Family summer vacation suggestion

What suggestions do folk have for summer 2009 family vacation, kids ranging from 4-9, preferrably beach oriented, but amusement centered ok- looking to trade through II.

CA (beach areas), Wisconsin Dells, Myrtle Beach (SC), Aruba, Cancun (Royals resorts), Daytona Beach (short drive to Disney)

Williamsburg!

Cape Cod. Many II resorts.

Williamsburg sounds real nice to me. Lots to choose from and great availability of resorts. Often available for getaways, except maybe peek summer time. But I've seen lots of last minute rentals available for summer there for a steal. Busch Gardens of course would be fun. There's also a huge waterpark close I think. Williamsburg itself is fascinating and of course the beach is not terribly far.

Myrtle Beach, with link

myrtle beach has it all, esp for younger kids.... lots of places to go and things to do. .....ex: water parks!!!!!

We like Hilton Head best NOW, but our kids are college age.


see: http://www.myrtlebeachlive.com/.

marty (jme)

Our family loves Hilton Head Island. Kids are age 6.

My kids loved Hilton Head as did we. No tacky amusements around, but great beaches, and bike riding trails in Shipyard Plantation (with either free - if they come with the condo - or $25/wk bike rentals)

Having done years of east coast beach vacations with amusements or go kart tracks for our three sons I would suggest Myrtle Beach. It is what you described. Sheraton Broadway Plantation is not on the beach but has a central location to North MB and is right near Broadway at the Beach where there are fireworks in the summer.

We adore HHI and so do our sons. It is quieter than MB but it is lovely and all about the beach. Great bike trails.

Outer Banks NC- no amusements but a great relaxing place for families and you could cross the Cheasapeake Bay Bridge.

There is also an Alligator Adventure there plenty of mini golf,go karts ,some amusements, Boardwalk at the Beach, IMAX and plenty of family places to eat.

http://www.alligatoradventure.com

In nearby PA thre is no beach but there is Hershey Park, Sesame Place and Lancaster Amish Country. Not a lot for gas being from NJ but enough to entertain the kids.

There is also Kennywood and Knoebels in PA which we never got to see but they are always part of best amusement parks on the travel channel.

What I did was have a list and planned our summer trips around all of these places. All of the above were different from each other and we enjoyed them all.

We went to Knoebel's for the first time last summer. It's great! We love the Poconos, and they have lake beaches there.

Daytona Beach has one of the few beaches around that you can drive a car on, and it is close to Disney etc. Lot's of other things to do in the area like the Space Center where you can see all sorts of rockets, touch a moon rock, meet an astronaut, do some simulater rides, and if you are lucky see an actual rocket launch. About an hour the other direction is St Augustine with the US's oldest schoolhouse, a huge spanish fort the kids can climb all over and through, one of the nicest walking downtowns anywhere, and a nearby lighthouse and gator farm.

Panama City Beach Beach, Destin, Pensacola, and gulf shores all have the softest sugar white sand of anywhere I have ever been including the Caribbean, the East coast, Hawaii, and the West coast. There are lots of touristy things to do to keep the kids entertained. A gulfarium with dolphin shows etc, water parks, tons of restaurants, parasailing, jet ski rentals, pontoon boat rentals, deep sea fishing and more. If you have never been to this area, you need to go at least once to see the beaches.

Depending on your kids activity level, HHI was very laid back (boring) for my family. If you golf or want to lay on the beach (which has brown water and brown sand with no waves) you might like it. I won a company trip to the Westin (really nice hotel on the ocean) and I took the family. When we were driving home the consensus of my family and most others on our trip was that we didn't want to come back to HHI again, and we told the travel office that if they had another contest for a trip to HHI, that we wouldn't even try to win it. The travel office received a lot of complaints so this year we are going to Washington DC. The year after HHI the trip was to Destin Fl (stayed at the Sandestin Hilton) and everyone I talked to loved it. Some people love HHI, but if your family likes to go do things besides the beach and golf, HHI is not the place IMHO. If you do go, visit Savanna, which was our favorite part of that whole trip.

tombo said:

. When we were driving home the consensus of my family and most others on our trip was that we didn't want to come back to HHI again, and we told the travel office that if they had another contest for a trip to HHI, that we wouldn't even try to win it. The travel office received a lot of complaints so this year we are going to Washington DC. The year after HHI the trip was to Destin Fl (stayed at the Sandestin Hilton) and everyone I talked to loved it. Some people love HHI, but if your family likes to go do things besides the beach and golf, HHI is not the place IMHO. If you do go, visit Savanna, which was our favorite part of that whole trip.

