Alarich Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Actually, Tuscany or Emilia-Romagna in late August, early September is not such a terrible idea - it's still warm enough to go to the beach, sit outside and drink some wine and in case the sun burns too hot, there are great museums. Also, your girls might like to visit the home of Ferrari and Nutella - probably the greatest contributions to human civilisation that Italy made in the 20th century. If you can wait until mid-September to October, all of Southern Europe is great to visit as it is harvest time and there are usually great markets, it's still warm but not blistering, many tourists have gone and so you can visit all kinds of great sights at your leasure. ETA: Especially in Italy, there is an abundance of kids-friendly places. I can only recommend it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HexMachina Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 It seems to me, from distant memory, that the happiest young childhood vacations involved a beach. :) That, and going fishing with my dad. Damn the mosquitoes. Can you and your husband tolerate the idea of a week at the beach? My friends rave about the Canary Islands. Or at least a five star hotel somewhere with beautiful pools. There are all inclusive resorts everywhere that are child-friendly.The Canaries are quite good because it doesn't usually get unbearably hot (and I say this as someone who doesn't really tolerate much heat) and there is quite often cloud cover and a strong breeze. Unfortunately, the Islands are also home to quite a lot of cockroaches. I've been 3 times, once in a villa (Feurteventura) and twice in a hotel (Lanzarote) and each time we ended up with cockroaches in our room. I just felt I should point that out because while not everyone is bothered by this, it's a huge turn off for others (me included, cockroaches creep me out) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ants Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 I would think you should look at the Caribbean. August is off peak so cheaper, but still beautiful (I visited then). Technically it is hurricane season so its a risk, but I went to Jamaica and the historical odds of being hit by a hurricane there in August are very low. My understanding is there are cheap flights from the US. The resorts would include beaches and pools, and many are (I think) family orientated with activities for kids. There were also plenty of trips you could do each day as well. Loved my time there. For Europe, I just would have thought the beaches will be packed and there is so much history/sights that the kids are too young to appreciate. There are however a lot of fun parks. For example, SE England has the Pepper pig park, Legoland, etc. Although the kids may not be old enough to appreciate those yet either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underfoot Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 I went to Norway as a kid (about 7) and had a great time! Lots of outdoorsy things to do, and you have the ocean and mountains right there. We went to a glacier, took a cruise along the coast from Oslo to Bergen (and went up a fjord too, I think), toured old forts and went to Viking museums, took some hikes. In Bergen (I think) there was this giant playground up a mountainside that I had a blast at. I don't remember it being very hot, rainy, or crowded. Coolest vacation ever. Since I was so young at the time, I can't give you any advice about cost or the logistics, but your kids might love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercenaryChef Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Iceland Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baitac Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Have you thought about a cruise? When the boys were 5 & 8, we took an Alaska cruise and it was truly one of the most wonderful things we've ever done. The shore excursions were amazing, from gold-panning to whale watching, the boys loved it. You can look at the excursions online.For the beach and best cost, you cannot beat an all-inclusive in the Dominican Republic or Mexico. You can also do condo rentals in St. Martin (prettier than St. Maarten) but it's more expensive. I also like Antigua and Barbados. Going up in price you have Caneel Bay in St. John, Virgin Gorda, and all the other British V.I.I didn't do Europe with the boys until they were 12 & 15. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neumond Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 The Canaries are quite good because it doesn't usually get unbearably hot (and I say this as someone who doesn't really tolerate much heat) and there is quite often cloud cover and a strong breeze. Unfortunately, the Islands are also home to quite a lot of cockroaches. I've been 3 times, once in a villa (Feurteventura) and twice in a hotel (Lanzarote) and each time we ended up with cockroaches in our room. I just felt I should point that out because while not everyone is bothered by this, it's a huge turn off for others (me included, cockroaches creep me out) I would recommend the azores. Much greener than the Canaries. I never was at Madeira but I heard it is amazing. Someone said London was to expensive. But there are great Hostels that are family friendly. You´ll get a reasonably prized room with an english breakfast. I stayed in Kensington last december for 20 Euros the night. There were families in the hostel too. Amsterdam is cute but I wouldn´t recommend it with little children. When I was a child my parents took me there and we suddenly stood in the redlight district without a warning. I was pretty confused about all the women in swimming suits in the Windows. If you want to try something "exotic" you could go to Istanbul. The Bosporus at night is breathtakingly beautiful. You´ll get the orient-feeling with the great bazar and everything but the city is pretty european and you´ll have no problem fitting in... If you go to europe you can fly very cheaply with Ryan Air and you´ll be able to see lots of different countries, cultures and cities. You just have to decide which kind of things you are interested in. My flight to London and back for example costed just 50 Euros. You´ll be able to fly between all the capital cities in this price-range. And destinations "far away" like the Canaries cost something around 300 Euros. The canal islands Jersey and Guernsey are pretty nice too. If you want to come to germany I would recommend Hamburg instead of Berlin. It´s a beauty with more bridges than Venedig and the unmistakable charm of northern germany (which may seem pretty distant at first but trust me they are very nice). They are much friendlier there and pretty relaxed, if you need help just ask for it. The Alster is beautiful and it has much to offer if you like theater, music or whatever. You can visit the biggest german harbour. The history of the city is very interesting. It is my favourite german city. There is also a very famous redlight district but it isn´t like Amsterdam where the red light district just crawled over the whole city. It is a