https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 20 May 2026 22:01:59 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-vacations-with-kids#post-2706215 Mon, 06 Mar 2017 09:03:27 +0000 Mrs. Blue 2706215@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@KayKay: We love to ski but our oldest are just only almost 4 and I'm pregnant this winter, so we haven't taken them skiing yet. We're luck to have skiing in NM only 4 hours from us and skiing in CO only about 6-7 hours away, so we will definitely do some long weekend trips when everyone can do ski school or we can leave the littlest at grandparents!<br /> @littlebug: We're actually a little obsessed with RVs, even though it makes me feel like I'm an old lady! My parents have two campers right now and so some of our camping trips have been in them and it is soooo convenient with the kids. I would absolutely do a cross-country trip with the kids, but I would want them to be old enough to really remember it. It would be sooo fun, though. I love that idea. </p> <p>@ShootingStar: Ooh, Australia and the Great Barrier Reef would be a huge dream trip for us, too. </p> <p>@yoursilverlining: We went on our first cruise this summer, but it was without the kids. We loved it, but I'm still new-ish to the world of cruising and wasn't really sure how non-Disney would compare for little kids. Do you have any specific lines that you would recommend for little bitty kiddos? As for outdoorsy trips, we like them in general, but our predisposition to them right now is mostly just that our kids seem way calmer and happier with the freedom to just run and play. As they get older, we'll definitely want to more non-camping/beachy things, too! </p> <p>@Mrs. Microscope: Tuscany is one of my favorite places on earth! Someday, I want to take a trip back there, hit up Cinque Terre for a few days, and then just go through the countryside and little towns for a few day and let our kids see that side of Italy. Love! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-vacations-with-kids#post-2706210 Mon, 06 Mar 2017 08:45:03 +0000 Mrs. Blue 2706210@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@lawbee11: We have not done any thing in Arizona yet, but I've had that in mind for "someday" because we love Flagstaff and Phoenix, but haven't been to the Grand Canyon yet ourselves. And a Disney Cruise is definitely on our agenda in the next few years, but they're so expensive that I keep hesitating to pull the trigger. Everyone I know who has gone on one has raved and said it's totally worth it, though. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-vacations-with-kids#post-2705976 Sat, 04 Mar 2017 15:20:13 +0000 SugarplumsMom 2705976@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p><b>What have been the most fun trips you've taken with your kids and what age were the kids?</b><br /> Our funnest trip by far was 2 weeks in the Canaries. The first half was spent in an all-inclusive resort. Then we stayed at a timeshare-type vacation rental. What we loved was the good food, good weather, and most importantly, the numerous playgrounds for LO :happy: I got a great deal, so that was truly a plus. LO was 1.5 yo. </p> <p><b>What locations or activities are on your must-do list for traveling with your kids?</b><br /> DD loves waterparks. She goes nuts! So far we've only been to a waterpark in Sweden and one in Rhodos, but we plan on going to a ton more. I've been looking into theme parks for DD's birthday and now have a list of local and nearby places to go. We prefer theme parks with open/free play with the option of lodging either in the park or in a small forest cottage. Places on our list include:</p> <p>- Legoland Denmark (those camping barrels look awesome!)<br /> - Lalandia Billund (huge waterpark)<br /> - High Chaparral Sweden (DH's choice, but it looks like a place for older kids)<br /> - Astrid Lindgren's World (although I'm more interested in the old tree in town :grin: )<br /> - Trolska Skogen (looks magical)</p> <p>Really, anywhere that's new, not too far, and has a few young kid friendly amusements works for us. When DD gets older, we're planning on doing more nature trips: 🏕 camping in the north of Sweden, Iceland, visiting castles in Scotland, a summer in a pretty English town (Devon or anywhere-shire), Croatia. But it'll be a few years until DD is ready for that kind of vacation. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-vacations-with-kids#post-2705932 Sat, 04 Mar 2017 11:29:43 +0000 Mrs. Microscope 2705932@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We travel a lot! And we have a few ideas for once both LOs are big enough. </p> <p>Agriturismo in Tuscany<br /> Iceland<br /> Camper van trip in New Zealand<br /> Sydney or Melbourne Australia<br /> Dude ranch in Colorado or Wyoming </p> <p>Those are our expensive ideas, but we will do things like Disney, Hawaii, carribean cruises, Florida beaches, camping, etc. As well that don't have the same $$$$$ as the dream list. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-vacations-with-kids#post-2705916 Sat, 04 Mar 2017 08:55:39 +0000 caterw 2705916@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We live very close to DC and there is actually a surprising amount of kid friendly stuff to do. Even a lot of the museums (National Zoo, Air and Space especially) are so fun! My 3.5 year old also likes "United States"- so anything with Presidents, American flags, or history. There are tons of festivals there too.</p> <p>I went to Yellowstone as a kid and I still vividly remember the trip.</p> <p>We wanna do a big RV trip out to the Grand Canyon at some point too! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-vacations-with-kids#post-2705888 Sat, 04 Mar 2017 00:42:48 +0000 lamariniere 2705888@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We've done a variety of vacations with our LOs. We are currently on a ski vacation, which is new and different since we don't do so many outdoorsy types of trips. (No camping on the horizon). </p> <p>We've done a few beach vacations (Thailand, Egypt, Indonesia, Miami, Hawaii) and city vacations. We've done one road trip in the US PNW a few years ago and we are planning to do a European road trip this summer. </p> <p>My favorite vacation so far was our trip to Asia last year. We went to Hong Kong, Indonesia and Singapore so we got a little of everything: city, country and beach. The kids did so well with everything and logistically it was pretty easy.</p> <p>ETA: for future trips, Kenya is high on the list since we have good friends there, but that won't be until my youngest is at least 8, back to Egypt when it becomes safer, South Africa, many places in Asia, Australia/New Zealand. I would love to go to South America someday too, but there are so many places that interest me and I don't know where to start. It's also far from us here, so that's a consideration too. I guess the only thing we aren't that interested in is theme parks. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-vacations-with-kids#post-2705857 Fri, 03 Mar 2017 21:54:54 +0000 sapphire 2705857@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So far best vacations with our toddler have been. Beach vacations. She loves splashing in the water and the sand and it's a relaxed pace for everyone. More adventerois options sometimes go okay, but sometimes are more trouble than it's worth for us. For big vacations we've gone to Mexico and Maui with LO. In the future we'd like to travel to Thailand, Peru, and the Galapagos with the kids. Probably will avoid Disney as long as possible as it's just not our thing (expensive, lines, focus on commercial aspects of travel). Defivteky look forward to more camping/hiking/National Parks as LO gets older too. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-vacations-with-kids#post-2705814 Fri, 03 Mar 2017 20:11:45 +0000 yoursilverlining 2705814@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@lawbee11: haha camping haters unite! Everyone loves it and I'm over here like :crying: </p> <p>It wasn't as $$ as I feared it might be - a few dates were reasonable (still crazy but we have a year and half to pay for it!) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-vacations-with-kids#post-2705813 Fri, 03 Mar 2017 20:06:06 +0000 808love 2705813@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have gone to Japan, San Diego, Seattle, Whistler, Canada, NYC, Disneyland, Orlando, a small unknown Pacific Island, Kauai and Maui. We live on Oahu. For LOs remaining childhood years we are planning to go to Big Island of Hawaii, Mexico, San Francisco/Yosemite/London, Colorado/Grand Canyon/Vegas, New Zealand, Boston/DC and some repeater trips.<br /> Perhaps Spain, Portugal, France and Italy in her teen years depending on her interests. