Vacations with LO

[ashie0610]

We've been trying to decide if, when, and where we should go on vacation this year.  We didn't go anywhere last year other than a long weekend down the shore, so this year we are thinking we may try to fly somewhere with the kids.  We traveled cross-country to San Diego with DS1 when he was 15 months and it was easier than expected.

We are thinking of doing a family Beaches resort, visiting friends and family in Colorado and California, or a drive up to Niagara Falls.

Any other ideas or recommendations?  

Anyone else planning a vacation with the kiddos in 2015?

[happyin14]

I am not sure how old the kids are, but I think Niagara Falls wouldn't be great with young kids. I grew up near there and I doubt you'd do Maid of the Mist or the hike behind the falls with LO. The Canadian attractions seem geared older (like Ripley's Believe it or Not)... I haven't been there in a few years but you might rather wait.

And if you go, you HAVE to do the Canadian side and would need a passport for LO. Just FYI.

[ashie0610]

Jan 25, 2015 19:48:53 GMT -5 happyin14 said:

I am not sure how old the kids are, but I think Niagara Falls wouldn't be great with young kids. I grew up near there and I doubt you'd do Maid of the Mist or the hike behind the falls with LO. The Canadian attractions seem geared older (like Ripley's Believe it or Not)... I haven't been there in a few years but you might rather wait.

And if you go, you HAVE to do the Canadian side and would need a passport for LO. Just FYI.

Very good points!  They are little.  DS1 will maybe be 3 depending on when we go.  I guess we will save that trip for down the road.

I should probably get them passports soon either way though.

[starla487]

My cousin is getting married sometime in the next year and we might have to fly to a different state with DD. But for now, I think it's going to be quick weekend trips for the time being.

[CutieCruz]

My in-laws moved to Florida last year so we are driving down to see them for easter. When DS is a little older i'd like to do a weekend at great wolf lodge and go hiking in poconos.

[ashie0610]

Jan 25, 2015 20:04:39 GMT -5 CutieCruz said:

My in-laws moved to Florida last year so we are driving down to see them for easter. When DS is a little older i'd like to do a weekend at great wolf lodge and go hiking in poconos.

Oooh Great Wolf Lodge is a really good idea. We are pretty close to the one in the Poconos!

[CutieCruz]

Jan 25, 2015 20:09:35 GMT -5 ashie0610 said:

Jan 25, 2015 20:04:39 GMT -5 CutieCruz said:

My in-laws moved to Florida last year so we are driving down to see them for easter. When DS is a little older i'd like to do a weekend at great wolf lodge and go hiking in poconos.

Oooh Great Wolf Lodge is a really good idea. We are pretty close to the one in the Poconos!

I went 8-9 years ago with my mom, step-dad, brother, and my step brother who was 8 at the time. We had a blast! I was 26ish at the time. My step brother loved it too.

[saraml13]

We are going to Aspen with the in-laws in late March. Most people will ski, but I'm just going to hang out with DS in the condo, go into town, and maybe do a spa afternoon.

My parents have a log cabin lake house about 2 hours away. We'll go up there a lot of weekends during the summer and might take off a week to go there at some point.

We also might go camping for a long weekend in early fall.

[theresat858]

We're going skiing in Feb w my parents (more for me and DH than the kids), and doing a family trip to Hawaii (big island and Maui) for our 5 yr anniv in Oct- baby will be 1; toddler will be almost 3.5.

[TheMooseIsLoose]

We've been to disneyland twice, oregon coast, camping in cabins, and up to the mountains to go tubing. Next winter, we'll start ski lessons, this summer we'll do oregon again, great wolf lodge in Washington and some camping.

I love vacationing with my kids, they're great travellers, so a 6hr car ride is not a hellish experience. We're planning Hawaii in 2016, might even cruise.

[ashie0610]

Jan 26, 2015 0:39:29 GMT -5 theresat858 said:

We're going skiing in Feb w my parents (more for me and DH than the kids), and doing a family trip to Hawaii (big island and Maui) for our 5 yr anniv in Oct- baby will be 1; toddler will be almost 3.5.

So jealous you are going to Hawaii! We went for our honeymoon and loved every second. 12 hour flight I could do without though.

[ashie0610]

Jan 26, 2015 1:48:11 GMT -5 TheMooseIsLoose said:

We've been to disneyland twice, oregon coast, camping in cabins, and up to the mountains to go tubing. Next winter, we'll start ski lessons, this summer we'll do oregon again, great wolf lodge in Washington and some camping.

I love vacationing with my kids, they're great travellers, so a 6hr car ride is not a hellish experience. We're planning Hawaii in 2016, might even cruise.

This all sounds awesome. I can't imagine my kids in the car for 6 hours though!

[kaylajade]

Switzerland in December. We will be staying at my brothers, DS will be 2 and LO will be 1. Sorry people on our flight!

