Tell me where to go on vacation

[clairebear]

It looks like my eclipse trip is cancelled due to a jerk AirBnB host cancelling my stay. There are no other lodging options except a Comfort Inn for $850 a night which doesn't seem worth it. So now I have $1200 in Southwest Airline credit that I need to use. What would be a good area to visit with my 6 and 7 year old daughters? We can fly out of Tampa or Orlando and do this either in the summer or a long weekend in October or November. Looking for something lower cost, not an expensive city. They love nature stuff, kids museums, hands on experiences. We tried St Augustine and they weren't too into the history and museums. 

[rubytue]

Summer idea - Maine. I think SW flies to Portland, but e there are definitely options around Boston and then you can rent a car and drive up to Acadia and Bar Harbor.

[bsp36]

Odd plug here. But Omaha has an amazing zoo, wildlife safari park, children’s museum. New attraction-https://kiewitluminarium.org/

[TR]

Mar 24, 2024 20:33:16 GMT -5 bsp36 said:

Odd plug here. But Omaha has an amazing zoo, wildlife safari park, children’s museum. New attraction-https://kiewitluminarium.org/

We went to a wedding in Omaha last spring and they had THE coolest urban park I have EVER seen.

[bsp36]

Mar 24, 2024 20:34:05 GMT -5 TR said:

Mar 24, 2024 20:33:16 GMT -5 bsp36 said:

Odd plug here. But Omaha has an amazing zoo, wildlife safari park, children’s museum. New attraction-https://kiewitluminarium.org/

We went to a wedding in Omaha last spring and they had THE coolest urban park I have EVER seen.

I live in a suburb and was very much —they don’t need to update the park downtown. I ate my words. It is amazing!!!!

[Whitecaps]

St. Louis! The Arch, tons of museums but especially the City Museum (look it up!), a baseball game, a river cruise, tasty food…just to get you started.

[EvieEthelGarland]

El Paso to do a White Sands/Carlsbad Caverns/Guadalupe Mountains National Park road trip and/or go to Big Bend National Park. We did all 4 in one trip in November and it was low 80s the entire time so definitely not a summer trip. Prices were very reasonable in November, but it was 2021 and everything seemed reasonable back then. El Paso is one of the easiest airports I've travelled in/out of as far as bags and car rentals. The first three are smaller and can be half day each (unless you really want to hike), but Big Bend is huge, has several different areas and needs at least two days. We stayed in Marfa and Terlingua and both towns are cool as heck. There's an observatory in Ft Davis that we didn't have time for. I planned this more as a check list trip for Big Bend and loved it. It is one of my top 5 National Parks now.

[Pilsy]

I always advocate for Maine visits, but if you prefer a direct flight with the girls, I don't think you can do that via Southwest to Portland from Tampa/Orlando.

Where were you planning to travel for the eclipse? I ask, because it may be more driving than you had in mind originally, but you could fly into Manchester and view the eclipse in northern New Hampshire. It looks like a handful of basic hotels have rooms available.

[SusanBAnthony]

Mar 24, 2024 21:26:28 GMT -5 Whitecaps said:

St. Louis! The Arch, tons of museums but especially the City Museum (look it up!), a baseball game, a river cruise, tasty food…just to get you started.

This is what I was thinking. That's the perfect age for the city museum.

[underwaterrhymes]

My kids still talk about our trip to Minneapolis / St. Paul. They LOVED the Mall of America and Nickelodeon theme park and my meatball loving kiddo had the best meatballs of his life at the Market at Malcolm Yards. H and I also fell in love with the area.

[notsopicky]

EvieEthelGarland, holy $hit, that is the EXACT same trip that H & my son are leaving for TODAY. I am going to capture your post info to give to them.

rubytue said Boston/Maine and that's a great idea. We did a cruise in 2019, started in Boston, ended in Montreal. Maine was amazing, we did Acadia for the day (hired a private driver, so worth it). You could also do Buffalo/Niagara/Toronto: we did that trip in 2022 and it was really fun. Anchor Bar for wings in Buffalo, the falls, Toronto Zoo is amazing.

[shortstax]

If they love nature—how about a buffalo/Niagra falls visit? Seems great for a long weekend and something not easy for you to get to during a typical roadtrip.

I bet it’s gorgeous in October!

[shortstax]

(Or I could have read the post above mine all the way, lol)

[Gato]

Southwest flies to Portland, Maine and Manchester, NH. You could still catch the eclipse by flying into one of those cities and taking a day trip up north. It might be a bit cold (we just had an awful ice storm!), but there are plenty of other things to do while here.

[waverly]

St Louis City Museum is crazy in a good way, might be better for the 8-9 year old range. I was nervous there with my younger kids but maybe they were 4 and 6.

Austin TX has a good kids museum and lots to do in the area.

[midwestmama]

SW flies into Grand Rapids, MI. If you come in the summer, you can fly into GRR and then go up the coast of Lake Michigan to Mackinaw City. While in Grand Rapids, stop at Frederik Meijer Gardens - it is amazing - there is a children's garden, a Japanese garden, sculpture garden and large atrium with tropical plants. It is art + nature.

Rent a car and drive to Holland and then go north along the coast of Lake Michigan. Favorite stops would be Grand Haven, Ludington, Traverse City (go to Sleeping Bear dunes and drive M-22 while you're in the TC area), Charlevoix, Petoskey (look for Petoskey stones at the beach!), and Mackinaw City. Spend a day on Mackinac Island.

If you come in October, you should hit "fall color season" which would be beautiful to make the same drive and see the fall colors.

[Vally]

I fly Portland to Tampa for work a bunch and SW connects in Baltimore, it’s a pretty easy route but direct would be ideal. Another plug to fly Tampa to Logan and then take the train up to Portland. I would shoot for mid October for prime foliage.

Grand Rapids is another good rec. We visited good friends there and did the Frederik Meijer Gardens mentioned and loved them, even without kids lol.

[Bad Dingo]

You've probably already reached out to airbnb, but if not, you should be due a comparable booking because of the cancellation.

[EvieEthelGarland]

Mar 25, 2024 6:13:53 GMT -5 notsopicky said:

EvieEthelGarland , holy $hit, that is the EXACT same trip that H & my son are leaving for TODAY. I am going to capture your post info to give to them.

If they are meat lovers, Carniceria San Juan de los Lagos in Carlsbad was one of the best burritos of my life. And I'm from SoCal. 

the Marfa lights was a surprise hit. Cheesy but fun. 

[snipsnsnails]

Oh no, where were you going to go to watch the eclipse?

[sugarbear1]

We just did a long weekend in San Francisco and it was awesome!