special area and a Party-mile if you want something like that. Another thing that tourists seem to like in germany is a rhine-cruise. You´ll see more castles and ruins than you ever imagined. You will see the lovely hills where the sweet german white wines come from. You probably could go to a tasting there ;). The food there is very good. You´ll get no Curry-Wurst but you´ll get local specialties you would never associate with germany. In August it is high summer and it probably will be very nice weather (this area is famous for it sunshine in germany) without being unbearable hot like in southern europe. You´ll probably hear the stories of the Lorelai and the Nibelungensaga that played there and you´ll see towns founded by the romans. This is also very family friendly. At the northern rhine you´ll find the former capital of western germany Bonn, düsseldorf and Cologne with it´s famous gothic cathedral the highest cathedral north of the alps. Bruxelle and Amsterdam aren´t far away from here. Also Paris is just a "hop" with the train. You can fly from Düsseldorf and Cologen to other destinations, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lany Freelove Cassandra Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 My daughter loved climbing through some of the castle ruins in Germany (Rhinfels and Konigstein were among our favorites) We lived in Wiesbaden and traveled all over central Germany. There are a lot of kid friendly sites to visit and interesting enough for the adults. I'll second Germany eta: this was like 25 years ago, and I don't know the status of the places we visited then, but even at 5, Becky loved visiting all sorts of castles and Becky was 5 and Phillip 2 when we visited Neuschwanstein Castle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lady narcissa Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Hurricanes in August could be a concern for any number of locations on this side of the Atlantic but ignoring that, Bermuda was a default vacation spot for us when I was a small child and we lived in NYC. I have fond memories of playing on the beaches there. If renting a car and driving on the opposite side of the road is not an issue, renting a National Trust cottage in England for a week is a nice option. There are all types and locations from a house on the beach in Cornwall to a gatekeepers cottage next to a monastery ruin to a wing of a stately home to a farm in the Lake District. If you consider this do yourself a favor and order the brochure as it will be easier to get a sense of all your options when first looking. http://www.nationaltrustholidays.org.uk/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S John Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Hurricanes in August could be a concern for any number of locations on this side of the Atlantic but ignoring that, Bermuda was a default vacation spot for us when I was a small child and we lived in NYC. I have fond memories of playing on the beaches there.If renting a car and driving on the opposite side of the road is not an issue, renting a National Trust cottage in England for a week is a nice option. There are all types and locations from a house on the beach in Cornwall to a gatekeepers cottage next to a monastery ruin to a wing of a stately home to a farm in the Lake District. If you consider this do yourself a favor and order the brochure as it will be easier to get a sense of all your options when first looking.http://www.nationaltrustholidays.org.uk/ Some of these are pretty impressive. Gonna file away for the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord of the Vale Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 I went to Norway as a kid (about 7) and had a great time! Lots of outdoorsy things to do, and you have the ocean and mountains right there. We went to a glacier, took a cruise along the coast from Oslo to Bergen (and went up a fjord too, I think), toured old forts and went to Viking museums, took some hikes. In Bergen (I think) there was this giant playground up a mountainside that I had a blast at. I don't remember it being very hot, rainy, or crowded. Coolest vacation ever. Since I was so young at the time, I can't give you any advice about cost or the logistics, but your kids might love it! Yes, Norway is A buttiful place, a bit expencive, but it is wort it. I would recomed going to Bergen and take one of the many shitsing tours from Bergen to the fjords. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DireWolfSpirit Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Dear people of the board. You are a tribe of strong opinions. I am in need of guidance. For his 40th birthday, my husband has asked that we plan a trip with the family somewhere, preferably out of the U.S. I am in need of ideas of places that are relatively kid-friendly (activities suitable for kindergarteners a big plus) where it might be possible to rent a flat for a week, and that meet his biggest criteria of "not here". Ideas? I'm horrid at this stuff-he is usually our vacation planner. He will probably take it back over at some point because he won't be able to stand it, but I'd like to at least surprise him with a few well-thought-out ideas. Thanks!I really enjoyed this Island http://youtu.be/aFAATXweCps last summer.It's accessible by ferry( you can bring a vehicle or rent one) or plane.The beaches are great and there's great scenery if you enjoy forested areas.Many cabins and lakehouses for rent.I'm looking forward to a return visit one day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkhangel Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Actually, Tuscany or Emilia-Romagna in late August, early September is not such a terrible idea - it's still warm enough to go to the beach, sit outside and drink some wine and in case the sun burns too hot, there are great museums. Also, your girls might like to visit the home of Ferrari and Nutella - probably the greatest contributions to human civilisation that Italy made in the 20th century. If you can wait until mid-September to October, all of Southern Europe is great to visit as it is harvest time and there are usually great markets, it's still warm but not blistering, many tourists have gone and so you can visit all kinds of great sights at your leasure. ETA: Especially in Italy, there is an abundance of kids-friendly places. I can only recommend it. Seconding Tuscany, especially if you can hire a car to get around. We've been there for family holidays and rented apartments for a week each in Lucca and in a farmhouse near San Gimignano, and it was great - plenty of cool little towns within easy driving range, history, outdoor activities, very kid-friendly and great food and wine for grown-ups. It's such a beautiful area, and almost everyone we met was friendly and helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mlle. Zabzie Posted April 6, 2015 Author Share Posted April 6, 2015 Thanks again to everyone! He's put in a vote for Barcelona, actually, so I'm looking into it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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