vacationing with kids... ideas?

billiburrows

I need SOMETHING to look forward to.  As you may recall i've mentioned on here that my mom is very sick. I'm going through a lot right now and i need something pleasant to think about. something to look forward to.  i need a vacation to escape to once this is all over. Any recommendations on trips? i have a 4 year old and 7 month old.  some concerns/considerations:

-if we fly somewhere- i think we would need a non stop flight. i think it would be too overwhelming for us to do more than that. 

-if we fly somewhere the extra expenses would be airfare and car rental...on top of the place we stay.  ugh. and i guess we'd have to bring the car seats as luggage???? we also have dogs so we have to think about paying someone to take of them, etc. 

-if we drive somewhere we could save money on airfare and car rental and potentially have the dogs with us. Although we don't want to drive too far.

-an all inclusive sounds great to me but i don't think there are any non stop flights from pgh to anywhere like that. i could be wrong though.

in the past we have always done OC MD. and that's ok and that's an option.  i guess i was just looking for something different to be excited about.... any suggestions?

lala5507

If you are looking for a beach, I love Hilton Head.  It's very relaxed and family friendly.  It's a long drive though, but you could fly if you wanted.  I also like Sandbridge beach near Virginia Beach. 

If you want an amusement park, my kids LOVE Sesame Place.  The drive is very easy and there are other things to do in the area (Crayola Factory, aquarium). 

Also, I've seen direct flights to Orlando if that's something your interested in.

waltsgirl102503

I don't really have a suggestion, but wanted to say that we went to an all inclusive 2 summers ago. We had a layover, and I think it actually was better than a straight flight.  The kids only had to sit in their seats for 1.5-2hours each time, instead of 4 hours straight.  Then, we got to walk around, have something to eat, use a big bathroom, etc.  

Also, we had an awesome time at the all inclusive.  It was the most relaxing vacation I'd ever had, even with kids.  (It could have been because DH and I started drinking rum runners at 9am! HA!)  I think it could be just what the doctor ordered since you have so much stress right now.  

If you want a quick weekend trip, we just went to Great Wolf Lodge in Sandusky and my kids love it there.   They're already talking about going back again.  

billiburrows

good point about maybe a layover being beneficial..... this is a really dumb question but when you went to the all inclusive you didnt' have to bring the car seats did you? i'm assuming a bus or something took you from the airport to the resort...?  may i ask where you went (what country?).

thanks!

Meghan&Rich

We are fans of Rehoboth.  It's a manageable drive (about 6.5 hours for us).  There's also Dewey, Bethany, and Lewes in that general area.

We've flown direct to Florida with the boys and it went really well, I think they could have handled a lay over.   

waltsgirl102503

We went to the Beaches resort in Turks and Caicos.  It was wonderful!  They also have a kids club that the kids can go to and give you and DH alone time.   We did bring our carseat, but only because we took a car service to the airport.  So we needed the car seats for the ride to/from the airport.  If we would have driven ourselves, we would have left them in the car.  We did take a bus/van type thing from the airport to the resort, and did not install the seats.  We were in there with a bunch of other people and there was no way/room to do it.  The kids thought it was a great adventure and I think they felt like they were getting away with something bad.  HA!   We bought a Bubble Bum seat for Noah, though, it's a blow up booster.  So when we got out of the car at the airport, we could just deflate it and put it in our luggage.  Then we only had to check Brody's seat.  

bride2003

waltsgirl102503 said:

We went to the Beaches resort in Turks and Caicos.  It was wonderful!  They also have a kids club that the kids can go to and give you and DH alone time.   We did bring our carseat, but only because we took a car service to the airport.  So we needed the car seats for the ride to/from the airport.  If we would have driven ourselves, we would have left them in the car.  We did take a bus/van type thing from the airport to the resort, and did not install the seats.  We were in there with a bunch of other people and there was no way/room to do it.  The kids thought it was a great adventure and I think they felt like they were getting away with something bad.  HA!   We bought a Bubble Bum seat for Noah, though, it's a blow up booster.  So when we got out of the car at the airport, we could just deflate it and put it in our luggage.  Then we only had to check Brody's seat.  

I've had friends go here and they RAVE about it. 

ryanthegirl

We love Hilton Head. It's a pretty long drive though. It is really family friendly and there's tons of stuff to do.

I think we're going to take a long weekend trip to Erie this summer. Casey has never been there (other than to steelhead fish) and I grew up going there. It's also a nice, family friendly place. Conneaut is also really cute.

kris356

I also love Hilton Head but it is a long drive, we usually do it in two days but we stop in Charlotte to pick up my sister. I also love Kiawah Island which is about 30-45 min. from Charleston, SC. Isle of the Palm is really nice too, it is on the other side of Charleston and a bit closer (and cheaper)

You may have an issue finding a house to rent to you with dogs. My parents found a couple, but that is because they have a mini-goldendoodle who is less than 20 lbs. And dogs are not permitted on most beaches in Hilton Head. The most dog friendly beach is probably the Outer Banks.

Luckystar2

kris356 said:

I also love Hilton Head but it is a long drive, we usually do it in two days but we stop in Charlotte to pick up my sister. I also love Kiawah Island which is about 30-45 min. from Charleston, SC. Isle of the Palm is really nice too, it is on the other side of Charleston and a bit closer.

You may have an issue finding a house to rent to you with dogs. My parents found a couple, but that is because they have a mini-goldendoodle who is less than 20 lbs. And dogs are not permitted on most beaches in Hilton Head. The most dog friendly beach is probably the Outer Banks.

My inlaws live near Kiawah. It's a nice area! They bring their dogs to the beach a lot!

I think it took us about 11 hours to get there from south hills area. It isn't too bad. We actually live in Ny and spend the night at my parents in PA. The whole trip for us is more like 16 hours and that is A Lot! But when we break it up it feels much more doable making the drive from PA

egpitt22

We did Avalon NJ for a few years, and we really liked the area (we're trying the outer banks this year)  Avalon is really quaint, private beaches, little ice cream shops, arcades, etc. 

What about a long weekend somewhere, like Great Wolf Lodge or the other place in Erie? (the name of that one is escaping me right now) 

lishie

We did a family trip to an all inclusive in Riviera Maya, Azul Fives. It was fairly affordable, and the resort we stayed at had great facilities for kids. We flew into Cancun and then took the resort transport to the hotel. We had a 3 bedroom condo with a roof deck, which was great for 8 people.

The kids club has tons of toys, a kiddie pool, and a mini gym. The restaruants all had toys for teh kids to use at teh table when you walked in. The boys were 3 and 1 when we went. They both loved it. 2 years later Jackson is still asking to go back again. That trip has turned Mexico into an absolute paradise to him

sarahandtim

You can fly nonstop to Cancun or Punta Cana. You will have to get the kids passports if you don't already have them (even the baby - Logan got his at 5 months and it's hilarious!).

We took Logan to an all inclusive in Cancun (Beach Palace) when he was 6 months and we absolutely loved it. We also just did a cruise when he was about 1.5 and that was great, but mostly because we went with friends who also have a little one.

Our standby trips are always Disney and Sandbridge, VA. I know someone else mentioned Sandbridge before and I'd whole heartedly agree with that. It's a completely different vibe than OCMD, but if you want that you can drive in to VA Beach in 10 minutes.

MaryM

We did rehoboth beach this summer and loved it. Not too far of a drive and much quieter than OC.

We also do a waterpark each year for a weekend. It is something I don't necessarily look forward to, but I do it for the kids. But if that is your thing like someone mentioned, there are always great deals at great wolf and splash lagoon...

Ever consider Niagra Falls?