We also did Disney World, June 28-July 6. First time with kids.

Do again: stay at contemporary, rent a car, avoid monorail, boats and buses, plan, plan, plan, run into random friend, have a fun dinner, be flexible but still plan, start early/rope drop! no more than 1 sit down meal a day, pack easy breakfasts, use a stroller in the summer (a double! Gasp!), pay for convenience (IE fireworks parties)

Do less: afternoon touring (in July), dinner shows (Hoop Dee Doo wasn’t our favorite), walking (ha!j

Do more: evening touring (will be easier when kids are older, 3 and 7 this trip, done at 7:30 if 3yo didn’t nap), Epcot, variety for breakfast, coffee plan (coffee was hard to find if we were already touring!), use the pool, downtime, drink water

The Maritimes- New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia- definitely recommend, but plan well because we ended up doing a lot more driving than we anticipated and it was a bit too much. 9 and 11 year old kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We went to Cape Cod...between the sharks and the Tornado, I’d not recommend

We frequent cape cod bc we have family there.

The tornado was a rarity...

The sharks are a real bummer. But there are nice bay beaches and so many nice ponds. We did a whale watch for the first time that was outstanding.

What is the deal with the sharks? My friend mentioned it and I actually thought she was having an anxiety issue. I didn’t realize it was true!

https://www.foxnews.com/science/spike-in-great-white-shark-sightings-off-the-coast-of-cape-cod

Thanks for the link! More swimmers bit off the coast of North Carolina this year - scary!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We went to Cape Cod...between the sharks and the Tornado, I’d not recommend

We frequent cape cod bc we have family there.

The tornado was a rarity...

The sharks are a real bummer. But there are nice bay beaches and so many nice ponds. We did a whale watch for the first time that was outstanding.

What is the deal with the sharks? My friend mentioned it and I actually thought she was having an anxiety issue. I didn’t realize it was true!

Sharks are in mainly in a couple places, including Welfleet and Truro - they are where the seals are located, of course! Sharks are certainly not everywhere, but I can see someone who is not educated about the situation assuming incorrectly. You have got know what you are doing and where you are going, as with any vacation. Plenty to do without worrying about sharks!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Iceland — a big yes! Spent a week there and really could have used a few more days. Great outdoorsy vacation.

+100

Iceland truly is a hidden gem!

Hidden gem? It's absolutely overrun with tourists.

LMAO

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We went to Cape Cod...between the sharks and the Tornado, I’d not recommend

We frequent cape cod bc we have family there.

The tornado was a rarity...

The sharks are a real bummer. But there are nice bay beaches and so many nice ponds. We did a whale watch for the first time that was outstanding.

+1

Sharks are only in a certain few places, so you have to actually know what you are doing. Highly recommend.

In London right now during their third (??) heat wave of the summer. Do not recommend London during a heat wave, but normally this time in August it is really pleasant or even actually cool, so putting that down to bad luck. When we got here last week we went down to Devon and it was lovely -- wish we were still there given the heat radiating off the sidewalks and buildings here. The upside of the heat, though, is my kid did not even whine during our visit to the British Library, which has to be the best air-conditioned museum in the city, and not a place that would normally hold her interest.

We went to Kauai and Oahu. I'll definitely go back to Kauai, but not Oahu.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Iceland — a big yes! Spent a week there and really could have used a few more days. Great outdoorsy vacation.

+100

Iceland truly is a hidden gem!

Hidden gem? It's absolutely overrun with tourists.

I’m back from Disney.
I don’t like to pull the kids out of school for trips, so I decided to try WDW at the end of August due to somewhat lower crowds and free dining. I would go again in August. We mostly did early morning or later night stuff, longer lunches indoors, and went back to hotel mid afternoon. We checked out Blizzard Beach and enjoyed the hotel pool. Two afternoons it rained for 30-45 mins but it really wasn’t bad. That said, I heard the week earlier had worse weather.
I would go back again in August theoretically.
It was a few degrees cooler in FL than VA at the beginning of last week!!!

Anonymous wrote:Iceland — a big yes! Spent a week there and really could have used a few more days. Great outdoorsy vacation.

+100

Iceland truly is a hidden gem!

Copenhagen in June -- lovely
Montauk in August -- fantastic
Ohio to visit relatives in July ... not so much!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We spent a week between Vancouver and seattle with kids 6 and 3 and 1 grandparent. Highly recommend. We also threw in a day trip to Whistler. Stayed in Airbnbs like we always do. Was one of our most perfect vacations as a family. There was something for everyone.

What did you do in Vancouver?

+1. Considering a trip to Vancouver either in the winter (combined with skiing at Whistler) or late spring. How many days would you recommend?

Day trip to whistler- loved the scenic drive. We did the gondolas and the bridge walk there. Squamish on the way has a nice waterfalls.
Capilano suspension bridge. I read it was maybe a little too commercial before our trip. But it was perfect for the kids at this age. They learnt about the trees in the habitat and did the little rainforest explorer activities to earn badges.
Ferry ride to Grainville island. There was a playground and a little splash park for the kids and great food options for the adults.
One day in Stanley park. Would have been perfect to bike around but 3 year old and grandparent could not. Its a nice but tiring walk along the sea walk. We took a picnic lunch. The miniature train ride was a hit with the kids.
We also got back to the Airbnb apt on most days for a nap and hit the neighborhood park in the evenings. Kits beach : The 6 year old new swimmer was thrilled to swim in the long 130 m pool.
We headed out of to Seattle via the train and spent 2 days there. Pike place market and the Seattle center had enough to do.

It was interesting for me to see the visible differences in Canada compared to the States. Weed more freely available, Pride was huge. We could not walk 10 steps without seeing another rainbow flag. Biking and just outdoor life was steeped in the culture. On the other hand, no uber or lyft. Gas was v expensive. The govt just seemed to have a greater say in these things.

We did a road trip around Wisconsin with kids 4 and 6. Starting in Milwaukee and heading up to Green Bay for the amusement park and wildlife sanctuary. Then up to Door County for beaches and state parks. Next to the north west seeing some sights along the way like a Dutch cheese farm which DH loves because he’s Dutch and can load up on Dutch groceries. Stopped in Eau Claire for a family friend and visited a water park, children’s museum and went on a train ride. Last stop Minneapolis.

We did Santa Barbara in June (visiting family), it’s always great but the weather was typical June gloom. We are in the south if France now, where it is gorgeous but crowded, so in the future I suggest switching the two and doing France in June and SB in August. We knew what we were getting into (been to both places many times before), but it would’ve been more fun the other way. Still having a great time!!