I've asked this on the US board awhile back, but I figured that travelers on this forum might be more widely travelled. What is the best FAMILY vacation you've ever taken, just in terms of having the very best time, and overall everyone having enjoyed themselves?<BR>Doesn't have to be restricted to Europe, just trying to get ideas for our family of 2 boys, 10 and 13, and a hard to please husband. Thanks!

Our family (a boy and girl similar age) go on 1 nice vacation a year. When they were younger we did the disney thing, all-inclusive carribean and mexican resorts. As they became older we did more site seeing type trips, California coast, Paris/Amsterdam, Italy and Arizona. The favorite would be Italy. It's a very child-friendly place. They loved the food, everything about venice, small towns, sites in Rome and Pompeii, etc. My kids aren't big museum kids but we do visit museums, big and small in each place and try to do things that interest them more, in between. This year my kids have conflicting spring break vacations so we are taking a shorter trip to Mexico in February. They were 9 & 12 when we went to Italy.

Too funny marj, It's me, nina! As you know, I'm looking seriously at Arizona, and would love to do Italy, in fact, I had a trip all planned out last year, but had to cancel last minute because of my husbands job change.<BR><BR>We've done the Disney cruise too, and the kids loved it, but my husband won't do another cruise. How old were your kids when you went to Italy?<BR><BR>

Sorry marj, just realized you already told me their ages. Anyway, what time of year did you go?

hi nina! We went to Italy in March. In a nutshell, here's what we did:<BR>Flew into Venice, spent 3 nights there. We toured Doges Palace and went to Murano (on our own, not one of the sponsored tours). We rented a car after Venice and drove to Florence for a quick overnight visit. One of our babysitters was a student abroad there. We only spent the night but we did walk around and saw most of the 'outdoor' sites and also went to the History of Science museum (which is great). After that we drove to Orvieto with an afternoon stop in San Gimingnano. We spent 1 night in Orvieto and took the Orvieto underground tour. We spent the last 4 nights in Rome with a day trip to Pompeii. In Rome we toured the Colliseum, Vatican Museum, and Borghese Gallery (my favorite). We also went to many other smaller sites in each place. We live in a city and my kids are used to a lot of walking so we spent a lot of time in each place just walking around and exploring different neighborhoods.

Our best-ever family vacation was also in Italy, when our kids were about 7 and 4. One week in Stresa, one week in a rented cottage 20 miles from Venice, and one week in the Dolomites and Switzerland. Great weather, great sites, great food, great times...

Hi,<BR>We have been taking our family winter vacations in Europe for the past two years. The rates are low and their are no long lines at museums. Our kids are now 12 (girl) and 15(boy). Last year we went to Paris and London and the year before we just stayed in London. The kids love the sights and the museums. We took day trips from Paris to Normandy and to Versaille and from London to Hampton Court, Windsor and Salisbury/Stonehenge. In London we see theater every night! I am starting to plan a trip to Italy this February and would love advice on the trip. I was thinking of trying to fit in Rome, Venice and Florence all in 8 days- is this do-able? I would love advice on this trip.

I'm glad to see that winter trips to Europe were so successful. My husband says he'd much rather go to Europe (specifically Spain, since he's never been there), than to the caribbean or Mexico for the kids February vacation, but I was concerned about the weather. I also would love to take advantage of the lower airfares, it's a big help, especially when travelling with the whole family!

This summer when my sons were 11 and 13 we traveled through Switzerland by car(Lugano, Lucerne and Montreux, with a stop in Gruyeres) and then took the train to Paris. It was a wonderful family vacation, and it was nice to go from smaller town to larger city. We loved the scenery, comparing ice cream wherever we went, and looking for soccer jerseys. My kids especially liked playing frisbee at the Champ du Mars near the Eiffel Tower. They still talk about it.

Last February, I went on a family vacation to London and Paris. Of the two, if you are first-time travelers in Europe, then I strongly suggest London. Paris is more... aloof? I can't say exactly, but if you want the cozy, comfortable family vacation, then I'd definately choose London. First of all, there is a variety of attractions. Say your kids don't want to go to a museum every day, well, give history a twist. There is a place called the London Dungeon, which, while teaching some important historical dates of London, also is gory, gruesome, and, of course, lots of fun! (You'll have to excuse the over the top price) Also, the cathedrals and chapels are incredible! They were one of my favorite places on my vacation. Lastly, kids love fish and chips at pubs. (Parisian food doesn't offer that much variety for the kids)<BR>Hope this helps, and have a great time!

Returned to Sydney 2 days ago after a Asia-Europe-USA-Sth Pacific trip with three daughters 16,14 and 9. Am thinking of posting a report (details of what worked well,pitfalls, accommodations etc) here but may be rather too long...what do others think?

lu, your trip must have been the ultimate adventure. PLEASE post a trip report. i'd love to read about your travels and i'd bet plenty of others would too!

Best family vacation was to a guest ranch near Lake Tahoe, California. The kids had a great time and so did my wife and I. The boys got to go horseback riding for the first time and loved it. By being at a ranch, everyone could do their own thing. Steak dinners, dancing, etc. The boys enjoyed it so much, we booked again for this year (last year was Italy).

We went to so many places with the kids, beautiful resorts in Arizona, California, Mexico, Punta del Este (Uruguay),every year we go to Canmore and Banff,and many times we went to Vancouver with them, but I always recomend the Caribean Cruise as the best! we all enjoyed it so much! at that time mi children's age was, 9, 12 and 19, and they all have a beautiful memory of that trip!<BR>

I also recommend a cruise!! Very relaxing, no problem deciding places to eat or to go, enjoying the pool, and diferent activities for kids and adults

The one I took to the Bahamas for a week. I left the kids, the dog and the hubby to fend for themselves. I also told them not to call me unless it was a REAL emergency. He called to tell me he was out of underwear and what was he supposed to do. I told him &quot; welcome to my world and figure it out yourself&quot;. So I can honestly say that a week on the beach reading trashy romance novels and photosynthesizing in the sun, was the best family vacation. When I got home I was refreshed, recharged and eager to get back to my family. It was most beneficial to all of us. Not exactly a typical family vacation, but I suspect the family had fun and there were numerous pizza boxes and video rentals, etc around the house. Is is friday yet?

Well, I was intending to go to Spain in Feb because of lower prices, but we voted and we are going out west to The Grand Canyon for April vacation. With 2 boys and a husband who's already spent a good amount of time in Europe (mostly Italy, we have a family home in Masserano near Torino and the Lakes region), we decided to try something different, especially for me and the kids. We've been on 3 cruises (kids and I loved it, my husband is not a &quot;cruise person&quot, Caribbean, WDW and many summers in Nantucket.<BR><BR>We're really looking forward to this trip, and it involves a tremendous amount of planning so I'll post back on our return and see if it ends up being the best!