Where to Vacation?

We do San Antonio (Fiesta Texas and Schlitterbahn) every few years and always stay at Westin La Cantera (some say the Hyatt Hill Country is better, but we prefer Westin). They have a great Spa, family buffet meals and music nightly, childcare center...

We've had a blast every time with my parents and 2 small kids

Port Aransas! Easy to get to, very affordable great family place! Highly recommend it. Feel free to message me if you have any specific questions about it.

Hi A.,
We took two kids, two grandparents and one great-grandpa and rented a house in San Destin, Florida last summer. We had a blast!!! While I was there, and totally planning this year's house, I met several other people that suggested Golf Shores. It is a closer drive from Dallas, and a little less expensive. Have a great trip!!

last summer for the 4th of july we went to Beaver's Bend OK www.beaversbendcreativeescapes.com or www.beaversbend.com (boken bow national park) close enough to HOME but far enough to get away... great cabins/gorgeous lake-- you can rent boats/ski/horseback riding/bumper boats/ride a train/hike/bike/fish/dinning/camp/relax on the lakes beaches/ and more or stay in nice cabins.
our kiddos ages were: 6/3 and my neice was 5 we went with my inlaws and sister-in-law and her family.
Happy planning!

Dear A. H,

The great thing about living in the DFW Metroplex is the wonderful proximity to so many fun things! Even though some of the locations I will mention are a bit pricy, they are all within driving distance and all offer lots of family activities. We take our grown children and grandchildren to all of these fairly often, so you may actually see us there! Here goes--

The Rough Creek Lodge, just outside of Glen Rose, Texas is a bit expensive, but worth every penny. The Lodge is located on 13,000 acres (I think. It might be 11,000, but it's a bunch!). Many of the activities are already included in the price, as is breakfast and dinner. Some of the activities included in the price are 2 pools (adult and family), small lazy river, fishing, hay rides, s'mores after dinner, ice cream by the kids pool, bungee trampoline, zip lines, game room, exercise room, etc. For an additional fee, horse back riding, 4 wheelers, hunting, spa, etc. are available. We've had four generations at the Rough Creek Lodge several times, and everyone had a great time!

A bit further away, but still within driving distance are 2 great Hyatts--the Hyatt Hill Country, just northwest of San Antonio, and the Hyatt Lost Pines in Bastrop, just outside of Austin. Both have huge lazy rivers, outdoor movies, golf courses, game rooms, kid's buffets, sand volleyball, huge pools, etc. The San Antonio location is just up the road from Fiesta Texas. Schitterbahn is a good stop along the way.

Of course, with all we have to do right here in the Metroplex, there's always the "vacation at home" idea. Whatever you do, the main thing is that you are together. Have fun and enjoy your children while they are at home. Cherish every minute!

Deb D

Hi A.,

A great place to vacation with the children would be the Dominican Republic. There are so many wonderful all inclusive resorts that have day camps for children where they get to do games and more for the majority of the day. We always went for less than $1500.

The one we love is in Punta Cana - Melia Tropical or Melia Caribe...check out their website at Melia Hotels...or call them directly for rates and availability ###-###-####.

Good Luck and have fun!

M. D.

Good morning! My family surfs and believe it or not you can get good surf on Texas' gulf coast. We love Port Aransas, off Corpus Christi. It's a great family vacation spot and you can drive there in about 6 hours. You can also make it more affordable by renting your own beach house, we have rented them anywhere from 2 nights to 2 weeks, and they have any size you can imagine. Doing this also allows you to have your own kitchen so you can cook a few meals saving you more. There is an excellent site called VRBO.com that I reccomend for help finding houses to rent, they list Homes for Rent By Owner, and offer tons of options and have houses all over the world if Port A isn't your thing. Hope this helps, have a great vacation!

personally i'd have my mom watch the three kids and go solo, but that's my style. LOL overall, for families, beaches are great. think corpus christi. a hotel suite or two or maybe a small cabin within driving distance to all the beaches and sites...very fun! it's what our plan is for next year!

We love the beach. We go to Sandestin FL yearly and stay at the Hilton Golf Spa Resort. Our guests are only hubby, myself, daughter 14, and daughter's friend 14. We love the place and it is family friendly.

