Children of various ages-- need ideas for a good vacation spot
 

Hi. I am a single mother living in Honduras. Usually I travel with only one of my older kids at a time but for next year, we all want to travel somewhere together. My problem: I have a 25 year old son, 23 year old daughter, 13 year old daughter, a 4 year old little girl and the baby, 15 months old! Where would you suggest for such a widely spaced crew?? My older son and I love cities, older daughters like museums, as do I...the babies are just happy to come along but the 4 year old is an active and curious one and I need to find some place that will keep her engaged...don't really like Disney but open to suggestions...thanks!

How far from home? What state/region? Interests (of older kids)? Details,details!!

Depending on the time of year, how about a Boston/Cape Cod trip? All age ranges can easily be entertained between the two.

Sorry..I should have put in more information about our likes/dislikes...We live near beautiful beaches here so we don't need to do that. (though I would love to visit Cape Cod again..was there 39 years ago and found it charming); Boston does sound like a good possibility- My oldest son is a writer and a history buff; daughter is a law student and loves political history; 13 year old is very eager to learn anything about the US; The more I write this, the more I think Boston may be just the city. Maybe one week there and then down to New York City. Also thinking about DC..I have heard the National Zoo is good and with all the museums there it might be fun. Plus my soon to be lawyer could check out the government sites. Leaning towards cities as I want to avoid renting a car. Any ideas are welcome- thanks. Ana

New York City!

Smithsonian Museums are a BLAST! Zoo's neat (and free). Williamsburg is also fun. Sounds like DC would be a hit with everyone. I like Boston more than NYC, but mostly because I prefer history over shopping:) Have a great time!

Note that various of the Smithsonian Museums have been and will be closed for major rennovations. Be sure to check their web sites before making any firm plans.

What time of year do you think you will travel?

D.C. would work. Boston would too. But also consider Chicago.

With your ages, Chicago would really work well. You could do all without any car, and there is tons for the smallest two. I think there are more things within walking distance in Chicago for the little ones now than in the other two mentioned cities.

And the older could enjoy the music and bar scene without being far from the lodgings at night. Not to mention shopping or beach/Millenium Park for the little ones is right there.

Chicago in summer. Plus you will have more room, spend less money, for the entire groups' lodging in Chicago than you will on East Coast.

Depending on how long you have, you could do all 3 major east coast cities - Boston, New York, Washington, DC.

Train service downtown to downtown is good between all 3 - about 5 hours between Boston and NYC and same on to Washington. If you travel of weekends it is economical.

You could fly into either Boston or Washington, depending on airfare, schedules, etc.

If this sounds possible, lots of info here on all 3 cities, or many here who could answer specific questions.

Niagara Falls, Niagara on the Lake and Quebec?
http://www.tourismniagara.com/

I really liked Philly when we were there, if American history interests you.

A great city for a family vaction is Seattle. Kids love the Space Needle, Pike Place Market, Underground Tour, Experience Music Project and the Aqaurium. Good Seafood, Chinese food and Coffee lots of fun!

Also Boston is great. Meuseum lovers will rejoice at MFA, Isabella Stewart Gardner Meusem, Science Meuseum, JFK Library and Aqaurium. Boston is a hub of US History and the Freedom Trail is great. Also worlds best Italian Food in North End, Fenway Park if you like sports and Harvard.

Also Atlanta is a cool city. Fun attractions include the CNN studio Tour, World of Coca Cola, Georgia Aquarium, Zoo Atlanta, Martin Luther King sites, Turner Field and Underground Atlanta. Good food and a whole lot of Southern Spirit.

Chicago is chock full of incredible meseums. Also their is a lot of great food in all the ethnic neighborhoods and great shopping along the magnificent miles. Sears Tower and Navy Pier are a must.

San Francisco would be great to. So would the Toronto, Montreal, Niagra Falls area.

Phiily.

Here is another vote for Chicago. TONS to do for all ages, and very very easy to get around. Lots of museums, parks, lake shore and don't forget the baseball if you go during the season! Also, we found it much less expensive to travel in as a family than Boston or San Francisco. It takes some looking, but it can be done... Vacationmom

OK I am a Chicagoan so I hate to counter the previous posters but...

I would consider Toronto which I love as an international city. Canada is a deal in US dollars but I don't know how that applies to you anallaman.

Slower pace than the cities mentioned but still full of history, baseball, culture, water, etc.

Placeu, I just went to Toronto at the end of May. I agree with loving Toronto but not about the dollar. I go to many USA cities for baseball in summer, and even with Priceline, Toronto was the most I spent per day. And I didn't once shop or go to high end dining.

You aren't the only person who thinks Toronto is a good buy, but I could not find it. I tried my darnest. We couldn't find anywhere to park our van that was reasonable and the Sheraton Centre couldn't either. Good food was just about twice as much $$ as we spent routinely at home.

I'll go back to Toronto anytime, but it wasn't as walkable as downtown Chicago is either. It didn't help that they had a total transit strike while I was in Toronto, and while we are great walkers, we needed transit to get the minimum of venues. I see Toronto much more for younger singles and duos than I do for little kids.

That's my opinion.

Anyother place I think would be delightful for kids and families is San Diego.

<i>I like Boston more than NYC, but mostly because I prefer history over shopping.</i>

Wow, I've never heard of NYC as lacking in history before! Everything from the NY Historical Society which hosts terrific exhibitions such as the Alexander Hamilton one last year to the Tenement Museum, giving visitors a real-life slice of immigrant living at the turn of the century.

The Historical Society will be a bit dry for the little ones - but it's literally right next door to the American Museum of Natural History, which both my neice and nephew have loved to come and visit ever since they were about 2 yrs old. Have them run around in Central Park afterwards, and meander down to the Strawberry Fields memorial to John Lennon for a spot of cultural history.

The Tenement Museum is guided tours and the guides dress (and sometimes act!) in period costume, so again accessible to a range of ages.

Big Onion tours are terrific; I went on one of the financial district a few years ago and our guide was pursuing his PhD in American History at Columbia Univ.

And of course Ellis Island and a peek at the Statue of Liberty, to name just a few ideas of historical/poli sci things that the whole family can enjoy.

My niece and nephew also enjoy the Metropolitan Museum, and we usually take them someplace like Dylan's Candy Shop or get a Sant Ambroeus gelato for a treat afterwards.

Additionally, I find that NYC is by far the easiest of the 3 East Coast locales in which to get around by public transportation. (Okay, maybe it's not the *cleanest*, but it is the most comprehensive system in the US!)

I'm a native Bostonian and (longtime) transplanted NYer - my vote is for NYC!
:D

I thought Philly had a lot more Summer programs than Boston. That might make it more interesting for children.

Hey- ggreen! Not saying NYC is lacking in history- but most of the places I've been to, it was a while ago, with my mom and grandmother. When they went to a major city- they shopped and dined. Neither of them are huge history buffs,and they get very impatient in museums, but in a city like Boston I could find an excuse to visit museums/historical sights (class assignments, and my older cousin attended Harvard), but in NYC, they'd never go for it, and they'd never let me out of their sight until I was 18- so, of the places you mentioned, I've only seen Ellis and the Statue of Liberty. Anyways, that's why I put Boston over NYC, because the most I remember about the Big Apple is the inside of Nordie's and Bloomingdales (and shopping wasn't something I enjoyed when I was a kid).

But I hope to visit NYC again someday and at least visit the Metropolitan and the NHM- I love museums! So, thank you for all of your great suggestions!