Family Adventures
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How to Plan the Ultimate Washington D.C. Trip with Kids
With free attractions and some of the world’s top museums, visiting Washington, D.C. with kids is one of the best vacations for a family. But somehow, despite all the benefits of this kid-friendly vacation spot, our family found ourselves ...
The Seven Things You Must Do On Your Family Trip To Zurich
As a kid, my dad traveled a lot for work, catching flights to far flung destinations like Japan, Germany, and Italy. I thought it sounded so glamorous. I remember asking him once what his favorite city in the world was. Zurich, he said. And ...
Salem, MA: The Spookiest Family-Friendly Destination for Fall
When you think perfect small town for a spooky fall trip, you might think Sleepy Hollow or Amityville, but we think Salem, Massachusetts. Home of the infamous Salem Witch Trials that plagued the tiny town in the late 1600s, today it’s quite ...
A Walk In The Redwoods: Family Activities at the Santa Cruz Redwoods RV Resort
When I heard the news, a wave of relief so great washed over me, I felt the unexpected strain of tears, bits of moisture managing to squeeze through. Until that moment, I hadn’t realized our family camping trip to Santa Cruz Redwoods RV Resort ...
A Local’s Guide to Family Friendly Cleveland
I know my hometown doesn’t have the best reputation. After all, we sometimes get called the “Mistake on the Lake.” The idea of Cleveland being a center of tourism was such a joke, a local comedian made a fake tourism video when Cleveland hosted ...
How to Save Your Family Vacation When Everything Goes Wrong
When I first heard rumors about the French transit strikes, I didn’t think much about them. After all, our vacation was weeks away. Surely I could keep those reservations for our dream trip to Paris.
How to Plan a Safe Labor Day Weekend with a Toddler
Labor Day weekend is that amazing time of the year when you can comfortably enjoy outdoor activities but totally decorate for Fall! And I am so here for both! As I resisted the urge to start baking the first of many batches of pumpkin cookies, I
A Local’s Guide to the Best of Kid-Friendly Nashville
As a native to Nashville, Tennessee, I love to tell everyone about my home city. There’s just something special about the Nashville way. We smile and say hello to strangers. We help each other recover after floods or tornadoes. And we never, ...
Our First RV Trip: A Beachy Way of Life – Review: Pismo Coast Village RV Resort
It’s the dividing line between youth and age. It was about 63 degrees at the beach where we camped at a nearby Pismo Beach RV park. A sharp wind made me wish I could retract my head into my body like a turtle. At the same time, my boys, 10 and ...
RVs for Families 101: Tips to Prepare You for Your First RV Trip!
We bought a travel trailer and went camping this summer like everyone else. Let’s be clear here, we were forced to become experts as we were flying out the door. We learned what we needed to know to have an incredible camping trip in our travel ...
6 Things That Should Always Be in Your Carry-On
Don't leave home without them, here's what should always be in your carry on!
A Cowboy Weekend: Family Fun at the Circle Bar B Guest Ranch
Just because you live in a modern city doesn’t mean you can’t be a cowboy. At least for a little while, anyway. About 100 miles from the skyscrapers of Downtown Los Angeles are men and women who wrangle horses and ride them, spurs clanking, ...
Our 9 Favorite Family Friendly Things To Do in Charleston
Ahhhh Charleston. The land of sweet tea, true southern charm, and humidity so thick it took my hair weeks to recover from our family trip. No joke. Walking around in Charleston feels almost akin to walking through a pool. The humidity is ...
A Local’s Guide To The Best Family Activities In Florence
Between the Medicis and a lot of Caravaggio, for many, Florence doesn’t exactly scream ‘family fun’. While it may not sound like Florence has a lot to offer kids, it actually does have many wonderful activities for adventurous families. Don’t ...
The Only Things You Need to Pack in a Theme Park Bag
In my family, summer is theme park season. I’ve been riding roller coasters since I was 42” tall. Finally tall enough to take on the Jack Rabbit at Kennywood in Pittsburgh PA. Those family trips had a huge impact on my life. Even now, to me a ...
7 Fun Things to Do on Nantucket Island for the Whole Family
A tiny island twenty miles off the coast of Cape Cod, Nantucket, Massachusetts is an old school throwback to a simpler way of life. There are no chain restaurants. No Starbucks. No stoplights. The speed limit never breaks 45 miles per hour, ...
The Reluctant Hiker: When Your Kids Won’t Cooperate (Video)
Being stuck at home doesn’t mean you can’t leave your house. As long as you can find a way to socially distance, you can appreciate the gifts G-d, mother nature or the universe has freely just plopped right into your backyard. Our ...
