posted02/03/10
Looking for the best family vacation destinations?
Taking your whole family out on a vacation could be a grueling task, especially if you have a big family and lots of small kids. You would have to take into consideration each one’s preference and concerns. In this situation, the children are the primary concern since they need more attention. So, it is important to initially prepare carefully for your trip.
It is significant to narrow down your options for potential family vacation destinations. Surely, each member of your family has a different place in mind. Take note of each one and learn how to compromise. To help you decide, the internet provides good examples of family vacation destinations and on this page, you will know which ones are the best.
On the top of the list for the best and most favorite family vacation destinations are Disney World, Disneyland, or Six Flags. Theme parks are a hit for the children since they could really enjoy this place. At the same time, even the grown ups could find something to do and the whole family would really have such a blast in this place.
Then, if you feel like going on relaxing family vacation destinations, there are a lot of beaches to visit in Hawaii or in any tropical country. If you have smaller children, there are resorts that provide childcare and amenities that would be needed for them such as kiddie pools, day care centers, and playgrounds. Choosing this would allow you to escape from the stress of the city and enjoy the view of the place and at the same time, it would also be enjoyable for your kids as they could play with other children on the resort.
You might also want to try adventure family vacation destinations which the whole family would surely love. This is great for those who love to explore and seek some thrilling action such as bungee jumping, wild water rafting, and scuba diving, among others. It is important to prepare this ahead of time because you need to carefully layout plan bearing in mind that you are with children. Your destinations would differ according to the activity that you would want to engage to. It is best to consult a travel agency if you want an itinerary.
Lastly, if you are the type of family who would choose to stay in cities and absorb their rich cultures and meet people, the best family vacation destinations to visit could be anywhere from Paris to Prague, from New York to Bangkok. For this trip, perhaps smaller children might cause some sort of a hassle, so it is best for the families with bigger kids. Traveling in these places, you could visit museums, historical landmarks, or see the plays in their theatres. This is generally for the families who love to see what is out there and experience a world out of their usual dwelling.
So now as a last word, the best places as vacation destination would all depend on your family’s preference. There are a lot of options to choose from and the destinations are endless.
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posted17/02/10
The popular impression of Acapulco is as a romantic getaway or a place for Spring Break parties, but in truth, the younger set also enjoys what Acapulco has to offer for a family vacation.
Beaches. The beaches inside the bay of Acapulco have waves, but they are calmer than out on the ocean front, and are just right for young children. At the beach you can take the kids on a jet ski ride, or climb aboard the big “banana.” Day trips on glass bottom boats to Isla Roqueta or excursions by boat into the bay are also good fun.
Kids’ Programs. Back at the hotel, you may find that the hotel activities desk has planned a special program just for children. Usually these activities are restricted to kids from about 6 years of age to about 12 years, and they involve pool activities, exercises, tours of the building, crafts, stories and videos. Kids’ Programs are not offered by every hotel, and usually they are set up just for high season or on weekends during the summer. If your hotel has a kids’ program, it is usually offered without additional charge.
CiCi Water Park. This water park has lots of amusements, rides, a “lazy river,” and best of all, swimming with dolphins. Delfines Paradise (with an office on Condesa Beach) also offers kids a chance to swim with dolphins in their own environment.
Parque Papagayo. Acapulco’s “central park” is a great place for strolling around, buying souvenirs and eating snacks. You can also go out in paddle boats, and the younger kids can enjoy inflated jumping equipment. A small train and a miniature bus take tours around. There is a model galleon in the lake, and lots of animals to look at. Kids enjoy feeding the ducks.
AquaPlanet. This attraction is in “La Isla” (in Acapulco’s “Diamond Zone”). Aquaplanet is an educational center for grade school children, designed to entertain as it explains about water conservation and ecology. Other options include a rock climbing wall, a large kid’s pool, mini-golf and bumper boats.
Mágico Mundo Marino is a marine museum with some water fun built in as well. It is found in between the Caleta and Caletilla beaches on the west side of Acapulco’s bay.
Other entertainment options for the kids include the malls, of course. Not only do Acapulco’s main shopping areas offer a big selection of first-run movies, but also video arcades and “fun centers.” Recorcholis is in the Gran Plaza. Another arcade is in Galerías Diana. In the Plaza Bahía shopping center there is a full-service bowling alley.
Excursions of several kinds are also in the offing. The Shotover Jet takes you in a high-speed hydrofoil along the Laguna de Tres Palos. This is a great chance to see and learn about tropical wildlife. Many families simply go to the Laguna and rent a boat for the day and go out on the lake. It is a self-guided tour to a beautiful tropical forest.
