they can really see and do all the major tourist attractions (including all the major museums, castles, etc.) - things that young kids may not have the attention span to sit through day after day.

Obviously there are plenty of kid-friendly things to do in London (I lived there for a year, I know!) - but if I was only going to be able to do one trip there in my lifetime, I probably wouldn’t want to do it when having to revolve my plans around a 3 year old’s needs/nap schedule/etc. Other people may feel differently, but I understand the sentiment.

[shauni27]

at 3 we didn't do planes because it was the height of covid, but we drove to the coast of Maine (less than 2 hours for us) and it was perfect. Since then we have traveled a lot by plane; he just gets his tablet and special travel toys.

Places I would do with a 3 year old: Charleston, San Diego, Cape Cod/Boston, Maine, Puerto Rico, Tahoe...My vacations are usually centered around beaches or lakes and relaxing as much as possible, even with a toddler. So something easy, with kid friendly activities (swimming, playgrounds, kids museums or even like a trampoline place) near by.

[joy]

Feb 1, 2023 8:15:21 GMT -5 melmaria said:

Feb 1, 2023 7:21:07 GMT -5 joy said:

What’s wrong with London and Quebec City for a three year old?

Plan things that are fun for them and for you. We just got back from London where we did afternoon tea and a playground, London Eye and London Aquarium, Westminster Abbey and Harrods, etc. We pair days with an adult activity and a kid one. If the adult activity was too much then we split up and let an adult do something in peace and the other does something more kid-friendly.

So obviously, nothing is wrong with London for a 3 year old.

But for people who have limited travel budgets, a trip to someplace like London may be a once in a lifetime kind of trip - and those people may not want to spend the $$$$ to do a trip like that until they can really see and do all the major tourist attractions (including all the major museums, castles, etc.) - things that young kids may not have the attention span to sit through day after day.

Obviously there are plenty of kid-friendly things to do in London (I lived there for a year, I know!) - but if I was only going to be able to do one trip there in my lifetime, I probably wouldn’t want to do it when having to revolve my plans around a 3 year old’s needs/nap schedule/etc. Other people may feel differently, but I understand the sentiment.

Of course. But that’s not what she said in her post. She said she loves travel and to explore. Pre-kids, they enjoyed London, Quebec City, etc. She was using those as examples of what they like and felt they couldn’t do now because three year old. I was saying the two aren’t mutually exclusive.

[Patsy Baloney]

Washington DC and hiking trips.

We’re in the Midwest, so DC was a flight. We took both of my kids there as littles, DD when she was 2, DS when he was 3. Had an absolute blast.

Chicago is fun, too. St. Louis (that zoo 😍)

And then most years we just rent a cabin a few hours away in some direction, use AllTrails to find hikes to go on, and run the kids into the ground for a few days doing small town stuff and making them walk trails.