A Local’s Guide to Lake Erie Beaches
I know, I know. When you first hear the word “Ohio,” you immediately think the word “beaches,” right? No? Well, you should and I’ll tell you why. In my hometown of Cleveland, there are at least 5 beaches within an ...
5 Can’t Miss Tips for Traveling With Your Kids During COVID
I’m not sure when exactly that my family reached their personal breaking point in quarantine. It was likely around the time Chicago was getting doused in apocalyptic rain. So, not only were we not allowed to go anywhere, but we also couldn’t ...
One Dad Discovered What Makes Travel With Kids Easy
For the last four years my wife and I, along with our children, have made our home on the Asian side of sprawling Istanbul, Turkey. There are plenty of benefits to living in what is, for all intents and purposes, the center of the world, and one
What to Do With Kids in Bermuda
They’re not afraid of color. Their buildings resemble an assortment of Easter eggs, waiting to be plucked from dark green hills. If you’re visiting the vibrant main island of Bermuda with your kids, there are many fun ways to explore the ...
7 Essential Stops on a Family Summer Texas Road Trip
As a young couple, my husband and I would power through long drives to see family in Texas. During our road trips, we made a game out of stopping as little as possible, pushing ourselves to the limits of our gas tank. And then something ...
A Local’s Guide To The 11 Best Family Friendly Things to Do in Chicago
After months of steeling ourselves against sub-zero temperatures, battling unforgiving winds and the chills they bring, trudging through snowdrifts that come up to our butts, we use summer in Chicago to its full advantage. Because, let’s be ...
Surfing Indonesia – The Best Family Surf Trip
“I think you’re a little bit of a witch,” Luana said with a slight crinkle of her green-grey eyes, her hair pulled back in a ponytail to combat the Mentawai Island’s humidity. We all sat around long tables eating dinner. She said this shyly, a ...
What to Expect if You Visit Universal Orlando During COVID
The world is starting to open back up. As a travel agent, that’s a relief. As a mom, I need to know how that’s happening and the best ways to travel safely. And here’s what my kids love: Central Florida’s theme parks are ...
The Trick That Saved Our Family Trip Through Austria
There’s only one time I’ve come close to cutting a trip short, calling it a failure, and buying the first available ticket home. I was in Vienna. Yes, beautiful, enchanting Vienna, on a family trip with our kids. Don’t get me wrong, my wife and ...
Why Universal Orlando is Better for Families than Disney World
I’m a travel agent, and a not insignificant portion of my business comes from Disney. I specialized in Disney. I keep up with all the Disney blogs. I know an embarrassing amount about Disney parks and everything they have to offer. So, it feels ...
7 Ways Not to Lose Your Mind Traveling With Kids
If you’ve been keeping up with our crazy shenanigans that are our version of family travel, then you know how wild and unruly (and sweet and thoughtful) my two boys are. If not, take my word for it. Our ...
5 Fun Staycation Ideas to Get Your Kids Excited About Being Home
You know the scene in Castaway where an increasingly insane and unkempt Tom Hanks marks off the days he’s been stranded at sea, watching the number slowly tick up? Today, we can oddly relate. After a full two months in quarantine, our family ...
7 Tips for Surviving a Road Trip With Kids
We’ve all been on those family road trips. You know the ones. They start off pleasant enough. The windows are down, a nice breeze circulating. The Black Keys are churning those good vibes and (miraculously) no one is complaining about the music.
What Every Mom Needs
There’s nowhere to go right now. No matter how much of a break we all need, we will only get it on our half-hour walk during the stay-at-home order. Instead, we get to be together a lot now. But come on! Sometimes mama needs a time out too. Not ...
Woodward Park City: Extreme Family Travel
It’s a side-effect of parenting. Once your kids get close to 10 years old, you are suddenly the least cool person they know. No matter what you were before becoming their mother or father, you are now the voice of Charlie Brown’s teacher anytime
9 Tips to Plan Your Family Trip After Quarantine Now!
I’ve lost count of how many weeks we’ve been social distancing. Though I’m thankful to be healthy and safe, it’s tough. With the weather fluctuations, and staying home as much as possible, it’s easy to start feeling claustrophobic. I’m now at ...
Three Fun Days In Vail With Adventurous Kids (video too!)
It was only because we used snowboarding as the hook. But it was the promise of a family trip to a ski resort in the Colorado Rocky Mountains that enticed the college boy to travel with us to Vail, Colorado over Thanksgiving ...