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Lest I let this slide, I'll say that I happen to be very familiar with both Hilton Head AND Sandestin/Destin Beach and the Sandestin Hilton Hotel itself , since we go to Destin area each year for a medical meeting and (small world) stay at the Sandestin Hilton Hotel each time.....I definitely hate that trip, literally despise it....the hotel is pure 1960's (& mostly unchanged)---- very musty, dated rooms (all of them), very small rooms with poor views, and there are zero amenities!!! no movies rentable on TV, for ex.... small, old tv's too.

and the whole Sandestin and Destin areas are sort of ugly ....flat unchanging landscape and small scrubby trees only while driving along the highway (no ocean views as you drive, btw---and NOT a scenic drive at all), and absolutely not a pretty sight anywhere "off the beach"... the huge high-rise condos, one after another, which have taken over along the beach over the last 6 years, completely dominate the scenery once you do reach the ocean. And there's not a good way to drive to that destination.....poor highways and no interstate....more pot-holes on South 331 to Sandestin/Destin than the Iraqi war zone.... and south of Montgomery,Al. it's the only choice, and a long 3.5 hours of misery....lots of 18-wheelers and no passing opportunities. Small winding state highway, poorly maintained.

The beach (water) there is very pretty, no doubt....lovely white sand, BUT there's only about 30 feet of it...and , worst part, it's very difficult to walk thru, period--- you bog down so much. At the end of the 30 feet of too-soft sand, there's a steep incline of about 30 degrees down to the water, and that width is even less...maybe 15-20 feet and no more!!! And that 30-degree incline makes it extremely difficult to walk on the beach at all....hopefully, if you have one leg shorter than the other, you'll be OK if walking in the right direction. We don't even try to walk due to the incline and too-soft sand...neither is amenable to walking. You'll see families playing in one spot, but never walking.

You see, the beach there has undergone SEVERE erosion from the recent hurricanes and storms, and to be honest, the area is urgently trying to restore the beach (then it'll be only 45-48 feet wide) before everyone leaves permanently. For now, it's still quite bad.....practically speaking NO beach to walk or play on. Each bad storm they've lost from 1-2 linear feet of beach sand or more. The water color is definitely prettier than typical east-coast beaches, yes, but that's not enough to garner my interest at all.

All gulf coast beaches are just different ----sand meets water, but it's not at all user-friendly (except for fishing). You'll see few, if any, kids or families running ALONG the beach, playing games or flying kites, and definitely no bikes or wind-driven "vehicles"----not enuf room, and not flat enuf!

Our kids didn't need the parents' recommendation to "not go back", but stated it on their own. And, furthermore, east-coast beaches such as Hilton Head, Daytona, etc. do not have "brown sand"....it's light-to-medium grayish if anything, and that's not a bad color, just what it is----and the darker silty fine nature is due to the type of soil and mineral content in the area, shell content, etc.----- and also the water itself is definitely not "brown". It appears darker but it's the same as California coast water, or NY, or Jersey, or anywhere along the Carolinas. Not brown, but again a grayish tone.....it's not "dirty", just darker.

Obviously water nearer the Caribbean becomes much clearer and more "aqua", which is glorious!!! Fine. But there are compromises. The east coast beaches are all very WIDE and FLAT, amenable to walking, biking, playing, etc. As someone said, even driving a vehicle on it is permitted in some areas. Try to drive or walk on Sandestin's beach and you'll be leaning hard toward falling in. NOT as walkable, playable, and definitely not biker-friendly (actually it's quite impossible).

