Trips with kids under 6 that felt like a “real vacation”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree that renting a place is the least relaxing way to vacation! Whether at a beach or European city, I much prefer a resort or hotel with room service and daily housekeeping.

I totally agree! Absolutely nothing relaxing about renting a house. So much more work. We did it during Covid and it was fine but definitely not my preferred way to travel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are no vacations with children, only trips. Sorry!

This is just so negative and untrue IMO.

I had a great vacation to San Diego with my 2 and 5 year old, and am finishing up a fantastic Europe trip with my 3 and 6 year old. Screens in the car, building in quiet time at home, and keeping expectations low (particularly WRT sightseeing) are key.

I think we are in violent agreement. I keep my expectations low by reminding myself that there are no vacations with children, only trips.

My children are grown now, but during their childhoods, we took trips to New England, NYC, Florida, San Diego, the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Quebec, Cozumel, Costa Rica, London, Italy, Greece, and France. Great trips, great memories. Relaxing? No.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We’ve always loved summers in Mont Tremblant.

What kind of activities are there in the summer? Where did you stay?

[Anonymous]

My kids are 3&6. We’ve taken some vacations that feel
More like a trip. It’s more about everyone’s attitude and vibe. We went to Maine last year and portland was not great for us…heat wave. Year before, portland was great. My kids do better in small towns/small cities or in rural spots and don’t enjoy sightseeing. They like beaches, hiking, grabbing food, markets are usually fun.

The most relaxing vacation has been to a family camp: Silver Bay, YMCA. It’s at lake George, NY

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids are 3&6. We’ve taken some vacations that feel
More like a trip. It’s more about everyone’s attitude and vibe. We went to Maine last year and portland was not great for us…heat wave. Year before, portland was great. My kids do better in small towns/small cities or in rural spots and don’t enjoy sightseeing. They like beaches, hiking, grabbing food, markets are usually fun.

The most relaxing vacation has been to a family camp: Silver Bay, YMCA. It’s at lake George, NY

I think it really depends on what type of vacations a person enjoys. Family camp sounds so unappealing to me. I would not want to go to this type of vacation with or without kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that renting a place is the least relaxing way to vacation! Whether at a beach or European city, I much prefer a resort or hotel with room service and daily housekeeping.

I totally agree! Absolutely nothing relaxing about renting a house. So much more work. We did it during Covid and it was fine but definitely not my preferred way to travel.

I think it’s way more relaxing to have space to spread out, especially when the family needs downtime. When we took kids (3 and 7) to Paris we got a great apartment and had space to do Our own things in the morning and before dinner. We also did cook one night when the kids were too wiped for another restaurant. It just makes things so much easier for me.

[Anonymous]

I think I'd need to know what things felt like a vacation before you had kids. I don't mind cooking on vacation, but some people find it awful. I like to cook and vacations are my chance to try new or more complicated recipes compared to when I'm working.

We mainly visited family when my kids were under six or had family join us at the beach, although we did take a trip to southern California when they were 1 and 4 that was fun. The kid who was 4 remembers parts of it. The other kid has no memory of it. We went to attend a family friend's wedding and also spent a couple of days visiting a relative who lived in the general area. Any area with family-friendly museums were a huge hit at that age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a timely thread. Our DD will be two in August, and we'd like to take a vacation just the three of us before having another kid. However, it's really tough to find a place that's good for a kid that age, as all the "kid activities" at resort type places seem geared towards kids that are at least 5 or so.

What is wrong with a beach resort with a nice pool?

We also did 4S Vegas with our kid at this age. They loved it.

Most of those places won’t take PP’s 1 (or 2) year old in their kids club.

Andaz Costa Rica has great rooms (huge) and wonderful childcare options for children that are 2. We used a private sitter nightly for dinner and stayed on property or went to one of the restaurants at the Four Seasons very nearby.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are 3&6. We’ve taken some vacations that feel
More like a trip. It’s more about everyone’s attitude and vibe. We went to Maine last year and portland was not great for us…heat wave. Year before, portland was great. My kids do better in small towns/small cities or in rural spots and don’t enjoy sightseeing. They like beaches, hiking, grabbing food, markets are usually fun.

