America with kids

[DragonMamma]

Hi all

We are trying to plan a 2.5 - 3 week holiday for summer next year.

There are 7 of us with 3 kids of 11,11,8. We would like some parks of sorts but don’t want Florida for the entire time.

Does anybody have any suggestions of routes etc? We don’t want to be on the go constantly and would ideally like the best part of a week or so in a beach resort or similar.

Help!

There are some fantastic areas of Florida away from the parks.
Maybe hire a car and head to the west coast, Anna Maria Island, Marco Island, Fort Myers Beach, Naples, Siesta Key are all lovely, laid back areas.

We took ours to Boston, up the coast and then to Cape Cod for the beach. We never went to theme parks but we saw whales, museums, ate wonderful fresh fish, visited historic villages and saw fantastic countryside. I recommend it highly. There is so much to do and see.

I wouldn't recommend leaving Florida if you're only there for two/three weeks. We did 28 days in NY, Florida and LA with two kids (12, 9) in 2013 and it was bloody exhausting. Last October we did three weeks just in Disney/Universal and it was much more manageable.

You could hire a car and drive to Miami/Fort Lauderdale but too much travel beyond that just makes everything rushed.

We did Tennessee - flew into Atlanta & drove through Mississippi, Memphis, Nashville. There was load to do with kids. We then drove up to Pigeon Forge (did a couple of days at Dollywood which was excellent). Pigeon Forge and Gaitlinburg are great places with plenty to do. No beach but stayed in a hotel where it's Christmas all year round , and had a pool. The Smokey mountains are beautiful.

I think it was my favourite ever holiday. DD was 7 at the time.

How do you all do with hot weather? That is what should determine if you go south or north. Summer in the south is v hot and v humid, if you dont like that you should aim for New England ish

Have you thought about California? We did a trip from San Francisco to San Diego a few years ago, it was the best family holiday we've had!

You can do some theme parks in LA, the studio tours are good too.

Florida isn't just theme parks. Check out the everglades and the Florida keys.

If budget was no object I’d go to LA and do the parks there combined with beaches

Florida will be much cheaper but there is a small chance of hurricane in the summer. Like everyone else said - no need to leave Florida for a beach resort. The gulf coast beaches are the best IMO.

But the heat and humidity are horrid in the summer in Florida. New England is sunny, laid back and, believe it or not, great beaches there too! Just all round a better place to be.

Thanks all! We’ve decided to stay in Orlando for a week, have a couple of nights on the coast and then cruise from Miami to the Bahamas. So everybody is catered for 😁