My DH and I would like to take a vacation somewhere in the US this August or September with our now 20 month old daughter (fly or drive). We're looking for a nice hotel with a large pool area(hopefully a kids pool too). We like the beach and we're from NYS. Has anyone gone to a great vacation place that might be good for what we're looking for? I'm thinking FL and Beaches resorts might be out of the question due to the timing of our vacation. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Hello aruba, have you thought about going to San Diego?

I would say Padre Island in Texas or Gulf Shores in Alabama, but those may be similar to your idea about FL.

If you don't mind traveling all across the country - you can't beat San Diego. Perfect weather - almost NO humidity. Great beaches. lots to see/do including, for your baby - SD Zoo, SD wild animal park, and LegoLand. And no hurricanes

We made a trip to St. Augustine/Flagler Beach when our kids were that age. Rented a condo on the beach for the week. Had access to laundry, a pool, a kitchen, all the things that make life easier for a family with toddlers.

Personally, flying cross country with a child that age doesn't happen under the heading of "vacation" in my book. They aren't babies for very long, and soon enough the bigger trips can happen and actually be fun.

BTW: my then two year old son was terrified of the surf for the first chunk of the week. I bought an inflatable baby pool and put it under a beach umbrella. He got sand, his surf, and shade. By the end of the week, he was curious enough to actually have fun in the tide area.

Aruba,
Litchfield Beach resort near Pawleys Island, GREAT pool area for kids, rates drop drastically in September and weather is perfect.

There are also lots of great resorts with amazing pools in Phoenix.

Point Hilton Squaw Peak and Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs in Phoenix http://www.pointehilton.com/ are good for kids (and I love the desert scenery) but you wouldn't want to go to Phoenix until it cools off, maybe late September.

I have a 3 1/2 yr old and a 21 mo old, so I know where you're coming from. We have found that, at this age, a beach vacation is easiest. At 20 mos, your child is really too young to enjoy most sightseeing and will love running up and down the beach, collecting shells and rocks, digging in the dirt, etc. We prefer not to fly with both kids (carseats and equipment is heavy), so I would recommend somewhere you can drive. You don't say where in NYS you're from, but this year we are vacationing in Lake George. You might consider that.

Here are my requirements:

oceanfront -- has to be oceanfront. Not ocean view. Not across the street from the ocean. Why? If I have to spend naptime inside with the kids, I want to be able to sit on my patio and see and hear the ocean. Plus, walking even a short distance with chairs, umbrella, beach bag and toddler is just too much.

Kitchen -- has to have a kitchen for breakfast and often lunch. It's just easier.

2 bdrms -- this rules out most hotels or even suite hotels. Otherwise, you will be going to sleep at 8pm when junior does!

kiddie pool -- a definite plus! Even if they don't like getting in the surf, they love the pool

Playground -- also a plus

My recommendations where you're from would be Cape Cod (condos are hard to come by, but rental homes arent'), Hamptons (there are some condo communities that will fit the bill), Jersey Shore (mostly houses, not condos and most are not oceanfront due to boardwalks), Delaware beaches (we did this last year and it was good).

I agree that FL, Hilton Head, Myrtle Beach, etc will likely be too hot. Outer Banks could be nice (but we had a hurricane when we went in Sept), but are hard to get to.

HTH.

I just got home from a two week vacation in Hawaii with my (just turned) 2 year old. The lessons I learned are:

1) Avoid jet-lag as much as possible. It took almost 10 days for her to overcome a six-hour time change, so we were up before dawn almost every day. We are still working on getting her back on schedule and we've been home almost a week (she isn't going to sleep much before midnight).

2) Stay in a place with a kitchen and laundry, this will probably mean a condo or a hotel suite. Being able to provide your child with the plain spaghetti and sauce they are craving and not having to juggle a cranky (jet lagged) child at a restaurant meal makes all the difference in the world.

3) Find toddler-friendly activites and excursions. You only need one. The Maui Ocean Center saved our life. She was delighted to sit and point out the "fishies", turtles and sharks for us. We went back 4 times in a span of 10 days.

4) If you are going to fly somewhere, get a portable DVD player - it makes life on a long plane flight bearable. We never had or needed one before now, but 10 hour flights are a different beast. The people sitting around you would rather listen to Dora for 5 hours than listen to your child cry and complain.

Finally, in August or September how about staying in the Northeast - maybe the Hamptons or Cape Cod after Labor Day? It's still warm and most of the weekenders are gone by then. Regardless of what you decide, keep your expectations very low and you will enjoy yourself. Good luck.

