"THAT was a great vacation" -- please share especially if you have a larger family

[Janie Grace]

We have done very simple vacations in the past -- think off-season beach house or renting a cabin at a state park. But we are getting close to sending our first child (of five) off to college and we would like to do a big, special trip as our "last time guaranteed we are all together" vacation. We could do spring break 2016 or next summer. We have to work around school breaks because some of them are in school now. 

 

We were talking about renting an RV and doing a big "out west" tour (Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, California). We live on the east coast and this is something our kids have never done. However, I am wondering if all that time in a vehicle is really going to be as wonderful as my dh thinks. ;)  The kids range from 5-16 (right now) and I can imagine the younger ones being restless and not really feeling like the places we go are much of a pay-off. 

 

That led me to think about a cruise, where there might be a greater variety of activities that they'd enjoy. However, just after a cursory glance, it seems like the cruise lines are either fancy, party-oriented, or Disney. Disney could be fun I guess (though we aren't huge Disney people) and at least people wouldn't be rolling their eyes at our 5-kid family, but it looks like it would be pretty expensive (over $10K maybe, for a 6-day Caribbean cruise -- can that be right? and then there's a lot of stuff that's not included?). We do have money set aside but I am not sure we want to spend that much. And I'm not sure a cruise is our "scene." 

 

I'm at the very beginning of thinking and budgeting. But I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Have you done a big, memorable vacation? Where did you go and why did you love it? 

 

We are adventurous folks -- always up to try something new. We like things like water skiing, white water rafting, fishing, water parks, hiking, horseback riding, etc. We like museums and history. We aren't huge "sit on the beach every day" folks, but we do like that for a few days. We want to make memories together and we want the trip to appeal to everyone. A good mix of fun and rest is nice. And not a TON of work for Mom would be great (hence the cruise appeal, but I'm not convinced on that...)

 

This sounds like a pretty tall order, but I'm hopeful you guys will have ideas!  :D

 

 

[Dmmetler]

We're going to Reno/Lake Tahoe/Truckee and then to San Francisco over 2 weeks. Lots of options there for the mountain stuff, history, and then for sit on the beach, more urban things. There are a lot of cabins that would be very nice for a large family in the Reno/Tahoe/Truckee area.

 

 

 

[creekland]

You can't beat the National Park idea IMO.  I only have three kids, but we've done a couple of those major trips and they still all remember them fondly.

 

On our first trip we let every person in our family pick a spot they wanted to see.  Then we connected the dots and saw some added things along the way.  By everyone choosing something, it kept all interested/involved.

 

My kids chose Mt Rushmore, the Giant Redwoods, and Four Corners.  We adults chose the Grand Canyon and Grand Teton NP.

 

Interestingly enough, favorites ended up being the Badlands (added into Mt Rushmore and loved FAR more by all), Bryce (added in after Four Corners/GC and loved far more by all), and Yellowstone (added in along with Grand Tetons).  Nonetheless, it was fun seeing everything and discussing our thoughts through it all and after it all.

 

For that trip I made 3 photo scrapbooks.  The first thing oldest did when he brought his fiancee (now wife) home was pull those out to show her.  It kinda made me wish I'd done the same for our other larger trips.

[PrincessMommy]

We did the big family (6 kids 2 parents) trip to Italy and it was a great adventure.   At the time, the cheapest flights were into Milan, so we planned from there - going to the lakes, then to Venice and then down and ending up in Rome.  We never made it south of Rome, there just wasn't enough time.  But, we hit some great places... Venice, Cinque-Terre, Vinci, Lucca Florence & Rome.  We mixed it up with fun stuff for the kids: Cinque-Terre, water bus rides in Venice (Gondola's are ridiculously expensive), outdoor parks, roman ruins, Catecombs,... and then museums and churches.

 

We area also not big on sitting on the beach all day everyday (we can take about 2-3days of the beach).  

 

The last trip we did before our oldest got married was to Acadia... it was also wonderful.  It's so beautiful up there.

