If you could go ANYWHERE on a special vacation...

CD+AL

with a 6yo, 4yo and a 1-ish yo, where would you go?  We have a very big anniversary coming up in a couple of years, and we're starting a vacation fund to save up now for a very big, very nice vacation.  I don't want to do Disney with a 1-ish yo (ok, hypothetical but not that unrealistic given the time frame), and we love beachy vacations as well as cultural and sightseeing vacations.

ETA: We have done Mexico quite a bit in the past too, so we probably won't go anywhere down there for this trip. 

Alex26

I've always wanted to take DS to Kauia where DH & I had our honeymoon.  I kinda want to go when DH & I celebrate our 10 yr anniversary, which will be in 5 yrs.

jlw2505

I would do Hawaii or a really nice resort that is also kid friendly someplace tropical.  We are actually doing the Disney Cruise and 3 nights at Disney with my parents and for us - this trip is very outside what we would normally do but my parents are treating.  My kids will be 6 1/2 and 4 1/2 when we go.

Mama Jan

Hawaii or a Disney cruise.

cecee36

Since you like beach type vacations, I'd try to find a family friendly resort in a tropical setting; maybe an island you and your husband have always wanted to visit.  I think the Club Med resorts and the Sandals resorts are family friendly and have either daily activities for the kids or have some type of kid-related characters on-site like Elmo or Bugs Bunny.  Wherever you go, I hope y'all have a blast!  We are all about taking our daughter to see the world; she's had her passport since she was 9 months old and hasn't stopped traveling since!  

Quiksilver620

Hawaii....no question

Lanibee

I also recommend Hawaii, We love it there and plan to go back for our big anniversary as well.  We've taken a 1 year old as well and she had such a blast.  The weather is amazing, the sites are breath taking and the water/beach were perfect.

VTbride05

Aruba! My dad took us last year and it was amazing! We hope to go back!

lilles

I don't know how far you want to travel but here are some suggestions:

Thailand

Costa Rica/Nicaragua

Puerto Rico

 

All of these places have beaches and cultural/sightseeing options.

Aimathy

There are places I'd love to go to....but they'd probably be more "alone" trips than with three kids.  I think Hawaii is a good idea for what you're hoping for, but I haven't been there myself so I can't really comment!   The two trips that I have done with kids that we loved and were "beachy" were a Disney Cruise and Beaches resort.  They were very kid-friendly and both offered options for the kids to participate in kid activites so you could do some fun adult things as well.  Personally, I would choose the Disney Cruise again over Beaches.  Beaches was nice, they had a water park for the kids, Sesame characters and a kids club...but I didn't think the kids club was as good as I was hoping for.  The kids didn't always want to go, and they seemed a bit bored by it. (Though i'm sure that varies wildly between each resort and who is running it at the time!)

The Disney Cruise was SO much fun and had soooo much for the kids to do, with us and alone!   Their kids clubs were superior to any that we've encountered on a cruise (though Royal Caribbean and Carnival also had good ones) and the kids LOVED going to the clubs.  We weren't really looking to push the kids into clubs all day...we wanted lots of fun family time too...and with the pool, family games, activities, shows, movies, excursions etc we had so much to choose from and had a wonderful time.   However, when we wanted a nice dinner, or an hour alone, the kids were thrilled to participate in the kids clubs and were happy when we picked them up. 

Good luck with your decision!  I'm curious to hear more answer too so we can start dreaming for the future! 

MrsNeal2010

charleston ,SC. they have beaches , great southern and cajun food, many historical landmarks, beautiful scenery , a great aquarium , battleship, old plantations

 

oh ok i thought you were looking to stay state side when you mentioned disney,

we went to punta cana in the dominican republic for our honeymoon it was a fast flight and the resort was kid friendly and get day activities you may enjoy that with your kids, got a sweet deal through orbtiz.com 5nights 6 days , all inclusive for the 2 of us we did two day activities and it was under 2,000  i wanna say by a few 100

franciscaz

You have to have the kids???  

I would probably say if you have the kids go to some place like Atlantas Resort in the Bahamas.

If you decide to dump them I would definetly do Europe in a heart beat.  You could do British Isles, France & Spain, France & Italy, or an off beat journey through places like Romania and Hungry. 

LDQAM516

If we were taking kids with money not being any issue...I would go to Fiji.

Mrs.Greeko

Puerto rico.  We took our two year old there a few years ago and it was great.

CD+AL

Fran...Yeah, we HAVE to take the kids.  No, actually, I want to take them.  With Mom being so sick, a bajillion relocations since DS was born, etc., we haven't had any "real" family vacations since we've had kids (just some short trips and staycations), and with the kind of $$ we're talking about spending on this trip, we might not have another one for awhile either.  Plus, to be perfectly honest, I have more fun when the kids are with us than when they aren't.  They are more work, but an evening out without them and then home to see them before bed is more my cup of tea. 

ETA: Plus (just thought of this!), if we have a 1-ish yo by then, I'll be BF'ing, and I'd rather drag a kid around than have to pump through the whole vacation.  I hate pumping with a passion.  I haven't pumped since I became a SAHM when DS was about 11mos.

That said, I really do like the idea of a kids' club to get a little alone time in while keeping them with us on the trip.  I had kind of written off the cruise idea, but I think I'll revisit the idea with a Disney Cruise in mind.  I had also thought of Hawaii and a few of the other suggestions, so it's good to hear that either those are on other people's wish lists or have been good vacations for others in the past.

Thanks all!  I'll check back if anyone wants to add more suggestions.

QtGinaJ

The US Virgin Islands!  The beaches are the most amazing, warm and perfect for kids.  The Island of St. Thomas is a great island to stay on and neighboring islands (both US and British) are only a short ferry ride away.