Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Best was Spain.

Worst was Disneyworld. It wasn't terrible, and I am glad we did it once, but I just don't get why people rave about it. It was nothing special, and we have had more enjoyable vacations at a much cheaper price.

I was going to post worst was WDW. It was special... ONCE. I don't understand why people go back every year.

So you don't understand why people enjoy different things than you do? We go every other year and wish we could go more frequently. All 4 of us love it.

Because you are basic

NP here. What does "basic" mean. Is this a millennial word?

Best:

Thailand (Chiang May and Rai Lay-Bangkok was hot and polluted)
Rome
NYC

I don't yet have a worst yet.

Anonymous wrote:The following are referring to trips taken with kids ranging from 8-12:

THE BEST (not necessarily in order)

1. Ireland in August. Landed in Dublin, spent a few days. Did one day with a tour group going to New Grange, etc via bus. Then got on the train and headed to Galway. Spent one day there. Second day did a guided tour to the Aran Islands. Then rented a car and drove around the Connemara National Park area for 2 1/2 days. Took the train back to Dublin and spent the night in a castle. Left the next morning. Kids rate this week-long trip as the best. ever. Was a perfect mix of city fun v. nature fun. Good food everywhere. Lovely people.

2. Mont Tremblant, Quebec in August. Rented a modest airBNB on a lake. Invited cousins. Spent days laughing and swimming in warm, bug-free, humidity-free lake and doing dozens of outdoor activities at what is normally the ski resort. Good food. Nice people. English spoken everywhere.

3. Universal Studios in LA. Harry Potter World, etc. etc. The only thing that made this tolerable for me were the VIP passes. But the kids were in heaven.

4. Lisbon, Portugal in August. Spent 4 days exploring the city--castle ruins, city scapes, street cars, weird singing in dinner restaurants--kids had a blast! We then rented a car and made the drive south to fancy beach resort in an area they call the Algarve. The kids enjoyed that a lot too--but to be honest, for us it was just another beach. Water was too cold to swim. Kids stayed in pool. Views were amazing but to me, at the end of the day, it wasn't worth the drive. There's a historical beach area just outside of Lisbon--Sintra and Cacsai--that we probably should have explored instead.

5. Camping in Acadia National Park. August. Nothing like teaching them to pitch a tent and exploring the outdoors. The park is lovely--mountains meet oceans. The "rigors" of Hiking/camping broken up with amazing meals and trips to ice cream shops and lighthouses and canoe rides, etc.

6. Bermuda. Stunning beaches. But fair warning--I feel like this was fun because both my husband and I felt comfortable driving mopeds and riding with kids on the back. If not, transportation around the island is a bit difficult/expensive. With the mopeds, we were able to hit up a different part of the island/beach every day, which heightened the sense of adventure. And the island is actually pretty diverse if you move around. There was also an underground cavern they loved exploring. Snorkeling. Swimming. Honestly, if we hadn't been so mobile things might have gotten boring.

7. San Francisco. Including a game at one of the most beautiful baseball stadiums in existence.

THE WORST

1. Iceland. Could have been my dream trip--stunning landscapes. Intriguing place. Maybe older kids would like it. Or maybe just kids who can appreciate what a car trip can be. My kids refuse to be interested in anything outside the car window. They only care about getting to the "destinations." So.... much of the wonder of the landscape was lost on them. Also--they complained that all of it looked the same (it didn't) and that we kept doing the same thing (driving; getting out of car; looking; driving). And they hated the tiny little places we stayed in. It was a complete fail from their perspective.

2. Boston. They were just bored with it all. Unfairly so. But there it is. There's an aquarium. And the harbor. And all that history. But it just didn't capture their imagination for more than a day.

3. San Diego. Same thing. They loved the day at the zoo. But that was it. Long way to go for one day of fun (in their brains).

4. Southern Spain. August. Well... there you go. Southern Spain in August says it all, right? Stupid place to go that time of year. And most of the stuff I found interesting--fancy horse show, flamenco dancers, flamenco guitars, etc. were just not enjoyed for some reason. Maybe it was the heat. But they HATED it. They managed to like the day trip to Seville. But Rhonda, Jerez, Cordoba, Granada, even Cadiz all fell flat for the young among us.

it's called fado- i hope you weren't an ugly american about this. bad model for kids. just because it is different does not mean it is weird.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Best was Spain.

Worst was Disneyworld. It wasn't terrible, and I am glad we did it once, but I just don't get why people rave about it. It was nothing special, and we have had more enjoyable vacations at a much cheaper price.

I was going to post worst was WDW. It was special... ONCE. I don't understand why people go back every year.

