Where did you take the kids for their first "vacation?"
Oct 11th, 2006, 11:05 AM
#1
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Where did you take the kids for their first "vacation?"
It seems like there have been lots of questions lately about families and vacations. We have an almost 5 month old baby and both of our parents live within a 2-4 hour drive so we have done some of those weekend trips, but me being the planner that I am I, I have been considering our little boy's first vacation sometime next year. I have considered a beach trip in state (Texas) and we have also considered visiting family in Virginia about a 16 hour drive. Everything will depend on how much time off my husband gets, finances, and how our son does with travel. My question is, with the exception of visiting family where did you take your first real family vacation?
Oct 11th, 2006, 01:00 PM
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At three weeks, we took our daughter to Ocean Shores, WA.
At three months, my husband took her on a plane trip to Boise to visit family.
She started camping at four months.
When she was 14 months, we left her with her grandparents and went to Hawaii for a week. Now that was a good vacation.
At three months, my husband took her on a plane trip to Boise to visit family.
She started camping at four months.
When she was 14 months, we left her with her grandparents and went to Hawaii for a week. Now that was a good vacation.
Oct 11th, 2006, 01:08 PM
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Our son was 5 when we went camping at Maho Bay on St John USVI. It was a great beach vacation with a little bit of exploring around the island. He enjoyed playing with other kids on the beach. Then we started alternating a driving vacation with a flying vacation. He didn't enjoy the long car drives but since he was an only child there wasn't anyone in the back seat to fight with. Our first granddaughter is two and has flown to visit grandparents since she was an infant but our son and DIL went camping this year. I think a lot depends on what kind of vacationer you are. I tend to want to do too much and put too many miles on the car. My husband is quite content to work on a jig saw puzzle in a lakeside cottage or watch the ocean.
Oct 11th, 2006, 01:13 PM
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We took an infant to S. Padre Island when I was still on maternity leave. He couldn't turn over yet, so we could put him anywhere. Then there were quite a few trips to visit relatives in Minnesota and Illinois. When the youngest was an infant, we rented a condo on the beach in Galveston; we went there specifically because there wasn't much to do. We all took long afternoon naps.
Our first "real" vacation (when the youngest was about 3) was to San Diego. That was a great spot for a vacation with young kids.
Our first "real" vacation (when the youngest was about 3) was to San Diego. That was a great spot for a vacation with young kids.
Oct 11th, 2006, 01:39 PM
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Thanks for everyone's responses. Actually, two posters mentioned South Padre Island and that is what I was thinking of for our first vacation. I remember that the beaches were very pretty (of course that is relative, no it is not the Carribbean). We will want to take a camping trip, but roughing it while we have a little one in diapers doesn't sound like too much fun, maybe later though. Keep the responses coming.
Oct 11th, 2006, 01:57 PM
#13
The easiest trip to take for us was a beach house/condo oceanfront. They have kitchens and are easy to return for naps. I would leave driving vacations to a couple of hours, flights too. Babies are easy, but toddlers become fussier. We drove from NJ to Florida with our daughter at 7mos old. That was very hard. She was a great baby, but a million hours in the carseat was too much. (no tv's in cars back then either, for what little entertainment that would give a 7month old!)
We flew to Florida. We flew to Hawaii with her at 15mos. We took both girls to California from the east coast at ages 3 and 1 1/2. So, they traveled well.
I do think the beach thing is easiest on everyone to start. Then you can build up to longer trips in planes and cars. If he is a good traveler, you will be all over the world before you know it.
We flew to Florida. We flew to Hawaii with her at 15mos. We took both girls to California from the east coast at ages 3 and 1 1/2. So, they traveled well.
I do think the beach thing is easiest on everyone to start. Then you can build up to longer trips in planes and cars. If he is a good traveler, you will be all over the world before you know it.
Oct 11th, 2006, 03:01 PM
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We took our children to upstate NY. Santa Claus Land was one of the best places. They had a wonderful time, and we the parents were also relaxed and had a great time also. We hiked in the woods, and stayed at a nice hotel. It was perfect. My boys are now in their 30's and they have talked about that trip.
Oct 11th, 2006, 03:03 PM
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Atlantic Beach/Morehead City, NC. I have really great memories of summer vacations there, starting probably at age two. Depending on where your relatives are in VA it would be an additional 3-8 hours (that would be the VA Beach area vs. the DC 'burbs). Its not exactly a cosmopolitan place for adults, but for families its perfect--the state aquarium is there, Fort Macon (an historical landmark), piers and fishing, mini-golf, and miles and miles of some of the most unspoiled beaches you'll ever see in US. Most everything there is family oriented and not terribly expensive. For what its worth, I think a beach vacation is the way to go for a first family vacation.
Oct 11th, 2006, 03:17 PM
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We flew to Sanibel Island, and continued to do so for several years. We always stayed in a condo, as it is much easier and spacious than a hotel room. You can have a bowl of cheerios on the patio, a sandwich for lunch, and maybe go out to dinner a few nights.
Car trips were mostly to Vermont to visit my brother.
Car trips were mostly to Vermont to visit my brother.
Oct 11th, 2006, 05:21 PM
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I also recommend the beach house rental vacation for families with infants. We took both kids on this sort of trip (our first to Block Island, RI when our oldest was 10 months and our second to Prince Edward Island in Canada when our youngest was 6 months). It's really ideal and you actually can relax a little bit.
Start travelling early so it's just a part of their life. We just took them (1 and 3 now) to Europe this summer and had a wonderful time.
John
Start travelling early so it's just a part of their life. We just took them (1 and 3 now) to Europe this summer and had a wonderful time.
John
Oct 11th, 2006, 07:32 PM
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Her first vacation that didn't involve a trip to visit relatives was to Barbados when she was about 10 months old. We rented a villa at Royal Westmoreland - my husband is a golf addict and I really wanted a full kitchen, two bedrooms and access to a pool that wasn't directly adjacent to the villa (so we could come and go, but I didn't have to worry about her "investigating"). It was an easy flight from home (NYC) and it was an island we had been to a few times before which made it more comfortable for us.