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-vacations-with-kids#post-2705812 Fri, 03 Mar 2017 20:05:22 +0000 lawbee11 2705812@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@yoursilverlining: OMG a European Disney cruise sounds incredible. I'm just going to copy all of your vacations because they sound awesome and we hate camping, too :silly: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-vacations-with-kids#post-2705809 Fri, 03 Mar 2017 19:56:48 +0000 yoursilverlining 2705809@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Man, I think every vacation and every place is great with kids! I'm sure there are places that aren't; but that list is pretty short! I've found LO to be welcome basically everywhere we've gone and that LO has had fun everywhere. </p> <p>Most fun with/for LO who is 4.5 now and places I would recommend for kids:</p> <p>Sesame Place</p> <p>Disney World and Disneyland</p> <p>Caribbean cruise (we've done both a Disney cruise and non Disney cruise). I don't think Disney cruises are the end all for families - most higher end cruises compete well with Disney on everything except that characters, live shows and movie theater. Some surpass Disney on food and service. </p> <p>Washington, D.C. - the zoo and museums are free and the historical stuff is plentiful</p> <p>Tuscany, Italy. Very, very child friendly. People in Italy LOVE children. History, food, just wonderfulness</p> <p>We're up in Quebec this weekend and it's also a fun getaway! </p> <p>Next summer we're doing another Disney cruise in Europe this time (Spain, France and italy). Not sure about plans this summer. </p> <p>We don't like camping or outdoors; so our trips are biased that way. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-vacations-with-kids#post-2705798 Fri, 03 Mar 2017 19:44:17 +0000 autumnleaves 2705798@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The beach and the mountains - both are a couple hours away and offer so much. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-vacations-with-kids#post-2705791 Fri, 03 Mar 2017 19:33:11 +0000 catlady 2705791@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@lawbee11: I think so! Actually I think almost any age is good for Hawaii. :) The main reasons we haven't gone are flight times and time change (and cost). My parents took me at age 3.5 and said it was awesome. My DD is that age now and I bet she could handle the trip at this point (now just waiting for the baby to get bigger!). Have fun! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-vacations-with-kids#post-2705693 Fri, 03 Mar 2017 14:57:50 +0000 ShootingStar 2705693@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Every year we have a couple vacations we do - FL in the winter and Cape Cod in the summer. What I love about both is that we can do a mix of relaxation and more active things. </p> <p>As the kids get older I want to start involving them in ideas for bucket list trips. For me, I'd like for all of us to learn how to SCUBA and go to the Great Barrier Reef. We'd also like to do some trips to Europe with the kids. And I'm sure there'll be stuff they're interested in too. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-vacations-with-kids#post-2705687 Fri, 03 Mar 2017 14:50:05 +0000 littlebug 2705687@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>D is 4 and A is 1, and we've only done Florida with them. My parents have a place in Florida (The Villages), so we've gone to visit them. The first trip we took a few day trips to Disney with D (I was pregnant with A). This summer we're going to the beach for a few days, and then in November we're doing a Disney cruise with my entire family.</p> <p>On our must-do list for the future:<br /> -We'll continue going to Florida (probably every other year) and will spread out all the parks<br /> -Maine<br /> -Mackinac Island<br /> -And this isn't necessarily must-do, but it's a multi-starred item on my bucket list - rent an RV and drive cross-country, hitting several National Parks along the way </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-vacations-with-kids#post-2705676 Fri, 03 Mar 2017 14:36:56 +0000 lawbee11 2705676@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@catlady: I'm trying to swing Hawaii for us next year! LO would be 4.5...do you think that's a good age? I'm trying to squeeze it in before she starts Kindergarten and we have to work around the school calendar. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-vacations-with-kids#post-2705669 Fri, 03 Mar 2017 14:32:02 +0000 fancyfunction 2705669@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>M is 4 and H is one and so far we've done a Philly/Hershey/Sesame Place trip and a trip to Kennebunkport, ME which was a lot of fun and very family-friendly. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-vacations-with-kids#post-2705668 Fri, 03 Mar 2017 14:31:49 +0000 Adira 2705668@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We haven't done any big vacations yet, but last summer we went to Thomas Land (located at Edaville in Carver, MA) and it was a HUGE hit! Since we live so close, I think we'll make it an annual trip while the kids are into Thomas (and maybe even after since Edaville is an amusement park on it's own right and has tons of other non-Thomas related stuff to do). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-vacations-with-kids#post-2705663 Fri, 03 Mar 2017 14:26:29 +0000 catlady 2705663@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We've only done 2 "big" vacations but they were both great. We did a Disney cruise when DD was 16 months, then a WDW trip when she was 2.5. Both were great for her age at the time. Highly recommend cruising with LOs. We were actually trying to plan another one with our new DS but he ended up being too young for the cruise we wanted to take (non-Disney, and unfortunately required kids to be at least 12 months). So I think we will end up doing another Disney cruise, although we haven't finalized.</p> <p>We've done a few other short trips, mostly to Cape Cod, which is within driving distance of our home, and one to DC. Those were nice but nothing super special. </p> <p>My personal favorite trips, both as a kid and an adult, were to Hawaii. We haven't gone with our kids yet but I can't wait to go with them when they are a little older. If the flight from the East Coast wasn't so long, we'd probably have gone already. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-vacations-with-kids#post-2705662 Fri, 03 Mar 2017 14:26:23 +0000 erinbaderin 2705662@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>When we just had B we took two trips to England to visit the grandparents and went to Vegas twice. We took my parents to Vegas as babysitters and it was great! In January we took the two boys (10 months and 3) to St Lucia and had a fantastic time, I'm looking forward to traveling a lot more other them. On our must-do list is more beach vacations, grandparents in England, Disney (but not until Trump is no longer president) and a cruise, maybe Alaskan - I'd love to see icebergs while they still exist.</p> <p>When I was a kid - we lived in Holland for three years so we did a LOT of traveling - both my parents were teachers and we basically spent every summer driving around Europe in a camper van. Once we got back to Canada I remember a big driving trip out west and a trip to Disney. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-vacations-with-kids#post-2705655 Fri, 03 Mar 2017 14:21:56 +0000 Mrs. Pickle 2705655@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The only vacations DD has been on so far is a beach trip with family and a Disney Cruise. The cruise was amazing and I'm definitely taking her on another in a few years.</p> <p>This is on my list for travel with DD<br /> -Disney World<br /> -Alaska<br /> -Hawaii<br /> -Ireland </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-vacations-with-kids#post-2705645 Fri, 03 Mar 2017 14:19:12 +0000 snowjewelz 2705645@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The only "vacation" DD1 ever went on (she was 22 mo) was tagging alone to DH's work conference for a long weekend. It was beach front and had board walk, etc! It was low key, very manageable and fun! </p> <p>With DD2, our first vacation next year will be driving up 3 hours to my sister's law school graduation next May. Thinking about adding on a small side trip to Great Wolf close by. </p> <p>Then we have a major international trip we need to take so the girls can officially meet most of my relatives. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-vacations-with-kids#post-2705610 Fri, 03 Mar 2017 14:02:58 +0000 KayKay 2705610@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We did a cruise my senior year of high school, and a couple of friends and I got our own cabin. It was great because it felt like we had a bunch of freedom, but really we were pretty limited in where we could go since, obviously, we were on a boat. </p> <p>My DH did a ranch trip in Wyoming when he was...maybe 12 or 13? He still raves about it to this day and wants to take our kids when they aren't so young. They lived on a "ranch", rode horses, etc etc.</p> <p>We've done a bunch of ski vacations with our littles. They are super fun but still low-key &amp; relaxing. BUT, we either have grandparents with us or go to CO where we have babysitters. So in the event you don't have that, I'd wait until the youngest kid can go to ski school (3y + potty-trained) unless you are with a group and can rotate which adults ski vs. which hang out with the littlest kids.