For Spring Break, we are going with the same best friend of daughter's to Disney for one last run. This time the girls are into the roller coasters and larger rides and we have not been there in about 4 yrs. We are staying at the Polynesian (as we have all 4 other times) which is on the Monorail line (super easy access to everything).

Personally, I love the beach. If you are into that.....get mom to watch the kiddos and go to South Beach in Miami (FUN FUN).

Another alternative....for our 10th anniversary, we went to Hawaii and had a blast.

We just celebrated 20 yrs yesterday!!!

Hi A.,
It may not be romantic... but The Great Wolf Lodge is a great weekend get away and most of the rooms sleep 6-8. I don't know how much you are wanting to spend but I think it's worth it, we stayed for 3 nights/4 days in the "Wolf Den" (special room) and is was about $1000.00 including meals.

It has an indoor water park, 2-3 restaraunts an arcade, candy store, ice cream parlor, spa, kid spa, and tons more. We've been twice and we are always happy with our stay. I have a 2 & 4 year old boys and they always have the best time at the water park.

Good Luck!
E.

A.,

We have 4 children and have in the past gone to the Alambama coast to vacation, about a 10 hr drive. My favorite location is The Beach Club in Gulf Shores. It is very nice location, and geared towards family. You can rent 2/3 bedroom condos. They are very clean and the amenities on site are wonderful. I believe their website is www.thebeachclub.com. If that is wrong try googling The Beach Club in Gulf Shores, AL. Onsite amenities include, tennis courts, play ground for the children with BBQ area, kids club, 3 outdoor pools, 1 indoor pool, entertainment by main pool in evenings as well as movies. Several onsite restaurants, ice cream parlor, spa etc. Great access to the beach, white sand is to die for. Secluded therefore you do not have condo after condo. Felt like I could keep a good eye on the kids. Excursions we enjoyed....the Little Zoo that Could (airs on Animal Planet)....Blue Angels (about 40 min drive) practice and museum...local water park and gaming area (in town) and much more. Check out their website, you can view individual rooms and everything. I believe we stayed in the Bristol tower room 801 (3 bedroom/3 bath) our favorite unit.

If this is more money than you want to spend there are other properties that might be a little less expensive in the area. Just google, I like staying in the condo vs. house because you have access to a pool when the kids get tired of being at the bach.

Hope this helps.....happy anniversary.

The Hyatt Hill Country Resort in San Antonio is wonderful, especially for kids. The have golf, a spa, a pool with a lazy river lots of evening activities, a game room, a workout room. My family loved it and we even had a few teenagers go with us. Go to the website and check it out. Good luck.

A.,

Every summer, we take our kids on a "swimming hole tour" of central Texas. Wimberley is a small, cute town about 45 minutes outside of Austin and there are a gazillion cabins to rent for families. Many of them are on Cypress Creek, a gorgeous, natural, springfed swimmable creek. The cabins range from rustic to posh and are priced accordingly. We like Cypress Creek Acres which has old cabins and is totally family-friendly. From Wimberley, you can drive to Hamilton Pool and experience another natural swimming area; near there is the Pedernales State Park. Good luck and have fun!

I wanted to also recommend the Beach Club in Gulf Shores, AL. We've stayed there twice and it is wonderful! For a budget friendly vacation, just stop at the grocery store in Gulf Shores and stock up on groceries. The resort is a short drive from the city of Gulf Shores and the onsite restaurants are pricey, but why bother when you have a full kitchen completely stocked with all cooking gear! Plus washer/dryer to reduce packing so everyone will fit in one car. We really love the beach and the condo's are very clean. Highly recommend this vacation spot for a family your size.

We love Destin Flordia. The last two years we have gone with our 2 children, ages 3 & 5. It is VERY kid friendly from the tours, restaruants, beaches, etc. The water is crystal blue with white powder sand beaches. We go to www.resortquest.com and find a condo. They have condos, hotels, and houses to rent.

Good luck!

Check out Cape San Blas, FL - it is east of Destin not too far from Port St. Joe. We went this last June and it was wonderful. We stayed in a nice condo pretty much right on the beach and it was very affordable and tons of fun (we had a then 5 yr old and 1 year old). It was very family oriented and all the kids and adults loved it. We can't wait to go back!

Seaside or Water Color on the Florida Panhandle. You can rent a house large enough for your family and walk or ride bikes almost everywhere you want to go. There are tons of beaches in that area. I've heard Rosemary beach is also really nice and Destin is nearby with more shopping and restaurants, but it's more crowded.