And don't visit Destin in late summer or you cannot go into the ocean for the thick green slime, and i mean thick, for the first 30 feet into the ocean. Cannot even get in, it's so gross, but i know that's "mother nature", and the storms produce such at that time of year.....doesn't happen north of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

Sorry, but I had to defend the beautiful beaches of the Carolinas, where so many people are enjoying and relocating to from the north, that I truly fear for Hilton Head's sinking in the near future. The gulf coast? You can have it. and i do appreciate the Caribbean-type water, because i've been there quite a bit, but the gulf has great fishing water and not vacation water.

And anyone liking the Sandestin Hilton might as well book a week at ANY old Holiday Inn along the coast, seriously...there's no difference. We despise that tired old hotel. (And why fix it up, because the lobby floor is covered in sand and water every time a hurricane comes thru, for real.) The medical meeting is held there because it's relatively inexpensive, and centrally located for docs from Ga, Al, Fl, and La. -----a lot from nearby Alabama (directly above it) ---- and Al. has few beaches to choose from, anyway----might as well go straight south and drop anchor...certainly no other beach which is as convenient.....Marty (jme)

We all have varying opinions about what we enjoy and luckily there are plenty of coastal vacations to enjoy. I adore HHI myself and have visted the Panhandle . I have been to the Marriott Resort in Panama City Beach without the kids for an extended weekend( pre hurricane) about 6 yrs ago in April.

I found the area very rundown and outdated but it is a popular spot and there are some amusements. We saw church groups and many families. It does have a couple of large beach dance clubs (Club Velas) where college students go. As we drove west on Rte 30 to Seaside,Rosemary,Watercolor and Destin it just got better and better. It seems they are rebuilding the towns in the area into seaside communities with shops and town squares ,sidewalks and homes with porches.

Resort told us it does not get warm until late spring and to stay away in March during spring break. The beaches then were very wide with soft sand and the water was green but I did not think it was emerald green as described in travel brochures. Destin was more upscale and clean. Seaside is where they filmed a Jim Carey movie and I liked those coastal towns. If I ever went back I would visit Destin not PBC.

As a northerner I can tell you that east coast Atlantic beaches are not pure white sand like the gulf or Panhandle of Florida but they are not dark sand it is light or mid tan. The water is not brown but green but not emerald green or carribean aqua. Kettle ponds are darker and can be brownish or dark green and you will find many on in Cape Cod and also the Lake regions of NH and Maine. Virginia Beach and NJ for instance has very wide soft sand beaches. Myrtle Beach and HH have have hard packed sand. In Massachusetts and on Cape Cod some are narrow and then we have the sand dune beaches of the CC National Seashore and Horseneck Beach. Our northern waters are cold and get colder heading up to lovely Maine. As we drive south toward Virginia and South Carolina the dirt is reddish rather than brown up north. OBX has soft sand beaches. Even the pumpkins are a different color heading south more red than orange because of the dirt.

For the OP I would not recommend the Panhandle IMHO as it is too far from NJ with little ones. Most kids are happy to play in the sand and run in the surf anyway.

Tombo-I wish my company would give people trips. DC is a great family vacation. One of the least expensive one could imagine as so many attractions have free admission. Try walking around Old Town Alexandria if you have time.

I love our company trips and I am glad to take them. I knew many here would love HHI, just as I love the Panhandle. The rates for the DO (doctors) convention mentioned are over $200 per night, well over $300 a night if not a group rate, and it is sold out all summer. It is a small world as I have attended that convention many times with my wife who is a drug rep. At the same time the Doctor's convention is going on, all of the SEC coaches are doomed to stay in the " Holiday Inn". Those poor multi-millionaire football coaches from Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Tennesse, LSU, etc have to slum it for a week as they have for decades because it is the only place they can afford. I was there last year and Ihad a large flat screen TV and a fantastic view from my 14th floor private balcony overlooking one of the 2 outdoor pools. We had a couch (fold out), king size bed, and bunk beds by the door.

I never claimed that the Sandestin Hilton was the best resort, I loved the hotel and amenities at the Westin on HHI possibly better that the actual hilton resort in Destin. I said the panhandle area for it's beaches and sand are preferable to me. Also I love being able to drive along the coast and look at the ocean, something you can't do at Hilton Head. To each his own. Many love HHI, but our company is based in Alabama and from the complaints the travel director received, I doubt we will ever have another trip there.

