Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Banff/Lake Louise/Yoho National Park were amazing! Stayed at the Moose Hotel and Suites in a two bedroom suite with a living room in between. Right on the main drag in Banff and across the street from where you get the shuttle to go to Lake Louise and Johnston Canyon.

Perfect for families!

What ages are your kids and what is there to do there? Just curious because it looks gorgeous online but not sure if I. Plus keep the kids busy.

We did a similar trip but spent several days in Jasper before heading south to Banff. Our kids are tweens/teens and we did whitewater rafting, trail rides on horses, canoeing, glacier expedition, and lots of hiking. There was so much more we could have done if we'd had more time. Was an amazing trip, so much fun. There were a lot of tourists in Jasper (you walk down the street and hear people speaking a dozen languages), but it felt relatively uncrowded and rustic compared to Lake Louise and especially Banff. We went out on a trail there and there were a lot of Japanese tourists taking selfies--too crowded. Might have helped to get off the beaten track there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:


Row Adventures - The Family Magic Trip. It was very special and I highly recommend. You must be somewhat outdoorsy to really enjoy it though. I think the best parts were - other kids to play with, people from all over the country and really truly being away from everything in a spectacular setting.

https://www.rowadventures.com/family-magic-rafting-trip

We did this trip a couple years ago, and it was our favorite vacation, ever! Highly recommend.

What's the minimum age for this to really enjoy?

Stayed at the Hard Rock in Punta Cana. It was completely fine and we lived to tell about it.

We went to Acadia in August. Way too crowded.

Anonymous wrote:


Row Adventures - The Family Magic Trip. It was very special and I highly recommend. You must be somewhat outdoorsy to really enjoy it though. I think the best parts were - other kids to play with, people from all over the country and really truly being away from everything in a spectacular setting.

https://www.rowadventures.com/family-magic-rafting-trip

We did this trip a couple years ago, and it was our favorite vacation, ever! Highly recommend.

Colorado Springs to stay at The Broadmoor in June. Spectacular!! Hired a guide to go rock climbing in the mornings than enjoyed the property in the afternoon.

03:04 again. I think the Airbnb listing didn’t link correctly. https://abnb.me/4shn4YDDxZ. But if this doesn’t work, it’s called the “Spectacular Modern House” in Aviemore. Truly one of the nicest self-catering places I’ve stayed at.

Anonymous wrote:Scotland in mid August, just me and my 17 year old. Yes, I'd recommend it for adults or older kids.

We were in Edinburgh during Fringe and while we enjoyed it, I wouldn't have wanted to be there with young kids. We really enjoyed some of the shows and the Tattoo, also climbed Arthur's seat and saw the castle. We did some day trips to Stirling and Falkirk.


We also spent some time in Inverness with some day trips there. I didn't want to rent a car, but the only way to see some of the things I wanted to see (Isle of Skye) are by car or tour bus. I found a private (just my son and I) tour and our guide was fabulous. I would highly recommend him. https://www.thehebrideanexplorer.com/

We also went to Scotland end of July- mid August.
London-Scotland overnight via Caledonian Sleeper: this train was just overhauled and now has very modern, new cabins with en suite toilets & private showers. It was nice, but didn’t feel as luxurious as I think they wanted it to be, and boarding is late at night, with an early am wake up. Next time I’d fly, but we happened to have needed to go through London to meet up with our 14yo, who had gone ahead of us to summer camp for 2 weeks. BTW, London is definitely where you should see Hamilton if you haven’t already done so. It’s relatively easy and cheap to get tickets. We also did a Thames RIB boat tour with our son. British Museum was hot & crowded, so I wouldn’t repeat that again in the summer. We had fabulous Indian food and tried Rovi, a new-ish Ottolenghi restaurant that was amazing.

Upon arriving in EDI, we met up with relatives in Edinburgh & rented a car.

Aviemore. We stayed at a fantastic Airbnb here https://abnb.me/o7VdqWdBxZ. The town itself is not especially picturesque, but the hiking and activities in the area are fabulous. Sign up for things in advance via their online registration if you want to try really popular things like off-road Segways. We also hired a fly fishing instructor for a day. There aren’t a lot of restaurants there, so you should also reserve well in advance (esp if you’re a larger party of people).

After 5 days, we dropped our son off at Outward Bound @ Loch Eil & drove on to Isle of Skye, staying in Portree. Loved this. It was definitely rainier on the island, but we brought clothes to match the weather. Gorgeous hiking and an awesome afternoon boat excursion where we saw a minke whale among other things. There are some really nice restaurants in town. Outward Bound in the UK is less expensive & less intense than its US counterpart. DS said it was a little of everything (kayaks, canoes, hiking, camping) and he really enjoyed it.

