Travel Ideas & Lists

With summer coming and everyone needing to get outdoors as soon as possible, I thought I would pay tribute that to amusement park classic, the merry-go-round. It’s a ride that remains remarkably unchanged through the decades. And unlike with other rides, the older the carousel, the more caché it has. …

At some point in late January I always get tired of my LL Bean down coat and Ugg boots and New York’s gray days. I tell Rich that we need to get ourselves to the Caribbean. And I’m always tempted to say it doesn’t matter which island as long as …

Question:Where Can We Find An Affordable Beach Vacation in the U.S.? I want to take my twins to the beach for the first time, but I’m very restricted on budget. Please let me know any suggestions!  FamiliesGo! Answers Lake-front destinations It’s hard to find budget options on the east coast …

Nearly every city has a children’s museum. They can save parents’ sanity when it’s too cold, too hot or too rainy to take your energy-filled kids outside. The Brooklyn Children’s Museum certainly helped me out when when Tween Traveler was small. Sometimes the best children’s museum is the one that’s nearby. …

It’s so easy to hunker down at home after the Christmas holidays pass, avoiding the winter weather and dreaming of your distant summer vacation. But don’t do it! Whether you take quick weekend getaways or full week’s vacation over winter break, this time of year offers fun opportunities to bond …

Updated December 2019 December is the time to deck those halls, trim those trees and make lots and lots of gingerbread. Or you can just book a stay at a hotel and let them handle all the Christmas cheer.   These ten hotels from across the U.S. really go out …

Updated February 2020 Yes, a child changes your life in a big way, especially in the first few years. So getting a last chance to spend quality time as a couple is really important, whether it’s going to the movies a lot or taking a full-on babymoon getaway. If you …

Where should I go on vacation? It’s the question people love to ask travel writers. And our answer is always, “Well, what do you like? Every family has its own ideas of what is a relaxing, exciting, interesting or fun vacation. Our ideal trip might leave your kids bored and …

Updated April 2020 In need of some fresh travel ideas for the coming year? Lots of cities and towns have festivals to attract people in their low season or feature some of their best local attributes. They can be great events to anchor a weekend getaway with (or without) the …

Updated February 2019 One of these days tween traveler is going to leave the nest. She’ll head off to college and Rich and I will once again be pair rather than part of a threesome.  Part of making sure that we enjoy being a couple twosome again when the time …

What will next year’s family vacation be for you? Another week at the beach? A first trip to Disney? Heading home to the family? How about something more exotic? Family vacations can–and should–be about experiencing new things with your kids and having adventures together. Even if you don’t have the …

It can be tricky to find great Halloween activities for tweens and young teens. They’re over face painting and Halloween crafts but really haunted mansions and hayrides can be a bit too much. The challenge is to find local Halloween events that are just scary, spooky or mysterious enough, and …

The Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks are supposed to be a time for getting together with friends and family. But with the stress of cooking, shopping, getting yet another sweater from an aunt who thinks you are 2 sizes bigger than you are, really we sometimes just want to get away …

Note: This post will be updated for summer 2021. With so much uncertainty around travel this summer, few hotels are updating their packages. Summer is the ideal time for a family vacation, it’s also the most popular time by far to travel with kids. So everything is crowded and expensive. …

Ski towns can make great summer destinations for families. Don’t necessarily count on off-season discounts. But crowds can be a little smaller and more dispersed. These towns offer a good variety of outdoor activities, kids attractions, and special events. The dining is good and the peak views are better without …

Found a place where kids ski free, read these tips for a fun family ski trip. Unless you’re lucky enough to live near a good mountain, ski vacations are expensive. Gear rentals, lift tickets and lessons for a family—on top of hotel, food and transportation—add up. FamiliesGo! is helping you to …

Updated August 2020 Fall is a great time of year to for quick weekend getaways. It’s cool, but not cold, places tend to be less crowded. In many parts of the U.S. the fall foliage is the main attraction. But even the brightest red maple leaves will only interest kids …

Updated March 2020 My family doesn’t put its traveling shoes in storage when our travel budget shrinks or the odd pandemic prevents us from taking our usual vacation. Instead, we choose to staycation. We look yearround for opportunities for weekend jaunts, daytrips and staycation fun. We rediscover our own backyard …

Nothing heralds Spring like seeing your lots of favorite spring flowers. Daffodils, tulips, lilacs, cherry blossoms, or even late spring  roses help us to shrug off winter and feel inexplicably happy. Flower shows and flower festivals are always amazing and they are an easy, family friendly excuse for a  weekend getaway. But …

Updated January 2020 One of the most fun evenings I’ve ever had while traveling was a visit to the Singapore night zoo (this was pre-kids and probably says as much about Singapore’s night life as it does about the zoo). Animals are often a lot livelier and busier at night …

Updated March 2020. Zoos are one of the most reliable crowd-pleasers of family travel. Adults like them. Kids like them. Both toddlers and teens can learn something new and find something to enjoy. And it seems that these days there is immense variety in how zoos organize and present their …

Updated May 2019 Few words are bigger bummers when you travel than “single supplement.” But when you’re traveling as a single parent it isn’t just about the supplement, it’s also about losing out on free stays and free meals for kids because you don’t have the requisite number of paying …

Our first kid-free parent getaway so far was to Montreal for my 40th birthday. My memories are filled with what we were able to do without a child tagging along. We went barhopping one night and spent three hours eating dinner the next. We took a long morning walk across …

My ideal kid-friendly museums provide an amazing learning experience for both my kids and me. Whether we are taking in a gigantic model of a blue whale at New York’s Museum of Natural History or a supersonic jet at the Smithsonian, I love a museum’s ability to capture my kids’ …

Read about side trips from U.S. national parks. Who says kids can’t spend some time learning new things over the summer?  Weekend visits to these historical places can make history more real, colorful and relatable than the textbooks they’ve been reading all year. They probably won’t even mind that they’re learning—though we’ve …

Here’s a way to get get outdoors with your kids this summer: Visit a National Wildlife Refuge. Every state has them, and many are near a national park. The US Fish & Wildlife Service says these protected areas offer great views, robust visiting centers and outdoor activities, usually without the crowds …

Annual day trips to the apple orchard weren’t quite satisfying my family’s appetite for a taste of country life any more. We wanted scenery for more than a few hours, plus the opportunity for our kids to break away from their phones and tablets, commune with animals, and learn how food …

Read About Florida’s Best Family Beach.  Beaches are the no-brainer vacation destinations if you’re traveling with kids. Most children love playing in the water and sand. There are a variety of things to do at the beach. All that fresh air and activity will tire them out. Many beach hotels …