Suggest a family vacation spot please!

aquasocks · April 2016

We'd love to take a trip at the end of the summer before I get too far along to travel. We will have our almost-3-yo with us so somewhere that is kid-friendly would be great. Nowhere in the Zika zone for obvious reasons. We live in the Southern US so it would be nice to get away from the oppressive heat! Any suggestions? (We've recently been to Disney.)

Disneygeek77 · April 2016

Smokey mountains?

Chcaggie1 · April 2016

We went to an all inclusive resort in riviera maya when I was pregnant last time. It was Really relaxing and beautiful but plenty of fun and entertainment. We love to travel but haven't started traveling with our son yet so the other fun places I can think of arent that kid friendly I don't think.

MrsDho11 · April 2016

Go to Maine! Specifically I love Sebago Lake, and you can rent houses on the lake for very cheap. I'm thinking about trying to convince H to spend a week out there this summer.

aquasocks · April 2016

MrsDho11 said:

Go to Maine! Specifically I love Sebago Lake, and you can rent houses on the lake for very cheap. I'm thinking about trying to convince H to spend a week out there this summer.

I'll eat all the lobster. Alllllll the lobster.

shevaCC · April 2016

Beach vacation! My family always rented a house on Emerald Island, NC when I was a kid and I loved it. The beach is usually much cooler too.

If not that, I second the Smokey mountains. Grandfather mountain area has a hanging bridge, short hikes to waterfalls, plus Asheville, NC has lots to explore.

MrsDho11 · April 2016

aquasocks said:

MrsDho11 said:

Go to Maine! Specifically I love Sebago Lake, and you can rent houses on the lake for very cheap. I'm thinking about trying to convince H to spend a week out there this summer.

I'll eat all the lobster. Alllllll the lobster.

It's one of the best parts of Maine.

KilgraveMadeMeDoIt · April 2016

Go to Prince Edward Island. Beaches, but not oppressive heat. Relatively cheap place to vacation (especially with our dollar so low compared to yours!) So many opportunities for incredible food. Bit of an arts scene. There's fun stuff to do in Cavendish, and lots of time to just relax, kick back, enjoy the sun and sand and beautiful landscape. All the Anne of Green Gables stuff too, if you're into that.

It's my home province and is consistently rated as being a desirable vacation spot. I cannot recommend it highly enough. I'm counting the days until I go home this summer!

pinnerk · April 2016

Come to Canada !! Look up Tofino Beach in British Columbia.
It's beautiful here. And you guys would be rich here (american dollar is worth so much more then Canadian)

jarethinafrock · April 2016

shevaCC said:

Beach vacation! My family always rented a house on Emerald Island, NC when I was a kid and I loved it. The beach is usually much cooler too.

If not that, I second the Smokey mountains. Grandfather mountain area has a hanging bridge, short hikes to waterfalls, plus Asheville, NC has lots to explore.

We used to go to Emerald Island too! Love that beach!

shevaCC · April 2016

@jarethinafrockthat's one part I miss now we live in Seattle. West coast beaches just aren't the saaaaaame!!

VolGirl07 · April 2016

I second the Maine suggestion, we LOVED it when we went two years ago. Gorgeous! Could also do Alaska if your up for a BIG trip, I'm going there this year to visit family, but not sure how a 3 year old would do on that long of a trip.

DunkinDecaf · April 2016

Another vote for Sebago! It's the most beautiful area.
You could also do Cape Cod. There are some great places to stay in Falmouth and Woods Hole that allow you to do a day trip to Nantucket or Martha's Vineyard if you'd like.

Greencows4812 · April 2016

Branson, MO. There is a theme park if that's your thing, they have fun museums like Ripleys, wax and titanic. They have ride the ducks and a large go kart track. Dixie Stampede is fun.

ShallowSeas · April 2016

I second the Smoky Mountains!!