Travel In Time: Tips to Help the Elderly Cope with Coronavirus
Aline Morris, 80, used to be a world traveler, starting to seriously travel when she was 60 but she stopped traveling by herself a couple of years ago. She has fond memories of seeing the world whether on tours, cruises or buses.
Yosemite for Families: Nature With Pamper (with video)
The wind leads the leaves in a Rumba as their hips sway through a daring gust. The clouds form shapes any contortionist would admire, with a backdrop of blue so deep, your heart can get lost in its gaze. It’s nature our family ...
(Family) Travel In the Time of Corona
When news of a new virus in China first began making minor headlines, I was blissfully enjoying my time in Kenya, helping to build a school dormitory for girls and enjoying the people and wildlife that call Maasai Mara home. Today, schools are ...
What You Need to Do in Pismo Beach For Family Fun!
We’d seen pictures of all-terrain vehicles blasting through sand dunes in Pismo Beach, like Mad Max searching for an adventure in a post-apocalyptic future. It doesn’t seem too far of a stretch based on what’s happening in the world today but ...
Fun Things to Do with a Toddler While You’re Stuck at Home
I’ve heard so many people say, “I’ve never experienced anything like this.” That’s one thing we can all agree on. Lines at grocery stores as if it’s Thanksgiving, toilet paper in high demand, empty shelves where baby wipes used to be, canceled ...
How to Survive a Quarantine with Four Kids (and a Grandma!)
As everyone now knows we are officially dealing with a pandemic of epic proportions. I have four kids, one is medically complex, and my eighty-seven year old grandmother lives with us. I, like others, am limiting our risks. Normally, I am the ...
Exploring Celtic Gardens in Galway
Most Irish school children learn about Brigit, an early Christian saint who was almost as important as Saint Patrick – she even has her own holiday on February 1st (without the green beer). But Brigit is also a significant part of Irish ...
How To Stay Healthy Traveling With Kids
Even before the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) reared its ugly head to disrupt all our lovely travel plans, traveling was a dirty business. Yes, you know there are those of us who don’t wash their hands after going to the bathroom, kids who ...
Experience the Wild Side of Florida
When my husband told me at the beginning of November that he had vacation days to use or lose come January, that’s all I needed to start planning something fun. Since we live in New England, Florida seemed like the best place to travel to in ...
How to Re-Light That Spark in a Disney World
Whenever my fiancé and I start to feel like we’re out of sync or we haven’t had a real conversation in a while, we set a coffee date. And by “coffee date”, I mean that we make coffee in our kitchen or run to the closest drive-thru and then bring
How to Survive a Vacation in Europe with a Baby
After years of traveling to Europe with my mom, and becoming a bit of an addict, I made the conscious decision to continue my adventures once my daughter was born. It would be amazing. I would show naysayers that your whole life doesn’t have to
Cancun for Families: Two Ways
Cancun is big enough for both of them. You can visit one and the other won’t get jealous. On your next family trip to Cancun, visit the sister properties of the Park Royal Golden Cancun and the Grand Park Royal Luxury Resort. Two miles apart in ...
Grand Velas Riviera Maya: An All-Inclusive for All-Inclusive Haters
It's the perfect all-inclusive vacation for families who hate all-inclusive vacations. The Grand Velas in Riviera Maya, minutes from the Cancun airport, will satisfy your luxury trip dreams at a Mexico-affordable price tag!
Escape to Kauai With Family
Only, upon arrival at our Airbnb, our family discovered there was no key left inside the mailbox as promised by the landlord. Learn how our crazy solutions created the adventures that bind us.
Best Food in the North Carolina Mountains
The picturesque towns of Highlands & Cashiers, N.C. are at the top of our weekend getaway list! Check out this guide for the best food in the North Carolina mountains.
No Spoilers! What to Expect from Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
The time has come, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is finally open at Disneyland. See what the experience was like, what to expect, and whether our expectations were met in this no spoilers guide.
7 Tips for Mammoth Summer Fun with Crazy Kids
Although I wanted him to be brave, part of me pictured his hands losing grip on the rope suspended to the branch above his head and his little body landing with a dull thud onto the sharp rocks. Besides our screams of terrified excitement, Gull
How To Survive Your First Flight with a Baby
When I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, everyone was quick to tell me that my traveling days were over. Determined to prove them wrong and continue to explore the world, I made the decision to take her with me. Was it challenging? ...
The Most Family Fun You Could Have at Winter Carnaval and Quebec City
Sometimes it is great to escape the heat of LA for early winter in Quebec City. From a massive snow carnival to a chocolate museum, there is no shortage of things to do #familytravel #quebeccity #weekendgetaway
New Years Eve Fun with Kids in Los Angeles: 2020 Style!