</p> <p>The best trip we have taken with our kids (almost 5 and 2.5 now + baby who was in utero at the time!) was to Palm Springs this past fall. We VRBO-d a house with a pool and spent most of the week just relaxing and swimming. It was great because we had the full kitchen, didn't have to haul gear to/from a community pool, and people could be inside (naps!) or outside as they pleased. As for things to do w/ kids, there is a tram to ride w/ easy hikes at the top, a "living zoo", and Joshua Tree National Park not too far away. Also plenty of shopping &amp; restaurants/etc if you're into that. We'll definitely be going back a lot while the kids are little, since it's so nice to have a fun but flexible vacation spot to accommodate early bedtimes, naptimes, little legs, etc.</p> <p>I want to do a lot more hiking trips (Glacier, Zion/Bryce, Yosemite, etc), but it's so hard with the mixed ages. DD1 is finally getting old enough to hike a decent distance, but DD2 (2.5y) is in that inbetween of too big for a carrier (slash wants to do it all alone!) but too little/slow to walk far on her own. Plus a baby! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-vacations-with-kids#post-2705595 Fri, 03 Mar 2017 13:47:24 +0000 lawbee11 2705595@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Not sure if you've been to Sedona but we did that last summer (along with the Grand Canyon) and it was awesome. We did a pink jeep tour in Sedona and it was probably my favorite part of the trip (and M loved it, too). This one definitely meets your outdoorsy criteria. </p> <p>We did a Disney cruise in November that was amazing. I think if M had to choose this would be her favorite trip we've done. It's so convenient with small kids, and they take such good care of families. Cannot recommend it enough. So much less stressful when everything is on the ship and you don't have to worry about directions, transportation, etc. </p> <p>We're doing Europe this summer so I'll get back to you on that one :)</p> <p>I can't speak to vacations as a kid cause my parents are total homebodies and we never went anywhere...womp womp. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-vacations-with-kids#post-2705586 Fri, 03 Mar 2017 13:25:07 +0000 looch 2705586@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So far, we've done theme parks or beach vacations. My son is 6 and we've started talking about going to see the Grand Canyon. I want him to be a little older so that he can do more of the stuff, like ride a mule down a trail and possibly go water rafting.</p> <p>I am not sure when we could do Washington DC/Smithsonian museums, that's something I really want to do, but we will likely do that between his ages of 10-12.</p> <p>And we've not really toured Europe either, my son has said he wants to go to Holland to pick tulips and I want to see midsummer in Scandanavia. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-vacations-with-kids#post-2705584 Fri, 03 Mar 2017 13:23:52 +0000 mrskansas 2705584@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My daughter is almost two and so far the only traveling we've done with her was to the beach in TX, which was awesome. We're going again in June.</p> <p>We lived in Alaska for a few years so I would love to take her there someday, but I'd like her to be old enough to really appreciate the beauty.</p> <p>In the next few years we plan on going to Hawaii, Colorado/Montana, and somewhere in the Caribbean.</p> <p>Following for other ideas! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/best-vacations-with-kids#post-2705581 Fri, 03 Mar 2017 13:18:34 +0000 Mrs. Blue 2705581@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Because we have no big travel plans in the next year, I'm mentally planning all our family trips for the next 18 years. :silly: So . . .</p> <p>What have been the most fun trips you've taken with your kids and what age were the kids?<br /> What were the most memorable/best trips you took as a kid with your parents?<br /> What locations or activities are on your must-do list for traveling with your kids?</p> <p>We went on less than 5 "real" vacations when I lived at home, so I remember them all super clearly because it was so rare, but I'm not sure they were necessarily typical trips that would be popular with kids. </p> <p>Our best trips so far have been camping in Colorado and a trip to the beach in Texas. Basically, anything that is outdoors, our boys love and they're young enough that we don't want to take some of our bigger "dream" trips until they can remember it better. We're planning another Colorado mountain trip or two this summer, but we're close enough we can just drive and go for a long weekend here and there. </p> <p>On our must-do list is:<br /> Disney World<br /> Yellowstone<br /> Alaska<br /> Caribbean cruise </p>