Ike

Kids love the mountains and the beach. My favorite mountains to take kids to would be Colorado, Wyoming or Idaho.

My favorite beach would be Destin, FL. It's a kid's paradise. Too crowded for adults but kids love it and besides it's the best beach in America.

NYC is a great place for kids to visit to learn what goes on in big cities.

Washington, DC would be my 4th to learn about our country.

And 5th would be some place like Canada, Quebec City, Vancouver, Montreal to experience another part of NA.

PlumeriaTattoo

-Mountains
-Ocean
-New York City
-Disneyworld (and Jolie: who says they won't enjoy this as an adult? I still do!)
-Somewhere they are begging you to take them to, even if you think it's dumb.

dfrostnh

I like several of the answers. Looks like east coast kids might be more apt to see some of the website's recommended places. Boston/Freedom Trail is usually a school field trip, lucky kids go on an 8th grade trip to Washington DC. Williamsburg, Gettysburg and Monticello are easy trips for educational minded east coast parents. So here's my 5:
1. camping - great family time
2. beach esp if it's in the Caribbean
3. any large city which is polar opposite for a child raised in the country
4. some natural wonder, for us it was Mammoth Caves; still trying to talk DH into a Grand Canyon trip (but kid is already grown)
5. A living history museum like Plimothe Plantation or Sturbridge to see what life used to be like

Devonmcj

Anyplace where your kid can:

1. Swim (or learn to swim)
2. learn to ski
3. ride a boat
4. take a subway ride
5. sleep in a tent
6. appreciate nature
7. relive history
8. experience music and art
9. view natural beauty
10. run around and be a carefree kid

(I know, that's more than 5.)

dfrostnh

devonmci, I like your criteria. It may be more than 5 but you can do several things at some places. I.E. When we visited Washington DC we took a boat ride to Mount Vernon, visited the zoo and the aboretum (appreciated nature). Also rode the subway which was a Big Thing even for some of the adults I was with.

Devonmcj

I forgot to add: Experience a totally different culture.

MonicaRichards

I would definitely include Costa Rica or some other rain forest destination. It allows kids to really put a face on nature.

logandog

At least once, take them on a cross country road trip. Help them realize the size an diversity of our country.

granniem

Signmeup, I like your answer.....they will be able to experience all the other when they grow up...learning to volunteer is something that should be taught to them at an early age.

brando

Great question!!!!! My answers are not for toddlers, late grade schoold and junior high.

1. Italy, hands down, greatest history artifacts I can think of, art- nothing else said, and beaches.
2. Montana- rivers, GNP, mountains, and missoula night life.
3. North Dakota- if your a farmer, part time, here, the view of the horizan is tough to beat over a sea of golden gram on top of a combine.
4. DC, incredible!!! one of my top three places in the world, you feel the power that is there. Great place to instill the thirst for history.
5. Any park in the us, especially if thay have a merry-go-round, americans spend too much time thinking about our childrens minds and not enough about their bodies.

cmcfong

1. Washington, DC (be sure and stop by Arlington Cemetery)
2. Panama
3. at least one of the great parks of the USA West
4. Cape Canaveral/Kennedy Space Center
5. a work vacation with Habitat for Humanity

bnsilly

I would also add the Mt. Rushmore and the "black hills" of South Dakota...We did this and then drove over to Yellowstone and camped..It was a great trip..

ilovetulips

I love everyone's ideas! I tried to keep my list focused on the US, but if we have money after saving for college-I would love to take my son to Paris. I thought it was the most amazing city, maybe add a day to Normandy to see the D-day beaches and cemetary. I am also interested in visiting Costa Rica, the wildlife seems incredible.

wabashcannonball

Hmm. I think

1) International: Paris
2) Big City:NYC or San Francisco
4) East coast history: Boston, DC...
4) Scenery: Pacific NW, Portland to Vancouver BC
5) Understanding our culture/roots, past and future: Anywhere Mexico south

I know a PP said European travel is expensive, but airfares aren't much more - if not less than - continental US airfares, particularly if you're willing to pull the kids from school for a week or two off-peak. And stay/rent cheap, which is very doable in Paris. Not so much in London.

Now, NYC is just expensive. And so is SF.

I think immersion in a non-English language is incredibly important for American kids, who unfortunately often grow up monolingual. It's a big world out there, and it will only grow more diverse (to me, this is a good thing!).

I was disappointed in the Budget Travel list, honestly. It seemed way too focused on the US. And the Alamo? Ehhh. And I'm from Texas, originally.

http://happyjetbaby.blogspot.com

kureiff

What a fun thread! We live in MT so the camping, skiing, biking, hiking, Glacier and Yellowstone stuff are close and easy.

So mine for our daughter:

1) Hawaii. I want her to see and experience the ocean and tropical fish and giant sea turtles -- just like her story books.

2) Boston, Philadelphia, Washington D.C. for U.S. history lessons when she's older.

3) New York or San Francisco or Chicago. A big city and public transportation. And big museums and art galleries.

4) Europe. Different culture and food and buildings.

5) Costa Rica. Rain forests and animals and insects.

cfntmpn

No one has mentioned Chicago!!!! I live in Michigan and grew up in Northern Indiana. My first "travel experience" was hopping the train and going to Gino's East for Pizza on a Friday night then heading home on the last train.

I have already taken my niece when she was 6 to enjoy all that the city has to offer - especially during the holidays.

I agree it's much smaller than NYC - but if you're in the neighborhood it's the next best thing!

Bobmrg

Have to agree with utahtea...when I returned from Okinawa after being gone for a year, he and I took a camping trip to Yellowstone and the Tetons. He had already been across the country from DC to Seattle (after he was Cub scout age).

Vttraveler

A few more generic suggestions:

places associated with family history (including especially the place the kids were born if you have moved away

A foreign country. Could be Canada or Mexico if Europe seems too expensive. At the very least, a city with different ethnic neighborhoods

A native American reservation. If you do the GRand Canyon as a "must" (and I agree with the Budget Travel article to that extent) you could combine with the Navajo and/or Hopi reservations.

And a note of caution since your son is only one year old: don't expect him to remember much of trips you take while he is young. Our younger son who is now 16 and looking forward to a French class trip to Paris next year does not remember being in Paris for two days when he was five-almost-six. "You don't remember climbing the tower of Notre Dame and seeing the big bell and the gargoyles? the Bateau Mouche?" Apparently not at all. He remembers much more of big trips to Provence when he was 7 and Germany/Austria when he was 9. On the other hand, I figured we were doing something right when he started agitating to go to Rome when he was about 13. We finally took him for a week this past March.

cvilleva

I love this thread, and I frequently find myself mentally working on my own list like this for my two sons. One addition to all the good ideas above: The towns where their parents grew up. They love to see where Dad had his first part-time job, where Mom went to elementary school, etc.

TxTravelPro

I had a better job while my daughter was in her teen years and I took her with me on business trips all the time.
She went to some great places. Here's a few:

-London
-San Francisco
-NYC
-LA
-San Diego
-DC
-Montreal

I wish we could have visited more international cities.
We feel lucky to have been so many places together. We did things without a lot of structure and on the cheap but we had a lot of fun.
Next month I am taking her and her best friend with me on a trip to DC.
DC is her favorite city. Luckily we will be staying in Alexandria, which is one of mine