Can I please piggy back this thread with a question of my own?
Last night I was watching the Discovery channel, it was about an Alaskan cruise, and I made the simple comment to the DH that "I want to do an Alaskan cruise." This was the source of a debate that has carried into today. We have 3 kids (ages 4,4,and 2), he says that we shouldn't waste our money to go to places like Hawaii when they know no different from those beaches than from the ones 3-4 hours away in So. Cal. I agree, they do not know the difference, but I do. I would love to do a family vacation in Hawaii, he thinks our first trip should be just me and him for some quiet, relaxing time. I think that is what we have the date nights for when its just me and him going out to dinner and a movie. What do you all think? Wait and go to places like Hawaii, Mexico & Europe when the kids are older, or start enjoying them now as a family?

Don't wait, you never know what tomorrow will bring. Carpe Diem!

listette mac - Delaware beaches might be a good option. Do you remember the name of the place where you stayed? Hotel or condo? It might not be a bad drive to make either. Last summer, we made a trip to the OBX with our then 9 month old and it wasn't bad at all (stayed in a rented house). This summer, she'll love the beach even more b/c she loves the water and can walk! Lake George doesn't sound bad either. We're from the Buffalo area. What sort of accomodations did you find in Lake George? I heard it's beautiful there but I never considered it might be a nice place to vacation for a few days. Any info would be helpful! Thanks! I'm thinking I'll save the West Coast when she gets a bit older based on the comments I've read.

nina, I couldn't agree with you more...now I just have to convince the DH.

A 20 month old will not remember the trip. I would go to a condo near a beach that you wanted to go to. With a condo, the baby can sleep and give you space of your own. Find somewhere you would like to go to.

Condo at the beach does sound good. Del-Mar-VA Penninsula or OBX sounds good. I'm not sure what the Jersey shore is like, but may be worth checking into. FYI, San Diego in CA would be nice in Sept. (I've been there three times in Sept). Although, I don't know if I'd like to do a cross country flight with a toddler.

Vegas, tell dh that of course your children won't know the difference, but YOU will, and isn't that why you should visit the places you listed anyway, for yourselves?

Honestly, you never know what life circumstances will bring, someday may never come.

My son and I spent an hour the other day looking at photos of our family trips when the kids were babies and I have such great memories. Sure it'smore difficult to travel with small children, but so is going to the grocery store. Just don't be too ambitious, stay in condos or apartments and you can go just about anywhere with kids.

Go to the Europe board and read about all the great trip reports from parents traveling with toddlers.

Vegas- My boys 8 and 10 love looking at the pictures of the trips we took when they were toddlers and preschool age. My 8 yo definitely knows the difference between Hawaii and the beaches on the Georgia coast, and he knew when he was a preschooler. Our kids have been to 25 states and 13 countries. If you ask my 8 year old, where he wants to go on vacation, he says Europe (not Disney, not the beach, etc.)

I think if you start them traveling at a young age, they learn and know what to expect and they become great little travelers. We have friends who took their kids ages 10 and 7 on their first big trip last week, and it was such a huge ordeal for the parents and the kids because they are not accustomed to traveling (parents travel a lot, but don't take their kids).

Kids really do grow up so fast. It seems that my guys were your kids' age just yesterday. There are so many places we want to take them. We realize that we only have 8 years left with the older one before he leaves for college. I hear from parents of teens about how hard it is to fit family vacation time into their schedules. We actually have a travel plan for where and when we will take them places.

BTW, if your hubby wants to go to Hawaii w/o kids, perhaps date nights are not currently enough couple time for him (your life has got to be hectic with 2 4 yos, and a 2 yo). Why don't you plan a 2 or 3 day getaway without the kids? Perhaps after he has had more than just a few hours alone with you, he'll be more open to taking the kids along.

Aruba -- just saw your message to me. At the Delaware beaches, we stayed at Bethany Beach and used Resortquest.com for a rental. They have condos in a large complex right on the beach and it was fine. Kiddie pool, adult pool, swings, rainy day craft activities, etc.

In Lake George we are staying at the Green Harbor condo complex. Again, we prefer a condo (for the reasons I said and another poster said -- kitchen, extra bedroom and laundry) and rented this particular unit directly through the owner. There are a number of condos through VRBO and the Sagamore also has units, although they are very expensive. Bonus to a Sagamore condo is that you get all Sagamore services.

I meant to say that my DH is from Rochester, but went to school at SUNY-Buffalo, so we make the trek there quite often!

Hi, all,
I have kids 10, 8 and 5. When mine were all little, I found it to be a lot of fun to vacation closer to home. There is some simple pleasure in going to the same lake cabin or beach condo every summer.

We visited Boston before kids and thought it would be a great place to come back with kids. I would second the vote to Cape Cod and hit the Boston science and/or children's museums on the way back. And of course bring your copy of Make Way for Ducklings and a visit to the swan boats!

Enjoy, whatever you choose!