So maybe you’re not hanging out at swanky restaurants in sequin dresses knocking down champagne bottles until 4 in the morning now that you’re traveling with kids but you can still have a great time! If your New Year’s Eve ...
LAX-it: The Terror Confronted of the New Lyft & Uber Pick-Up Zone
The terror of the changes getting rides with Lyft and Uber at Los Angeles International Airport, or LAX, is upon us. Read how you will survive.
Behind the Scenes at Disney: An Invitation to Explore
Do you love the magic of @Disney and have always wanted to peek behind their curtain? Well, now you can. Read on.....
Seeking Balance in New York City
I recently took a weekend girl’s trip to New York City. (And no, that is not a misplaced apostrophe, because there was only one girl on this trip – me.) That’s right, I did New York solo. I did visit and spend time with friends, but much ...
SATW Convention in El Paso: VIDEO Reverbs Storytelling – From Russia With Love
This is the story of my family’s journey through Russia, the Soviet regime and escape into the New World. In 2019, I became a member of the honorable writing organization, Society of American Travel Writers or SATW. These are a group of ...
An Oasis Adventure in Irvine
Until recently, Irvine, California has only existed as a blip on our family road-trip map – between the freeway drive from Los Angeles to San Diego. We’d see high-rise buildings, malls and hotels whiz by. Nothing to draw us in. ...
Attraction Review: Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure
Universal Orlando’s perfectly named new coaster is definitely both magical and an adventure. When the Wizarding World of Harry Potter first opened in 2010 at Universal’s Islands of Adventure Park, a visit to Universal Orlando Resort immediately ...
What to Expect at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
I consider myself to be a mid-level Star Wars fan. I’ve seen all the movies, but I’m not familiar with the other mediums in the Star Wars franchise. Still, since I saw the first movie as a kid, I’ve loved the adventure, triumph, humor, and even ...
Adventures by Disney SoCal Escape: How To Get Behind The Scenes at Disneyland
I love Disneyland, so when my son and I were invited to experience the 4-day Adventures by Disney: Disneyland Resort and Southern California Escape, I was beyond excited. But even I could never imagine the amount of pixie dust that was about to
Hop On – Hop Off Bus Tours: An Affordable Way to Travel with Kids
I’ve spent a good deal of time on the top of a double-decker bus – and not just in London where that sort of thing is expected. In quite a few different cities, double-decker bus tours have allowed my family to see the sights, get around town, ...
A Magical Family Adventure in India
The following post was written by Jennifer Spatz. Jennifer enjoys combining family travel with the opportunity to give back as much as we do. She also values getting to know local cultures in authentic settings. We are hoping to join her ...
Winter in Lake Arrowhead with Kids
For some reason, our Santa Monica beach family always went looking for snow and winter fun in Big Bear Lake, never Lake Arrowhead. In the summers, it was always back to Big Bear, to try our luck at fishing, which ...
The ABC’s of Food Tours with Teens
Whenever my sons and I travel to a new city, we always take a food tour (at this point, we’ve taken at least ten). It initially started because we wanted to try a famous food from a specific area, like beignets in New Orleans, BBQ in Austin, or ...
Cave Kayaking with Kids! Santa Cruz Island in Ventura, California
It’s not something I thought could happen so close to the urban sprawl of Los Angeles. Yet, here we were, looking through a rainbow of ocean mist as dolphins below escorted our Channel Islands ferry to our cave kayaking adventure. Their long ...
Cutting the Line: A How To Guide For Your Fav Theme Park
We’ve all told our kids a thousand times not to cut the line because it’s rude and selfish. But what if there was a way to cut a line that was neither rude nor selfish? Intriguing, right? One of the biggest – and most consistent – ...
A Volunteer Vacation Every Family Member Will Love
Guest blog post by Jennifer Spatz, CEO & Founder of Global Family Travels The most memorable family trips are ones that offer experiences beyond just relaxing or spending time together. A vacation that combines a bucket-list adventure with ...
Walking the Streets of New York City
Two Great Walking Tours in NYC New York City is a walking city. Now, the idea of a “walking city” may seem strange to anyone from L.A. because we have a reputation of never walking anywhere. Ever. But one of the coolest things about New York is ...
Extreme Family Vacations: Beekeeping (VIDEO)
This Thanksgiving, we took a turkey break and went in search of bees. Rather, we had heard about a bee tour we could take at the Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort & Spa (which, by the way, looks to be a very family friendly resort, we ...
