mothergooseof4 Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 We are a family of six. Dc are 15, 12,10, and 4mos. We live in East Texas and I would like to keep the traveling part to a minimum due to expense and the fact that we are traveling with a little one. I would be interested in waiting until September if necessary because I want comfortable mornings and evenings, while maybe warm enough for swimming during the day....a heated pool would work as well. But, if we went to a somewhat cooler area, Colorado perhaps, we might be able to do a trip soon. I do not want to have to cook or worry about food at all. Most vacations are not a rest for me since I still end up preparing food or packing snacks on top of always making sure we have the gear we need and just general keeping up with everything. So, yeah, all inclusive is sounding good. I thought about a Disney cruise (have no idea if we could even afford one), but they don't even have any availabilities out of Galveston until winter 2015. Anyone know of some jewel of a place within a few hours of me? I know we will have to pay more in order to have the type of retreat that I want, but we rarely go anywhere and when we have, we go on a budget...which results in me taking on a lot of the same everyday tasks. I want someone else to plan the activities, gather the supplies/gear, and have food available that I don't have to worry about. I want to simply worry about dressing my family, packing a diaper bag, and picking what we do for the day. However, we are far from rich, so lower end of this type of trip is still preferable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitestavern Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 What about a dude ranch? We stayed in one in Colorado for just one night on a cross country trip last year and thought it would be a ton of fun to go for a longer time period. I believe most are all-inclusive. When I was looking, there were a LOT out there, so you may find some budget friendly options. I'd just start by Googling dude ranch and whatever state you want to look in, ie "dude ranch New Mexico". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
love2travel Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 In order to avoid cooking/cleaning, you'll need a cruise or all-inclusive. We enjoy cruises and have been on several. All the mainstream cruise lines have kids' programs- you don't have to do Disney. Royal Caribbean sails out of Galveston. Carnival also sails from there but we've been disappointed in our last 2 Carnival cruises and said "never again." We also enjoy Norwegian and Holland America but I don't know if they are in Galveston right now. September and October are nice times to cruise, with much lower rates than summer. Also, if you wait until November-February (non-holiday weeks) can be found for a great price. There is also the port of New Orleans- we only have Carnival here in the fall. But in November, we have ships from Norwegian and Royal Caribbean coming. We love to travel! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
love2travel Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 What about a dude ranch? We stayed in one in Colorado for just one night on a cross country trip last year and thought it would be a ton of fun to go for a longer time period. I believe most are all-inclusive. When I was looking, there were a LOT out there, so you may find some budget friendly options. I'd just start by Googling dude ranch and whatever state you want to look in, ie "dude ranch New Mexico". Now that sounds like fun! Where did you stay? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitestavern Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 Now that sounds like fun! Where did you stay? We stayed at the Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch outside Rocky Mtn. National Park (http://www.sylvandale.com/) It is a gorgeous setting. Enjoyed a great trail ride. Unfortunately just a few weeks after our visit they were hit hard by flooding, and they had to close up for a while. It looks like they're back in business though. I have friends and relatives that have been to Rocking Horse Ranch in NY, and they highly recommend it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almondbutterandjelly Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 What about Silver Dollar City/Branson, Missouri? They have vacation packages. Or what about staying on-site at a Schillterbahn? The New Braunfels one is really good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In2why Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 You want a cruise. They are the best family vacations when you just want to relax and have fun. Someone else makes the bed, cooks, does the dishes and plans the activities. The kids clubs have lots of activities so you can have plenty of family time and some time alone with dear hubby. Carnival is usually the least expensive and if you choose a 7 day cruise in the fall or winter you can avoid the party atmosphere on any of the ship's. Tampa is a good place to cruise from and we had an amazing experience on the Carnival Legend. As someone else mentioned RCL and Norwegian have good cruise options too. Disney is too rich for me. I can take 3 cruises for what they charge for 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alicia64 Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 This site is awesome for family vacations -- for big families too: familyvacationcritic.com -- click on "destinations." Alley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 Lost Pines resort near Austin is nice closeish to home. Texas has several fun places like that. Many states have similar things if the resort atmosphere is what you like. We plan to go to Atlantis in the Bahamas with a family the same size next year, and I hear it is very similar, no cooking, no bed making, no cleaning anything, and I a, looking forward to it. :) It is pricey and requires passports though. There are other all inclusive islands that do not require passports though. My ds wants to swim with dolphins though, and Hawaii is out of the question lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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