[Amira]

The summer my oldest sister graduated (I was 9) we went "back east" (so the opposite of your out west trip :)) for three weeks with a van and pop-up trailer.  That was definitely one of the best family trips we ever did.  Sure, it's a lot of driving, but it was great.  You could not go as far as California to cut down a little on the driving. Or I think there's enough to do just in Yellowstone to make a trip there worthwhile.

 

The best trip dh and I have done with our kids was a road trip in the Yucatan to see pyramids.  We rented a car for 10 days (if you pick up and drop off at the same location the car rental isn't too terrible), stayed in simple hotels and ate local, delicious food for $50/day for four of us (food and lodging both included), and had the most amazing time ever. It wasn't hard to plan because we didn't book hotels before and we were flexible about where we went- all we had to do was be at the airport on the right day.  

 

 

[skimomma]

I also agree about that a national park tour would be a lot of fun.  Keep in mind that Disney would be worse than prison for my family so that is where we are coming from.  Do you only have one week?  If so, the RV plan means you will be driving more than vacationing if you want to go all the way out west.  Could you do the RV thing but stick closer to the east coast and still feel like you are "vacationing?"  In spring you could go south and hit parks that way.

[Janie Grace]

You can beat the National Park idea IMO.  I only have three kids, but we've done a couple of those major trips and they still all remember them fondly.

 

On our first trip we let every person in our family pick a spot they wanted to see.  Then we connected the dots and saw some added things along the way.  By everyone choosing something, it kept all interested/involved.

 

My kids chose Mt Rushmore, the Giant Redwoods, and Four Corners.  We adults chose the Grand Canyon and Grand Teton NP.

 

Interestingly enough, favorites ended up being the Badlands (added into Mt Rushmore and loved FAR more by all), Bryce (added in after Four Corners/GC and loved far more by all), and Yellowstone (added in along with Grand Tetons).  Nonetheless, it was fun seeing everything and discussing our thoughts through it all and after it all.

 

For that trip I made 3 photo scrapbooks.  The first thing oldest did when he brought his fiancee (now wife) home was pull those out to show her.  It kinda made me wish I'd done the same for our other larger trips.

 

Where did you stay when you did this? It sounds like a lot of fun.

[Janie Grace]

I also agree about that a national park tour would be a lot of fun.  Keep in mind that Disney would be worse than prison for my family so that is where we are coming from.  Do you only have one week?  If so, the RV plan means you will be driving more than vacationing if you want to go all the way out west.  Could you do the RV thing but stick closer to the east coast and still feel like you are "vacationing?"  In spring you could go south and hit parks that way.

 

No, if we want to, we could wait until summer and take several weeks. One possibility would be cheap flights to somewhere west of us so that we don't have to drive the entire country. 

[Ottakee]

We did a big 2 week trip out west last summer, driving from Michigan.  We did the Badlands, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, etc.  Some of the biggest hits were the Badlands, Custer state park (in SD) Wildlife loop where the kids got to pet and feed the wild donkeys, see buffalo up close, etc., feeding the fish at a fish hatchery, eating lunch at the base of the mountain at Jackson Hole resort (dh and ds rode the tram up but the girls don't like heights), horseback ride in Idaho, fishing in Idaho, etc.  My kids liked the small museums, state welcome centers, etc. more than the big tourist attractions.

[skimomma]

No, if we want to, we could wait until summer and take several weeks. One possibility would be cheap flights to somewhere west of us so that we don't have to drive the entire country. 

 

In that case, I say go for the national park "grand tour!"  Rent an RV and go!  I cannot think of a better vacation within the continental U.S.  My family would jump at the opportunity.

[sassenach]

To me, cruises seem like you'll spend more time apart, with everyone doing their own thing. I vote RVing.

 

Our best vacations have been beachfront houses, or National Park trips. Our 2 very best trips were 3 weeks long (we've been able to pull that off exactly twice). That length of trip really slows things down.

[creekland]

Where did you stay when you did this? It sounds like a lot of fun.

 

We did a combo of tent camping (some NPs take reservations, some have walk in options), inexpensive motels, and NP lodges (these often need to be reserved a bit in advance).

