My husband and I are in desperate need of a vacation this summer. We will be bringing the kiddos along (3.5 and 13mo). I'm not sure where we want to go because this will be our first time traveling with the kids to somewhere other than a relative's home. We always go to the beach when it's just us and are looking for some creative suggestions that are kid friendly and relaxing - if that can be combined! We are indifferent to flying or driving, either is fine. Also, not spending a ton of money is important so any ideas for that would be helpful too.
We love Ft.Myers beach in FL and the Pink Shell hotel--it's super family friendly, inexpensive and not well know (so there are no crowds!). it's just north of Naples.
My husband and I took our then 5 and 1.5 year old to Pensacola Florida last summer. The beach was really nice, but the hotel was the BEST! It had 3 pools, one of which was a kiddie pool...very shallow with water popping up and these buckets that randomly drop water. It was so nice to not have to worry about floaties and life jackets. The entire staff was great and the rooms are all very spacious suites. They have a wonderful complimentary b-fast with a lot of choices for kids. It is definitely a kid-friendly place. Here is a link to the holtel if you want to check it out:
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/pnspb-springhill-su...
GOOD LUCK!
Have you considered Sesame Place and Hershey Park in Pennsylvania? SP would be perfect for your kids' ages!!!
We love Florida around Destin and Ft Walton. You might check online for Disney World. I ended up getting a great deal on line staying on the property. We drove to Florida parked our vehicle and didn't touch it again until we left. The place we stayed even had laundry mat (no charge but you do have to buy laundry soap) so I came home w/ all clean clothes. The room we had was like a mini apartment and the food we had was served in such large portions that we had leftovers and made two meals. All I bought was items for breakfast such as cereal, oatmeal etc. I am hoping to do it again this year.
Even though the beaches are not as pretty as Florida, Galveston can be a really fun family vacation. We went two years ago, when our daughters were 1 and 4. We took our two dogs, too. We rented a beach house on the Bolivar Peninsula (www.crsytalbeach.com - good rentals can be found through Swedes, Cobb, and Moore Realty). It was SO relaxing! The fun thing is, you drive through Galveston to the ferry, drive onto the ferry, park your car, and get out for the trip across to the peninsula. You can feed the seagulls and see dolphins.
The nice thing about the beachhouse is that we were so close to the beach, and with a 1 year old, we had to go back and forth for naps. Also, you can drive your vehicle onto the beach, which helps a lot with transporting all the "stuff" you need. We took a big umbrella and set up for the day. The cars stay away from the strip nearest the water, so you can stay safe. Again, it's not pristine and white, but our kids had a blast, and it was very low key and relatively inexpensive. We took the ferry back to town one day and explored the downtown, where there is a very cute old-fashioned ice cream parlor. We ate out at one expensive restaurant, did a few other in-town things, then went back to our beachhouse. I know lots of families who do this every year and love it. Moody Gardens is something you would want to check into, as well as Kemah Boardwalk, and when the kids are older, the Space Center.
Sea World and the Riverwalk in San Antonio are always fun, too.
Beaver's Bend in Oklahoma; Hot Springs and Eureka Springs in Arkansas; Silver Dollar City and Branson in Missouri are all fun places.
Good luck!
I have 5 timeshares and 3 separate weeks that expire this year, Oct, Nov & Dec. I can get you 7 nights at a GREAT resort for what you'd pay for a hotel room...let me know if you are interested...we can search areas of interest ans see what's available. We travel at least once a year, sometimes twice a year...absolutely love the resorts we've been to...feel free to give me a call at ###-###-#### or email me...
I agree w/ Florida. W. go to Destin every July. The kids look forward to it. The beaches are the prettiest I have ever been seen. I have been everywhere. HTH!
If you don't want to go too far how about this:
http://www.greatwolf.com/Locations/Grapevine/
my friend just booked it for her family and they are giving some grand opening sales. Ive seen the commercials and am DYING to go!!
I second Galveston. Quick to get there (4.5 hours), laid back, lots to do!!! The beaches are not like Florida, but kids don't know the difference and you can still turn sand into castles. I know Crystal Beach and the Boliver Peninsula as I grew up on the gulf coast and when there was nothing to do, we would ride the ferry (free and about 30-40 minutes) to Boliver and drive up on the beaches and find great shells. The beaches are not combed every day there so you can still find pretty shells. I found a whole sand dollar. As far as mainland Galveston, check out Seascape http://www.galveston.com/seascape/. It is a condo right on the beach but with a pool too for when you get tired of the sand. Moody Gardens has a tropical indoor rainforest and IMax. There is Sea Wolf park where you can walk into a submarine. I second Kemah Boardwalk with games, rides, and restaurants and your kids may be too small for the Space center. Rent bikes an ride along the seawall. Wings is the best souvenire shop.
