Summer 2025 Trip Reports

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Punta Cana at an all inclusive in February. Never need to do an AI again.

Switzerland in early July. Absolute perfection for a four year old, and we immediately all wanted to go again the second we got home.

Would love to know your Switzerland itinerary and how many days you stayed! Thinking of doing the same with my tweens next year.

We stayed in Wengen for 5 days, 2 days in Lucerne, then 1 in Zurich. Itinerary was heavily influenced by Busy Toddler, who I think has some tween-aged kids. Looking back, I would have skipped Lucerne and re-allocated that time to stay in a base town in the mountains and did day trips from there. We chose Wengen, but Murren is also cute but more isolated. Lauterbrunnen is a lot more convenient, but not as charming.

For day-by-day activities, basically looked up where the best alpine playgrounds are and built the trip around that. For tweens, I'd make sure to spend a bit of time in the Bernese Oberland area and then branch off from there based on interests (lakes, tobogganing, etc.) and hikes the kids can do. Swiss Family Fun website would be a great start to identify what's kid friendly.

NP who also did a Punta Cana AI in Feb for the first time, and Switzerland this summer. We followed a similar itinerary also influenced by Busy Toddler -- I was wondering as we were roaming around how many others were out there. We had a FANTASTIC time. Landed in Zurich, train to Lucerne for a night, then a full week based in Wengen before heading on to Italy. Agree with all of the advice and takeaways of the PP above.

We stayed in an apartment in Wengen that worked out perfectly, booked through Alpine Holidays. For 7 nights it came to about $3000 USD and had 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a full kitchen, laundry, and an incredible balcony with views. We tended to eat breakfasts and dinners there, with big lunches out. One thing we all loved about the hiking there is how so many substantial hikes could end at a big playground with wonderful restaurants. My kids are 7 and 9 and we are all dying to go back.

Booked all flights on points so the cost to fly there and back was negligible, and everything else came to about $6500 total for food, other transportation, lodging, etc. It was a 10 night trip and I think we got a lot of bank for our buck on this one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We spent one week in Acadia with two kids (2 yo and 4 yo) and grandparents. We had a fantastic time! Everyone’s first time in Maine.

4 yo had fun hiking and the 2 yo loved looking at all the water.

We drove to save $$ so it was a pretty affordable vacation, all in about $3,500.

Where did you stay? I was pricing a VRBO for August 2026 and that alone is about $4000 - $5000.

We stayed in an AirBnB in Southwest harbor. I think this area is slightly cheaper than Bar Harbor, and we preferred staying on the “quiet side”. 4 bedroom 2.5 bath place was about $3,600 total for a week, we split the cost with my parents.

[Anonymous]

We did a weekend trip over July 4 to Atlanta to see the Georgia Aquarium, which my kids had been asking to go to for years. Quick, easy trip, and booked hotel and flights on points, so paid very little.

We did 5 nights in Turks and Caicos: 2 nights at Windsong and 3 nights at Beaches. It was fun, but I learned my kids and husband aren't beach people so that kind of put a damper on things. Thankfully, we booked the Windsong on points, and got a last minute deal at Beaches.

[Anonymous]

Anyone spend less than 10k on any of these trips?

[Anonymous]

We went to Greece - Athens and Paros/Naxos. Out of all, we really enjoyed Paros. Overall though, I prefer other countries that I had been to in Europe over Greece. As others have said, there is something magical about Italy - from the Dolomites to the Southern beaches to the delicious food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone spend less than 10k on any of these trips?

I posted about my trip to Switzerland and Italy which came in under $10k.

