Trying to find something the entire family will enjoy on vacation can feel like an impossible task! Your children might not even be able to agree on what they like to do. It can be a nightmare to try and plan around all this fuss, but luckily for you, we’ve got some great ideas for you. Keep reading for a whole list of family friendly vacation ideas that everyone can enjoy. Each suggestion on this list has at least one thing that everyone can do. No matter what happens, everybody gets their way at some point on this trip!
1. Disney Parks
First up on our list is a Disney theme park! Of all our family friendly vacation ideas, this might be the most popular. You can head to Paris, Orlando, Hong Kong, Tokyo, or California for this adventure depending on your ideal location. If you love the sun and you don’t mind scorching temperatures, then Florida is a good choice. But, if the heat isn’t really something you cope with very well, perhaps Paris would be a better option. Each location has its own unique set of benefits, but at the end of the day, your family is going to be at a Disney park no matter which location you choose, and that’s the important thing. Nobody is ever going to be unhappy at Disney — it isn’t known as the happiest place on Earth for no reason!
There is a variety of things for you and the family to do here, so there will never be a dull moment. For the thrill seekers of the family, there are adrenaline-pumping rides to get your blood pounding in your ears–from Space Mountain to The Avatar Ride in the Animal Kingdom. Or, if you like something a little slower paced but just as exciting, head over to any of the smaller rides such as the Flying Carpets or the Spinning Teacups. If none of these are your cup of tea, there are still various performances going on throughout the park for you to enjoy. You should also take the time to meet some of your favorite characters and get photos of this magical time!
Even More at Disney…
The different Disney resorts offer so many other experiences like horseback riding and camping, special visits with Disney Princesses, and the new Star Wars’ Galaxy’s Edge. No doubt there will be something for every interest on your family’s list! For many, there is always going to be a love of all things Disney, so this is a holiday suitable for everyone. But even if you aren’t a diehard Disney fan, the variety of rides and entertainment options ensures that you can still have the time of your life!
2. Beach Holiday
Our next suggestion is that you go on a beach holiday. These are more relaxed than other types of holidays as they mainly consist of lounging around on a beach, or by a pool and soaking up the sun. If your family is looking for a relaxing trip, then this is certainly something to consider. All you need to do is to google the best beaches in the world, look at some photos, check out reviews of fellow vacationers, and then choose your favorite place.
There isn’t much to do on a beach holiday, but that is the whole point! Spend your days lazing around, going for a swim, getting a tan, and strolling along the sandy beaches. You will also find entertainment options, like shopping and restaurants, that are located not too far from the beach, so this is something to do in the evening when the sun goes down. You might want to think about renting a villa for the duration of your stay so you’ll have your own private space to cool off at the end of a long hot day in the sun.
3. A Place in the Sun
Similar to a beach holiday but a little different is booking a holiday somewhere purely because it is known for being sunny! A lot of people like to go to destinations where there is a lot of sunshine, especially if you live somewhere that is quite rainy or dreary. Escaping to a location where the sun is always shining sounds amazing, as long as you remember to book somewhere that has a pool! You’ll score lots of points with your kids if there’s a pool, lake, or ocean for them to cool off in, at the end of a long day in the sun.
If you are just looking for a holiday in the sun, there are lots of destination options all over the world. You might want to do a little fact-checking, however, to check for amenities, what’s close by to explore, day-trip adventures, and evening entertainment options, You don’t want to book a place online after looking at the photos and then learn there’s nothing else in the area to do. Because no one will be excited about a holiday that gets boring fast.
4. Theme Parks Galore
If your family is into theme parks, there is a way to make this into an entire holiday. Whether you want to travel to various theme parks in the United States, or you want to take this even further and go from country to country experiencing the best theme parks, it is going to turn into one action-packed vacation. Now, this is obviously going to be quite a busy holiday for you and the family, so the best thing that you can do is to research the theme parks you want to go to and then come up with an itinerary. Figure out where you want to be, which day you want to be there, and how long you are going to spend at each place. Keep in mind that some parks are bigger than others, and you might want to stay more than one day.
This is only something to consider if everyone in your family likes some kind of ride. We are not saying that you all have to love thrill rides. All theme parks have different levels of excitement for you to choose from. So, if you like things a little more mellow, you can head over to a slower ride while the others tackle the bigger ones. Or, you can just sit and relax, as you are surely going to be on your feet again soon enough!
5. Road Trip!
Or why not take the entire family on a road trip!? This is another favorite of our family friendly vacation ideas. Can you think of anything better than traveling together, heading down the road with the windows down, an awesome soundtrack on the stereo and feeling free? There isn’t much in life that beats spending time with your family, and all being in a car together traveling from place to place guarantees this! You might want to stop every couple of hours to take a small break, though. You won’t enjoy restless and irritated kids who are tired of non-stop driving.
You should choose your destinations, and enjoy each place you visit. But, what about when you are actually in the car? Well, that is where you need an amazing music playlist, some kind of electronic devices for everyone to look at when things quieten down a little bit, and some awesome car games to play. You can play I Spy, 21 questions, or Who am I? And these are just a few suggestions that everyone can play. There are board games that have been condensed to travel size that your children can play, if you want a little bit of peace and quiet for a while!
We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now have a few ideas of family friendly vacation ideas that everyone can enjoy! Good luck, and we hope that you have one of the best family vacations ever!
Great ideas here but the one I would leave out is Disney Parks. If my daughter wants to go there, she can do that as a graduation present after uni in 20 years time (not a huge fan of Disney but I would be more concerned about suffering with open wallet surgery after a visit to one of there theme parks). 😀 I prefer to take my family to nature places like mountains, beaches, lakes etc, which also means education as well as having fun. 🙂 Road trips are also great, we done a few in Europe already and my daughter loves it. I hope my second child will be travel-savy as well when she/he is born in the new year.
Congratulations on the upcoming birth of another child! I put Disney Parks at the bottom of my list, too, but it has been pretty magical going with my grandchildren!
Road trips and beach holidays are always on our list! We try to avoid the crowds (and standing in line), so those always appeal because they give us some degree of flexibility to enjoy things at our own pace. We just got back from a road trip to the mountains, so I think the beach is next for us!
Sun and beach are always a good idea. Even though we don’t have kids, one can never go wrong with a little bit (or a lot) of sunshine. Road trips are also fun and in my opinion, best enjoyed with breaks every few hours. We are actually getting ready to go on a road trip soon and this is a good reminder to get our playlist together 🙂
Disney Avatar is awesome. That’s all there is to say about that. I am not 100% sold on road trips for family fun. You have to get in tune with how far the fam can travel in a day and what they consider an attraction worth stopping at. One thing though, it saves a lot of money to drive with the family than buy a set of plane tickets for everybody.
Some great ideas for all the family – who doesn’t like Disney? I always pick road trips, because you can add destinations for everyone in the car. But your suggestions for keeping the family occupied are super useful!
Great ideas for family travels. All are good ones but I dont know how successful would be the road trips, especially if the kids are very young. At least we didn’t enjoy that time. Beach is evergreen with everyone. Age doesn’t matter.
These are great ideas. I am a big fan of road trips. I used to take a lot of them when I was younger and I enjoyed it. You get to see a lot of different things that you dont see if you were on a plane. Disney is always great, especially if you have the funds.
I miss theme park-ing! I think that is totally ageless fun. Since I’ve moved to Asia I am less inclined to go on rides though because I don’t necessarily trust the equipment and maintenance. The US has so many safety regulations, that I’m spoiled. I know I sound like an old fuddy duddy, but ‘SafetyFirst in my old age. 😛