TrulyBlessed22 · April 2016

I don't know what your budget is but I'd highly recommend San Diego. We took our family vaca there this past year and it was amazing. DD was just turning 2 and she also really enjoyed herself. Great weather and lots of family friendly things to do. The Zoo, Sea World, Balboa Park, Beaches and tons of other thing to do. We can't wait to go back.

comealongponds · April 2016

I second @KilgraveMadeMeDoIt's suggestion of PEI! It's awesome and beautiful

MrsDho11 · April 2016

VolGirl07 said:

I second the Maine suggestion, we LOVED it when we went two years ago. Gorgeous! Could also do Alaska if your up for a BIG trip, I'm going there this year to visit family, but not sure how a 3 year old would do on that long of a trip.

I went to Alaska last year with family, including my almost three year old neice and almost five year old nephew. I'd be happy to chat with anyone who was actually considering it, but overall it worked out.

LikeICantEven · April 2016

shevaCC said:

@jarethinafrockthat's one part I miss now we live in Seattle. West coast beaches just aren't the saaaaaame!!

Fly out of Bellingham. I read they are adding more direct to Hawaii flights. Security is a breeze to get through, considerably cheaper. Parking is way cheaper than SeaTac too.

LikeICantEven · April 2016

I'm sorry, I just realized you weren't the one asking travel advice @shevacc

hellopartyof5 · April 2016

@TrulyBlessed22 were going at the end of this month, where did you stay??

Knottie1458416769 · April 2016

We'd love to go to Hawaii for a babymoon, but I saw from a government map that it was one of the higher risk states for Zika this summer. So no Florida, no New Orleans, no Hawaii etc for us this year. Contemplating Canada...would love Europe but too far away from the West Coast.

TrulyBlessed22 · April 2016

@nauticallife We rented a very small condo on Mission Beach and it was amazing. Literally smaller than a hotel room but it was perfect...it had a small room with a super comfortable bed, a nice bathroom and a kitchen with everything we needed. The view...well who doesn't want to wake up to boats and kayakers leaving the bay every morning and vice versa at night. What was nice though was being right near the boardwalk and riding bikes down it. DD loved being in the toddler seat and riding with Daddy down the boardwalk. Also, Belmont Park is there and DD was able to get on a few rides even at 2 years old (with an adult of course).

The Zoo was really great in comparison to what I'm used to (Philadelphia and Bronx Zoo). It's really, really big so we didn't see the whole thing but we took the trolley around and got to see a good part of it that way. Also I recommend the skyline there as well. Sea World was nice but expensive so if you're not dead set on going I'd consider skipping it. We got in for free since my niece is in the Navy but otherwise I think it's like $89 pp (children under 3 free). May be a little cheaper if you pre-purchase online.

Balboa Park was great and many things to see. I recommend the cactus garden and the rose garden, so nice.

DH and my niece went Paragliding in La Jolla and I regret not having done it. If you're into that type of adventure I highly recommend you look into it. If not you can go there just for the amazing views. Not too far from there are the Sea Lions too, so cool to see tons of them in their natural habitat from a not so far distance.

We also took a drive to Laguna Beach which I highly recommend. Just WOW. If there is anything else you want to know just ask - always happy to discuss travel!

ETA - totally forgot to mention that we also went on The Midway and that was pretty cool. It's the ship my Brother did his deployments on when he was enlisted so it was a must for me to check out but I'm glad I did cause it was cool to go on the ship regardless of the connection.

Lastly I'm not sure if you're traveling with anyone that could babysit but if you are I recommend the Gaslamp District. Such a cool spot to go and bar hop. We were fortunate to have my niece come and stay with us for most of our vacation and she desperetly wanted us to go out on a date one night so she recommended Gaslamp to us and it was a great time.

There is a great baby equipment rental place we used as well. We rented a very clean playpen from them, a very high quality car seat (significantly better than what the car rental place offers), and an awesome stroller from them all for a very reasonable price. Great customer service too and they can meet you at the airport or come to your hotel/apt. If you're interested I can PM you the info. @nauticallife

aquasocks · April 2016

SRose109 said:

Another vote for Sebago! It's the most beautiful area.
You could also do Cape Cod. There are some great places to stay in Falmouth and Woods Hole that allow you to do a day trip to Nantucket or Martha's Vineyard if you'd like.