 

We also took one month for this trip and it was a true road trip - spending one or two nights in a location rather than doing "in depth."  Later we did more in depth on places we liked (like Yellowstone).  This trip was a discovery road trip - our first time taking the boys out west and wanting them to see a huge variety of what was there.  In hindsight, I wouldn't change that.  It was wonderful.  (We rarely drove past dark as our goal was to sightsee.)

 

If you want more in depth or have less time, you might want to restrict the area of the choices more.  Our restriction was merely continental US and west of the Mississippi River.

[StephanieZ]

Personally, we love beach vacations. However, in season, they are very pricey to rent a nice on-the-beach house, so if you're limited to spring break or summer, I'd look at renting a house in the Bahamas or Caribbean. The beach will be divine, and the flights will be most of your expense. You could do it for 10k. To me, that'd be way more fun than a cruise, as we aren't cruise people either, as we aren't into crowds. We like desolate beaches. I'd look at the Exumas in the Bahamas, as for that many flights, the cheaper flights to the Bahamas will be a big savings. I'd love to go the Eleuthera, and I have a friend who spends a month there every summer who reports that it is divine. If I were planning a summer/spring beach vacation for our big family, that's where I'd look. There are lots of great house on VRBO.

 

Alternatively, a road trip out west sounds great, and I like those, too, so if you have loads of time, that's a nice option. I'm not familiar with RV vacations, and I'd fear that gas+rental cost would add up quickly. If the RV thing appeals, then that's a decent option. However, travel time eats up the vacation quickly. I'd be more inclined to go ONE place -- maybe two -- and spend a week or so at a nice cabin in MT or somewhere else, then take day trips (maybe a couple nights) to one or more of the big parks. If you want to really visit Yosemite, Grand Teton, Yellowstone . . . then you need to reserve NOW for in-park lodgings. We are doing Grand Teton & Yellowstone (and 1-2 days in Glacier) this summer, and we nailed down reservations at least 6-8 months ago, and even then, our options were limited. For a big group, you really should reserve a full year in advance.

 

 

 

 

[plansrme]

We are not beach people, either, and much prefer active vacations.  We loved Disney when the kids were younger because, the way we do Disney, it is an active vacation.  I lose weight at WDW, to give you an idea of how go go go we are.

 

Once my kids were 8-14, though, we turned to the national parks.  I didn't have high hopes for our first, which was to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, but it was so danged much fun.  Truthfully, the only reason we ended up going was that I remembered loving it when I was 14, and my oldest was then 14, so we took a leap of faith.  I really couldn't remember why I liked it--it's been a while since I was 14.  We flew into Bozeman and rented a car from there.  We did not have a strict agenda, but I had reservations and had highlighted some hikes that sounded appealing.  Even my then-eight-year-old hauled himself deep (miles!) into the Yellowstone back country without a peep of complaint.  We canoed, rafted, hiked and hiked some more.  We attended several ranger talks (highly recommend this).  

 

We went to the Rockies the next summer.  Loved it also, but Wyoming is my favorite, so far.

[FriedClams]

So, with your preplanning, how much would an rv run for a two week trip? What would you budget for gas? (Assuming one of the big "let's see the west" trips).

[medawyn]

I will...fourth... fifth... the National Parks, Yellowstone and Grand Teton, especially. The drives are beautiful, and there are lots of fun stops - hikes, picture vistas, small funny museums - along (much of) the way.

 

However, if you possibly have the budget, might I suggest a cruise to Alaska in lieu of the Carribean. It's on my list of vacations I want to take. My aunt and uncle took their 8 kids just before the oldest graduated, and they all remember it as one of their best family vacations. The kids would have been 17-6.

[Ottakee]

So, with your preplanning, how much would an rv run for a two week trip? What would you budget for gas? (Assuming one of the big "let's see the west" trips).

We checked it out and between the cost of the RV rental, BIG increase in gas, campground fees, etc. it was much cheaper for us to just drive our mini van the 5000 miles we did and pay for a hotel.  We just used hotwire.com for many of them once we knew what city we wanted that night.  We were fine with the basic hotel and were pleased with all of them.  Most had a pool and free breakfast which was nice as well.