So you don't understand why people enjoy different things than you do? We go every other year and wish we could go more frequently. All 4 of us love it.

Because you are basic

Anonymous wrote:Best was London.

Same here! Actually, we're, going back this summer.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Worst was a Disney Cruise. Just not our thing at all. Too crowded and full on.

Best Costa Rica: brilliant outdoor vacation with masses to do in a beautiful country.

Dis you plan your own Costa Rica vacation or did you use a travel group? I just want a package,don't have time to plan. Thanks for any info.

I'm the PP. I've posted it before here (so sorry for the repetition) but we went with these people and it was AWESOME. http://rafikisafari.com/wp/super-lekker/

We did the super lekker packagen I highly recommend it.

Not the same pp, but thanks! How old were your kids when you did this? Any things you wish you'd known ahead of time?

Just seen this now. They were 6 and 7. I'd say that six is about the youngest you can do this and still get everything out of it. But there were teenagers there also loving it so it works for a wide age range. Kids still talk about it years later as the best vacation we have ever done.

Best:
Marco island, fl
Everglades
Islamorada
Surf lessons cocoa beach
Universal/ Harry Potter Orlando

Anonymous wrote:Hilton Head. Even my toddler found it boring when we couldn't go to the beach. We had a hard time finding other stuff to do. The one bowling alley allowed smoking, so that was out. I have terrible asthma, and didn't want to have her around that.

+1 Hilton head is terribly boring and overrated

Anonymous wrote:The following are referring to trips taken with kids ranging from 8-12:

THE BEST (not necessarily in order)

1. Ireland in August. Landed in Dublin, spent a few days. Did one day with a tour group going to New Grange, etc via bus. Then got on the train and headed to Galway. Spent one day there. Second day did a guided tour to the Aran Islands. Then rented a car and drove around the Connemara National Park area for 2 1/2 days. Took the train back to Dublin and spent the night in a castle. Left the next morning. Kids rate this week-long trip as the best. ever. Was a perfect mix of city fun v. nature fun. Good food everywhere. Lovely people.

2. Mont Tremblant, Quebec in August. Rented a modest airBNB on a lake. Invited cousins. Spent days laughing and swimming in warm, bug-free, humidity-free lake and doing dozens of outdoor activities at what is normally the ski resort. Good food. Nice people. English spoken everywhere.

3. Universal Studios in LA. Harry Potter World, etc. etc. The only thing that made this tolerable for me were the VIP passes. But the kids were in heaven.

4. Lisbon, Portugal in August. Spent 4 days exploring the city--castle ruins, city scapes, street cars, weird singing in dinner restaurants--kids had a blast! We then rented a car and made the drive south to fancy beach resort in an area they call the Algarve. The kids enjoyed that a lot too--but to be honest, for us it was just another beach. Water was too cold to swim. Kids stayed in pool. Views were amazing but to me, at the end of the day, it wasn't worth the drive. There's a historical beach area just outside of Lisbon--Sintra and Cacsai--that we probably should have explored instead.

5. Camping in Acadia National Park. August. Nothing like teaching them to pitch a tent and exploring the outdoors. The park is lovely--mountains meet oceans. The "rigors" of Hiking/camping broken up with amazing meals and trips to ice cream shops and lighthouses and canoe rides, etc.

6. Bermuda. Stunning beaches. But fair warning--I feel like this was fun because both my husband and I felt comfortable driving mopeds and riding with kids on the back. If not, transportation around the island is a bit difficult/expensive. With the mopeds, we were able to hit up a different part of the island/beach every day, which heightened the sense of adventure. And the island is actually pretty diverse if you move around. There was also an underground cavern they loved exploring. Snorkeling. Swimming. Honestly, if we hadn't been so mobile things might have gotten boring.

7. San Francisco. Including a game at one of the most beautiful baseball stadiums in existence.

THE WORST

1. Iceland. Could have been my dream trip--stunning landscapes. Intriguing place. Maybe older kids would like it. Or maybe just kids who can appreciate what a car trip can be. My kids refuse to be interested in anything outside the car window. They only care about getting to the "destinations." So.... much of the wonder of the landscape was lost on them. Also--they complained that all of it looked the same (it didn't) and that we kept doing the same thing (driving; getting out of car; looking; driving). And they hated the tiny little places we stayed in. It was a complete fail from their perspective.

2. Boston. They were just bored with it all. Unfairly so. But there it is. There's an aquarium. And the harbor. And all that history. But it just didn't capture their imagination for more than a day.

3. San Diego. Same thing. They loved the day at the zoo. But that was it. Long way to go for one day of fun (in their brains).