[Anonymous]

Anyone spend less than 10k on any of these trips?

yes (10 days trip to Venice/Italian dolomites/northern Croatia), with two caveats. Used miles for tickets, and did not travel with kids. spent about 5k.

car rental 9 days: 700, plus 150?? for gas.

hotels: averaged about 200-250$/night (paid 300 in Dolomites, but with half board). with kids we get two rooms or an air BNB, etc, but usually spend more.

meals: probably 150-200 day depending (breakfast included, we often skip lunch, so mostly dinners).

activities: hiking was free aside from some money for ski lifts, museums/churches, etc were inexpensive, did a boat ride in Croatia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Punta Cana at an all inclusive in February. Never need to do an AI again.

Switzerland in early July. Absolute perfection for a four year old, and we immediately all wanted to go again the second we got home.

Would love to know your Switzerland itinerary and how many days you stayed! Thinking of doing the same with my tweens next year.

We stayed in Wengen for 5 days, 2 days in Lucerne, then 1 in Zurich. Itinerary was heavily influenced by Busy Toddler, who I think has some tween-aged kids. Looking back, I would have skipped Lucerne and re-allocated that time to stay in a base town in the mountains and did day trips from there. We chose Wengen, but Murren is also cute but more isolated. Lauterbrunnen is a lot more convenient, but not as charming.

For day-by-day activities, basically looked up where the best alpine playgrounds are and built the trip around that. For tweens, I'd make sure to spend a bit of time in the Bernese Oberland area and then branch off from there based on interests (lakes, tobogganing, etc.) and hikes the kids can do. Swiss Family Fun website would be a great start to identify what's kid friendly.

NP who also did a Punta Cana AI in Feb for the first time, and Switzerland this summer. We followed a similar itinerary also influenced by Busy Toddler -- I was wondering as we were roaming around how many others were out there. We had a FANTASTIC time. Landed in Zurich, train to Lucerne for a night, then a full week based in Wengen before heading on to Italy. Agree with all of the advice and takeaways of the PP above.

We stayed in an apartment in Wengen that worked out perfectly, booked through Alpine Holidays. For 7 nights it came to about $3000 USD and had 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a full kitchen, laundry, and an incredible balcony with views. We tended to eat breakfasts and dinners there, with big lunches out. One thing we all loved about the hiking there is how so many substantial hikes could end at a big playground with wonderful restaurants. My kids are 7 and 9 and we are all dying to go back.

Booked all flights on points so the cost to fly there and back was negligible, and everything else came to about $6500 total for food, other transportation, lodging, etc. It was a 10 night trip and I think we got a lot of bank for our buck on this one.

Well, looks like we're on the same page in terms of trips! Also booked the flights with points, which really brought costs down.

Curious, what are you planning next? We are thinking of going to the Swiss alps again next summer, but pairing it with another country this time (Paris). Having a hard time figuring out logistics that's not a 3+hour train ride. I also looked into the Dolomites, but worried it won't be as fun as Switzerland.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1 week in Glacier National Park earlier this month. Family of 4, kids 7 and 10. Spent about $10k as we used mostly in-park lodging. Flights and rental car were expensive. Absolutely loved it, the hiking and views were spectacular, and I would love to go back.

Please tell me more! I'm looking at booking this trip for next year and would love to hear lodging advice. I'm picky!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone spend less than 10k on any of these trips?

Several people have posted under 10K including the Badlands poster. Ours was also under 10K—we rented a 2 bedroom marriot vacation club resort unit from a time share owner at Hilton head for a week. Flights to Savannah were cheap and the car rental. Some meals out but the unit had a kitchen so could eat some in. Beach, pool, kayaking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We did a road trip starting in the Chicago area. We drove in one day about 12 hours to the Badlands National Park. We stopped about every two hours to stretch legs and we got there by dinner. Kids loved Badlands National Park because they could climb all over the formations. We did some trails and they did climbing. We stayed two nights at a motel one minute outside the park.

From there we saw Wall Drug and went to Custer state park. We stayed at a cabin in the park at a lake so we could walk to it. Since we were inside the park we could drive the wildlife loop at different times of the day and saw lots of wildlife. Hiking, scenic drive.