We ate sandwiches, snack food, etc. for one meal a day and then ate out the other so our food cost wasn't that much.  For us though eating out might be 2 foot long subs with chips splite between us, taco bell meal deals, etc...........most meals were not the sit down type meal as our budget didn't include that very often but we didnt' miss it a bit.

[readwithem]

We went to Glacier for our honeymoon, and have been to many national parks in the west.  We have loved every one of them, even though my fear of heights kicked in big time when descending into the Grand Canyon.  I slowly worked my way back while the rest of the family journeyed on.  I still enjoyed it - just from the relative safety of the ridge :)

 

We've been to Yellowstone, The Tetons, Glacier (again) - loved every one of them.  Glacier may be our favorite - the Going to the Sun Road is amazing.

 

Before you decide on a cruise, I would strongly encourage you to spend a good chunk of time on Cruise Critic, a forum similar to WTM.  We have never wanted to cruise, but in planning a trip for this summer I read some threads there about cruises through the area where we're traveling (Norway).  That definitely convinced me we are just not cruise people.

[Pam in CT]

Another vote for the National Parks.  I put together a last minute Yellowstone/Tetons extended family trip 10+ years ago -- the park lodges were sold out, but I found 2 adjacent ski condos in Jackson Hole right outside one of the back entrances to Teton NP.  It worked beautifully -- extremely affordable, plenty of room for everyone to spread out, laundry, easy to provision, and just minutes from the hiking, ranger talks etc.  (If your kids haven't done Jr Ranger Badge programs -- highly recommended.)  

 

Another trip we flew to Pellston Michigan, took a shuttle to the ferry to Mackinaw Island for a few days, then ferried the other way to the Upper Peninsula and picked up a (rented) RV there.  It was our first RV experience and my husband had his doubts, but we did fine -- gorgeous state parks right on the lake shores.  8 people in most RVs will be pretty cozy - you might want to bring a tent along as well and set it up alongside and toss some of the kids out there...

 

And last year the kids/dog/I drove, and my husband flew down and met us, in St Simon GA, where we rented a beach cottage within walking distance to the cute town.  Kids could be very independent, dog had a blast, parents could take romantic shore strolls, everyone was happy. 

[Mama Geek]

I know I always say Alaska, but it is set up for boon docking in an RV.  There are tons of places that you pull off to the side of the road next to a river and just relax.  The Milepost tells you where everything is.  You can fly up there and rent an RV.  If you decide you want some advice in for the areas surrounding Anchorage, let me know.  There is tons of stuff to do.

[wendy not in HI]

The summer before our oldest dd went to college, we went to Disneyland for a week.  That was really fun for our family - 4 kids from 7 to 18 (at that time).  Then the next summer we went to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons for 4 days (we were on our way to a family reunion in Oregon, so two weeks all together.)  It was an awesome family vacation.  We were walking around the sulfur springs one day and my dd, 15 (at the time) said - this is sooo much better than Disney!

 

The summer we went to Yellowstone, we lived in South Dakota and drove to Yellowstone (about 8 hours) and stayed in a trailer at Flagg Ranch (there are some trailers there that are owned by the military, it was pretty cheap, and clean. Showers/bathrooms were clean.)  Flagg Ranch is on the road between the Tetons and Yellowstone.  It was a great place to stay, but we spent a lot of time in the car driving into Yellowstone...

 

I wouldn't want to drive an RV around Yellowstone, but many people do, and if you decide to do that, you can make reservations in different parts of the park, changing campsites every few days, and really explore around the area where you are camping.  Or you could make reservations at different cabins around the park and do the same thing without the RV.  

 

Here is a rough itinerary of our 4 days (really just 3.5 days) in Yellowstone (there is some much to see and do, we could have easily spent 2 weeks there)

 

Sunday - drive to park

       - Roosevelt for a horse ride to Old West Dinner Cookout

       - drive to watch for wildlife at sunset (saw wolves and bears)

Monday - White Water Rafting in Jackson Hole

      - Tetons - drive around

       - picnic and hike at Jenny Lake

Tuesday - To Yellowstone early to see animals (saw mama bear and cubs, elk, moose)

       - Waterfalls

       - stink pots

       - Old Faithful

       - ice cream

Wednesday -Jackson Hole

     - ride tram up

     - big hike (awesome hike - amazing views and so many wild flowers)

     - ride Gondola down

     - swim in the river near our campsite

Thursday 

      - up early and on the road to Oregon 

 

We are living in VA now.  We are hoping to spend some time in Acadia National Park this summer.

