Best and Worst Family Spring Break Vacation Spots of 2024

[Anonymous]

LA (santa monica) Ojai and Montecito. Phenomenal! A few days of rain interspersed but more like drizzle. Stayed at resorts everywhere w kids 9,6.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We pulled the kids from school early and went to Japan. The weather was unseasonably cool and wet, but we still had a blast and plenty of perfectly fine days. My kids never complained about being bored or about too many temples, etc. Even the five year old managed 8-10 miles on several days.

The kids had no significant jet lag issues and managed the flights just fine.

The dollar is strong vs. the yen. Lodging and food were quite reasonable other than at the high-end spots. Sushi feasts for a family of four for $60, for example.

How many days did you spend in Japan? Really tempted to go next year with extended family, but I’m worried about the kids missing an extra week of school. Wondering if it would be worth it to go for just 7-10 days.

Not PP, but we also went to Japan for the spring break and it was amazing. We did 11 nights and visited Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Osaka with days trips to Hakone, Miyajima island and Nara. We flew to Tokyo on Thursday before spring break and returned from Tokyo on Tuesday after spring break. Kids are in high school. They described the trip as the best trip ever so far. Food and clothing, etc. are cheaper in Japan due to strong dollar. DD got a lot of skin care stuff and DS got cool graphic t-shirts and hoodies. Kyoto is our favorite. We should have skipped Osaka and instead extended our stay in Kyoto.

Different poster, but my response to the folks who are concerned about the length of the break is that travel to destinations like Japan or Australia is that whether it's worth it depends entirely due to your ability to pay for and tolerate long flights. I have spent 6 days in Australia, 8 in Japan, and 3 in Belgium (among many other places; those are just examples of places that I've been for a short period of time given their distance) and while I had no problem with those trips and lengths, it's because I don't mind long flights at all AND I booked tickets that were "easy" -- direct in the case of Japan and Belgium, and just the one stop in LA for Australia. And, these are coach tickets. I really didn't have any issue with the length because it's what I could do given my PTO and schedule but I recognize that at my age (mid 30s for all of these) might make a +8 hour flight for such a short trip no problem, but that wouldn't be the same for someone else. And that's ok. My tolerance is high; I grew up in a place where a flight was literally never shorter than 3 hours to get to it and we have trained my kids to have the same tolerance.

For the case of this specific example, with kids (I have 2) I would do it *if* the flight was basically direct (maybe one stop with a 2 hour layover in somewhere like Seattle), and if my spring break was on the long side of 10 days. Like, leave Friday night and come back two Mondays later (kids stay out a day or two of school). Japan is AMAZING and I think kids would love it -- just the aesthetics alone would enthrall. I would also stick to 1-2 locations (IMO, Kyoto and Tokyo and take the train between the two, or even book open jaw flights -- into Tokyo, out of Kyoto, for example).

"Worth it" is always a personal assessment and mine in this case would depend on the ticket price, the routing, and the attraction of the destination.

[Anonymous]

I know this is not the correct post for this thread but my favorite spring break destination has always been San Diego. It's not that warm, but it's WAY warmer than where I live (Chicago), sunnier, an easy flight, and there's loads to do with kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know this is not the correct post for this thread but my favorite spring break destination has always been San Diego. It's not that warm, but it's WAY warmer than where I live (Chicago), sunnier, an easy flight, and there's loads to do with kids.

Too funny -- I'm the PP that posted she went to San Diego and did one day in Disneyland this spring break (one or two pages back), and I'm from Chicago too. San Diego really is such a great trip for ES-aged kids because there is so much kid-friendly stuff to do -- everyone was happy. We stayed at a resort with a heated pool, and swimming in the afternoons most days was great -- warm enough for us! And to the PP who asked whether Disneyland was crowded -- NO! Spring break is later in CA, so I think that helped!

[Anonymous]

I’m an earlier poster who took kids to Point Reyes this year but we did San Diego last year and I didn’t it alone with my older daughter a few years ago (so both went in kindergarten) and it was so fun! We will likely go sometime this coming year again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m really surprised how far some of you are willing to go for a 7 day vacation. We went to AZ and that was too far for me, time-zone wise. I decided from now on spring break trips will be same time zone or at most one hour difference. I’m saving far trips for summer when we have more time to travel and recover! I guess we are weak!

