Looking for ideas for a family trip - open to anywhere - with older kids, 16, 18 and 22 in July or August of 2009. Thoughts anyone? We live in St. Louis and have traveled much in the USA but still more to see and willing to go abroad. Only have one week. Interests are varied - relaxation, scenic beauty, history, some shopping, great food! A tall order?!?!?!

Millsy5

I'm no expert, but I would suggest one major city (paris, Rome, Amsterdam?) My sister and family went to Edinburgh one year for the Fringe Festival in August. Her teenaged kids loved it. Must see "tattoo" (at Edinburgh Castle), or so she says.

DD

How about Ocean City, New Jersey?

The Jersey Shore is beautiful in the summer. Ocean City has a nice beach and the kids will love the Boardwalk! It's a dry town (no alcohol) - great for families.

The Jersey Shore has lots of other places to visit (like Cape May, Wildwood and Atlantic City) and is close to Philadelphia and New York City.

For more information go to: www.MyJerseyShore.com

We loved Hawaii's Big Island, Yellowstone and definitely the Jersey Shore. They all offer a lot of activities that engage teens and tweens and you can cover a lot of ground in a week. I have a blog with lots of pictures, tips, etc. can't rewrite all the info here but feel free to check it out www.travel-with-teens.com

Guess you've already taken your trip. But if not and you put it off or want some more ideas, here are some thoughts.

With only a week I probably wouldn't go abroad. We've done that a few times (spring break) and with the flying time, jet lag, etc it can be pretty rough. If that doesn't bother you and you did decide to do that, I'd likely pick London - certainly meets your criteria, often has some decent airfares and is easy to get non-stops from places in the Midwest like ORD. Has more than enough to satisfy everyone's interest.

If you want a more urban experience closer to home, suggest Vancouver, BC. Has everything on your list. Beautiful area and one of our favorite places. Take the ferry over to Victoria for a day (or longer). Lots to keep everyone occupied. And with the Olympics over by the summer, my guess is

For a more outdoors/relaxed option, the North Shore of Minn. Not so much shopping but very beautiful scenery along the shoreline, some great hiking, boating etc in many state parks with waterfalls etc. Really nice restaurants. Alpine sledding. For history, take a day trip to Grand Portage Nat Park and into Thunder Bay, Canada. Fully restored villages with reenactments of the French voyageurs fur traders who used the area in the 1700s as a staging point to ship furs etc to eastern ports from the Great Lakes. Really quite interesting.