Where Can We Go for Vacation?

A friend of mine just got back from Barbados and had a great time with her son and husband. The pics looked wonderful!

Yellowstone....was our favorite and best family trip

We did a Disney Cruise (Caribbean) this past winter and it was PHENOMENAL! Best vacation ever!

I love Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. Not an exotic "carribean" type vacation, but if your wanting to use your RV and do the houseboat thing, that is a REALLY neat place. Its a HUGE lake, and there is a ton of touristy things for the kids. Its been years since I've been, but if you check into it, I think Osage Beach side has more to do! Its prob. and 8-9 hour drive maybe a little longer in an RV!

You might check our Superclubs' Breezes Resorts (http://www.breezes.com) if you still want to look in the Caribbean area. A few of them are family/kid friendly. The nice thing about Superclub resorts was that they are all- inclusive if you stay on the premises, meaning all your food, drinks, alcohol, snacks, activities and tips at the resort are including in the price. Even transportation to and from the airport - so really you don't even have to rent a car.

They will also taxi -for a small fee- you out to the other tourist activities (all of which cost extra), and depending on what you want to do and how much you want to spend, its actually kinda of a nice day trip off the resort.

Hubby and I went to one of the Hedo resorts for our 10th anny a few years ago (the one we went to was closed!) and really enjoyed ourselves for the week we were there. We took a day trip out to one of the other resorts that superclubs owned for a change of pace and then another day spent the money to go to Dunn’s River Falls. We had a blast and still wish to go back when life stops getting in the way! lol.

Hope that helps.

There are a number of travel sites that offer tremendous deals on resorts and cruises. My wife and I prefer cruises when we traveled with little kids. The best kid friendly cruise lines . . . Disney (Of course), Princess, Royal Caribbean, and
The most romantic cruise line for the money: Princess (They were the setting for the TV show "The Love Boat" and try to live up to that reputation. They succeed in my book!)

http://www.cheapcaribbean.com/ offers resort and cruise deals. Almost all of their resort deals include airfare.
kayak.com has lots of local caribbean and European deals.
vacationstogo.com has a wide variety of deals and destinations. They even suggest what discounts you might be elegible for.
____@____.com has the best deals they have found from around the world and they tell you about the top 25.
travelzoo.com gives you the best 20 deals they have found.

BTW, I've been to 49 states, 46 countries and 6 continents. (We're going to Jamaica this summer and on a cruise in the fall.)

Good luck to you and yours. I hope you have a wonderful time.

Consider a cruise...there are cruises that sail right from Texas, so no air fare needed :)

We have taken out now 3 & 6 year old on 2 cruises in the last 2 yers and we are sailing again in August. Multiple islands to hit shops and beaches and loads to do on the boat for kids. There are FREE kid camps that provide an array of activities for the kids. There are pools, waterslides, and some ships have things like mini golf, rock climbing and in line skating.

All meals are included. You can buy a pop card for the week for $25 if you want.

There are fromal dining nights, so a great family photo op on the boat. There is casual dining (buffet) style daily if you prefer to eat and run versus sitting for a couple hours to dine.

There are Casinos, shows (adult & kid friendly), clubs bars and so on. GREAT bang for your buck.

And no, MOST do not get sea sick.

I would get a balcony if you go though...it's sooooo worth the little extra it will cost you. Have fun!

We just discovered Kiawah Island in South Carolina... it is near Charleston. I think it is one of those best kept secrets! Conde Nast readers voted Kiawah in the top 20 islands in the world for resort activities. It has tons of nature activities. You can rent a huge house on the beach (there are tons of them on www.vrbo.com) or you can stay at the resort. Here's some info on Trip Advisor: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g54296-Kiawah_Island_S.... And if you like golf, it has the #1 rated golf resort in the U.S.

We're going to Kauai this year (Hanalei/Princeville area); have been there twice before. Absolutely gorgeous!! We like renting a home when we go so that we can cook in when we want to and it seems to be cheaper than going the hotel route. Also get more of the local flavor that way; after all, if you stay at a resort, it mostly feels like you could be anywhere in the world as they all seem to offer the same "hotel experience."

We are going to Beaches in Turks and Caicos next year. Looks amazing and I know many families who highly recommend it!

What about booking some time at Great Wolf Lodge? We just did and they have their 48 hour sale going on. Just a thought.

The island of St. Maarten/Martin is my favorite. It is half french and half dutch. We usually stay at the Sonesta Maho (Dutch side), but they have tons of hotels. It is very close to the airport. Cheri's, a popular outdoor eatery is across the street. They have a live band nightly. Everyone gathers here to eat and listen to the music at night because it is the latest business open on either side of the island after everything else shuts down.

You can do any water sport on the island or thru the hotel, shop on either side of the island and they have lots of sites and events to do. You can even ferry over to Anguilla for a day trip. Oh my goodness the water on Anguilla is so crystal clear (like a pool), simply beautiful. We love going to the beach here. The only thing is it is the opposite of St. Martin and not a lot for kids to do everyday.

I like the FDR resorts in Jamaica. Very, very, very kid-friendly. It's not the most luxurious place, but it's clean and all-inclusive. You can go shop in Ocho Rios if you want. www.fdrholidays.com We go every year, and we just love it.

I'll be keeping an eye on this. We were going to go to Rocky Point, Mexico (aka Arizona's beach) but with all the safety warnings, we have opted to do something else. Normally we go to CA, but it's SO much more expensive there & we wouldn't be able to stay on the beach for 100 bucks or less a night.

If you have an RV, go to Fun Valley Family Resortt in South Fork, Colorado. It's pretty much self-contained - they have a restaurant (CHEAP/free), kids activities (free), horses, fishing (lake & streamside), miniature golf, movies, (all free), pools, etc.etc.etc. It's beautiful, LOTS of supervised things for kids to do so mom & dad can get a little alone time. Beautiful scenery and even some really close places to hike, fish, picnic, seek out the old west - ghost towns, mines, lots of history.... If you ever once go to Colorado, you'll never want to go anywhere else!

I don't know that I would go anywhere in Mexico or really anywhere out of the US with the way things are right now.

You might want to consider a cruise (Disney?) to be safe and still by the water.....but I'll take Colorado anytime!

have fun!