 

 

 

[creekland]

My kids also all love National Parks (or the beach) more than Disney too.  They like Disney and have fun while there, but they love the vistas, unique special things, and hikes of the NPs.  Often when at Disney they'll look at each other and mention how seeing the "real thing" is so much better than animatronic or plaster.

 

YMMV

[lewber]

Another vote for Jackson Hole, the Tetons and Yellowstone. It is really amazing there. So much to do.

Our other favorite wide age range vacation was NYC.

[LinRTX]

We like lazy vacations. The ones where we drive or fly somewhere and then stay. Two of our favorites were renting a house in Leadville Colorado and hiking in the area. We also took a day to do white water rafting and a day to do horse back riding. There are also some fun museums in the area.

 

Another we rented a condo in Flagstaff Arizona and went to the Grand Canyon and other area attactions. It was in the middle of several. There is also a fantastic observatory there so we went and looked at stars throught their telescopes several nights.

 

Linda

[AK_Mom4]

DD13 says her favorite vacation ever was the one we took last summer - flew to Colorado Springs for a week (oldest graduating), flew to DC for a week and then flew to Florida for a week.  She loved all the free Washington stuff - memorials, museums, zoo and also spending a few days at Disney and on the beach.  Not low-cost, though - we saved for two years to afford the Grand Tour.

 

My older kids agree that their two favorite  vacations when they were little were both beach trips.  We went to Bandon, Oregon for a week one year and Destin, Florida for a week the following year.  Both of these were combined with long-haul road trips in a rented mini-van listening to audiobooks, but even so the week at the beach trumped Disney (which takes some doing!)

 

If I was doing moderate-cost with the mix of ages you have, I would do Bandon again.  The beach was fun for all ages and my kids even enjoyed touring the cheese factory.  We rented a beach-front house because we were there for a family reunion and it was fairly affordable.   We played tons of card games, beach combed, swam and cooked strange and wonderful foods.  The breeze from the water made the heat tolerable for me.

[datgh]

We rented an RV last summer as a family and had a blast.  IMO it is so much easier if you have your food and bathroom facilities on board when traveling especially out west were things are so spread out. I also liked having our own food because I never feel great on a trip where we eat all the meals out. We rented the RV from Cruise America. They have been around for years (we rented from them over 20 years ago too.) They do a pretty good job of it.  Each family member had one big suitcase that we had to get all our clothes in plus a sleeping bag and a bath towel  (We flew to Phoenix from the east coast). I had also stuffed cooking utensils like spatulas in mine. All the RV campgrounds we stayed in had coin operated laundry facilities so you don't have to bring clothes for more than a few day. Once we picked up the RV (Cruise America often has shuttle services from major airports) we headed over to WalMart for pillows and food, a frying pan and a big pot. Always good to stock up before leaving a major metropolitan area because it will be cheaper. I had a shopping list all put together to cover our meals for several days. You do want to have reservations in the National Parks as far in advance as you can and possibly other RV parks too depending on the season.  We were in Arizona the first week of May and winged everything with the exception of the Grand Canyon because it was still early in the season.  Some National Parks have buses that will take you through the park so you don't have to move the RV and others don't.  Yosemite is not RV friendly in some spots. Banff and Jasper National Parks were great for them.  When we were in Banff we pulled over and had lunch so we could watch the wildlife near the road.  At night we would sit in the front seats of the RV eating dinner and watch the Elk.

 

Keep in mind that everything out west is far apart so think about how many hours you want to spend driving. 

[momofkhm]

I have friends who have 3 kids and did the whole out west trip thing.  They did camping, no RVing.  Their kids were younger then... maybe 10 (twins) and 13.  The scariest night for the parents was when the twins were in one tent and they and the girl were in another and a herd of bison walked through the campsite.  I know they went to several national parks.  The whole trip took 3 weeks-ish.  North Carolina to out west and back.

