Planning a family vacation is easier when you choose a destination that has something fun for everyone.
San Diego
San Diego has some great sunshine year-round, which can benefit your family trip. The Zoo is amazing, and Balboa Park is packed with museums. You can also watch Sea Lions in their natural habitat at La Jolla Cove. Older kids will love learning how to surf at Pacific Beach, while the younger kids will love playing in the ocean at Mission Bay. Parents can spend some time at Little Italy’s farmers market, enjoy the local craft beer or drive a bit down the coast to enjoy some Mexican food.
Costa Rico
Children will become naturalists in no time here. On a night tour in Monteverde or a canal trip in Tortuguero, you are almost guaranteed to see sloths, tree frogs, and howler monkeys. Kids can’t help but stay focused for these trips. There are also zip lines to zip around the rainforest, hanging bridges, and hot springs near the volcano in Arenal. If you take your kids to Manuel Antonio, you’ll be able to explore the rainforest, go to the beach, and watch monkeys.
Costa Rica is also very safe for families and easy to navigate without using tour companies. There are many activities such as zip lining, white-water rafting, and waterfall hikes, which can be scaled up or down depending on your kids’ ages.
Orlando
There’s a reason Orlando is as popular as it is. From Magic Kingdom fireworks, Hogsmeade, and Universal Studios to seeing manatees at SeaWorld, kids will love every minute of Orlando. Parents can take some time to enjoy what Orlando has to offer outside of theme parks. Orlando has developed its food scene and has many great areas to dine, such as The Milk District and Winter Park.
You can spend a day away from the theme parks at Wekiwa Springs. The water is 72 degrees all year round, and nobody has to worry about fast passes.
Tokyo
Tokyo is a city for kids who are curious, with capsule toy machines on every street corner. They will enjoy a visit to Studio Ghibli’s museum (if you book ahead). There are food courts underneath most of the department stores that are fun. Public transportation is so efficient that it takes the hassle away. Parents can visit temples in Asakusa and wander around the back streets of Yanaka, then find a tiny Izakaya that only fits 8 people once the children fall asleep.
Add a couple of nights in Hakone to experience the ryokan/onsen or spend the day at TeamLab’s digital art rooms, where adults tend to lose track of time faster than the children do.
Iceland
Iceland is one of those places where the views are your main form of entertainment, with geysers that blow on schedule, waterfalls that you can walk behind, black sand beaches, and northern lights in the winter from your farm stay driveway. The distances between attractions are short. You can travel from Reykjavik to Jokulsarlon in 3 or 4 days and have plenty of time to enjoy each stop.
Geothermal baths are everywhere and are a cheap and great activity with kids. Kids get to see some real wildlife without parents worrying.
Barcelona
Barcelona has both culture and a beach, close to each other just a metro away. Children will enjoy seeing all of Gaudís creations; they almost look like cartoons to them. The mosaic animal at Park Güell or the columns at Sagrada Familia are just some examples. Kids will love going to Barceloneta, and dinner in Spain is late, which will suit your kids better than you think.
Ride the funicular to Tibidabo for an old-school amusement park on the edge of a cliff. Parents will enjoy Boqueria vermouth and a day trip to Montserrat.
Yellowstone
Yellowstone allows kids to see wildlife and natural wonders that you would only find in picture books. Bison crossing the road, geyser spewing hot water out of the earth, Old Faithful acting on its own time, and the beautiful blue color of Grand Prismatic Spring.
There’s also a junior ranger program to keep them busy during the long drives. Seeing animals at sunrise in the Lamar Valley is one of the best experiences you can have in the lower 48 states. Boardwalks are short, so little kids can enjoy them as well.
Singapore
If you’re looking for Asia without much of a culture shock, Singapore is about as easy as it gets. It’s safe, clean, and small enough to traverse in half an hour. Kids can enjoy the Night Safari, Jewel Changi waterfall, Sentosa beaches and Gardens by the Bay light show that looks like it’s from outer space.
Parents can indulge in one of the best food cities in the world where you can eat at a Michelin-starred hawker stall for less than what you’d spend on a sandwich at home.
Kauai, Hawaii
Kauai is Hawaii’s laid-back island, which makes it ideal for families wanting to actually relax. Protected beaches in Poipu are good for young swimmers, and often have monk seals lounging on the sand. Snorkelling at Anini Reef is so serene it’s perfect for beginners. Kauai is breathtaking without hiking: Stop for glorious views of Waimea Canyon right off the road, and keep kids entertained on a boat ride along the dramatic Na Pali coast.
Rent a condo with a kitchen, avoid the rainier north shore in winter, and don’t pack your schedule.
Switzerland
Switzerland is pricey, but it’s also the easiest mountain vacation families can enjoy. Cable cars and cogwheel trains take you up into mountain scenery and require zero hiking ability to access, and the trains are a treat in their own right for younger kids. The First Cliff Walk in Grindelwald, the toboggan runs, Lake Thun’s paddle steamers and the thundering Trümmelbach Falls inside the mountain are all within easy reach.
Your older kids will discover paragliding and via ferrata; the little ones will find playgrounds at mountain tops with views you’d happily pay for. A regional travel pass will usually cover its cost many times over.
Quebec City, Canada
Quebec City is a walled colonial city that feels to children like a castle they are allowed to enter. Narrow streets, ramparts, and a funicular make exploring itself an adventure. Montmorency Falls (higher than Niagara Falls) is a short drive away with a cable car and suspension bridge at the top.
In the winter, families can experience tobogganing by the Château Frontenac, February Carnaval, and skating under the lights. Parents can also enjoy French-Canadian food, a European atmosphere just a short flight from the US East Coast, at a fraction of real French prices.
London
London is great for families because so much of the best stuff is free. The children will enjoy the Natural History Museum, Science Museum and British Museum, the Tower of London, the top deck of a red bus, and Hyde Park’s parakeets and playgrounds. These barely dent the budget. The Harry Potter studio tour (outdoors in Watford) is also fantastic and worth a full day for the right age group.
Parents can enjoy the theatre and Borough Market, canal walks through Little Venice, and quirky neighbourhoods like Greenwich, Hampstead, and Shoreditch that feel like a different country itself.
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