Family Travel Advice
 

I'm interested in destinations, resorts, advice, and bargains regarding traveling with children and teenagers. Thanks! <BR>

Where do you want to go? It is impossible to offer any information without some details as to your preferences and possible destinations.

Wow - we need more definition here. General advice: the cruise industry is scrambling to provide great experiences for kids. Club Med also bends over backwards for kids. Some dude ranches do the same, adn are esp. good with teenagers. Also river rafting trips for familys are great - some are designed for older kids, some for the younger set. Check your favorite college/university - or a good local one if that works better. Many have alumni travel programs that are open to non-alumni willing to pay the annual alumni club membership and they often have programs for children (Stanford has wonderful ones). Affiliation groups like Sierra Club and Nature Conservancy all have programs. <BR> Then there is hawaii where all the major resorts have child programs. <BR> Then there is just renting a cabin somewhere and following the simple life - or the alternate ambitious project of hiking/camping/backpacking. <BR> Sunset Magazine often has great ideas, and so do the AAA magazines. <BR> And as I recall from younger days, there are guidebooks for this purpose. Keep it simple and have fun.

Although it is impossible to be very specific without a more well-defined question, the previous poster had lots of good tips. We have always divided trips into whether or not airfare is being factored in. The kids always love to fly, whereas my husband and I prefer driving trips, either the kind where you drive a long way to a fabulous resort and stay a week, or the kind where you tour around, staying a few nights in various interesting locations. <BR> <BR>It is always a good idea to try to locate a condo when you are traveling with kids. One early, cheap trip we took consisted of driving to Lake of the Ozarks and staying in a fabulous condo (very cheap cause of offseason but lots to do) and then on the way home stopping in downtown St. Louis to see the Arch. <BR> <BR>Another good driving trip was from Chicago to the Florida Panhandle. We rented a house at Seaside, a charming resort town by the sea where you can just relax, beach it, fish, etc. All walkable or rent a bike for the week. Cottages of all sizes available for rent from the Seaside Realty Co. The Panhandle has some of the most beautiful beaches in America. <BR> <BR>Older kids can have a good time on a trip to Washington DC. There are lots of cheap to medium hotels and all the attractions are free! <BR> <BR>But really, so much epends on where you live and where you want to go. We are lucky enough to fly from Chicago, where (for example) you can often get a good price on a flight to Europe or Mexico. Last spring break we spent in Paris with our now teenaged daughters. American had a one-week package for $832 per person including air fare and hotel. We had a GREAT time!

Hey guys, <BR> <BR>My husband and I are both young parents and agree it is hard to find places to go with childern, nevermind cheap places. Furthermore, there are so many things to think of when preparing a family trip. <BR> <BR>We found the Gomez family travel jumpstart very useful. I think the address is http://www.gomez.com/Travel/Tools/Ju...avel/index.cfm. They walked me through planning a trip and also offer tips and suggest other useful sites (like Family.com).