For us a beach with whiter sand, some occasional waves to boogie board on, clear water, and local tourist attractions like water parks, roller coasters, and deep sea fishing etc are important. Others like laid back and quiet. I was simply giving my review of my trip and stating that I never plan on returning to HHI. Go to both and decide for yourself.

I guess it depends on how far you're willing to travel. The Poconos would be quite close for you and there are places on lakes. I think you also have lots of other suggestions that would work well, too.

Did anyone mention Cape Cod, Boston, Rhode Island or Maine? Also excellent choices.

Sue

Williamsburg Historic Triangle

Williamsburg is no longer just Williamsburg. Yorktowne and Jamestown are part of an historic triangle. Both locations have been upgraded and offer great experiences. The best bet is to buy the pass for all three that gets you into virtually everying. NOthing can compete with Williamsburg for an authetic history experience , not a lesson, there are free guided tours by historical figures and reenactments all day long of special events. It is a great area to have fun and learn.

We like to visit every few years. There is always something new.

Williamsburg Historic Triangle

You won't find this kind of experiece anywhere in this country. Additionally, the area has great outlet shopping and dining.

I love Colonial Williamsburgh and could go every year. There is the best Busch Gardens Park (IMHO)and a Water Park. I mentioned Virginia Beach earlier. When we took the boys we crossed the Cheasapeake Bay Bridge,stayed in VB for 2 nights on the boardwalk,toured the battleships in Norfolk then headed to Colonial Williamsburgh and Jamestown.

Also been to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge on our trip to The Biltmore Estate. Very clean area,family centered and inexpensive meals. The Apple Barn comes to mind. There was a very large group of church youths about 1000 when we visited. ALl with their families.

Basing it strictly on the ages of your kids...I'd say maybe Daytona Beach (beaches with Disneyworld option), Williamsburg (parks & history&close to home).

I'd also consider Mexico if the airfare is an option: beautiful beaches, snorkeling in the clear waters would be HUGE fun for kids at that age (many fish will nibble treats right out of your hands)...and most kids have a fascination with other languages which will have them gaga...there are also over-the-top resorts with kids clubs/activities, tours to ruins and more. It exposes them to another culture as well (albeit a touristy one...but what the heck)....you'd just have to be extremely careful of the sun with them.

I'm planning on taking my kids to Mexico in the fall of 2009 and cant wait to bring them. My oldest (10 at that time) will be thrilled the entire time just tp be 'speaking' spanish while there. My youngest (7 by then) is happy wherever there's a pool and food...so he's good to go as well.

wow, this thread has it all...

Good information, strong opinions, and healthy venting! We could end with a big forum group hug in the common good of TUG!

Thanks to all who responded - great ideas to mull over and start looking into.

Happy summer to all! :whoopie:

Let us know where you wind up going.....(just cause I'm nosy).

This is not beach centered but one of our favorite family summer vacations was the Smokey Mountain National Park. Alot of activities for families in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge. We went to Dollywood, the Dixie Stampede, whitewater rafting, downtown Gatlinburg, several days in the national park.
Another favorite with alot of activities was Massanuttan resort--I'm not sure of availability in II but it is a fairly easy trade in RCI. Dawn

bccash63 said:

This is not beach centered but one of our favorite family summer vacations was the Smokey Mountain National Park. Alot of activities for families in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge. We went to Dollywood, the Dixie Stampede, whitewater rafting, downtown Gatlinburg, several days in the national park.
Another favorite with alot of activities was Massanuttan resort--I'm not sure of availability in II but it is a fairly easy trade in RCI. Dawn

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How is the white water rafting in the summer? It's something I've always wanted to try, plus my sister has been to Westgate Smokey Mountain and loved it so that's on my list of resorts to get to.

Colonial Williamsburg has very nice programs for children. Our kids did one where they served as "apprentices" for a wigmaker, a silversmith, and a couple of other craftsmen. They still remember it and talk about it. This was about three years ago, so they would have been 6 and 10 at the time. CW also has colonial-style theater that the kids really enjoyed. And they loved Jamestown, which is all interactive, so that they can climb on a sailing ship, grind corn...and there's a nice indoor part with a cafe and darned good air conditioning!