4. Southern Spain. August. Well... there you go. Southern Spain in August says it all, right? Stupid place to go that time of year. And most of the stuff I found interesting--fancy horse show, flamenco dancers, flamenco guitars, etc. were just not enjoyed for some reason. Maybe it was the heat. But they HATED it. They managed to like the day trip to Seville. But Rhonda, Jerez, Cordoba, Granada, even Cadiz all fell flat for the young among us.

Bummer! Iceland was high up on our list to go soon with the kids. But I can see what you are saying just from our previous European trips. They won't look out of a car, eyes glued to their Kindles, only care about getting to wherever we are going and exploring outside the vehicle.

Anonymous wrote:The following are referring to trips taken with kids ranging from 8-12:

THE BEST (not necessarily in order)

1. Ireland in August. Landed in Dublin, spent a few days. Did one day with a tour group going to New Grange, etc via bus. Then got on the train and headed to Galway. Spent one day there. Second day did a guided tour to the Aran Islands. Then rented a car and drove around the Connemara National Park area for 2 1/2 days. Took the train back to Dublin and spent the night in a castle. Left the next morning. Kids rate this week-long trip as the best. ever. Was a perfect mix of city fun v. nature fun. Good food everywhere. Lovely people.

2. Mont Tremblant, Quebec in August. Rented a modest airBNB on a lake. Invited cousins. Spent days laughing and swimming in warm, bug-free, humidity-free lake and doing dozens of outdoor activities at what is normally the ski resort. Good food. Nice people. English spoken everywhere.

3. Universal Studios in LA. Harry Potter World, etc. etc. The only thing that made this tolerable for me were the VIP passes. But the kids were in heaven.

4. Lisbon, Portugal in August. Spent 4 days exploring the city--castle ruins, city scapes, street cars, weird singing in dinner restaurants--kids had a blast! We then rented a car and made the drive south to fancy beach resort in an area they call the Algarve. The kids enjoyed that a lot too--but to be honest, for us it was just another beach. Water was too cold to swim. Kids stayed in pool. Views were amazing but to me, at the end of the day, it wasn't worth the drive. There's a historical beach area just outside of Lisbon--Sintra and Cacsai--that we probably should have explored instead.

5. Camping in Acadia National Park. August. Nothing like teaching them to pitch a tent and exploring the outdoors. The park is lovely--mountains meet oceans. The "rigors" of Hiking/camping broken up with amazing meals and trips to ice cream shops and lighthouses and canoe rides, etc.

6. Bermuda. Stunning beaches. But fair warning--I feel like this was fun because both my husband and I felt comfortable driving mopeds and riding with kids on the back. If not, transportation around the island is a bit difficult/expensive. With the mopeds, we were able to hit up a different part of the island/beach every day, which heightened the sense of adventure. And the island is actually pretty diverse if you move around. There was also an underground cavern they loved exploring. Snorkeling. Swimming. Honestly, if we hadn't been so mobile things might have gotten boring.

7. San Francisco. Including a game at one of the most beautiful baseball stadiums in existence.

THE WORST

1. Iceland. Could have been my dream trip--stunning landscapes. Intriguing place. Maybe older kids would like it. Or maybe just kids who can appreciate what a car trip can be. My kids refuse to be interested in anything outside the car window. They only care about getting to the "destinations." So.... much of the wonder of the landscape was lost on them. Also--they complained that all of it looked the same (it didn't) and that we kept doing the same thing (driving; getting out of car; looking; driving). And they hated the tiny little places we stayed in. It was a complete fail from their perspective.

2. Boston. They were just bored with it all. Unfairly so. But there it is. There's an aquarium. And the harbor. And all that history. But it just didn't capture their imagination for more than a day.

3. San Diego. Same thing. They loved the day at the zoo. But that was it. Long way to go for one day of fun (in their brains).

4. Southern Spain. August. Well... there you go. Southern Spain in August says it all, right? Stupid place to go that time of year. And most of the stuff I found interesting--fancy horse show, flamenco dancers, flamenco guitars, etc. were just not enjoyed for some reason. Maybe it was the heat. But they HATED it. They managed to like the day trip to Seville. But Rhonda, Jerez, Cordoba, Granada, even Cadiz all fell flat for the young among us.

Which lake? Sounds great!!

Best:

B&B farm in Lancaster
London
Disney Cruise

(I get all the hate for the cruise, and we are not at all cruise people. But I loved being able to take the kids to the kids club after they've eaten while we get to eat in peace-- win win.)

Best - hiring a motorhome for multi-generational vacations on the west coast (CA, WA). Road trip around south island new zealand also very good - keep the driving to a few hrs/day and stay in backpackers, which have good community rooms with lots of games. same with tazmania. thailand was fun. tulume also good. can't think of any bad ones.

