I'm PP. It also helped my in laws because they could do things in DC while kids were in school and then could spend time with them in the morning and then after school.

In laws loved it and thanked us. My SIL only ever asked them to do this during actual breaks, so they now told my SIL they will only watch for more than one night if kids are in school for part of time away.

Mexico City is a great option.

Europe is easy and fine with kids. When my son was little we kept his bedtime so instead of going to sleep at 6:30PM he went to bed at 11:30PM.

If worried about it, maybe go to England or Ireland first as you won't have a language issue. Lots of playgrounds, kid activities, West End Shows, afternoon tea, castles, Irish step dancing, horse back riding, etc, etc.

Do you have any family who could stay with your kids for a few days so you and your spouse could go to Europe? My husband and I did this 2x. My in laws came (during the school year and school week) and we went to Paris for a few days and LOVED it. Walked everywhere (no one was crying hurrah), ate late at night, it was glorious.

Kids are resilient, you just needs snacks and water. I say go for Europe.

We were backpacking with our son by the time he was 7. I get that we are outliers but hikes and National Parks are totally doable at your kids age. Be aware that many parks require lots of advanced planning if you want to stay in the lodge in the park. Also know that many of the lodges in the parks do not have pools or air conditioning or TVs, they are described as rustic. But they are so worth it. The hikes are pretty amazing and the sites are wonderful. You might want to wait for the kids to be a bit older for some of the parks. Glacier is awesome but the hikes to the glaciers are in the 10 mile range and up steep slopes. Just do some research ahead of time. Yellowstone is a great park for younger kids because the boardwalks are easily navigated and you don’t really need to do longer hikes into the backcountry to see the amazing sites.

Life is better on Saturn

We did national parks with a 4 and 6 yo. They hiked along with us just fine. My 4yo made it to Arches national park in Moab and tried really hard to find a fossil (she picked up a rock and believed it was a fossil ) it was so fun and educational. Badlands was also super fun, there is a trail early on that has numbered markers and my kids had fun counting them and climbing on all the rocks. We took them to Yellowstone when they were a little older and a bit more whiny but they did all the hikes along with us and got a kick out of old faithful.

Anonymous wrote:There is no point in my family's lives where we'd have enjoyed national parks and countrysides. All our trips have been to cities with a day or three in a coastal area.

Oookay

There is no point in my family's lives where we'd have enjoyed national parks and countrysides. All our trips have been to cities with a day or three in a coastal area.

Chinatown

Mexico

If you take 3 trips a year, why not have kids pick one, you pick one, and dad pick one? Kids don't need to pick every single vacation spot. In my family the adults choose, but kid can pick some activities and meals.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We do 3 family vacation trip every year. One is road trip, one is flight, and the other one is optional. We have been going to popular cities, hotel pools, amusement park, and do kid museums/aquarium for the last few years. That is what kids want. When could we start considering the suburban/countryside places that we can do national park outing to enjoy the history or nature? DH wants Europe trip so badly. We are not sure if kids would like it at all with long flights, not familiar food (picky eaters), no kiddy museum and a lot more walking around.

You think there are no kids museums in Europe? God, you’re dumb.

No you are bithc

Anonymous wrote:We do 3 family vacation trip every year. One is road trip, one is flight, and the other one is optional. We have been going to popular cities, hotel pools, amusement park, and do kid museums/aquarium for the last few years. That is what kids want. When could we start considering the suburban/countryside places that we can do national park outing to enjoy the history or nature? DH wants Europe trip so badly. We are not sure if kids would like it at all with long flights, not familiar food (picky eaters), no kiddy museum and a lot more walking around.

You think there are no kids museums in Europe? God, you’re dumb.

When our youngest hit 6 we started taking national park trips out west. By then most kids should have enough stamina for moderate hikes.

Plan the trip you would enjoy. If you're always catering only to them, you'll never find out what they're capable of. Our kids surprised us with how well they adjusted to long flights and jet lags. One of our kids has severe food allergies, so we book apartments with kitchens and make the majority of our meals. We are mindful of their attention spans and try not to do anything too adult-heavy, and give plenty of treats (there's no limit on ice cream while on vacation) to incentivize cooperation.

We do 3 family vacation trip every year. One is road trip, one is flight, and the other one is optional. We have been going to popular cities, hotel pools, amusement park, and do kid museums/aquarium for the last few years. That is what kids want. When could we start considering the suburban/countryside places that we can do national park outing to enjoy the history or nature? DH wants Europe trip so badly. We are not sure if kids would like it at all with long flights, not familiar food (picky eaters), no kiddy museum and a lot more walking around.