Families with older children can enjoy an historical tour, like the one of Fort San Diego, first built in 1616. There is also a small tour of the “House of Masks” near the fort, which kids in junior high and older can appreciate.
For nature lovers, the best hikes are up in the Veladero National Park, the natural, mountainous area that surrounds Acapulco.
If you take a short trip to Acapulco’s central square, or Zócalo, in the late afternoons or early evenings, you may arrive when the clowns are performing in the gazebo. If you are lucky, you will catch an impromptu show of music or dance.
Finally, browsing the local markets may be an activity that the kids will remember for a long time. The biggest is the Central Market downtown, which is busy with fish, meat and produce as well as all sorts of other merchandise. In Acapulco’s “Golden Zone” you will find several markets that cater to tourists with toys, clothing and souvenirs.
If you need the services of a babysitter while having a vacation in Acapulco, just ask at the concierge or reception desk. Almost all hotels can arrange for in-room baby sitting by a qualified person who has been screened in advance.
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posted13/02/10
You think Hawaii is for romantic vacations only? Think again. Hawaii is actually a great place for a family vacation, especially the main Island of Oahu and the Waikiki Beach area. There are many cool and fun things to do, nature and marine life to see, and great places for rest and relaxation. More than likely, your greatest worry is going to be how to squeeze in so many great places into your short vacation time…
Here are some cool places that you can enjoy with your kids:
Atlantis Submarine
This popular adventure takes you more than 100 feet below the surface for a 45 minutes underwater tour of Marine life in Waikiki. The submarine passes by coral riffs, sunken shipwrecks and airplanes, sea turtles, and countless fish and other sea creatures. The 64-passenger submarine is air-conditioned and has large view ports and comfortable seating.
Bishop Museum
The new Science Adventure Center feature Over 16,000 square feet of interactive exhibits and high-tech displays that let kids discover the volcanoes, oceans and diverse environment of Hawaii and the Pacific. Other exhibits of the museum include live hula performances, planetarium shows, garden tours, dramatic storytelling, Hawai’i Sports Hall of Fame and exciting traveling exhibits in the Castle Memorial Building.
Cirque Hawaii
Cirque Hawaii is a multi million dollar state of the art theatrical extravaganza in the heart of Waikiki. The show is an exotic blend of strength, balance, humor, skill, beauty and grace, and features aerial, dance and acrobatic acts, including Trapeze, Flying Silk, Skip Rope, Bungee, Clown, and Polynesian Warriors. This awe-inspiring 1 hour and 15 minutes show is a great entertainment for the whole family, and can be combined with dinner at a nearby restaurant.
Dole Plantation
Dole Plantation is a popular Hawaii attraction. It has “The world’s largest maze” (2001 Guinness Book of World Records), two-mile, 20-minute “Pineapple Express” train ride, and a Plantation Garden tour.
Hawaii’s Children’s Discovery Center
The Hawaii Children’s Discovery Center is a world-class interactive center. Kids are invited to explore, experiment and play with interactive exhibits, using their senses of touch, sight, hearing, and smell to better understand themselves and the world around them.
Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park
Hawaii’s only water park offers many fun rides and adventures, including inner tube rides, free-fall six stories down speed slides, mega wavepool, body surf or inner tube ride on 2 to 4 foot waves, tube cruise down an 800-foot long continuous river, interactive children’s playground filled with waterfalls, mini-slides and water cannons, multi-level activity pool with seven family slides, lily pad walks and other water attractions.
Honolulu Zoo
The Honolulu Zoo features over 1,230 animals in specially designed habitats. You can get a glimpse of the endangered nene which is the Hawai’i state bird, visit the African Savanna, native Hawaiian forest birds, Pacific Islands and the Children’s Zoo. The zoo also features family programs such as Twilight tours, Snooze in the Zoo, Breakfast with a keeper, birthday Parties, and day camps.
Luau
A luau is a Hawaiian party and feast. Most Luaus feature native Hawaiian food and entertainment, such as Hawaiian music and hula dancing. Many Luaus greet you with the traditional lei, and feature the traditional imu ceremony, in which the roast Kalua Pig will be dug up from the rock-filled underground oven (imu) where it has been slow-roasting all day. Dinner buffet usually includes multi-course Polynesian delicacies as well as American favorites. After dinner it’s show time – a Polynesian revue featuring songs and dances from Hawaii and other Polynesian islands.