The most relaxing vacation has been to a family camp: Silver Bay, YMCA. It’s at lake George, NY

I think it really depends on what type of vacations a person enjoys. Family camp sounds so unappealing to me. I would not want to go to this type of vacation with or without kids.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that renting a place is the least relaxing way to vacation! Whether at a beach or European city, I much prefer a resort or hotel with room service and daily housekeeping.

I totally agree! Absolutely nothing relaxing about renting a house. So much more work. We did it during Covid and it was fine but definitely not my preferred way to travel.

I think it’s way more relaxing to have space to spread out, especially when the family needs downtime. When we took kids (3 and 7) to Paris we got a great apartment and had space to do Our own things in the morning and before dinner. We also did cook one night when the kids were too wiped for another restaurant. It just makes things so much easier for me.

Agreed- also helps if you still have napping kids and early bedtimes. We still try to avoid hotel rooms if at all possible, and if we must stay in one get a suite with a separate bedroom, but in a couple years I may feel differently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that renting a place is the least relaxing way to vacation! Whether at a beach or European city, I much prefer a resort or hotel with room service and daily housekeeping.

I totally agree! Absolutely nothing relaxing about renting a house. So much more work. We did it during Covid and it was fine but definitely not my preferred way to travel.

I think it’s way more relaxing to have space to spread out, especially when the family needs downtime. When we took kids (3 and 7) to Paris we got a great apartment and had space to do Our own things in the morning and before dinner. We also did cook one night when the kids were too wiped for another restaurant. It just makes things so much easier for me.

Agreed- also helps if you still have napping kids and early bedtimes. We still try to avoid hotel rooms if at all possible, and if we must stay in one get a suite with a separate bedroom, but in a couple years I may feel differently.

Also 100% agree. If you have good nappers and sleepers this is the way to go. The kids stayed their cheerful selves and the parents got lots of downtime which was appreciated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that renting a place is the least relaxing way to vacation! Whether at a beach or European city, I much prefer a resort or hotel with room service and daily housekeeping.

I totally agree! Absolutely nothing relaxing about renting a house. So much more work. We did it during Covid and it was fine but definitely not my preferred way to travel.

I think it’s way more relaxing to have space to spread out, especially when the family needs downtime. When we took kids (3 and 7) to Paris we got a great apartment and had space to do Our own things in the morning and before dinner. We also did cook one night when the kids were too wiped for another restaurant. It just makes things so much easier for me.

Agreed- also helps if you still have napping kids and early bedtimes. We still try to avoid hotel rooms if at all possible, and if we must stay in one get a suite with a separate bedroom, but in a couple years I may feel differently.

Also 100% agree. If you have good nappers and sleepers this is the way to go. The kids stayed their cheerful selves and the parents got lots of downtime which was appreciated.

Same. My kids needed a lot of sleep when they were little and were monsters when they got off schedule. DH and I are happy to have a house to spread out and relax. Hotel rooms were awful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are no vacations with children, only trips. Sorry!

This is just so negative and untrue IMO.

I had a great vacation to San Diego with my 2 and 5 year old, and am finishing up a fantastic Europe trip with my 3 and 6 year old. Screens in the car, building in quiet time at home, and keeping expectations low (particularly WRT sightseeing) are key.

You don’t have my children. Getting puked on constantly because of motion sickness, poor sleep resulting in severe moodiness, screaming and crying on flights, picky eaters, etc mean any trip isn’t fun for us. Though happy for you that your kids travel well. Not all do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are 3&6. We’ve taken some vacations that feel
More like a trip. It’s more about everyone’s attitude and vibe. We went to Maine last year and portland was not great for us…heat wave. Year before, portland was great. My kids do better in small towns/small cities or in rural spots and don’t enjoy sightseeing. They like beaches, hiking, grabbing food, markets are usually fun.

The most relaxing vacation has been to a family camp: Silver Bay, YMCA. It’s at lake George, NY

I think it really depends on what type of vacations a person enjoys. Family camp sounds so unappealing to me. I would not want to go to this type of vacation with or without kids.

+1

Neither camping nor resorts are my kind of trip. If you’re just going to sit in a resort, I don’t understand why you would go anywhere at all.

[Anonymous]

Lancaster area