[ElleWoods]

We go to Vegas a couple of times per year to see my family, so we will probably do that a couple of times this year (not too bad--without stops, a 4 hour drive). We were thinking about going to Greece in the summer to see my husband's family, but with the crappy state of things over there right now (aaaaaaaaand the fact that I should probably try to space out a big vacation more from taking maternity leave), we may well postpone until next summer. I'd like to try to convince DH to take a trip to NYC around the holidays when DD will be about 3 and DS will be just over a year old.

[puppyspit]

We have no big trips for 2015 due to the big move next month

More than likely we will go to Stockholm in Summer 2016 to visit my sister and BIL before TTGP again


We have been doing getaways to our new home for the home buying process so I guess you could say we've been vacationing? It was a 4-hr drive from our current home before LO, now it's a 5-6 hr drive because nursing and diaper changes

[purplehippo]

Not sure if we'll be doing any big vacations this year. We have seasonal Disney passes, so we can go over there almost any time we like.

[munchkin120]

Jan 25, 2015 19:48:53 GMT -5 happyin14 said:

I am not sure how old the kids are, but I think Niagara Falls wouldn't be great with young kids. I grew up near there and I doubt you'd do Maid of the Mist or the hike behind the falls with LO. The Canadian attractions seem geared older (like Ripley's Believe it or Not)... I haven't been there in a few years but you might rather wait.

And if you go, you HAVE to do the Canadian side and would need a passport for LO. Just FYI.

Hey! I grew up in WNY as well! I agree with all this!

As for vacations, we have a trip planned to WNY for baby's baptism and we have a FL trip planned for September. We will drive for both. We will probably go to Myrtle Bch or Asheville over the summer as well but those are only 2-3 hrs away.

[mrsbabe614]

Jan 26, 2015 11:20:10 GMT -5 munchkin120 said:

Jan 25, 2015 19:48:53 GMT -5 happyin14 said:

I am not sure how old the kids are, but I think Niagara Falls wouldn't be great with young kids. I grew up near there and I doubt you'd do Maid of the Mist or the hike behind the falls with LO. The Canadian attractions seem geared older (like Ripley's Believe it or Not)... I haven't been there in a few years but you might rather wait.

And if you go, you HAVE to do the Canadian side and would need a passport for LO. Just FYI.

Hey! I grew up in WNY as well! I agree with all this!

As for vacations, we have a trip planned to WNY for baby's baptism and we have a FL trip planned for September. We will drive for both. We will probably go to Myrtle Bch or Asheville over the summer as well but those are only 2-3 hrs away.

my dad grew up in WNY and my grandparents lived in Niagara falls their whole lives. The falls is my favorite because it reminds me of that. I think the best time is the summer but I love when they light it up at night for things like Christmas. I agree that the canadian side is beautiful but they have made some seriously awesome improvements on the american side, like the new massive overhang that goes out into the middle you can see the whole falls

[deezidee]

I'm glad this thread came up! My DH has vacation time to burn and wants to go somewhere in April or May, so LO will be around 6 months. He's our first so we've never traveled with a baby before, so not sure where to go/what to do. I'm a big Disney geek but I'm fairly sure going to the parks with an infant might be the worst idea ever ever ever. Plus, you know, measles and stuff.

[rockynfrankie]

Have you ever been to Beaches before? This is kind of what we are leaning toward for our first vacation as a family. In June I will be celebrating my second annual 29th birthday. We are trying to decide where to go. We absolutely LOVE Sandals and since Beaches is their sister resort I can't imagine they are much different except for families instead of couples. We really want to go to Turks and Caicos, but since it will be off season we cannot get a direct flight. I really don't want to deal with stops both ways so we will most likely go to one of the ones in Jamaica.

If that goes well, we will be going on another vacation in October to celebrate our anniversary and DS 1st birthday. I have heard really great things about the Beaches Resorts. My only concern is the daycare situation. I really want to have at least a little bit of adult time on vacation. I just don't know how I feel about leaving DS with strangers when he is so young. I think we will probably just go and see how it all plays out.

[theresat858]

Jan 26, 2015 12:45:07 GMT -5 deezidee said:

I'm glad this thread came up! My DH has vacation time to burn and wants to go somewhere in April or May, so LO will be around 6 months. He's our first so we've never traveled with a baby before, so not sure where to go/what to do. I'm a big Disney geek but I'm fairly sure going to the parks with an infant might be the worst idea ever ever ever. Plus, you know, measles and stuff.

Aside from measles, Disney is very baby friendly. They can go on many rides and they have "parent swap" for the others (so you only stand in line once).

But we will now avoid it until the outbreak is over or lo is vaccinated, whichever comes first.

[staryb]

We will probably go to the beach (Emerald Isle, NC) this summer with FIL's family. It'll be very laid back and should be a good first vacation for DD. DH and I are beach bums and I can't wait to get DD started!

I'm dreading the drive though. Last year we caravanned and it took about 13 hours to drive a 9 hour distance. We also had my 14 year old SIL and her friend in our car so that was fun. I think this year we will insist on driving separately and meeting up when we get there.

[lrobi13]

We are flying to Disney World in June for my brother's wedding. Booked the flight last week. Good new is that my mom will also be on the flight so we can play pass the screaming baby if we have to.

