Quick Trip Ideas

My kids love camping. We've been to Lake Tawakoni, but there is also Cooper Lake and a dozen other State Parks to go to as well. The website address is http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/

We pack some food, swimsuits and whatever else we want (we camp in tents, but they have hookups for campers as well...

Not a beach, but we took a day trip to Oklahoma City one time with some friends. It was fun. You could always go to a lake, simliar to beach life, perhaps along the ok/tx border. Lots of places have resorts or cabins. Hot Springs is also really cool, and not too far.

Sea World is GREAT for all! You can go to one of the online travel sites to get a good deal on a hotel close by. expedia or travelocity or there are many others.

Try Lake Whitney. There are wonderful cabins there. About one and half hours from Garland/Richardon.
http://www.lakewhitneylodging.com/?gclid=CJqT2o3dtZQCFQ0M...

http://www.lakewhitneylodging.com/?gclid=CJqT2o3dtZQCFQ0M...

The marina at jupiter cove has a floating cabin.

Read the Texas Parks and Wildlife (July 2008) and they recommended the following.
Top 10 Beaches in Texas

1. Magnolia Beach, South of Port Lavaca.

2. San Jose Island, Aransas

3. Port Aransas Beach

4. Padre Island National Seashore

5. Matagorda Bay Nature Park

6. Matagorda Island Wildlife Management Area

7. Rockport Beach, Aransas County

8. South Padre Island

9. Mustang Island State Park

10. Galveston Island State Park

On the Cheap, we love Tyler State Park. We stay in the porches then take in the Best Zoo in the State. It is cheap,too! The swimming is great. The Rose Gardens are wonderful. It's only about 2 hours away and my Kids have always loved going there. Motels cost less there, if that is what you want.

About me I have 5 kids, 2 boys and 3 girls. 4 are now married, while my 16 year old teen girl is still at home. All have loved Tyler.

We have a 4 year old son. We love taking small road trips. We have been to Galveston and stayed at the Commodore on the Beach, it is a great hotel, on Seawell Blvd, with a pool and all rooms face the beach, which is just across the street. We have done the Riverwalk, it is nice. but the attention span of a little one is not long enough for you to enjoy that. The drive thru animal park at Natural Bridge Caverens is really nice too. We have gone to the Abeline Zoo where you can feed the giraffes, in Gainsville there is the Frank Buck Zoo, and Tyler has the Cameron Park Zoo. We have also gne north to Turner Fallas, and into Oklahoma City, they have a great zoo with a live aquatic animal show, and right next door is the science place...COMPLETELY INTERACTIVE. My son loved it. We havegone to OK City 2 times, and really like it.. They also have a waterpark up there too. Hopefully this helps. Have all the FUN!!!

I did a "stay at home " vacation a few years ago with my girls. We visited Old City Park, Rode the train to the Zoo; Both zoos actually taking the TRE out to FT Worth. We ate out all meals like we would have on vacation. Staying at home, but "pretending" we were visiting another city was so much fun. Save the cost of the hotel and by using the DART Rail saved alot of gas too. Back when gas wasn't as big a deal. I bet there are plenty of museums and living museums they haven't been to. Ft Worth has Log cabin village across from the zoo. Go to Hawain Falls one day in Garland or the COlony. Pretend you are a tourist and use all the visitors websites for the local cities. We are planning to do this again this Christmas Break, since it has been 8 years since we have done this.

Check out Hotwire.com for cheap hotels. You pick the general location and they give you room rates....you don't know the hotel name until you book it. I was a little skeptical too, but gave it a try and ended up getting a nice room for at Homestead Suites for only $29. I figure that I'm only there to sleep & bath, the rest of the time I'm out vacationing, so as long as it's clean I'm good. You can pick 2star-4star ratings. Good Luck, T.

My boyfriend and I took my 3 year old to Sea World a few weeks ago. It was great, but here are some tips. Buy your tickets online at www.seaworld.com and get the two days for one price. Sea World is too much to do in one day. I wish that I had gone with my gut feeling and bought those tickets. To save on hotel costs, I went on www.priceline.com and bid $125/night at a 3-star hotel on the river walk. The 4-star Marriott Rivercenter accepted the bid. Now I wish I had bid lower, but oh well. It was a great trip anyway. If you go to SA, make sure to eat at Casa Rio. It's on the river walk, great prices, atmosphere, and by far the best restaurant we ate at. Good luck and have a fun, safe, memorable trip wherever you go with your girls.