We then drove to Glasgow to rendezvous with our son. Didn’t love Glasgow. A lot of this town seems blighted. The most central area has been revitalized, and the area near the University/Kelvingrove is nicer, but we had naively picked an Airbnb south of the river & it was pretty sketchy. I was able to do some family genealogical research.

For our last leg, we drove back to EDI and ditched the car. With all of the festivals happening at once, the city is packed in August. We did one of the Fringe shows, but aren’t really big on performances or crowds. I definitely agree with the first poster - it would not have been fun with a little kid or baby stroller. Our best day was a day trip out to North Berwick. Super cute coastal town easily accessible by train. The main attraction is the Seabird Center, which runs cruises out to see gannets and puffins (the latter are only around early in the year). But there is also a large ‘pool’ next to the center that fills with seawater when the tide comes in and holds that water when it goes out. Kids were having a blast on SUPs and with nets trying to fish out little sea creatures.

Looking back, the car was a necessity, but I hated driving and you really have to drive to get to see a lot of what Scotland has to offer and I’m not sure I’d have wanted a guide hanging around for nearly 3 weeks.

Our summer has been driving distance only with DC 3, 8, and 11.

Busch Gardens & Cape Charles - Water Country USA and Cape Charles were hits with everyone to varying degrees. 8 & 11yo found most of the rides at Busch Gardens either too tame or too scary. We could probably have dropped a day at Busch Gardens to add another day at Water Country USA.

Long weekend at Jellystone near Luray - The older kids loved the laser tag, water park, and the bounce pillows. DH wasn't feeling great so he stayed home with 3yo DD. Overall it was a really relaxing and cheap way to enjoy the last weekend of summer vacation.

Palmetto Dunes in Hilton Head. Loved it.

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!

Dp i don't think Iceland is hidden anymore.

Liked Sea Pines at Hilton Head, but so.many.flies in Harbortown and the hotel space on the beach that it might deter me from going back. That is my only quibble....

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Costa Rica. Highly recommend going during the low/rainy season. We got great deals on hotels and excursions, and literally the only day that the rain upended our plans was yesterday when we arrived at our last stop in San Jose and had planned to spend the afternoon lounging at the pool before packing.

I second Costa Rica. We stayed in Guanacaste which barely gets rain in the rainy season. We stayed at all inclusive which was not crowded in August and planned day trips every day. Literally one of the best vacations we have ever done.

Do you mind sharing which all inclusive you stayed at?
Thanks

https://www.dreamsresorts.com/en_us/resorts/costa-rica/las-mareas.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI98qou6Wk5AIVCJ6fCh0OtgrQEAAYASAAEgLYDPD_BwE

Thank you, will look it up!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Multi day rafting trip on the Salmon River in Idaho. It was super family friendly With other kids to play with. The rafting company assigned on guide to hang with the kids and play games, do crafts etc when we were in camp. Adults got to hang out and have a beer or two.

Can you share the company name? This sounds amazing!

Row Adventures - The Family Magic Trip. It was very special and I highly recommend. You must be somewhat outdoorsy to really enjoy it though. I think the best parts were - other kids to play with, people from all over the country and really truly being away from everything in a spectacular setting.

https://www.rowadventures.com/family-magic-rafting-trip

We looked into doing this but it's so far away. Did you combine it with anything else? How did you get to/from the starting point?

We visited family in Portland, did some sightseeing in Oregon, and then drove 5 hours to Idaho. We flew out of Spokane which is a two hour drive. I'm glad we extended our trip because it is a bit far.

We did the Row Adventures Rogue Rafting trip which is not camping but lodge based--highly recommend! First class company all the way!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Costa Rica. Highly recommend going during the low/rainy season. We got great deals on hotels and excursions, and literally the only day that the rain upended our plans was yesterday when we arrived at our last stop in San Jose and had planned to spend the afternoon lounging at the pool before packing.

I second Costa Rica. We stayed in Guanacaste which barely gets rain in the rainy season. We stayed at all inclusive which was not crowded in August and planned day trips every day. Literally one of the best vacations we have ever done.

Do you mind sharing which all inclusive you stayed at?
Thanks

https://www.dreamsresorts.com/en_us/resorts/costa-rica/las-mareas.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI98qou6Wk5AIVCJ6fCh0OtgrQEAAYASAAEgLYDPD_BwE