Ideas for Summer Vacation

I used to live in Myrtle Beach and love it there! I don't knwo if it's the best place to go in the summer with kids that age. There is a ton of stuff to do there but you'll find lots of crowds. Are you looking for a place with lots of things to do or more of a relaxing vacation?

My dad used to take us to Myrtle Beach, S.C. when we were kids. We loved it! From what I remember there was tons to do.
C.

Lake of the Ozarks is always a great vacation spot and you don't have to go to far to do it. They have great beaches resorts and activities. If money is no object there is no better place for a family vacation than Maui. My second favorite is definitely San Diego. But don't waste your money on the SanDiego zoo. It really is not very exciting. Sea World and the Wildlife zoo are the best atractions. We have taken the kids to Sea World three times and they love it every time. And if you get a chance take the ferry to Coronado island. Beautiful beach not too crowded and the kids may get a kick out of the Navy ships. 100% recommend San Diego. If you need any other advice on San Diego you can find me here.

San Diego is TONS of fun, I've got family there are we are actually going there to visit them for Thanksgiving this year. If you went there of course the San Diego Zoo is great, but I like the Wild Animal Park even better--it is so cool! It's a beautiful place with great weather, if it wasn't so expensive I'd be living there too! :)

I've always been a HUGE fan of Pensacola BEACH, Florida. The reason is that there AREN'T a lot of attractions there, so there just aren't that many tourists and the beaches aren;t totally crowded. In the past I've always stayed at the Holiday Inn Express on Pensacola Beach. I knowit has recently been rebuilt after being ravaged by hurricanes, but I believe that each room overlooks the ocean, and if they put it in the exact same spot its pretty close to the water. If memeory serves me correctly there is some sort of sea life show or exhibit near there, and there is a National Park that runs through there too. I was just telling a friend this morning abot my spring / cabin fever and how much I want to go there infact!

We went to Sunset Beach, NC a couple years ago. It is not too crowded and very nice. It has many rental homes avaialable (which is what we did with my sister's family) It was nice because we were a short dirve from Myrtle Beach. This year my sister is setting us up for St. Simons Island, GA which she says is even better.

My family and i went to the water park down there in oklahoma city and then the zoo. My daughter had a blast and keeps asking to go back down there.

We went to Virginia beach a couple of years ago. It was real nice, but it was very crowded over the fourth of July. I don't know what they have for little kids, like zoos, because we just kind of hung out on the beach, but there were carnival rides close by, and several shops along the boardwalk. Alot of people had small children there.We had a great time. K.

My family and I go to Destin, FL every year. There are a lot of other families there so there are other kids to play with. The weather is great, gulf side, so the sand and water are beautiful and there is a water park and go cart/kiddie ride place right across the street from the beach. There is an outlet mall and all of the necessary stores for grocery shopping, etc. Fall rates begin the second week of August so it is relatively inexpensive and only about 12 hours from the St. Louis area by car.

Have you thought about looking North? It's warm in Wisconsin in the summer and its really a wonderful place for a family vacation. Take a look at Wisconsin Dells or Lake Geneva. There are wonderful family attractions!

My sister goes to N. Carolina every summer. Beautiful stuff there. I'd start checking out state web sites for fun things to do.

We usually rent a friend's timeshare in FL for a week each summer, but with a baby due in April, we've decided to do something different this year. We're going to Pigeon Forge TN in the Smoky Mtns. There is a national park with lots of opportunities for hiking, bike riding,etc. and a ton of attractions, including Dollywood. A big section of the amusement park is dedicated to small kids (I also have a 4 year old). We found that renting a luxury cabin and admission will be cheaper than our normal week at the beach, and not so hot. My son just wants to swim in a pool anyway.

Have you ever been to Durango or Glenwood Springs in COlorado. Both places are gorgeous in the spring/summer. You won't have any humidity, which we get plenty of in the mid west! There are tons of places out there to visit. you could go to 4 corners too. that's fun for older kids to be able to be in 4 states at once. I am from Colorado and could tell you bunches of fun places to go with them. Just email me! Good luck! =)

While the beach sounds great don't just limit yourself to the coast. There are lakes all over the United States that have beaches and local hotels that are close.
Then there's the gulf coast, New Orleans, Galveston I can think of off the top of my head. Georgia has a nice coast I think. The Florida Keys, U.S. Virging Islands, lots of places that aren't S.C. or CA.