Polynesian Cultural Center
This popular attraction is located about an hour from Waikiki. This 42-acre open-air park has seven native villages that are designed to immerse the visitors in the Hawaiian and other South Pacific cultures. Natives will be demonstrating the arts of dancing with fire, making jewelry from plants, and climbing 50-foot trees in bare feet. There are also native arts and crafts demonstrations such as carving tiki statues, canoe pageant, reenactment of war dances and wedding ceremonies, an IMAX theater, an authentic luau and a Polynesian night show.
Sea Life Park
Sea Life Park is a world-class marine attraction located 15 miles from Waikiki on Oahu’s beautiful and scenic Makapuu Point. The park features a 300,000-gallon aquarium, housing sea lions, dolphins, sharks, stingrays, turtles and other marine mammals in a variety of entertaining and educational attractions such as dolphins dancing, sea lions singing, and penguins performing. Other attractions are the Sea Lion Feeding Pool, Sea Turtle Lagoon, Sea Bird Sanctuary, Hawaiian Reef Exhibit and Pirate’s Lagoon. There are also some interactive programs for swimming with dolphins and snorkeling by the stingray’s side.
Snorkeling at Hanauma Bay
Hanauma Bay is located along the East Oahu coastline, and is a protected marine life conservation area and underwater park. This bay, which is all that remains from an ancient volcano, is one of Hawaii’s favorite places for snorkeling, scuba diving, or swimming among turtles and tropical fish. There are over 450 species of colorful tropical fish in Hanauma Bay, many of them are indigenous to Hawaii.
Waikiki Aquarium
This great family attraction features an amazing variety of marine life from the tropical Pacific and Hawaii. It has a wonderful collection of bright and colorful exotic tropical fish, as well as sharks, living corals, endangered Hawaiian monk seals, graceful sea jellies, and many more unique and fascinating marine creatures.
Waikiki Beach
Waikiki Beach is one of the best known beaches in the world. It is usually crowded but is a very nice area for swimming, surfing, snorkeling, surfboarding, sun tanning, sand castle building, and outrigger canoe riding.
Waikiki Trolley
The Waikiki Trolley is a popular means of transportation in Oahu, and is fun and convenient. The Trolley’s four lines routes cover almost all tourist attractions and stops at most major shopping malls in Oahu.
For more details and photo gallery please visit the Kids Vacations section of our web site: http://www.cool-kids-places.com/kids-vacations-hawaii.html
Dee Adams is a mom to a 7 year old boy and the owner of Cool Kids Places, a website for parents looking for fun and interesting places to go with their kids.
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posted12/02/10
Do you want to take your family to one of the best resorts for kids for that much-delayed vacation? Donâ??t know where to start? Yes, the family vacation. It’s the source of some of our most potent and pleasing memories, both as kids and as parents. It is the perfect bonding time and you want it to experience like no other. While time away is an opportunity for bonding, fun, and relaxation, careful vacation planning and necessary preparations should be underway done months ahead. Check out this article for ideas on what to look for on your next family vacation, especially if you have kids in tow.
Like it or not, kids today indeed rule the roost so you may want to make sure the vacation is something they will have a great time and enjoy. Most resorts nowadays offer better amenities to lure family vacationers. These amenities include child-proofed rooms, toddler tennis lessons, family bonfires, kids rides, kidâ??s menus on a gourmet restaurant, and even a mountain vacation kids wouldnâ??t forget for the rest of their lives.
Mountain Vacation
Mountain vacation is not just for the adventurous adults to enjoy. Kids will sure to love the assortment of rides and fun activities from the Alpine coaster, Alpine slide, ZipRider, horseback riding and scenic lift rides some of these mountain vacation resorts offer. Adults and kids alike can also join the mountain biking and hiking group to test their physical prowess and mental skills by exploring and discovering the selected trails at the same time enjoying the green scenery of the place. Some mountain vacation resort like Park City Mountain has Little Minerâ??s Park that is just perfect for kids 2 years old and above. Kids can have the fantasy rides of their lives here. And for the teens and adults who are not much into sports, they can head off to the caricatures studio where they can be awed and amazed to see the caricaturist displays his drawing skills.
Increase happiness and unity in the home as well as personal satisfaction. Family bonding will help make communication happen and open the doors to let you discover each others’ hidden talents and ambitions and prepare for an exciting future.
As you plan your next family vacation, think beyond the cruises and Walt Disney World and consider something a little different. Find the best resorts for kids and start from there. You get only one shot at family, and if you experience everything you’ve always loved about getting away together, it is just great.
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