We took our girls to a wildlife drive-thru park in Glenrose, TX. There is also a Dinosaur Park/Museum just minutes from there also - we did both in a day trip and my 7 yr old loved it. Our other daughter is only 10 months - but had fun also.
The name of the park is Fossil Rim - www.fossilrim.com
The Dino Park is www.dinoworld.net
Good luck !!!!

You didn't state their ages, but I'm a single mom too, of 2 girls ages 10 and 14. Before school starts this year we are going to go to San Antonio for a day, see the Alamo, ride the riverwalk boats, and visit the two caves on the trip back home: Natural Bridge Caverns and Longhorn Caverns. Here's the link: http://www.weatherfriend.com/travel/txcave/txcavemain.html
Hope you have fun.
I also see many told you about priceline & hotwire. Here's my tip to add to that: the best prices are accepted (ex: $60 for a 3 star) if you book it right at 2 weeks before your trip. I traveled monthly for my company for a year and if I did 3 weeks, there were less available and if I did a week or less, I had to bid more.

decide for sure where and when you want to go. I have done the name your own price on Priceline.com and have gotten some really good hotel deals. My hubby and I got a room at a 4 star hotel for $50. Good luck--I hope you have a great time.
If you are talking about sea world in san antonio? If so, just get on Priceline.com, click on Name Your Own Price and put in San Antonio, then it will let you put in a bid. When your bid is accepted, it will tell you what hotel you will get to stay at. However, make sure you have the money right then because the money will be deducted from your credit or debit card right away.

Cooper State Park is a wonderful place to go. The South Sulphur Unit is near Sulphur Springs. They have cabins that you can rent by the day or you can just go for a day and enjoy swimming. Another fun idea is to go to Tyler to the zoo and get a hotel near the zoo and spend the night, you can have a slumber party in the hotel room and then spend the rest of your time at the pool.

Check out www.lonestarcamping.com It is a Yogi Bear Park.
Located in Hempstead, 35 miles northwest of Houston. It takes about 4 hours from Dallas. So so worth it! I can't say enough good things. Yogi Bear raises the flag in the morning with the children. They sometimes have hayrides. There is an awesome water area! They have a craft room. They do G or PG movies at night( this may only be on the weekends. They have Putt Putt Golf. A Petting Zoo. Fishing Pond. It is a great get away. It will make you feel like a kid again. I believe for the small cabins during the week it is less than $50. Plus you pay $6 per day per person for use of the water park,etc. We lived in Houston for 4 years and used to go frequently. It is still worth the drive now that we live in Flower Mound. I have lots of friends who go too. I have never heard any complaints! Good luck!

galveston is a quick trip but the best beach is padre' but far. if you do teh galveston thing you could always hit the houston space center on the way. i think san antonio river walk (stay acros the street from the river a lot cheaper) and go to sea world. we took the girls when they were 6 & 4 and had a wonderful time. teh animals, shows, rides and water park are great for kids. plus it is not as busy if you go on a week day. i am not sure where you are coming from but for my girls, the best part is just feeling away. they love the hotel thing. so maybe even a weekend stay in arlington with the combo they offer..one day at six flags and one day at hurricane harbor.

south padre is 10 hours from here - I know that is where I am from so there goes a whole day.

but if you look into Broken Bow, OK (beavers bend state park) you can get decent rates on lodging and they have lots of places to swim in the lake. In the park they have a beach area with paddle boats and stuff. there are also lots of kayaking tours you can take that are fun.

it is only 4 hours or so which gives you an extra day.

hope this helps.