Then we drove to North Dakota to see Theodore Roosevelt National Park. It looked different than the Badlands of the south. Gorgeous. Nice trails and less crowded. Went to the Medora musical.

It was a budget friendly trip. Before we left I made breakfasts and lunches to bring with us and we stopped at a grocery store twice to restock. 11 days. $4400. Includes all gas, pet sitter, food, tickets, etc…

My people would revolt with that mich driving!

NP. Road trips are fun in different ways. I also think they're character building. You can learn so much and see a lot more country.

and you felt the need to share this because....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We did a road trip starting in the Chicago area. We drove in one day about 12 hours to the Badlands National Park. We stopped about every two hours to stretch legs and we got there by dinner. Kids loved Badlands National Park because they could climb all over the formations. We did some trails and they did climbing. We stayed two nights at a motel one minute outside the park.

From there we saw Wall Drug and went to Custer state park. We stayed at a cabin in the park at a lake so we could walk to it. Since we were inside the park we could drive the wildlife loop at different times of the day and saw lots of wildlife. Hiking, scenic drive.


Then we drove to North Dakota to see Theodore Roosevelt National Park. It looked different than the Badlands of the south. Gorgeous. Nice trails and less crowded. Went to the Medora musical.

It was a budget friendly trip. Before we left I made breakfasts and lunches to bring with us and we stopped at a grocery store twice to restock. 11 days. $4400. Includes all gas, pet sitter, food, tickets, etc…

My people would revolt with that mich driving!

NP. Road trips are fun in different ways. I also think they're character building. You can learn so much and see a lot more country.

and you felt the need to share this because....

NP, but I'll note that it's worth noting that your kids today might not be the same as your kids tomorrow. My kids HATED road trips when they were in ES. As teens, they don't care as much about the drive time, because they will just put on their music and listen with their ipods, which is what they'd do pretty much anyplace, or be on their phone reading or something. The combination of the teenage phone addiction and the ability to give them Dramamine is a game changer for road trips. And of course it helps if you are doing things like hiking when you stop because then everyone is glad for the chance to sit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Punta Cana at an all inclusive in February. Never need to do an AI again.

Switzerland in early July. Absolute perfection for a four year old, and we immediately all wanted to go again the second we got home.

Would love to know your Switzerland itinerary and how many days you stayed! Thinking of doing the same with my tweens next year.

We stayed in Wengen for 5 days, 2 days in Lucerne, then 1 in Zurich. Itinerary was heavily influenced by Busy Toddler, who I think has some tween-aged kids. Looking back, I would have skipped Lucerne and re-allocated that time to stay in a base town in the mountains and did day trips from there. We chose Wengen, but Murren is also cute but more isolated. Lauterbrunnen is a lot more convenient, but not as charming.

For day-by-day activities, basically looked up where the best alpine playgrounds are and built the trip around that. For tweens, I'd make sure to spend a bit of time in the Bernese Oberland area and then branch off from there based on interests (lakes, tobogganing, etc.) and hikes the kids can do. Swiss Family Fun website would be a great start to identify what's kid friendly.

NP who also did a Punta Cana AI in Feb for the first time, and Switzerland this summer. We followed a similar itinerary also influenced by Busy Toddler -- I was wondering as we were roaming around how many others were out there. We had a FANTASTIC time. Landed in Zurich, train to Lucerne for a night, then a full week based in Wengen before heading on to Italy. Agree with all of the advice and takeaways of the PP above.

We stayed in an apartment in Wengen that worked out perfectly, booked through Alpine Holidays. For 7 nights it came to about $3000 USD and had 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a full kitchen, laundry, and an incredible balcony with views. We tended to eat breakfasts and dinners there, with big lunches out. One thing we all loved about the hiking there is how so many substantial hikes could end at a big playground with wonderful restaurants. My kids are 7 and 9 and we are all dying to go back.

