Originally Posted by
DC777Fan
Bali is really, really far from Chicago... almost as far as you can get, really for a place that's inhabited. In a direct line, it's 500 miles farther than Sydney, Australia. I am not sure I'd do that with kids 2, 5 and 8. .
As a parent of kids 2, 5 and 7 (also flying out of Chicago), I completely agree with this sentiment. My kids like traveling, and the furthest vacations I want to voluntarily take them on are to the caribbean.
The Caribbean is really beautiful, the older ones can start to snorkel and it's pretty easy to access. Almost all of the caribbean is one connection away, so you can make it it <10 hours. Aruba has a direct flight from Chicago (but fills up early), so in <5 hours you can be in the southern caribbean. And, you can use all sorts of awards and airlines and alliances depending on what you're looking for.