Well, if you are all about penguins, you could go to Pittsburgh then Detroit then Chicago on a car trip in 1.5 weeks and have a lot of fun.

In Pittsburgh, you could buy Pittsburgh Penguin hockey merchandise in kids' sizes.

In Detroit, the zoo has a very nice new Penguinarium. Detroit does not have a fancy aquarium though.

Chicago has the Shedd.

There are many fun things to do in all 3 cities, and all though they are not really beach towns, you can do things such as cruises on the rivers and lakes.

Cleveland (in between Pittsburgh and Detroit) also has many natural and water-related touristic activities.

There are lots of DCUM posts about touring these cities but if this appeals to you please comment and I can suggest a more structured itinerary.

Tell us more about what keeps your kids engaged....

Massachusetts to Maine to Nova Scotia might be another route. But maybe only penguins in Boston?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pittsburgh Aviary

Came here to recommend this too. It's called the National Aviary. You can pay for a penguin encounter if your kid is old enough. Pittsburgh also has a great children's museum in case you do those? More interactive than regular museums.

I think Shedd Aquarium in Chicago also has penguin encounters. It's close to Maggie Daley Park, which is amazing for kids.

The National Aviary is awesome - we had a really, really good time the two times we've gone. It's small, though - so it's a stretch to spend an entire day there. Pittsburgh has other fun activities, so you can come up with other things to do.

The Baltimore Zoo has penguins, and there's an add on you can buy for an up close experience. Totally worth it, highly recommend.

The Tampa Aquarium also has penguins. It's been a while since we went there, but I also think there are some interactive epxeriences. If you want to spend an entire week + in one location, I think I might recommend Tampa over others - plenty of different sorts of beaches you can go to, Busch Gardens is there. You could even drive to legoland or if you were really ambitious do Disney, or just part - my family LOVES Animal Kingdom at Disney. But just in the Tampa area if you like the beach you can have fun. It'll be hot as heck, and likely some afternoon rainstorms, but still, it's a fun vacation.

I would go to Atlanta for zoo and museums for 4 days, then drive 4 hours to Hilton Head for the rest of the time and then drive home. Combo trip in one that I’ve done.

Another vote for the San Francisco area. SF and Oakland both have zoos, and the tip to Monterrey is worth it. There are plenty of children's museums to pick from in they bay area.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pittsburgh. The national aviary. Plus, the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium.

agree with Pittsburgh. You can do a great weekend - zoo, aviary, children's museum, science center. Maybe a baseball game or kennywood (amusement park).

+1

I live in Atlanta now and the aquarium is great but I honestly love the Chattanooga aquarium just as much as there are a ton of family friendly attractions in the area including downtown near the aquarium.