San Diego/La Jolla would be my choice with kids those ages

The zoo, the safari park, the seals and sea lions in La Jolla, wear your toddler in a backpack and hike at Torrey Pines, etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where have you been that sucked? What were your sleeping arrangements? I agree Disney is great with young kids.... there’s a reason people keep going back! What about a Disney Cruise?

DH gets seasick so I don’t want to roll the dice on a cruise ship. Even if it’s unlikely, if he does get seasick, it’s just not worth the chance.

You know there are meds that work for seasickness?

Andaz in Costa Rica

We haven't traveled in a few years because the trips haven't been fun.

Ive posted this before (and I swear I dont work for Marriot) but the Marriot vacation club properties are great. they have many 2 bedroom units with living room and kitchen, nice pools, usually beach front, some type lf pool bar or casual restaurant on-site (but not the fancy restaurants like at full resorts), and typically one or two fanily friendly activities a day. They are sort of halfway between a condo situation and a fancy resort. They are timeshare properties but much nicer than typical timeshare and you can book directly thru marriott or rent from owners on redweek. We don’t own but have stayed at several of them. The Hilton Head Grande Ocean is a nice one thats not too far.

Anonymous wrote:Wait until your kids are teenagers and are rolling their eyes at you...

Haha some friends were talking about saving trips til kids were older and I noted that my parents took me to Yellowstone when I was 14. I did think some things were cool but I was very hard to impress at that age

When my kids were really young we started a vacation rule. Everyone gets to pick an adventure and everyone must participate with no complaining. It totally changed the mood of our vacations because complaining wasn’t allowed. I remember once one of my kids wanted to drive around and count school busses. I once traveled an hour and a half each way for a scrapbook store. We went to a fire station because that was someone’s adventure. We hiked to the bottom and then out of Bryce Canyon for someone’s adventure.

Another thing we did and still do is that I try to book cabins in campgrounds instead of hotel rooms. They have cooking facilities so you don’t have to eat out. You can build fires. And best of all, the kids can be outside running around instead of cooped up.

As to destinations, we really love national parks. Those are hands down our best trips. I had a baby backpack and carried my kids until they were three. We also like a lot of activity so places like NYC were fun. I’m not a Disney fan so I only took my kids once.

Wait until your kids are teenagers and are rolling their eyes at you...

We've been going to the Caribbean and Florida a lot now that we have a kid. He loves the pool/beach. We stay at nice resorts and it is so relaxing. Bonus when they have kids clubs so that we have time to work out or do something on our own for a few hours. Favorites have been Ritz Cayman, Four Seasons Palm Beach, Boca Beach Club, Ritz and Marriott in Aruba.

Beaches Turks & Caicos

You’re welcome.

Plan trips in Feb, early June and September. Any trips during high season will be miserable with Little ones due to crowds. Go places 4 star and above, do not go cheap. It’s better to opt for more expensive accommodations at this age that take care of the little stuff and provide space ie quite place for naps downtime etc. Also somewhere the adults can sneak out to enjoy the vacation without leaving the kids alone ie beachfront accommodations or mountain resort with lanai etc.

I just posted on the key west thread, but relevant here too— check out Hawkes Cay in the Florida keys. We got a 3 bedroom suite (so each kid had their own room— important with different bedtimes and light sleepers) and there are so many activities on site, you can find things that work for each child.

Have you figured out why they sucked? Are you all trying to stay in one hotel room the whole trip? We always try to come close to what we have at home so we stay in a condo or suites hotel that has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms so we have space to spread out. If we are away for a week, we always try to keep our meals somewhat similar to home for a few of them. If necessary we keep nighttime routines similar. If you like the beach then rent a place on Hilton Head, a 2 bedroom or 3 bedroom condo. Make sure there is a pool and near a playground. You could also do Orlando and stay at any number of really nice places. You don't have to do Disney or Universal. There's SeaWorld, water parks, putt putt golf, etc. You could do Boston if you like cities. There are museums, water, nice restaurants. What about Williamsburg.

Another idea is to make your trip 4 days, maybe a week is just too long for your family.

Anonymous wrote:Maybe just put your money into their 529's or your 401K's and skip the vacations.

THIS. I know people say the vacations are for the parents but honestly there are times where they are all work and no fun and to me that's a waste of $$. I'd rather save that money now and go to nicer places in 1-2 years when no one needs a nap and no one is throwing a tantrum because a wave splashed on them and they got wet even though they were the ones who wanted to get near the water.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We didn't take many real vacations, other than to visit family or left our children behind, until the youngest was 3 or 4.

Same. If we took vacations before age 5 at all, it was usually to visit family, or a direct flight beach vacation.

This. Simplify your vacations until the youngest is 3 or 4 and you’ll start enjoying the vacations much more.

+3. Before this, we just rented a beach house, left the younger one(s) with relatives and traveled with just older kids/adults, or visited the grandparents.