USA family summer holiday trip - but where?

[Travelfoodi]

We are planning a trip to the US for 10-14 nights during the UK summer holidays end of July or August. We are a family of four (kids aged 6 years and 1 year).

I have heard that Boston is a good option with kids. However there are no direct flights from Manchester where we are and I feel it is a bit of a pain having to either drive to London and stay there or fly to Dublin first. There are direct flights to New York. We are wondering whether to stay in New York for a couple of nights before going somewhere more geared towards young families like Boston.

I have heard that there are some picturesque sights/beaches up the East coast but honestly don’t know where to start. We would be happy to do another domestic flight if necessary.

We do want to have a more laid back holiday for at least half of it. Young kids and bit cities don’t exactly bode well.

My questions are:
• where is good to go with young children in the US (ideally near New York) that doesn’t require too much heavy travel?
• what type of accommodation would you recommend?

Things we like as a family:
• beach, walks, picnics, amusement parks, child-friendly museums, parks
• good food
• bit of downtime
• bit of shopping

I would also like to note that we aren’t too fussy about where we go, as long as we won’t get too bored. The main thing for us is getting to experience some of the US which we have always dreamed of. We aren’t well travelled and want to tick a trip off the bucket list.

If you want to go to the US in the hottest part of the summer fly via Dublin to Denver and spend time in the Rockies. Or get a connection to Jackson Hole and go to Yellowstone and the Tetons.

Another one to say try and go via Dublin!

Would you go to Florida?

I’ve been to America quite a number of times, including when my youngest was a baby and oldest a toddler. My eldest is four and has been five separate times. I get her a photo album afterwards and she loves to look through them. If you want to go then absolutely go 😊.

Boston is on my bucket list. You could also drive to Salem and take a look at witch museum. New York will be busy but loads to do and see obviously. You don’t have to go at a fast pace either.

For what it’s worth, we’re going to America in the last two weeks of August and haven’t booked it yet either!

Florida in high summer is hellish. Save it for another time of year. Last year the ocean got over 30C.

I’d fly into Boston and go up to Maine, Acadia is fab and if you go far enough north you might see Moose (we saw a few at Lazy Tom’s bog near moose head lake) also, whale watching from Bar Harbor was amazing.

I think Boston is also the better bet. For the future, Washington has great access to forests and scenic drives as well as seaside towns. Never ever underestimate distances in USA though! Trains are also useful. You can go down the coast from Washington and do historic parts of Virginia like Williamsburg.

Back to Boston - do go out on a whale watching trip! Absolutely great. Cape Cod will be rammed in the summer and it’s a long way to Maine! We stayed in Falmouth on Cape Cod. On the way we went to Plimoth Plantation. Well worth it.

You might also like Cape Ann, NE of Boston. Further up the coast is Kennebunkport. More great beaches. perhaps less busy than CC?

Tbh, I wouldn't go anywhere on the eastern seaboard south of New Hampshire in June, July or August - the humidity is awful.

California for me - hot but not humid

Sounds like a really good option @mathanxiety- what's the humidity like in summer ?

I’m in Manchester, in your shoes I’d fly via Dublin fine though if you use aer lingus it might be possible to fly direct to New York in one direction and then to/from Boston via dublin in the other.
remember if you do stop in Dublin en route you do US immigration there which then means a much quicker exit in the US

Sounds like a fun trip OP, hope you get something sorted.

We did a 3 week California/Oregon/Washington road trip when our daughter was 9m old, took her car seat, just accepted not isofix for the hire car, all great, no issues and she was fine with the heat.
Did another 3 week California road trip when she was 7 and again had an amazing time, she loved it and still talks about it, again fine with the heat.
This summer we're off back to Oregon and Washington for another road trip, she's 9 now.

Definitely go via Dublin, but aim for a flight that arrives around 9am, as pre-clearance gets very busy from 10.30-11am.