We did Martha's Vineyard and Newport RI two years ago. It was amazing, and a great trip with a 9mo!

aquasocks · April 2016

TrulyBlessed22 said:

I don't know what your budget is but I'd highly recommend San Diego. We took our family vaca there this past year and it was amazing. DD was just turning 2 and she also really enjoyed herself. Great weather and lots of family friendly things to do. The Zoo, Sea World, Balboa Park, Beaches and tons of other thing to do. We can't wait to go back.

Great suggestion! We've been there but I would definitely go back someday.

Blondesweety444 · April 2016

We always did trips to Yellowstone as kids. We loved seeing the wildlife and the weather is always beautiful.

aquasocks · April 2016

Wellllll maybe we will have to take more than one trip!!

FallenLeaves1990 · April 2016

Come up to Maine. It's just lovely here

leaseee · April 2016

Knottie1458416769 said:

We'd love to go to Hawaii for a babymoon, but I saw from a government map that it was one of the higher risk states for Zika this summer. So no Florida, no New Orleans, no Hawaii etc for us this year. Contemplating Canada...would love Europe but too far away from the West Coast.

You scared me with this because I spent most of my workday day dreaming about our anniversary trip to Hawaii in July. But it looks like the concern is actually that Hawaii might not be prepared IF Zika does spread there:
"The current threat of a Zika outbreak in Hawaii is low, medical experts say, in part because the mosquito that poses the biggest risk of transmitting the virus to humans has been eradicated from most islands in the state, and is now only found on portions of the Big Island." https://www.civilbeat.com/2016/01/feds-say-hawaii-is-not-equipped-to-deal-with-a-zika-outbreak/

For me, it doesn't seem like the risk is great enough not to travel there, but I probably will get an opinion from my doctor (and likely get travel insurance!).

aquasocks · April 2016

Wow, I just called my daughter's school and they start August 8th, so now I guess it will be a July trip unless we take her out for a week in August or early September. That seems so early!

DunkinDecaf · April 2016

Ah!!! That is early! Booo school year. Stop encroaching on summer joy.

Knottie1458416769 · April 2016

Maybe we are just being cautious but I looked at the map from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/860626) and concluded that I am not going to visit any in-laws in North Carolina this year.

I also saw on the CDC website (https://www.cdc.gov/zika/vector/range.html) that local outbreaks have been reported in parts of Hawaii, Florida and Texas. That's when I canceled our Hawaii trip with my parents. There's always next year when baby is born and can travel.

aquasocks · April 2016

Knottie1458416769 said:

Maybe we are just being cautious but I looked at the map from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/860626) and concluded that I am not going to visit any in-laws in North Carolina this year.

I also saw on the CDC website (https://www.cdc.gov/zika/vector/range.html) that local outbreaks have been reported in parts of Hawaii, Florida and Texas. That's when I canceled our Hawaii trip with my parents. There's always next year when baby is born and can travel.

I think you misread the information from the CDC website. There have been outbreaks of other illnesses, like dengue, in those areas. Here is a direct quote:

"

CDC is not able to predict if Zika virus will spread in the continental United States. However, areas with past outbreaks of chikungunya and dengue are considered at higher risk for Zika. These include U.S. territories like Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam. Local outbreaks have also been reported in parts of Hawaii, Florida, and Texas."

Knottie1458416769 · April 2016

Wasn't trying to imply that Hawaii has an outbreak of Zika right now. But the local transmission of related diseases and similar mosquitoes was enough to change our summer plans. Would be different if we were going off season. I'm particularly jumpy at the thoughts of mosquitoes because I'm a mosquito magnet - DH can sit right next to me with short sleeves/shirts and I'm still the only victim.

kgrisham18 · April 2016

We go to the Outer Banks every year, it's never been too hot, although I'm from Chicago so maybe I wouldn't know heat. But it's a good family destination.

ETA: North Carolina

talkthewholetime · April 2016

Love Maine, Cape Cod/MV, and the Smoky Mountains!

TrulyBlessed22 · April 2016

@kgrisham18 we are going this year...rented a house for the week and I'm soooo excited. Went last year for the the first time but only for the day so I can't wait to spend the week there. Really hoping Zika stays away from there though my state is basically at the same risk as OBX but the biggest Difference is I don't live near a beach. Are you guys going this year?

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