Travel with Children - Help needed - Family vacation spot (kids aged 8, 6 and 3)

Hi,

Am trying to do the early stage planning for a family trip in July/August 2013.

We're based in the UK and as the title says will by then have kids aged 8, 6 and 3.

In the past we've enjoyed cities like NYC, Seattle, Vancouver, Singapore, KL, Perth, Sydney, Copenhagen & San Diego. Many of these have a good zoo/hands on science museum etc.

If the weather is right, beaches are also a hit, as indeed are inland resorts (like Palm Desert).

We're stuck with the school holidays which run from mid July to early September. Let's rule out Florida as we were there this year, and probably Australia as it's too far away.

So we want a 2 or 3 centre holiday with hopefully good weather and probably a mix of beach and city. Whilst not averse to going back to somewhere we've already been, it would be nice to try somewhere new.

Hong Kong had been on the list but the weather in August is bad (although by Singapore standards it looks distinctly average).

All thoughts welcome!

Many thanks

Tony

What about the Caribbean? Aruba is technically out of the hurricane belt.

Or a cruise? Disney does very good cruises for kids that age. Plenty to do for everyone.

A cruise doesn't really float my boat if you'll excuse the hopeless pun.

Aruba might be possible, but that only seems to cover off the beach aspect and it's a bit of a pain to get to from the UK - choices seem to be KLM via Amsterdam (Skyteam = :td:) or BA/AA via Miami (Miami customs = :td:)

Hopeless pun lol!

But seriously, cruising is a great family vacation because it solves a lot of problems. Unpacking just once, keeping everyone occupied, seeing different sites without the headache of the physical displacement with tots in tow... But rule out the Caribbean this time of year. Like Florida, it rains (if there are exceptions to this, places in the Caribbean which are possible, please speak up!)

Disney, quite frankly, is expensive for what it is. Many other companies cater to families with small children. Most only have kids' clubs for those 3 and up so this would be good timing. But look at other markets, depending on what you want. I've done the Med with kids around those ages twice. We were on Celebrity. The ports though were very hot and crowded. Big drawback. There are lots of cruises headed north, Norwegian Fjords, Baltic States, etc. if that would interest you...

I used to live in Hong Kong and yes, it's a bad time to visit. There are other areas in Asia which might be more suitable.

It might be too close, and therefore more suitable for something like a half-term break, but the weather in Austria is fantastic in July and August. We went there in July 2009, when my children were 3 and almost 6.

Both Vienna and Salzburg have terrific facilities for children. For example, there is a children's museum embedded in Schönbrunn Palace by Vienna, as well as the Prater fun fair. Salzburg has a great science/natural history museum (Haus der Natur) and children's audio guides for the palace. Both cities also have plenty of beer gardens and weinstuben with outdoor seating and play facilities, as well as parks, gardens, etc.

The only thing that they don't have, really, is the beach. However, you could consider going to a Kinderhotel in the countryside for a third stop. A number of them are built by mountain lakes, and the swimming there is delightful.

Have you thought about a trip to Africa, for a mixture of animal safaris and beach resorts?

My top suggestions in Africa would be Tanzania and South Africa.

I had considered Africa but thought a 3yr old would be too young for game drives (and I recall long drives between lodges when I did a safari in Kenya a couple of decades back).

Also, I thought it wasn't a good time to go to South Africa as it's their winter.

Happy to be corrected, mind you!

Thanks

I had considered Africa but thought a 3yr old would be too young for game drives (and I recall long drives between lodges when I did a safari in Kenya a couple of decades back).

Also, I thought it wasn't a good time to go to South Africa as it's their winter.

Happy to be corrected, mind you!

Thanks

I think by August S.A. weather will not be that bad, and there are certain advantages - much better deals and availability, and also better game sightings. However if properly hot weather is a priority then I agree it's not the right time.

Another advantage of SA is that they have a number of small private safari parks where you can see a lot of animals in a relatively short time. You can take your own rental car and control the length of your visit, so this might work well in your situation. A Google search on "South African family friendly safaris" brings up a number of interesting options.

We really enjoyed SA when we went this past January, but I would be hesitant to take a 3 year old (or even a 6 year old). If you don't want to do a game drive, or if you only want to do the sort of drive that can be done in a regular car, then that is fine. We had excellent self-drives in Addo and Pilanesberg, for example. Likewise, the Cape Town area is beautiful, as is most of the Southern Cape.

