Any ideas for kid friendly vacation spots?

[boomdaddy]

Myrtle beach and Hilton Head have already been done. I would like to find something other than the beach.

[capcat]

How far away would you like/be willing to travel?

[Dawood Khan]

Williamsburg, VA

Yorktown, VA

Educational and fun plus Kings Dominion is only 45 minutes away and VA Beach is less than an hour away (just in case you feel the call of the Ocean lol).

[PsychoCat]

Williamsburg, VA




I agree...Williamsburg, VA is a great place for a family vacation...Busch Gardens is one of the cleanest parks there is ... and Colonial Williamsburg is a fun family experience also

Colinial Willamsburg - http://www.history.org/

http://www.buschgardens.com/BGW/default.aspx

If you have the time and $$ to travel farther -other fun places we enjoyed with our kids are -

Glacier National Park, MT
Black Hills of South Dakota
San Francisco, CA

[gerntz]

Absolutely agree on Williamsbrug - couple of days, maybe three. Yorktown & Jamestown (not original) nice to visit. A day between them. Busch Gardens is right there too - another day. Can go to VA Beach for a day too - 1-2 hr away. Don't know if they still give Navy ship tours at Newport News or not. If coming/going from KY on I64, 2-4 hr stop at Monticello good too.

Easy to use up 7-10 days there.

[gerntz]

Don't know how old the kids are, but DC & Smithsonian is worth 3 days. Baltimore - National Aquarium, Ft. McHenry, Inner Harbor - & Annapolis, Ocean City beach for a day are nearby.

[UKcat]

Absolutely agree on Williamsbrug - couple of days, maybe three. Yorktown & Jamestown (not original) nice to visit. A day between them. Busch Gardens is right there too - another day. Can go to VA Beach for a day too - 1-2 hr away. Don't know if they still give Navy ship tours at Newport News or not. If coming/going from KY on I64, 2-4 hr stop at Monticello good too.

Easy to use up 7-10 days there.


We were at Norfolk 5 years ago; there were ships there at that time that you could tour; we also took a tour of the harbor which allowed you to see the naval ships and the local lighthouses. It is a nice area; Virginia Beach is close too if you still need beach time with the kids.

[CATHYnKY]

Ask Grub. They have 3 young boys. Seems to me he was asking for a place to spend a few days that was kid friendly.

[Hendo/Atlanta Cat Fan]

Destin is great ( I know it is a beach). Gatlingburg is pretty cool depending on the age of the kids!

[capcat]

Agree about Yorktown, the battlefields are interesting, especially if you and your kids read up on the history before you go. And the town is quaint.

Other places...
Philadelphia: if your kids are old enough to appreciate the history. Standing in line for one of those awful cheesesteak sandwiches :icon_confused:

San Francisco: Golden Gate bridge, staying down by the piers, warming up with some clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl, listening to all the different languages you'll hear tourists speaking, history of the great earthquake, riding the cable cars, watching the sea lions, traveling to Muir Woods if you have nerves of steel for the drive :shock:, heading out to warmer Sonoma Valley to visit one of the vineyards, riding horses through Jack London state park, visiting his isolated former home and other structures he built, seeing the eucalyptus trees.

Seattle: Just a great place with lots to do, especially if you stay downtown.

San Antonio: Staying downtown by the River Walk...the historic Menger Hotel*, the Marriot Riverwalk, or the Hyatt (the river sort of runs through it). The Alamo! is right next to the Menger. Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders supposedly used the Menger Bar as a meeting place. You can take horse and buggy rides, plus visit some cheesy places kids like, such as the Wax Museum and Ripley's Believe it or Not. We like to eat at Casa Rio, and sit outside, right on the river. It's also a little fun to take one of the river boat tours. Fiesta Texas and Sea World are in San Antonio if you like that sort of thing and don't mind the heat and concrete. Schlitterbahn* is about 45 minutes north of San Antonio in New Braunfels. It is (used to be, at least) the #1 water park in the country. It's right on the Comal river, so you can go tubing, and the older part has lots of Live Oak trees for shade. Packing a picnic lunch (no glass) with everything you need for the day is the way to go.

[UedK]

Don't know how old the kids are, but DC & Smithsonian is worth 3 days. Baltimore - National Aquarium, Ft. McHenry, Inner Harbor - & Annapolis, Ocean City beach for a day are nearby.

We took our two boys to DC when they werein their early teens and had a great few days. They were really interested in all that DC offers.

[boomdaddy]

I'm still weighing my options. I appreciate the input. Who knows, it may get decided on a coin flip.

[kateyes]

St. Louis is a pretty cool place for kids. Arch, St Louis Zoo, Children's Science Museum, STL Cardinals, Six Flags nearby to just name a few things.

I have always wanted to go to San Antonio. Maybe someday...

[Littlemeyer]

St. Louis is a pretty cool place for kids. Arch, St Louis Zoo, Children's Science Museum, STL Cardinals, Six Flags nearby to just name a few things.

I have always wanted to go to San Antonio. Maybe someday...

We're doing the St. Louis trip this summer. It's perfect for a weekend get-away, being just a little over three hours from here. GREAT zoo. We've not done the Science Museum, but we're going to do that one and the City Museum this time. Both look great.