Help Me Figure out A Summer Vacation

[Anonymous]

I'm feeling a bit stuck this year. Here are the parameters, key facts, some initial ideas:

Family: 6 and 8 yo, whole family is outdoorsy and adventurous, everyone can swim, we don't mind driving long distances. Usually stay in rentals (airbnbs, VRBO, etc.). Parents grew up in northeast US
Time: last 2 weeks of August, ideally but can travel anytime in August. Can be 1 or 2 weeks.
Place: looking for someplace new. As a family, have alreay been in summer to Maine (Bar Harbor, Portland, southern beaches, and lakes), RI shore, HHI (and Charleston.Savannah), northern neck VA, cape charles, OBX, bethany, San Diego
Cost: $5 to $7K all in

Initial ideas: (1) upstate NY and eastern Canada roadtrip (to include a finger lake, Niagra, Toronto, Montreal, and at least one CA NP; (2) greece; ;(3) road trip to Chicago and lakes outside CHI; (4) road trip to FL stopping in Asheville on way down to Rosemary beach and finaly doing Diseny world and coming back up along atlantic; (5) italy

Greece and Italy will probably be out this year due to costs. FL will also probably be out bc Disney in August is likely the worst idea I've ever had. But are there places I'm not thinking about? Any other ways to make this Canada idea amazing?

[Anonymous]

I had a good trip to Disney in August 2019. We did parks mainly morning and evening and hung at pool in afternoon.

[Anonymous]

Do you only want to drive?
Ideas (driving distance/road trip)
PEI/ Cape Bretton/ Nova Scotia
Montreal/Quebec
Upper Penninsula/isle royale /Chicago

If flying is an option and you like outdoors:
Colorado/ South Dakota
Yellowstone
Seattle/ Olympic NP or San Juan Islands / Vancouver
SF/ Muir Woods/ Yosemite

[Anonymous]

Also, Glacier NP/ Banff

[Anonymous]

Maybe Canada plus Mackinaw Island/Michigan? The sand dunes are unbelievable to people from the NE

[Anonymous]

How about Northern California? We did San Francisco, Yosemite and Monterrey for spring break one year and it was a great trip. With your timeframe, you can fit in the trip south through Big Sur.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe Canada plus Mackinaw Island/Michigan? The sand dunes are unbelievable to people from the NE

OP here. Thank you all. Would Canada plus Michigan/Mackinaw be driveable from DC?

I also considered N. California but fires have been so bad the last ocuple of summers I feel like it's a big gamble.

One more roadtrip idea: driving to Asheville and Smokies for a week and then a few days at beach near Charleston. Thoughts on that for late August?

[Anonymous]

https://globetotting.com/guatemala-with-kids/

[Anonymous]

The Canada trip sounds fun if you don't mind all the moving around. Buffalo has some interesting things to do.

You could do Chicago and western Michigan (Traverse City is quite fun, and there's a great zoo in Grand Rapids).

Or Western MA and Vermont?

Lake Tahoe? Hawaii? Colorado? Park City? You could also do Smoky Mountains National Park and Dollywood/Pigeon Forge--I think kids who live near there would have already started back at school so that's a bonus.

[Anonymous]

Tennessee/NC might be really hot for you in the summer but YMMV.

[Anonymous]

An alternative idea: a dude ranch.

Such as --

http://riversbendranch.com/trail-rides.html

or

http://www.shangrilaguestranch.com/

To me, it feels as if either going somewhere like that, or just renting a beach house somewhere, would be more lockdown-resistant than going to Canada.

[Anonymous]

This may be the first time in my life I have one this, but....I recommend Florida, including Orlando.

That age is perfect and there are great places to stop along the way. You don't even have to spend a ton of time in amusement parks, maybe one day at Universal or Magic Kingdom or one of the water parks.

Then head to the beach.

Since you've been to Maine your kids can say they have driven the eastern coast, which is kinda cool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe Canada plus Mackinaw Island/Michigan? The sand dunes are unbelievable to people from the NE

OP here. Thank you all. Would Canada plus Michigan/Mackinaw be driveable from DC?

I also considered N. California but fires have been so bad the last ocuple of summers I feel like it's a big gamble.

One more roadtrip idea: driving to Asheville and Smokies for a week and then a few days at beach near Charleston. Thoughts on that for late August?

Michigan is an easy drive from DC. You can get from DC to Detroit in one 8-hour day (if you want to break it up, you can stop in Pittsburgh, which is itself an interesting city. Watch out for crazy thunderstorms on the PA turnpike in summer.) From Detroit to Mackinac Island it's about a 5 hour drive north. The great lakes are truly impressive. However i think of michigan as a trip for going toward Chicago--like Mackinac/Petoskey/Charlevoix/Traverse City then maybe on to Chicago. If I wanted Quebec City and Montreal I'd do the fingerlakes route.

[Anonymous]

OK, really loving all these ideas. Here are my choices, I think, for last 2 weeks of August:

1. NY/NJ (we have family there)-Finger Lakes-Buffalo-Niagra-Toronto-Canadian NP-Montreal-NY/NJ-DC

2. DC-Asheville-Smokies-Dollywood-Edisto Beach/Kiawah-Chareston-DC

3. DC-Asheville-FL Gulf (Rosemary beach)-Orlando (inc. Disney)-Amelia Island-DC [Note that another option for us is to fly to Disney in October over a a 4 day weekend from our kids school and pull them out for one extra day]

4. DC-Detroit-Mackinac/Petoskey/Charlevoix/Traverse City- Chicago-DC


OK....now which one to do? Which one would you do with a 6 and 8 yo?

[Anonymous]

OP, if you do go to Michigan, think about taking the SS Badger car ferry across Lake Michigan. We were driving east from Wisconsin, so not sure it makes sense for you. But it was one of those experiences I'll always remember