Best Vacation - Beach Required!!!

OH my gosh wish I had an answer to this one, I'm freezing. I do hear Myrtle Beach is a good spot, I was in South Carolina a few years ago and it was beautiful. Better book quit I think we have a long line going here!!! haha. Stay warm.

Marco Island, FL is just south of Naples on the west coast, and has some truly beautiful beaches. It is a great spot for a family vacation.

Last summer my husbands company did an automatic shutdown that was last minute and not much notice. So, we packed the kids in the car and did a mini road trip. It was AWESOME~ We are from Ohio so we stopped in PA first (visited with family) took the kids to water parks and ice cream and just really just relaxed. Then we piled back into the car and hit the Inner Harbor in Baltimore Md. and did the little boat musuems there and ate good food ( LOVE crabs!). Then back into the car we went and drove till we were tired. We ended up in Rehobeth Beach, DE. Spent 2 days there and let the kids do the boad walk and enjoy the beach.

None of it was planned or scheduled. We just drove till something caught our interest. It was the best vacation ever. It made my husband and I feel like when we were 18 again (him and I used to do road trips all the time before kids).

We drove while the kids napped and stopped and let them play and burn off energy when they were awake.

Have fun!!

I've lived here all of my life, and I've literally been to every part of the Florida coast (not every beach or town -but every "section") at some point. I go to the beach 1-4 times per year (usually at least 2). SO -this is really long!

Our favorite beach is St. Augustine Beach, FL. It's also only 90 minutes to Disney from there! The beach is VERY wide and great for riding bikes, pushing strollers and that sort of thing. You also get much bigger waves for boogie boarding and body surfing than you do on the Gulf of Mexico. St. Augustine is also the oldest city in the U.S.! They have a lot of history that's cool for kids there -an old Spanish fort you can go roam, pirate ship adventures and all the requisite beach fun -put-put golf and that sort of thing. A few years ago they built a free playground and water-play area by the main pier -so that's a fun adventure too! I highly suggest looking into it.

The Intra-coastal waterway also is right there, so there's a lot of opportunity for dolphin-seeing adventures and you can rent kayaks or jet-skis to go out on and enjoy. Marineland Dolphin Adventure is just a few minutes south, and if you want to go exploring around the area -Daytona Beach is about an hour south. One nice thing about St. Augustine is that you can drive onto the beach. They TIGHTLY control it, and you don't have safety issues with people wildly cruising up and down, but it's nice (especially with small children) to drive onto the beach, park and have all of your stuff right there. It's pretty as well and populated with beach homes and condo complexes. There aren't tons of high rises on the beach, so it looks a lot nicer than some places. If you go -make the trek about 10 miles away over to Cap's on the Water. It's GORGEOUS -restaurant and oyster bar -outside under the Spanish moss and on the intercoastal. It's family friendly. Saltwater Cowboys is great too -and on a big marsh. For true, old Florida, down home, Southern food and the BEST fried shrimp on the planet -visit O'Steen's right before the Bridge of Lions going into St. Augustine proper. It's small and they don't take reservations, so we often get to-go orders there, but the food is fantastic! You also simply MUST visit the Alligator Farm! I love it because (although it's been completely redone) -it's one of the oldest tourist attractions in Florida. My father is 73 and HE went there on vacation with his family! It's truly awesome though with tons of gators, crocodiles and all sorts of lizards and birds. They have an alligator feeding show that is awesome and gross and sure to thrill any boy you have (and I love it too ;-)

Our other favorite beaches are Hilton Head Island, SC -this is also a great, wide beach and if any of you are into golf, the island is FULL of golf courses! My favorite thing is that there are bike trails all over the entire island. Whether or not you're staying on the beach, you can rent a bike with a kid-cart and ride everywhere -and out onto the beach at multiple points. You can each rent kid carts if the kids are too small to ride their own bikes and haul both kids and beach gear in them. There's plenty of put-put, ice cream shops, fishing opportunities and things of that nature there. There are several "plantations" -different developments -that have restaurant, shopping and playground complexes -we love riding bikes all the way down to Salty Dog's and the stuff around there. You're also situated if you wanted to easily go into Savannah, GA and around the low country area of South Carolina where there are a lot of historical sites, shopping and pretty scenery. Also -off of Savannah is Tybee Island. It's a REALLY fun island! I've never been crazy about the water there -it's the Atlantic just like Hilton Head and St. Augustine, but around the GA coast it's just murkier (makes for awesome shrimping though). Tybee has a boardwalk and lots of fun things going on.

Our other favorite is the Gulf Shores/Orange Beach Alabama area on the Gulf (right before the FL/Alabama state line). There is A LOT for kids and families to do, the sand is fluffy and sugar white, and the water on the Gulf is really pretty -very clear and tropical looking. These are NOT good bike-riding, flat sand beaches though, but they're lovely. That whole area over into Florida is very pretty and you can choose how much action you want nearby and how built-up you want it to be. From there around the panhandle in Florida you have Destin, Santa Rosa, Grayton Beach and the beaches of South Walton. REALLY pretty -some with lots to do and some not built up much at all. Panama City Beach is right there, and I loved it as a kid and teenager. I can't stand it now because it's beyond over-developed and crazy touristy. I hadn't been in years and went back a few years ago and felt like I was in Atlantic City on the beach, because it's just high-rise after high-rise (which-if you couldn't tell -I'm not fond of at the beach). BUT -people LOVE it -they have a lot to do there for kids and teens and it is busy! So it just depends on what you're looking for. Look on VRBO.com for accomodations at any of these -you'll get the best rates that way!