The following are referring to trips taken with kids ranging from 8-12:

THE BEST (not necessarily in order)

1. Ireland in August. Landed in Dublin, spent a few days. Did one day with a tour group going to New Grange, etc via bus. Then got on the train and headed to Galway. Spent one day there. Second day did a guided tour to the Aran Islands. Then rented a car and drove around the Connemara National Park area for 2 1/2 days. Took the train back to Dublin and spent the night in a castle. Left the next morning. Kids rate this week-long trip as the best. ever. Was a perfect mix of city fun v. nature fun. Good food everywhere. Lovely people.

2. Mont Tremblant, Quebec in August. Rented a modest airBNB on a lake. Invited cousins. Spent days laughing and swimming in warm, bug-free, humidity-free lake and doing dozens of outdoor activities at what is normally the ski resort. Good food. Nice people. English spoken everywhere.

3. Universal Studios in LA. Harry Potter World, etc. etc. The only thing that made this tolerable for me were the VIP passes. But the kids were in heaven.

4. Lisbon, Portugal in August. Spent 4 days exploring the city--castle ruins, city scapes, street cars, weird singing in dinner restaurants--kids had a blast! We then rented a car and made the drive south to fancy beach resort in an area they call the Algarve. The kids enjoyed that a lot too--but to be honest, for us it was just another beach. Water was too cold to swim. Kids stayed in pool. Views were amazing but to me, at the end of the day, it wasn't worth the drive. There's a historical beach area just outside of Lisbon--Sintra and Cacsai--that we probably should have explored instead.

5. Camping in Acadia National Park. August. Nothing like teaching them to pitch a tent and exploring the outdoors. The park is lovely--mountains meet oceans. The "rigors" of Hiking/camping broken up with amazing meals and trips to ice cream shops and lighthouses and canoe rides, etc.

6. Bermuda. Stunning beaches. But fair warning--I feel like this was fun because both my husband and I felt comfortable driving mopeds and riding with kids on the back. If not, transportation around the island is a bit difficult/expensive. With the mopeds, we were able to hit up a different part of the island/beach every day, which heightened the sense of adventure. And the island is actually pretty diverse if you move around. There was also an underground cavern they loved exploring. Snorkeling. Swimming. Honestly, if we hadn't been so mobile things might have gotten boring.

7. San Francisco. Including a game at one of the most beautiful baseball stadiums in existence.

THE WORST

1. Iceland. Could have been my dream trip--stunning landscapes. Intriguing place. Maybe older kids would like it. Or maybe just kids who can appreciate what a car trip can be. My kids refuse to be interested in anything outside the car window. They only care about getting to the "destinations." So.... much of the wonder of the landscape was lost on them. Also--they complained that all of it looked the same (it didn't) and that we kept doing the same thing (driving; getting out of car; looking; driving). And they hated the tiny little places we stayed in. It was a complete fail from their perspective.

2. Boston. They were just bored with it all. Unfairly so. But there it is. There's an aquarium. And the harbor. And all that history. But it just didn't capture their imagination for more than a day.

3. San Diego. Same thing. They loved the day at the zoo. But that was it. Long way to go for one day of fun (in their brains).

4. Southern Spain. August. Well... there you go. Southern Spain in August says it all, right? Stupid place to go that time of year. And most of the stuff I found interesting--fancy horse show, flamenco dancers, flamenco guitars, etc. were just not enjoyed for some reason. Maybe it was the heat. But they HATED it. They managed to like the day trip to Seville. But Rhonda, Jerez, Cordoba, Granada, even Cadiz all fell flat for the young among us.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Worst was a Disney Cruise. Just not our thing at all. Too crowded and full on.

Best Costa Rica: brilliant outdoor vacation with masses to do in a beautiful country.

Dis you plan your own Costa Rica vacation or did you use a travel group? I just want a package,don't have time to plan. Thanks for any info.

I'm the PP. I've posted it before here (so sorry for the repetition) but we went with these people and it was AWESOME. http://rafikisafari.com/wp/super-lekker/

We did the super lekker packagen I highly recommend it.

Not the same pp, but thanks! How old were your kids when you did this? Any things you wish you'd known ahead of time?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Worst was a Disney Cruise. Just not our thing at all. Too crowded and full on.

Best Costa Rica: brilliant outdoor vacation with masses to do in a beautiful country.

Dis you plan your own Costa Rica vacation or did you use a travel group? I just want a package,don't have time to plan. Thanks for any info.

I'm the PP. I've posted it before here (so sorry for the repetition) but we went with these people and it was AWESOME. http://rafikisafari.com/wp/super-lekker/

We did the super lekker packagen I highly recommend it.