I wouldn't even limit myself to the water edged place because it's rare to find a decent hotel that doesn't have a pool. This allows you to not only have the water fun but opens the whole world up to you. Pick a theme for your vacation: history, flora and fauna, important people and go to those kinds of places instead of just heading for open water.

Good luck to you. Summer vacations are great but nothing beats a change of scenery in the winter either.

Hi L.,
I used to live in Savannah, GA with my (then 18-24month) daughter. There was always something to do there for the kids. You can either stay out on the beach at Tybee Island which is about 20 minutes from the historic district, or you can stay in Savannah historic area where the riverwalk is, and where the huge barges come in. My daughter stayed in a hotel on the riverwalk with her grandma (before we moved there - her grandma lives there though, now)and she was completely fascinated with the huge boats and all the activity that goes on the river. You can also go 45 minutes north to Hilton Head SC (rich golfers haven and land of outlet centers/shopping) to the beaches, which are nice because they are more family oriented - no alcohol allowed on the beaches which means no rediculous drunk teenagers. And then, for a lovely historical part, you can go about an hour more north to Charleston (which also has some nice beaches). Anyway, if you at all interested in going there, just send me and email and I can hook you up with all the unknown tourist spots (like where to park for free at the beaches). Oh, yeah, airtran airlines is beginning to fly out there starting in May, which is the cheapest flight from KC to Savannah, or if you drive, its about 13-15 hours (based on stopping every couple hours for kids!).
R.

My husband and I took our four kids to Branson, MO last year for a week vacation. We Loved It! We went to Silver Dollar City which is a theme park based on an old western theme. To Celebration City which is a big Carnival Place with a spectacular fireworks display at the end of each evening, and to White Water which is a huge water park. We bought hopper tickets which included all three places and went to at least two each day - one am before lunch and one afternoon/evening. We also went on Ride the Ducks which is a land/water bus/boat that tours around the town and shows visitors all of the attractions of Branson, MO. While there are loads of shows for adults and such, with our four kids, were not able to attend the more adult functions with toddlers, but, those places mentioned above kept our vacation super busy all week long. We also visited the Titanic Museum on the rainy day of our week. They also have a Ripley's Believe it or not museum and other tourist places to visit. We are antique seekers as well and the shopping there is excellent. There are alot of good places to dine. But be careful, the town pretty much closes up by 10:30p.m. so finding places to eat after that time other than Pizza Hut, Steak N Shake, and Papa Johns was a bit difficult. The only draw back that we had was that our 2 year old was not able to ride on many of the rides at both Silver Dollar City and Celebration City due to her height limit. They have a small section for the little ones, yet not much. Our three year old is short and just a bit taller than the two year old and she had trouble too with some of the rides. Other than that, the entire trip was Well worth the money spent and there are alot of ways to save money on hoppers and discount coupons and such. We researched it on the internet by looking up Branson, MO. We plan to go back again with the entire family hopefully soon since the girls are now 3 foot and over. Hope this helps, good luck with your vacation plans.

P>S> We went to House on the Rock up in Wisconsin two years ago. It is a fabulous place/museum to visit! Beware.....it takes at least 3 hours to get through the place and can take up to 6-7 hours if you really take the time to see it all. I have been there 4 times in my life and always see new things each time. I love it there! Check it out on the web. The older kids got tired of walking and we would have to rest but at least the other two were in strollers! We spent 7 hours there on that day.

Happy Vacation!
T.

I went to San Francisco a couple of years ago...there is so much to do! Your kids would probably love Fisherman's Wharf...there is a candy shop where you can watch them make candy, Ghiradelli square of course, and all sorts of things.

I don't know where you're located, but we took a trip to Port Aransas, TX last year. They have condos or houses to rent right on the beach. It's close to the Corpus Christi aquarium and lots of other places...just a 30 min. or so drive. We only spent about 3 days there, but could have easily spent a week or more. Hope that helps!
-D.

its not near a beach but i recommend the henry doorly zoo in omaha, ne. its really nice up there abd they just completed certain complexes last summer and some things are inside like the cat house, the monkeys and the aquarium. you should check it out. thanks W.

ps i have 4 cdhildren and they all love it. i want to go again we've been there 2 times already

Virginia Beach is fun! We took our kids there last summer. They had a zoo, carnivals on the beach, a waterpark, a motor world park, rides on pirate a ship, and a neat aquarium. We had a blast!