However, I would be VERY VERY hesitant about going to a rural safari camp with children. We ended up getting stuck at a "primitive" camp due to the catastrophic floods in the Kruger area, and while we were among the lucky ones who did not need to be evacuated by helicopter, we were trapped on a newly-created island with hyenas, lions, and cape buffalo. Hyenas and children are a terrifying combination - the hyenas are bold, and barely dissuaded by the presence of a full-grown adult, and to them children just appear to be an easier-to-catch meal than a springbok.

Now, you wouldn't be in the rainy season, and it's true that disasters can happen anywhere. Also, I'm sure that there are plenty of people who would feel comfortable with kids in the bush. For me, though, the need to guard my children 24/7 so that they weren't brutally killed was probably the most frightening experience in my travel life (and I've been in some pretty bad situations in the past), and I will be much more respectful of the power of nature, literally red in tooth and claw, in the future.

... we were trapped on a newly-created island with hyenas, lions, and cape buffalo...to them children just appear to be an easier-to-catch meal than a springbok.... the need to guard my children 24/7 so that they weren't brutally killed was probably the most frightening experience in my travel life...

Well done for protecting your children. I have never heard of what you describe happening before, but it's good to know what might happen.

Sounds like Swiss Tony should stick to the private parks!

Couple of thoughts have come to mind...

Costa Rica or Sri Lanka - any thoughts from anyone welcome!

Well most people love Chicago in the summer. Lots of museums, tall buildings, parks and even beaches. You could also couple it with Wisconsin or Michigan if you want to add an outdoorsy place.

Machtech, thank you!!!!

I'm trying to talk my dh into Austria this summer as we speak. You have supplied me with much needed ammunition (I should add that he's fluent in German but detests going anywhere they speak it because it "reminds him of work" ugh!) The battle continues...

I also admire how you so eloquently described that absolute horror of what happened in S.Africa, yet you managed to inject a bit of humor. That springbok comment was classic! How many hours were you stuck?

Btw, for the record, I've also been to S.Africa. Loved it! Went to one of those parks as well. Highly recommend it. This is the only scary story I've heard but there are some other risks to that beautiful country, such as personal security in some areas. Do your homework and weigh it up, whether it's wise for these ages or not.

Well done for protecting your children. I have never heard of what you describe happening before, but it's good to know what might happen.

Or poorly done for putting them in that situation! But thanks for your response - I hesitated to post my story, because I didn't want to look like I was knocking your suggestion, but I just thought Swiss Tony should know what some of the risks were. Aside from the couple of days of terror, we did really love visiting SA....

Machtech, thank you!!!!

I'm trying to talk my dh into Austria this summer as we speak. You have supplied me with much needed ammunition (I should add that he's fluent in German but detests going anywhere they speak it because it "reminds him of work" ugh!) The battle continues...

I also admire how you so eloquently described that absolute horror of what happened in S.Africa, yet you managed to inject a bit of humor. That springbok comment was classic! How many hours were you stuck?

Btw, for the record, I've also been to S.Africa. Loved it! Went to one of those parks as well. Highly recommend it. This is the only scary story I've heard but there are some other risks to that beautiful country, such as personal security in some areas. Do your homework and weigh it up, whether it's wise for these ages or not.

Good luck with your Schlacht for an Austrian vacation! Your DH's resistance is funny - I also speak German, and I knew for years that I didn't want to visit Austria. My DH finally wore me down, and I am so glad that he did.

Humor was pretty much the only way we were able to get through the flooding. We didn't want to act as scared as we were, so that the kids could stay calm. When we finally got out, though, we drove 11 hours straight to the monstrosity that is Sun City, booked a hotel, put the kids to bed, and locked ourselves in the bathroom and sobbed!

We were only trapped for 2 days, but it felt like a lot longer. This wasn't our camp, but this place (http://www.tandatula.com/tanda-tula-blog/major-floods-in-the-timbavati-and-surrounds-2/) was pretty close, and the pictures look similar to what we saw, as do the ones from this news story (http://www.iol.co.za/saturday-star/hundreds-airlifted-to-safety-1.1218307).

(Incidentally, I agree with you about cruising - we did a Greece/Egypt/Turkey cruise that we loved when the kids were smaller.)