Hello there are alot of places to go that can be affordabul.We took 2000.00 and went to Destin Florida. It was a 850 mile drive and the kids loved it. We even came home with money left over and stayed a week

I would rethink the cruise. June is an expensive time of year for cruises because it is prime wedding season and people are finishing up school so the prices are high.I just finished researching cruises for my sister, and if you can wait until August, the prices are less expensive. Carnival, had a great Kids Club (my sister has a 4 & 5 year old who loved it) and they go out of Galveston, so you can drive down and save money on airfare. You can get some 4-5 day cruises for around $400 a person. Just think of how much you would spend on two hotel rooms for 4-5 days.

If you want to be able to drive, San Antonio has lots of great things to do. The Alamo, the Riverwalk, and a zoo. Not sure what condition Galvenston is in, but you could station at San Antonio, and drive to Nasa and Moody Gardens near Galveston. We did that with our kids one Christmas when they were 12 and 5 and both had a great time.
Jen D.-Frisco

My husband and I went down to Horseshoe Bay last summer - it's near Marble Falls - about and hour from Austin. It was really nice - we were both very impressed with the resort and all it had to offer. We stayed at the Marriott there but there are also condo's and rental properties. It's on Lake LBJ - and the resort has several pools, tennis, golf, etc - something for everyone. We are definitly planning on going back once our son gets a little bigger.

Destin Florida is awesome. I took my family and my brother and his family and we all had a ball. The beach is beautiful and we stayed in a townhouse close to the beach. It had everything we needed, towels, washer/dryer, kitchen, beach toys, dishes, etc. It should be easy to find online but if you have trouble just give me a shout and I'll try to find the lady that we rented our townhouse from. It was $1300 for the whole week and worth every penny!

We love to go to Destin, Fl. You can drive in one day (or break it up with two). Also, if you wait until the 2nd week of August you can get GREAT off-season rates. We have taken our boys (now 4 & 6) and also my nieces (12 & 9) the with their parents and my dh's parents the last couple of years and had a blast!! The beaches are great and there are lots of affordable activities for the family.

When you compare vacations, don't forget to include the cost of food, entertainment and gas. I can remember my parents commenting years ago that it was cheaper for our family of 5 to spend a week at Club Med in Mexico (an all-inclusive resort) than it was to spend a week in Maui (where we had to go our for every meal and activity). If you do choose to go on a cruise during the summer, I would highly recommend finding out about the cruise company's hurricane policy - will they rebook your cruise, change the route, or what? if a hurricane threatens any part of the planned route. Travel insurance may be worth the cost if a hurricane or some other unforeseen hiccup ends up impeding your travel plans.

I recommend Disney World. It really can be quite affordable when you stay at a Value Resort (which is really nice...not fancy like the expensive ones, but fun themes that the kids and adults with enjoy alike!), also get the dining plan (so worth it! You really can save money in the long run!), get a Disney Chase Credit card and gain points between now and when you go on your trip..then you can spend the point $ you added up, to buy souveniers! We have been twice and absolutely loved it both times! In fact, we just got back from being there for Christmas and we are already tryin to figure out when we would like to plan our next trip back!
If this is more that you were wanting we have also go on trips to Sea World in San Antonio. They have vacation packages or you can do your own thing..stay in a hotel of your choice, go to Sea World one day and do some sight seeing in San Antonio the next.
Oh, and one more trip idea... two summers ago we went to Corpus Christi and Mustang Island! We had a blast! The beach is always a fun place to go for me!
Good Luck! Have an awesome time where ever you go!

I second Port Aransas.... get a big 3 bedroom condo... or two bedroom if you kids are small and grandma doesn't mind having one or two in the room with her and one on a sleeper sofa.

The beach is lovely, there's great food, and you can make your own in the condo. Lot of the condo resorts have good activities and pools for the kids.

I would look into the cruise again, I think that is going to be the least expensive route. That includes all of your food and entertainment so you really can't beat it. We just booked a cruise this week, 7 days leaving Galveston for 3 people in an Oceanview room for $2000 that included all of the fees. We booked through Costco because they had the lowest fair. You have to figure that you are going to spend at least $900-$1000 in hotel rooms for three people that is before your food and entertainment. You also have free kid care of the cruise so you and your husband can enjoy some adult time, and the kids can have fun.