My daughter loves the beach and we go down to Galveston for two nights a lot. That is about as much time as you want to spend, really, since it is not the greatest beach in the world but it is fun. There are rocks to explore, you will find hermit crabs, see dolphins swimming out in the deep water, the water is warm and the sand is great for making elaborate sandcastles. You can go to Hotels.com and bid on a room and get good rates - do not pay rack rates - they will rip you off. We leave really early (she sleeps and I drive), about 5am, and get there about 9 or 10am, that gives us a whole day at the beach. We take towels and stuff in the car because you cannot check in until about 3pm. We pack a picnic lunch and lots of water. There is a WalMart down there, so you can buy supplies and food very inexpensively. Go to Stewart Beach, then explore the seawall. Take an umbrella if you have one and lots of sunscreen. We have a blast! Tip - Avoid leaving anywhere near rush hour times - you will spend so much time in and around Houston sitting in traffic you will never complain about Dallas again!

The beach may be a little too long a drive. I suggest San Antonio. We did it with our kids just a few weeks ago . . . left on Thursday and came home Saturday. We hit the Alamo, Riverwalk and spent a day at Six Flags Fiesta Texas, which has a free water park section. I would have loved to go to Sea World as well, and I also hear the botanical gardens are nice. And 1/2 hour away there is the country's best waterpark, the Schlitterbahn (to fulfill that craving for water activities). I found our great hotel (three star w/reasonable rates, even on weekends) on Hotels.com.

I am not a big fan of Texas' so-called beaches! They are dirty and it's a pretty long drive (with the price of gas it may be cheaper to fly!) I love Sea World and you could get a 2-day pass and spend a day at the River Walk, Alamo, etc. Sea World has great water park as well as roller coasters and shows. There is something there for everyone! That's just my two-cents! Where ever you go, have a great time with your girls!

We just scheduled a trip to Surfside TX (about an hour south of Galveston). We got a small beach house for up to seven people. I did google search for the beach house. If you go during the week and not the weekend it is cheaper. I have never been to Surfside but have had family go there and raved about it. Good luck with your search.

You're looking at a lot of time on the road if you are driving. Southwest has some very reasonable fares to beach areas, San Antonio, etc.

A couple of places here in the DFW area are the Great Wolf Lodge with the indoor waterpark for guests. I have a 13 yr old that thinks that sounds fun!!

We are not a road trip family here, we fly if the drive if over 2 hrs. We don't want to waste our precious time together on the road.

You could also try New Braunfels, they have tubing on the lake and the Schlitterbahn (water park). There are camping sites, but from our own experience, those sites had alot of young folks who camp because they want to "light one up". So I am not sure you would want to camp there. I would call before to check the river levels (for too high or too low), but it would be a good stopover place on the way to Sea World. There is also a resort hotel right next door to Sea World, it's pricey but they have a great pool/slide area (you won't be able to swim at Sea World, they usually have a max capacity, so this is an easy alternative to getting your splash on).

Hi there! I also have identical twins (boys). My boys are 3 and this is the first year we are taking them somewhere. Since airfare is so expensive we are going to Sea World in San Antonio. There is also lots to do around the area and on the way there (if you google attractions around sea world there are lots of websites). We are also going to Glen Rose TX in August for a couple of days. Its less than a two hour drive and has a ton for kids to do. The have Fossil Rim wildlife park and dinosaur valley park. They also have an old fashioned movie theater.
Good luck on your planning!

Have you thought about Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine? You have to stay there in order to get access to their water park, but you could stay for a Sunday night and possibly take the day off Monday and Tuesday and play in the water park. You might be able to also get access to the water park on Sunday too depending upon your check-in time. They have been advertising deals too. My brother went there a few weeks ago with his three kids and wife for a few days and they all had a blast. The rooms are also decorated like cabins I heard. Good luck!

There's camping at Turner Falls (really cheap), Galveston Beach (camping or hotel), stay local at the Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine (can get expensive fast), we just got back from a week in San Antonio..for 5 days/nights it was a $1800pkg for 4 of us, however we stayed at the Hyatt Resort, in a suite and it also included the Riverwalk, lunch/dinner there, SeaWorld & Fiesta Texas. For just 3 of you I'm sure you could find a really good deal if you change some of that and still stay at a nice hotel. Or at the resort they had several pools and a lazy river & full spa (most of our kids just wanted to stay there all day everyday). A friend of mine went the same time we did and for their family of 6 she paid $450 to stay in a 4star hotel on the Riverwalk for 3 days/nights and did that, Sea World and the Wildlife park down there.

There's a Sea World in San Antonio, if that helps.