Where is your favorite place to vacation?
Looking to find out what is out there as far as family vacation destinations. Where have you been?
me Have you checked some of the previous threads? Lots of choices and suggestions, both in the US and other countries.
http://www.hackettstownlife.com/forum/140576
http://www.hackettstownlife.com/forum/304950
http://www.hackettstownlife.com/forum/665223
GC 
skippy 
Booster90 I'm torn between Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and Hilton Head, SC. Both are great. I haven't been to Hilton Head in nearly 5 years but my wife and I took a 7 night southern Caribbean cruise on Royal Caribbean in February and it was great. Would recommend both highly.
1988LJ 
Caged Animal 
MK I generally go to someplace new every time. But without a doubt the one place I return to all the time is Iceland.
If I would go back to places I've been then Mesa Verde Colorado, Arches National Park Utah, Snake River Idaho, and the Oregon Dunes would be it.
Toss-up between Santa Fe New Mexico and Sedona Arizona...or anyplace in the southwest.
Just NOT Tucson Arizona in August -- I don't care if it's a dry heat, 117 degrees is too hot for me!
JerryG absolutely Santa Fe, Maine, Chincoteague Virginia for the beautiful national seashore and crabcakes, canyonlands
4catmom 
Tracy This is sick but even as I age, I too love Disneyworld, staying on campus, and taking it easy. It's just so darned easy there.
strangerdanger If I won the Powerball, I think I would MOVE to Disneyworld... live at the Yacht Club, play a round of golf every morning, drink my way around the world at Epcot every afternoon. Not much else one needs in this world, lol.
ianimal 
Cent Prof Last time was Wine and Cheese Festival at Epcot. Even had a Disney-level drunk fight --- couldn't be more perfect. I too like to get in some golf; the putt putt is open late!
It may be weird, but we live to go to Lancaster Pa and will be going to Pigeon Forge the end of the month. I've never been there, so it's a first but our hotel is absolutely gorgeous and there is alot to see and do.
Lynn 
auntiel 
LibertyThinker 
MB I'm with Liberty Thinker with a family vacation in mind. Williamsburg and DC are great. Would also add Boston in there...
Depends on what you are looking for and how far you like to drive/fly and how much $$$ you want to spend. If you are looking for a place not crowded, red sand beaches, great exchange rate, fanstatic seafood, lobster in particular, friendly locals, look at Prince Edward Island in Canada. We just love it, we have been to the lower 48 states, but keep going back.
Notin NJ anymore I love Caribbean cruises, but my favorite vacation was a Caravan bus tour to see Yellowstone and Old Faithful, Grand Teton float trip, Crazy Horse, Mt. Rushmore, Custer Battlefield, Little Big Horn.
PBM The Outer Banks
St Augustine, Florida
Asheville, N.C.
London can be exciting if the weather is decent (and you don't mind traveling to Europe).
Independence Farmer 
MeisterNJ 
Mariann 
Calico696 "Any place that has beer." -
Sounds like your summer is full of another sta-cation in Oxford to your local fire house. ;-)
"If money is no object, I would always go to Hawaii, Maui is our favorite island !!"
Been there twice... Maui is fun, but I also like Oahu. Both of those islands have lots to see. Kauai is good if you like quiet and peaceful... The Big Island is my least favorite. Just *lots* of barren land... it was worth it at least one time to see the lava flows and Mauna Kea observatory (we actually got to go inside some of the facilities - not typically open to the public).
Other than the flight, it's really not that expensive if you stay in moderate hotels. We used the Aston brand and booked way ahead of time (almost a year). I think it was between $100 and $150/night depending on the island but that was about 4 years ago...
Mark Mc. Calico696: Check with SueR....She just returned from just such a trip as you described..
Joyful 
Sponge Bob Mark Mc - Imagine Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga are all just slightly more for the air, and half the price for the same type hotel. More exotic, fewer people, less hassle.
Alaska by cruise!
Lake Tahoe
Grand Canyon
Galway, Ireland
Napa Valley and Sonoma, Ca.
And for that staycation: Long Beach Island
iRun NorCal
Outer banks
Many of the locals in Maui seemed to be a bit racist against mainlanders. Maybe it was just this houlie boy.
TalleyhoSmokey Mountains, Tennessee, we rent a cabin, very reasonable and relaxing. Something there for all ages.
Bessie We vacation everyday here in the Smoky Mountains of TN. , So much to see and do on both sides of the mountains, Knoxville and Ashville NC are only an hour away, and a Harrahs casino over the mountains in Cherokee NC.
SM PREDATOR 
mel Still very jealous SM predator, think of you both every time I pass your house. I hope you're doing well.