We just went to Great wolf. It is pretty fun, but you will pretty much get all you need to do in 1 or 2 days. For a short quick and close vacation, you can't beat the prices for rooms. We went this week because our power went out. We would have had to pay the same about for 2 rooms (2 adults, 1 granny & 3 kids all under 6), but we were able to squeeze into 1 room for the same price as 2 and got the waterpark passes for the whole day. Brought snacks and had a blast.

We went to the Great Wolfe Lodge in Grapevine last year for our vacation. Even though we live in the area, because of my health issues, we could not travel far. It was such a blast for us and the kids. This was our second trip for the summer. Just a thought.

Hi A.,

I'm a home based travel agent, so maybe I can help you out. A cruise is actually not a bad idea when you consider how much is included in the price. I may have some group space avialable that you could take advantage of. In any case... I'd be happy to help you out if you'd like. Just send me an email or contact me through my website: www.dolphinkissvacations.com

Thanks,
M.

Hi A.-

Last summer my husband and I took our daughter to Sea World. We brought my mom along and had a ball. We stayed at Hampton in and got a room that was a suite. It had a couch, which pulled out and a small kitchen. It cost us about $200 to get into sea world with coupons. It was a fantastic experience for everyone.

If you want to stay close to home, the Hyatt Hill Country in San Antonio is great. There's so much to do on site, but it's close enough to Sea World, Six Flags Fiesta Texas (both of which have a water park included in admission during the summer months), and the Riverwalk. Our family also loves the Hyatt Lost Pines outside of Austin. If you want to go to the beach, I would definitely recommend the Florida panhandle over the Texas coast. If you're thinking about Disney, check out Disneyland in California. It's much more scaled-down than Disneyworld, you can stay right on property and never even need a car other than driving to/from the airport. Good luck!

One of our favorite family vacations was to Destin, Florida. It's absolutely beautiful! There are a wide selection of hotels to fit your budget. The beaches are very white and while there, we went on a day-long tour that took us to Shell Island (very secluded) where we found lots of big, beautiful shells. You also go snorkeling, and swim with the dolphins while on the tour! There was plenty of family friendly activities day and night.

Check out cruises again, weve done it w/ 6 people 3 kids 3 adults and i think it was great for the $$. All the on borad entertainment is free for the kids and you all your food too. We drove to New Oleans but the carnival Conquest is out of Galveston, so check it out again. I believe the Norweigan or the Royal is out of houston if you like those options better. The previous poster is right June is expensive, check out the end of May before school lets out or wait till August or Sept. Do a little more research or call a travel agent. If you've never cruised before, you need to, it's so much fun.

G. M.

Have you ever been to St. Louis? I lived there for 7 years, and later we took our grandson there for a vacation. There's so much to see and do that doesn't cost much. The zoo is free, just pay the few dollars to park. They have the Missouri Botanical Gardens, Science Center, and there's a place called The Magic House that is wonderful for kids. It's a 3-story house, each room has a different motif--like hands-on electrical demonstrations, a store, water works, art center, and it's all hands-on for the kids. We enjoyed it as well. Six Flags Over Mid-America is there, and there's a water park. I am sure there's more since it's been several years, but it was not expensive!

Hi A., It doesn't matter where you go enjoying your family is the best. My family went to S. Padre last summer and had a ball. The best thing to do where ever you go is to go to www.priceline.com and bid on you hotel. My daughter had a wonderful room in a 2 star hotel that was as nice as any 4 star I've ever seen. She was able to get it for 57.00 a night and my sister bids on cheaptickets.com for her trips ussually all inclusive. I know there are other web sites to bid on but don't know what they are called. Priceline didn't except her bid right away but she stood firm and in 2 days they excepted so don't give up keep trying they will give in. Good luck.

Have you looked at Disney World? I know most people think of Disney as super expensive, but their "value" resorts are cheaper than many mid-level hotels. And if you stay in one of their resorts, all the transportation to the parks is included, so you don't even need to rent a car. Fort Wilderness has quaint cabins with a full kitchen that would hold a family your size (with bunk beds, full-size beds and even hide-away beds). You can buy groceries and cook your own meals while still enjoying all the perks of the parks.