Philadelphia to where in July
 

My husband and I would like to take a trip in July with our two sons ages 14 and 13. I was checking out a rail trip in Canada however, I'm concerned my boys will be bored on a sleeper train for a long period of time. Have also considered Chicago, Alaska, and San Francisco. Obviously, I'm all over the place....Don't want to spend a fortune, but want to have some quality family time exploring some new areas. Any suggestions? We live in the Philadelphia area, dates and times are very flexible. We could fly and/or drive somewhere.

You could take a train to Toronto or Montreal and spend some time there. Amtrak's got some pretty decent fares, and that would get you a shortish train journey and an interesting city to explore.

hmm..that was one of my original thoughts. I'm not familiar with the area but may be a good option. Thanks!

Have been to both Toronto and Montreal and will highly recommend either city. Tons of things to see and do in both -- one could easily spend a week in either and not run out of things to do.

And if you decide to got to Montreal, it's well worth the four hours bus ride between there and Quebec City to see this as well. One can easily spend several days in QC, which is lovely.

You don't say how long you have for the trip?
I think that some combination of Toronto/Montreal/Quebec city would work very well. I would not recommend trying to do all three in less than two weeks.
If you drive up from Philly there are good places to stop along the way to Montreal to break up the trip (Hudson River Valley, Adirondacks). The Thousand Island area would also give you a change from the cities if you drive between Toronto and Montreal

aliciak - I am also planning a trip from this area next summer, and have also thought of either Montréal or Chicago.

We had kind of settled on Chicago. But I think we could see what we wanted in about three days, and it is a very long drive for three days.

Have you been to Cape Cod? Our family has always enjoyed this area.

If you are going to fly, San Francisco or San Diego are great family vacation destinations. We all very much enjoyed the Alaska cruise we took last summer.

Happy planning,
k.

We are going your way this summer to explore Philly for a couple days. I recommend you come to Chicago. It is a great city with lots of festivals, restaurants, museums, baseball, a beautiful lake front, etc. There is a lot of info on things going on on www.explorechicago.com. The only drawback if you drive is parking is horrendous, so flying in or taking a train is better. Transportation from O'Hare or Midway, via the el/subway is $2.25 per person to downtown. Almost anyplace is in walking distance or easily gotten to by subway or bus.

Also Toronto, Niagara Falls, Niagara-on-the Lake, Montreal, Cape Cod, Outer Banks are great trips too. We have been lucky to do all of them.

Just back from Montreal myself. Montreal is about a 8 hr drive from Philly. We were quite amazed at how much there was to do. Once in the city, you will not need a car so if the rails interest you, that might be a good option. I also hear Quebec City is a very nice visit. I understand it is a 3 hour drive from Montreal but I don't know about rail access or prices.

Note that Montreal has the Jazz, Just For Laughs (comedy), and Dragon Boat Race festivals in July which may or may not be interesting to your boys. I've heard great things about the Just For Laughs Festival.

Wow! Thanks everyone for your amazing responses. I'm going to share your responses with my husband and make a decision soon. I'll let you know what we ultimately decide. FYI, in 2007 we traveled to Chicago and thought it was one of the best places we have ever been!
Again, thanks - this forum is a huge help!