I would normally agree but we have restrictions in the summer now due to kids work schedules and college move-ins etc, so Spring Break was the only option for an exotic trip and it was 9 nights. Normally we do love the SW for spring breaks!

I would add that our trip was made easier bc I was able to book business class with miles, and direct into Marrakech through Europe. Coach into Casablanca may have killed me and would have probably been a deal-break😭

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Puerto Rico. Hiking, adventure, culture, beach. Direct flights.

second this.

[Anonymous]

I hear Haiti is very affordable this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We pulled the kids from school early and went to Japan. The weather was unseasonably cool and wet, but we still had a blast and plenty of perfectly fine days. My kids never complained about being bored or about too many temples, etc. Even the five year old managed 8-10 miles on several days.

The kids had no significant jet lag issues and managed the flights just fine.

The dollar is strong vs. the yen. Lodging and food were quite reasonable other than at the high-end spots. Sushi feasts for a family of four for $60, for example.

How many days did you spend in Japan? Really tempted to go next year with extended family, but I’m worried about the kids missing an extra week of school. Wondering if it would be worth it to go for just 7-10 days.

Not PP, but we also went to Japan for the spring break and it was amazing. We did 11 nights and visited Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Osaka with days trips to Hakone, Miyajima island and Nara. We flew to Tokyo on Thursday before spring break and returned from Tokyo on Tuesday after spring break. Kids are in high school. They described the trip as the best trip ever so far. Food and clothing, etc. are cheaper in Japan due to strong dollar. DD got a lot of skin care stuff and DS got cool graphic t-shirts and hoodies. Kyoto is our favorite. We should have skipped Osaka and instead extended our stay in Kyoto.

A little late to this thread but if you can share where you stayed in all of those Japanese cities, that would be awesome. TIA!

[Anonymous]

Don’t go to Williamsburg.

[Anonymous]

We went to Greece. It was amazing. We arrived at 8:00 the first day so that helped because we were pretty much on the right schedule immediately. We spent three nights in Athens, two in Hydra and then drove around the Peloponnesian peninsula.

My kids loved the cats, the ruins, and the change of pace an island visit brought.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the PP skiing west with a new skier. It is really the best place to learn. The snow is forgiving and not icy like on the east coast. A multi say ski lesson or if you can splurge, a private lesson will help.

+1 we taught our kids in CO bc we didn’t have to worry about poor conditions, ice, slush etc. Also a full day lesson is a little overkill for a kid the first time so recommend half-day lessons. we did half-day and then they came with us the rest of the day. ours had a great experience learning this way

Disagree. We own a ski house in CO and our kids always do 3 full days at the start of the season and 1-2 during spring break. You can’t learn to ski in 3 hours. Skiing can be so dangerous and especially kids bombing down the mountain that can’t stop or turn, both to themselves and others. Commit to lessons if you plan a trip.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this is not the correct post for this thread but my favorite spring break destination has always been San Diego. It's not that warm, but it's WAY warmer than where I live (Chicago), sunnier, an easy flight, and there's loads to do with kids.

Too funny -- I'm the PP that posted she went to San Diego and did one day in Disneyland this spring break (one or two pages back), and I'm from Chicago too. San Diego really is such a great trip for ES-aged kids because there is so much kid-friendly stuff to do -- everyone was happy. We stayed at a resort with a heated pool, and swimming in the afternoons most days was great -- warm enough for us! And to the PP who asked whether Disneyland was crowded -- NO! Spring break is later in CA, so I think that helped!

Which resort in San Diego!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:LA (santa monica) Ojai and Montecito. Phenomenal! A few days of rain interspersed but more like drizzle. Stayed at resorts everywhere w kids 9,6.

Which resorts?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We went to Greece. It was amazing. We arrived at 8:00 the first day so that helped because we were pretty much on the right schedule immediately. We spent three nights in Athens, two in Hydra and then drove around the Peloponnesian peninsula.

My kids loved the cats, the ruins, and the change of pace an island visit brought.

What ages?