So my husband and I are in desperate need of a vacation and want to bring our 1-year old and possibly my Mom. We just don't know where to go. We'd like to go sometime between February and May for a week and want a warm climate and be near the water. We were thinking about Hawaii but the flight is so long and tickets so expensive. We've thought about Mexico but it can take up to 2 months to get a passport for our daughter. Where else should we consider?
How about San Diego? The flight is a little over 2 hours, it's sunny, there are lovely beaches (not to mention the San Diego Zoo, Wildlife Park, and Seaworld) and you can find great hotel deals on Priceline. Just an idea.
T., if you apply soon you probably won't have a problem getting your daughter's passport - I got my childrens' passports in about ten days last spring! Your local city government should have an employee who serves as the passport processer and for a small fee, they will take care of everything. If you can't find such a person, you can use the person we did at the Arvada City Hall. It was greeat - she even took the photos for us!
When our son was one, we traveled to Nuevo Vallarta, and stayed at an all-inclusive resort just outside of vPuerto Vallarta. It was perfect!
Sanibel Island in Florida on the Gulf side. I think you can fly into Tampa or Miami and then drive from there. Wonderful beaches filled with sea shells to collect. Great family-friendly restaurants and family-friendly cottages. A short flight. It was perfect for us when my son was 2 and daughter 2 months.
Don't foreclose Hawaii, though. It's very family-friendly. The flight may seem long but we went when our son was 13 months and he did great! I wouldn't do it now with two little ones; I'm sure glad we went when we could with just the one baby. Plus, flights may start to go down if you do some bargain hunting.
We recieved the passport for our children within 1 month. We have taken our kids to Mexico, Hawaii, Australia, Canada and all around the United States. Do some research on the web. Cooking Light has lots of vacation ideas with things to do for each city. We have planned some of our trips around children's museums. I know it is not great weather, but Rochester's STRONG museum was our kids favorite. Pittsburgh also had a wonderful kids museum. How about Arizona, Texas or something southern? Good Luck there is nothing better than going on a trip with your kids.
My parents recently went to San Diego and LOVED it. Also, apparently you can take a bus from there to a border town in Mexico that you only need a birth certificate for. They said there were all kinds of great things to do and the weatehr was beautiful...plus they got a great deal on the flight.
http://www.floridavacations.com/fv/11581.html
We took our 11.5 mo old to Fort Meyers Beach, FL, and rented a great beach house. It was so nice to be able to cook at home and keep our schedule. We took both sets of grandparents and had a lovely time. We also rented a boat one day and cruised the back bay...it was a great vacation. The best part was the entire trip was under 1500 for flights, car, house, food and entertainment.