Cruising the San Francisco Bay with Teens
a kayaking adventure San Francisco’s nickname is The City by the Bay, so when I traveled to San Francisco last December with my two teenaged sons, we decided it would be fun to see the city from the bay. “San Francisco is a great place for ...
Crashing the President’s House with Kids
Traveling To History with Teenagers Visiting the home of our current president in Washington, D.C. is not as simple as showing up and knocking on the door. The advanced planning necessary (which includes contacting a member of Congress in ...
Aulani, A Disney Resort and Spa : Seeing the Real Hawaii
A Cultural Guide For Adventurous Families (VIDEO) I was pretty certain, at that special age when everything is mortifying, that attending a luau in Hawaii is a type of embarrassment specifically reserved for tourists. I was 14 and I knew it all.
A Spooky Adventure in Baltimore: Walking the Poe Trail with Teens
October is the Perfect Time to have A Spooky Adventure with Edgar Allan Poe in Baltimore - https://go.shr.lc/2NNtcMo @lafamilytravel @BaltimoreMD @Samdfriedman226 #familytravel #travel #Halloween
Making History Cool: Philadelphia with Teens
Thanks to Lin Manuel Miranda and his Broadway smash hit “Hamilton,” U.S. History has never been cooler, so now is the perfect time to hip-hop on the bandwagon and take teens (and pre-teens) to Philadelphia to see “the room[s] where it happened.”
Grab a Bigger Piece of this World With Your Kids – Global CommUnity
Wouldn’t it be great if Pancho Villa could step out of a history book and shake your hand on your first trip to Mexico? What if he told you tales of his revolutionary escapades? (Or his stint in Hollywood while they filmed them?) Or sang folk ...
A Fun Family Summer Staycation – Hyatt Regency Westlake
We’ve never done a staycation. I’ve never seen the point. Our house is fine. We have a pool. We have a grill in the backyard. We have a great view of some pretty hills (ok, they’re often brown but they’re better than ...
A Long Weekend In La Jolla Shores with Kids
This is more than just a travel story. It's a love story that takes place on the road. Its latest chapter took place in La Jolla Shores, California. It's a tale of two families who used to live in the same town and spent a lot of time together. ...
Finding Your Alternate Universe
A shorter version of this article first appeared in the Acorn. I recently had the chance of sitting down with prolific yoga master, Shiva Rea, for a fireside chat. OK, maybe she was driving on the freeway and talking to me through her cell phone
7 Tips For A Fun, Romantic Trip to Lake Nacimiento
If you've been married for longer than a minute or are even dating someone for more than 6 months, you know. Relationships take effort. You have to really work at "Happily Ever After"
Flying Over Trees – Ziplining in Wrightwood, California
It was news to us. We didn’t know our son Kaleb was scared of heights until we rode the Ferris wheel at California Adventure. When our pod started climbing and swaying, he threw himself on the floor and hid his head between his father’s knees. ...
A Spooktacular Howl-O-Ween at the Great Wolf Lodge
It started on our family trip in the lobby of the Great Wolf Lodge in Garden Grove, Orange County. A big, black spider clung to the ceiling, its sharp fangs hovering over the little guest’s heads, an eerie spiderweb covered the entire ...
2 Moms, 4 Boys and an RV: 7 Tips on Enjoying Family Camping
What could possibly go wrong? Four boys jostling in a small space, no husbands to pawn them off on for a few seconds of peace? Well. This. This could go wrong. And it did. Over and over again. But that’s not the whole story. The idea was ...
Glamping in Ventura
Before children, camping was an adventure. We got dirty. We drank during the day. We slept on the dirt with only a thin layer of stuffed polyester protecting our bodies from the rocks. We cooked on grills powered by fires we painstakingly built ...
Giving Mothers the Gift of Peace
(This article originally appeared in YogiTimes Magazine – I just added all these groovy pictures) One thing no one ever tells an expectant mother is the arrival of her beautiful, cooing little bundle of chub will be the departure of her ...
Splashing Around at the Great Wolf Lodge
When the Great Wolf Lodge in Garden Grove, CA first opened, I didn’t see how an indoor waterpark could survive, or even be of interest, in Southern California. Who would want to go? Leave the sunshine for a bunch of indoor waterslides? I ...
The Los Angeles Zoo – A Walk On the Wild Side
I’m not really a zoo person. I want to get excited about the animals and the obscure, rare anacondas crawling around the other creepy bugs ~ but I know if I actually encountered those things in the wild, I’d probably step on them. Or