Booked all flights on points so the cost to fly there and back was negligible, and everything else came to about $6500 total for food, other transportation, lodging, etc. It was a 10 night trip and I think we got a lot of bank for our buck on this one.

Well, looks like we're on the same page in terms of trips! Also booked the flights with points, which really brought costs down.

Curious, what are you planning next? We are thinking of going to the Swiss alps again next summer, but pairing it with another country this time (Paris). Having a hard time figuring out logistics that's not a 3+hour train ride. I also looked into the Dolomites, but worried it won't be as fun as Switzerland.

We've been thinking about the Pyrenees, and spending some time on either the Spanish or French side. DH and I love the Costa Brava and stayed at a seaside resort pre-kids that would be fun to take them to. Dolomites is on our short list, too! But maybe in a few more years when we can do even longer hikes (assuming the adults can keep up with the kids still).

When our kids were a little younger some great trips included Sweden and Iceland, Ireland (stayed at an airbnb on a farm, and also in Dublin) and we had great trips to upstate NY and Canada. I'd re-do either of those in a heartbeat if I had unlimited time and money to travel. I'd also like to rent a place in Tuscany and spend a week maybe doing a farm stay before heading over to the Ligurian coast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone spend less than 10k on any of these trips?

Iceland is expensive, but you could do it for 4 days for <$10K with 3 people depending on where you stay. Flights are pretty cheap but things there (esp. food) is expensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Punta Cana at an all inclusive in February. Never need to do an AI again.

Switzerland in early July. Absolute perfection for a four year old, and we immediately all wanted to go again the second we got home.

Would love to know your Switzerland itinerary and how many days you stayed! Thinking of doing the same with my tweens next year.

We stayed in Wengen for 5 days, 2 days in Lucerne, then 1 in Zurich. Itinerary was heavily influenced by Busy Toddler, who I think has some tween-aged kids. Looking back, I would have skipped Lucerne and re-allocated that time to stay in a base town in the mountains and did day trips from there. We chose Wengen, but Murren is also cute but more isolated. Lauterbrunnen is a lot more convenient, but not as charming.

For day-by-day activities, basically looked up where the best alpine playgrounds are and built the trip around that. For tweens, I'd make sure to spend a bit of time in the Bernese Oberland area and then branch off from there based on interests (lakes, tobogganing, etc.) and hikes the kids can do. Swiss Family Fun website would be a great start to identify what's kid friendly.

NP who also did a Punta Cana AI in Feb for the first time, and Switzerland this summer. We followed a similar itinerary also influenced by Busy Toddler -- I was wondering as we were roaming around how many others were out there. We had a FANTASTIC time. Landed in Zurich, train to Lucerne for a night, then a full week based in Wengen before heading on to Italy. Agree with all of the advice and takeaways of the PP above.

We stayed in an apartment in Wengen that worked out perfectly, booked through Alpine Holidays. For 7 nights it came to about $3000 USD and had 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a full kitchen, laundry, and an incredible balcony with views. We tended to eat breakfasts and dinners there, with big lunches out. One thing we all loved about the hiking there is how so many substantial hikes could end at a big playground with wonderful restaurants. My kids are 7 and 9 and we are all dying to go back.

Booked all flights on points so the cost to fly there and back was negligible, and everything else came to about $6500 total for food, other transportation, lodging, etc. It was a 10 night trip and I think we got a lot of bank for our buck on this one.

Well, looks like we're on the same page in terms of trips! Also booked the flights with points, which really brought costs down.

Curious, what are you planning next? We are thinking of going to the Swiss alps again next summer, but pairing it with another country this time (Paris). Having a hard time figuring out logistics that's not a 3+hour train ride. I also looked into the Dolomites, but worried it won't be as fun as Switzerland.

DP. I took the train from Paris to Basel to Lucerne and it couldn't have been easier. There are so many trains going from Basel to Lucerne that I didn't even book that ticket until we were in the Basel station. Then I just booked online for whatever the next train was.