Is Disney your favorite spot? Now $129 to spend a good chunk of your vacation in line, or trying to beat the system.
http://money.cnn.com/2018/02/12/news/companies/disney-ticket-prices/index.html
maja2 
Iris 
Denis Would love to go back to Ireland. Iris...my daughter will be in Kauai, Hawaii next week.
Bert 
Luca(work) We enjoyed our one week road trip to the Smoky Mountains last summer so much that we are now delusional enough to think that a 2-1/2 week road trip with my in-laws and our 3- and 4-year olds to Yellowstone and back in a 12-passenger van this summer is a good idea.... I should probably be committed, lol.
Lee Marie Ianimal, we take a road trip with my parents every year to the outer banks. A 12 passenger van sounds like a good idea. If you rent it, could you please tell me where and, if you don’t mind, how much?
You don't get the real Griswold effect until the kids are 10 years older. Right now they'd probably be just as happy with Land of Make Believe. What does that tell you? ;-)
Consigliere, with taxes and fees (but without the collision damage waiver) it was $1,180 for 7 days from Budget Rent-a-Car at the LVI airport.
htownguy Joyful: where is your daughter stsying? We were on the northern part of the island; while beautiful, it's a long way from airport, towns, diving, etc. I highly recommend Anini Beach. Very calm, good for little kids and for snorkeling.
Is there any reason to stop in Nebraska other than to fill the tank and our bellies? I'm taking the northern route on I-80 to I-29 to get from Denver to Kansas City, primarily because it's only about an hour longer than the straight I-70 shot across Kansas and it's likely the only opportunity I'll ever have to knock NE off of my "lifetime homework assignment" of visiting all 50 states given to me by my 9th grade earth science teacher.
When I get to Kansas City , MO... it's easy to shoot across the Missouri River to Kansas City, KS and "plant my flag", so to speak. The northern route also squeaks through the southwestern tip of Iowa (which I've already been to, but sheanimal hasn't... and neither have the kids, obviously).
North Dakota is gonna be a problem. We aren't getting there this trip, that's for sure.
I love the outer banks also. Went to Corolla beach 2 years ago, watching the horses roam freely was amazing.
ianimal
Did the same route several years ago. Some things that stood out to me was the following:
1. The farms are unbelievable huge. On either side of I 80 to the horizon was corn or wheat fields. Very flat, no trees, the only place you saw trees was where the farmer lives.
2. I never saw tractors and farm equipment so large, I mean like 12' tires on tractors pulling equipment 25' across. Guess when you have 1000's of acres to plow everything has to be BIG.
3. Hours and hours of the above. Road as far as you can see the horizon straight as an arrow, the speed limit is more like a suggestion.
4. A LOT of trucks on 80.
5 Worth checking out Lincoln, Omaha, Chimney Rock, Scotts Bluff national mounument, golden spike tour in north Platte ( huge railroad yard I mean big with train cars moving around the yard by themselves.....amazing!)
Been to all 50 states took us 38 years with Alaska and Hawaii the last 2.
Colorado is an amazing place, make you you allow enough time to see Denver, Durango, Estes Park, rockey mountain national park, the dunes National Park, got to take the Coors Factory tour..
"Scotts Bluff national mounument"
I've driven through Scottsbluff, Nebraska (and past the monument)... just stopped at Wildcat Hills Recreation Area a bit south of there to finish trimming and packaging the elk my brother got in Medicine Bow National Forest (in Wyoming) the previous evening.
Seven years later and I can still smell the powdery dust/sand that made it's way everywhere in my truck on that hunting trip...
Wow. One look at a thread on this tiny forum shows why Disney keeps raising rates
I’m a big fan of Sesame Place
Ianimal - we stopped at two fossil beds in Nebraska (Agate and Ashfall). I believe both of them were active sites and you can watch workers digging out dinosaur fossils. There were also interpretive centers, displays, etc. At the time, our kids were school age and we found them interesting. I wouldn't put them on the "have to see" list, but at least it was a decent stop to get out and stretch the legs for a while. I think Ashfall was the better of the two.
FarmerJake 
Bluefish Ed Thanks for the suggestions, NINJA and Farmer Jake. The fossil beds are too far off of the I-80 corridor and Scotts Bluff is unfortunately too far out of the way for our specific itinerary as well. But the Golden Spike Tour and train yard in North Platte sounds perfect.
Canadian Rockies................or Chincoteague Virginia.....different and both wonderful--
For a long weekend I'm fond of driving up to Montreal, or Quebec City if I have an extra day.
Kingcoriander Ianimal
Maybe 1 hour stop over, nice museum and observation deck to watch it all happing. North Platte is a depressed area and the rail yard takes through "the best part" of town...kidding....but the downtown area had some things going on and a good place for lunch.
Safe trip.
For us it's Aruba or Paradise Island in winter, and Cape Cod in summer. But, We're an older couple (67 And 55) with no children.
Doctorwu 
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