Any where you want! I found that as long as I went somewhere I was just happy to be, and therefore happy to be hanging out in playgrounds and doing kid-centric things in a different environment, our international travel at that age worked great. Our best trips were to Oaxaca (Mayan ruins a bus-ride away! Playground with a real train! Ice cream in the plaza!) and London, for all the reasons already cited.

Fly east, i.e., Europe. That way the kid sleeps in and stays awake for late dinners during your vacation. Don't fly west, such as to Vancouver.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anywhere in Europe, maybe with the exception of Paris, Berlin, or London (too busy). What I love about Europe are pedestrian zones. You can sit in the old city, sip coffee, while your toddler chases the pigeons. At 2.5, I would not worry about educational aspects. Traveling alone is enough stimulation.

Disagree about the big cities. London can be great with a toddler -- there's so much to see and do. Plus you can let her run wild in the huge parks they have in all three of those cities.

+1
Paris and London has great playgrounds and parks for children.

Paris and Euro Disney. Bash all you want but they are still kids, and will remember it.

Paris, so much to do for kids that age. Italy, because Italians are amazing with kids, even our older 5 and 7 year olds got the royal treatment there.

You could literally go anywhere. 2 y olds just need space to run and a tolerant, child-loving protective society around them. In my experience, that means any culture or location outside of the US--the US is riven with gun violence and selfish cultural values where children can be shot at their school and half the country shrugs its shouders and says "what can you do?' Not a child protective country.

I went to Sweden last year with my kid and there is so much to engage a kid and people are very tolerant of rampaging 2-year-olds. Anywhere--you could go to Southern Europe Croatia or Greece, Portugal, Spain --these are all great destinations for a two-year-old. They will not remember a scintilla of where you go so go where you personally will be happy--then they will be happy!

I am a native born in the US, btw. I take my kids abroad for vacations whenever I can afford it.

Anonymous wrote:If you could take your 2.5 yr old anywhere in the world for a vacation (outside the US) where would it be?

DD is a good traveler. We have taken her to Argentina and Scotland already and she has loved it - she still talks about Scotland. Now that she is a bit older, she loves to see animals (pet and hold if possible) and play with other little kids.

Travel is a perk of my job - I just have to get the request in early enough.

TIA

We took our 2 and 5 year old to Vancouver,Canada and had a great time. They don't remember much but, we did have a good time. Also, Seattle was fun. I would also consider Toronto. Great city.

We've taken our two kids all over Mexico at a variety of ages. Direct flights from the DC area to both Mexico City and Cancun, and tons of museums, nature, ancient ruins, wildlife and warm people who are very friendly to kids.

We took our two year old to Paris last summer and had the best time. We stayed near the Jardin du Luxembourg, which has honestly one of the best kid parks I have ever been to. It was so fun. She really enjoyed herself. We brought her grandparents with us and got an apartment on air b and b so that DH and I could go out once she was asleep. She adjusted surprisingly well to the time change and we all had a great time. Plus, summer in Paris means it is light out until like 11pm so DH and I really felt like we got a lot of quality alone time once DD was asleep at 7:30-8.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anywhere in Europe, maybe with the exception of Paris, Berlin, or London (too busy). What I love about Europe are pedestrian zones. You can sit in the old city, sip coffee, while your toddler chases the pigeons. At 2.5, I would not worry about educational aspects. Traveling alone is enough stimulation.

Disagree about the big cities. London can be great with a toddler -- there's so much to see and do. Plus you can let her run wild in the huge parks they have in all three of those cities.

+1. Go where you want. Just take a lot of park breaks.

Anonymous wrote:Anywhere in Europe, maybe with the exception of Paris, Berlin, or London (too busy). What I love about Europe are pedestrian zones. You can sit in the old city, sip coffee, while your toddler chases the pigeons. At 2.5, I would not worry about educational aspects. Traveling alone is enough stimulation.

Disagree about the big cities. London can be great with a toddler -- there's so much to see and do. Plus you can let her run wild in the huge parks they have in all three of those cities.

Stockholm is also amazing for children in the summer. So kid-friendly, great zoos and attractions, safe and easy to get around.

Anywhere in Europe, maybe with the exception of Paris, Berlin, or London (too busy). What I love about Europe are pedestrian zones. You can sit in the old city, sip coffee, while your toddler chases the pigeons. At 2.5, I would not worry about educational aspects. Traveling alone is enough stimulation.

We took out two-year-old to Prague, and she had a great time. Lots of playgrounds (often near beer gardens!) and she figured out how to play with the other kids despite the language barrier. The Prague Zoo is great--it's designed so you can get really close to the animals, and has lots of little restaurants and playgrounds. She loved riding the tram, and we found it an easy place to be with a little one.

If you could take your 2.5 yr old anywhere in the world for a vacation (outside the US) where would it be?

DD is a good traveler. We have taken her to Argentina and Scotland already and she has loved it - she still talks about Scotland. Now that she is a bit older, she loves to see animals (pet and hold if possible) and play with other little kids.

Travel is a perk of my job - I just have to get the request in early enough.

TIA