 

We've done the Disney cruise.  Something for everyone but time spent apart was part of it.  We only did one excursion (extra fee) but we still enjoyed it.

 

The big trip we all remember and enjoyed was doing a wagon train trip.  My folks paid for it, so I don't know how much it was.  6 days/nights.  Tents some nights, wagon others.  The wagons went fast and we didn't know you had to request them.  Out on horses every day.  1/2 day on horse, 1/2 day in wagon - out to picnic and then back to campsite.  Lots to do and lots of sitting.  You could pay extra to ride out and back.  They did all the cooking.  http://www.wagonswestwyo.com/ Found the website.  Great time.

 

 

[FloridaLisa]

Yellowstone and Grand Tetons was awesome! You could easily spend a week in Yellowstone and another 4 - 5 days in the Grand Tetons. Though they are near each other, each park is so different. 

 

Alternatively, as a kid, I loved our trips to the Southwest -- Grand Canyon, the National Parks of Utah (Bryce, Zion, Arches, Canyonlands), Mesa Verde and then Santa Fe, New Mexico. LOVED that and would so love to re-create that with my own kiddos!

 

Lisa

[JaniceO]

We have 4 kids and vacation quite a bit (hubby is Navy, so we've been all over the place). If you asked my kids, they would hands down, without a doubt, say the best vacation ever was the cruise we took. But we've never taken a big National Parks trip before (we have actually spent most of my husband's career OCONUS).

[Soror]

My family is getting ready to do the Southwest tour, leaving in a few days, can't wait, hope we can say the same as many here that it was the best vacation ever.

[justme824]

We travel a lot. The one vacation that has been requested as a repeat was our Yellowstone / mt. Rushmore trip. After that our tour through Utah National Parks. The other super awesome trip we did was drive down the Mississippi River over 17 days. We started in Minneapolis and ended in New Orleans.

 

We've done the cruise thing, talk about doing it again, but when it comes time to plan the next trip we always pass on the cruise.

[Melinda in VT]

We generally enjoy all of our vacations, and we had a great trip to Yellowstone a couple of years ago, so I highly recommend the national parks idea.

 

However, if I had to plan one big, special trip, I'd probably choose Europe.

 

We really like France for a family vacation. It's easy to get weekly house rentals for reasonable rates, many sites offer good discounts for families (as opposed to Ireland, where I was told that the family rate included "two adults and a reasonable number of children" and "reasonable" turned out to be 3), and there's a ton of stuff to do if you pick the right area.

[BrittanyM]

I grew up in a family of five and I have very fond memories of the times we would pack up our tent trailer and go on trips to national parks and visit out of the way museums! Yellowstone, Grand Tetons and Glacier would be an awesome trip, those are gorgeous places! If you do do that make sure to visit the Buffalo Bill Center of the West museum in Cody, WY!

 

Another option if you want to combine beach/national parks would be to fly to California and do a trip just in California. You could do LA, Disneyland if you want, rent an RV or just do hotels and visit Joshua Tree, Death Valley, Sequoia, Yosemite, Gold Country, San Francisco and the central coast. Maybe find out what your kids would like. There really are so many options I hope you figure out what is right for your family!

[VaKim]

Like you, we did a "last hurrah" mega-trip the year before our eldest kids (twins) left the nest. We went to extremes though, and sold our house and half our belongings, put the dog into foster car, bought a huge RV that could comfortably accommodate all 8 of us, and hit the open road. Not one regret.

 

Our favorite destinations were the national parks out west, in and around the Rocky Mountain area: Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Bryce Canyon, Glacier, etc. Though I also have to admit that our family liked Washington DC as well. You can read my travel blog for ideas (linked in signature live, though still incomplete).

 

I am a HUGE proponent of our national park system. I really wish every single kid in our nation had an opportunity to visit them regularly, or at least once in their young lives. You just can't imagine the beauty this country has to offer until you see it in person. Such national treasures we have!

Nothing to share with op, but I am so jealous of you, Kinsa! You are living my dream that will never happen because we are now too old and will never have the money.