[ashie0610]

Jan 26, 2015 13:12:25 GMT -5 rockynfrankie said:

Have you ever been to Beaches before? This is kind of what we are leaning toward for our first vacation as a family. In June I will be celebrating my second annual 29th birthday. We are trying to decide where to go. We absolutely LOVE Sandals and since Beaches is their sister resort I can't imagine they are much different except for families instead of couples. We really want to go to Turks and Caicos, but since it will be off season we cannot get a direct flight. I really don't want to deal with stops both ways so we will most likely go to one of the ones in Jamaica.

If that goes well, we will be going on another vacation in October to celebrate our anniversary and DS 1st birthday. I have heard really great things about the Beaches Resorts. My only concern is the daycare situation. I really want to have at least a little bit of adult time on vacation. I just don't know how I feel about leaving DS with strangers when he is so young. I think we will probably just go and see how it all plays out.

I haven't been but have heard good things from friends who have gone.  I don't think I'd be comfortable leaving DS2 in a daycare so young but if it seems safe once I'm there I may reconsider. We were thinking of offering to pay for my mom or my sister's flight so that we could have a night or two to ourselves.  


If you go in June you will have to let me know how it is!  We would probably go towards the end of the year if we decided to do a tropical vacation.

[rockynfrankie]

Jan 26, 2015 13:25:45 GMT -5 ashie0610 said:

Jan 26, 2015 13:12:25 GMT -5 rockynfrankie said:

Have you ever been to Beaches before? This is kind of what we are leaning toward for our first vacation as a family. In June I will be celebrating my second annual 29th birthday. We are trying to decide where to go. We absolutely LOVE Sandals and since Beaches is their sister resort I can't imagine they are much different except for families instead of couples. We really want to go to Turks and Caicos, but since it will be off season we cannot get a direct flight. I really don't want to deal with stops both ways so we will most likely go to one of the ones in Jamaica.

If that goes well, we will be going on another vacation in October to celebrate our anniversary and DS 1st birthday. I have heard really great things about the Beaches Resorts. My only concern is the daycare situation. I really want to have at least a little bit of adult time on vacation. I just don't know how I feel about leaving DS with strangers when he is so young. I think we will probably just go and see how it all plays out.

I haven't been but have heard good things from friends who have gone.  I don't think I'd be comfortable leaving DS2 in a daycare so young but if it seems safe once I'm there I may reconsider. We were thinking of offering to pay for my mom or my sister's flight so that we could have a night or two to ourselves.  


If you go in June you will have to let me know how it is!  We would probably go towards the end of the year if we decided to do a tropical vacation.

This was my exact thought. I was thought about taking someone with us, but the problem is I don't want to share a room, their 2 bedroom suites are too expensive for us and paying for 2 rooms was also very expensive. Maybe if all I had to pay for was the airfare it would be ok.  

[ashie0610]

Jan 26, 2015 13:31:47 GMT -5 rockynfrankie said:

Jan 26, 2015 13:25:45 GMT -5 ashie0610 said:

I haven't been but have heard good things from friends who have gone.  I don't think I'd be comfortable leaving DS2 in a daycare so young but if it seems safe once I'm there I may reconsider. We were thinking of offering to pay for my mom or my sister's flight so that we could have a night or two to ourselves.  


If you go in June you will have to let me know how it is!  We would probably go towards the end of the year if we decided to do a tropical vacation.

This was my exact thought. I was thought about taking someone with us, but the problem is I don't want to share a room, their 2 bedroom suites are too expensive for us and paying for 2 rooms was also very expensive. Maybe if all I had to pay for was the airfare it would be ok.  

Yeah, it can be pricey to pay someone's way. If it were a nanny or someone hired it'd be different, but for a close family member I think flight is generous enough since I'd be responsible for my kids 90% of the trip anyway. I don't know, maybe I'm stingy.

[beezbeez]

We're going to Mexico at the end of February for 12 days. I can't wait! We've booked a condo in Playa del Carmen and a house in Tulum. That way we can cook some of the time to save money and be freer to eat out the rest of the time (not confined to a resort).

Then in July or August we'll go to the Jersey shore to visit my MIL, probably for a week.

I live near Niagara Falls too, and agree that it'd be more fun when your kids are older. There's a Great Wolf Lodge on the Canadian side, by the way. And definitely spend a day in Niagara on the Lake to visit wineries.

[MrsJepp]

We are planning 2 family vacations this year. One in June, just flying across statelines and the other one is a trip to New York in August. DD will be 8 and 10 months. I actually think it'll be easier traveling with her than DS. Toddlers make traveling so much more challenging.

[swise22]

We went to Florida for my work conference last week and stopped at Disney for a few days. I didn't think DS would know what was going on but he actually loved some of the small rides like It's a Small World and Dumbo. He did great on the flights too. I think we're planning on going to California for a week in July.

[mrsc22]

We are doing NY and DC in April for DD's baptism and then we are doing two weeks in Panama in Sept which will be our long vacation of the year.