St. Augustine is 2 hours from Orlando where you can visit Disney, Seaworld(my personal favorite) & Universal. St. Augustine has an old fort that you can tour. It also is near a beach. There is a quaint old downtown area where you can walk around with antique shops, restaurants, carriage rides & bed & breakfasts.

Fly down to Miami and rent a car to drive out to the Keys!

I have never been there but have researched it and it looks amazing-Sanibel Island in FL. Check it out.

We really enjoyed Puerto Rico. It is a shortish flight, in the same time zone, awesome weather, American currency (US Territory), Spanish speaking. There are lots of things to do with your family. We rented an apt. on the ocean/beach... It was only $95/night (we were there last Feb). We use homeaway.com to rent places when we travel. We've had really good experiences with this resource! You may want to check the passport issue though.... I don't think you have to have them.... we used them because we already had them anyway, but I don't know if it was a requirement since PR is a US territory! If you do go to PR... Checking out the rain forest is a must!!!!

I second the St. Augustine plan. It is lovely. Also has the oldest catholic church in the united states if that is of any interest to you. We go to the Naples / Fort Meyers beach area quite often. We found a wonderful rental unit which we have done a couple times. has 2 bedrooms and liv, kitchen, bath. off street parking and the biggest plus is it is right across the street from the beach. fun stuff to do. check it out. there are literally thousands of rentals you can do by the night or the week. (week is cheaper) we rent from a woman named molly orvis. you can find her on face-book. or the way we originally found her was by clicking on vacation rentals on eBay. so many to choose from lol. good luck and have a great vacation.

http://www.beaches.com/

How about an all inclusive family resort?

Marthas Vineyard, Myrtle Beach, or Malibu (which is in southern cali and you could drive to disneyland one day)

Why not a cruse? You could take a Disney curse and be one the ocean and get the Disney part your kids would like. They also offer things for the parents to do. Have fun

Another vote for the Sanibel-Captiva Islands. I vacationed there as a kid and now take my own kids there. You fly into Ft. Myers (look for a deal on flights on Southwest or AirTran) and then it's about a 30 minute drive to Sanibel from the airport; Captiva is another 20 minutes. Depending on the time of year you go, you may have hurricane weather to deal with but we've only ever had a problem with that when we've traveled there in September or October. Lots of fun things to do there & boredom is never an issue, even after traveling there for 20 years now!

I know this is a late post, but I'm sitting here in the big blizzard that is stomping the midwest right now, and a beach just sounds so good!

We love Destin. Lots to do, kind of a haul from Disney, but worth it. The Silver Shells Resort is beautiful. Check out Vacation Rentals By Owner (VRBO.com) to look at condos for rent there. We also liked Coco Beach, which is much closer to Disney.

If you want other locations, we also had the best time in Myrtle Beach last summer. We stayed at the Wyndam Seawatch Resort and there is a ton of stuff for the kids. I highly recommend spending the extra money for beach service if you stay there. Again, check out VRBO.com for rentals.

Finally, if you really want to go all out, head to the Beaches resort in Turks and Caicos. Awesome. You need a passport to go there, so you may need to do some advanced planning for this one. The website will tell you all you need to know.

Thanks for the trip down memory lane... I feel warmer already! Have fun planning and have a fabulous vacation!!

Does it need to be Florida? Because we've been to Myrtle Beach a couple of times and it's great for families with kids!

Also, we lived in MA for 11 years and always loved going to Cape Cod in the summer. We also have a time share on Block Island, RI (close to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket). Both have great beaches and lots of fun for families and kids, though the water can be a little chilly except for July and August!

EDITED TO ADD: We are going on our first Disney cruise next month, with stops in the Bahamas,including Disney's own island. Something else to consider? Or an all-inclusive resort, like Beaches?

Sanibel Island & Captiva Island, FL are an awesome place to go. The beaches are LOADED with shells which your kids will love collecting. Very quaint area with little shops everywhere. Fort Myers is also great (about 15 minutes from the islands)...you could stay there and spend a day or 2 exploring Sanibel & Captiva. Lots for kids too...Imaginarium Hands on Children's museum, Butterfly Estates nature preserve, lighthouses, a Shell Museum. Some of the beaches on the island are made completely from shells so you'll want to bring water shoes to protect their feet on those. They will love it!

Does it have to be the east coast?

The most amazing vacation I have ever been on was to Kauai, Hawaii. It is the garden island. There was so much to do or as little as you want. Beautiful beaches with calm waves and blue clear water. You could do a little of the touristy stuff or you could spend every day on the beach. My oldest was two when we went, and it really was a stress free vacation for all of us.
The state park beach has a great play ground, and a calm beach. I remember hours of reading my book while she played in the sand.
Best vacation ever!