Everything, especially food and drink is insanely expensive at the moment, in supermarkets and eating out.

Washington is a fabulous place to visit. We’ve done a lot of travelling and it’s our fave place.

I would go to Canada, climate is much more agreeable in summer and the political climate is much more agreeable too. I’ve done New York with little ones (not in summer) and it wasn’t ideal, for me it was a two day lay over for specific reasons but wish i hadn’t, certainly wouldn’t book a holiday stateside in cities with little ones, they won’t appreciate it either

@minnienono Having just come back from USA you don’t notice the politics but, as Brits, people did want to speak to us about their politics and their utter embarrassment about what’s happening. Everyone who spoke to us was candid but worried.

No-one else is going

Yes, give yourselves a solid three hours to get through security and USCIS in Dublin. Don't dilly dally in the shopping/ restaurant area. And don't buy the cheapest bottled water. It tastes of baking soda.

Eating out in the US isn't that expensive - depends on where you eat I suppose. You do need to factor in a tip for service though.

It’s so so so so so so so so expensive in the US. We’ve just done two weeks on the East Coast over Easter hols.

we did Manhattan, DC, Philly and Cape May! Loved Cape May. We hired a car from DC. Train from Manhattan to DC. Kids aged 10 and 13, cost us around £10k for two weeks and we bought flights with points. Be prepared too to feel the politics anxiety - esp in DC.

Humidity by the lake shore isn't bad at all. A few miles inland you'll feel it. However, indoor AC and AC in the car means you'll sleep and drive comfortably (not at the same time!)

The further north you go the less humid it gets.

Midges and mossies mean you'll need bug spray though. There are lots of options for bugs besides DEET, and gels, ointments, or calamine type lotions if you do get bitten.

Sunscreen is essential - even with a refreshing breeze, you need to be aware of the UV strength, which weather apps will provide. It's worth downloading a local weather app.

Yes to this!

Both places are lovely in summer. You'll need a car. It might be interesting to drive back from Denver or Cheyenne to Chicago and fly back from there.

It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I love the vastness of the Plains, seeing massive storms playing on the horizon or even driving through them, and stopping at gas stations along the way gives you a real feel for the country.

It's amazing to see the terrain change from sage scrub in the west to the sandhills to the tilled prairie. You might see the last of the combines at work in Kansas or Nebraska as they move north harvesting the wheat crop. Then as you approach Chicago you see the more rolling countryside of Iowa or southern Minnesota before you cross the Mississippi, with pastures and varied tillage.

Stay in an old fashioned motel to break your journey. The old prairie towns along the railroads usually have cheap and clean places to stay, sometimes with a little swimming pool.

Oooh, but don't go anywhere near the corn fields in July/August! Driving through Indiana/Illinois in July was how I learnt about corn sweat. There's so much corn in parts of the midwest that it actually raises the humidity.

People say derogatory things about US food but honestly if you are in a more rural area in summer the produce is fabulous. The hot summers are good for something.

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Dropping back in to recommend the Adirondacks in the north of New York State - lakeside beaches, mountains, artsy little towns, farmers markets, history Absolutely beautiful, peaceful.

@mathanxiety I have literally just done this, except direct to Denver via Heathrow. You have advocated a lot of driving. We finished in Bozeman, Montana, and flew back to Denver. Denver Airport is a complete unsigned mess by the way. Building works are making it unworkable.

Regarding the trip. Depends! In June, Yellowstone was much busier than we thought. The heat was building and upon leaving Denver it was 85 degrees. It’s a trip we’ve wanted to do for a while but wouldn’t do again.

Denver has some great museums. Good food scene. Jackson was surprisingly poor for food - we spend money in good restaurants. We are not cheap food folks! However you won’t find top notch food. There’s no notion of a 5 course tasting menu for example. Very similar menus just about everywhere. Food plates are still mostly very large! Even “small plates” could be shared as an almost main meal.

The traffic in Yellowstone was heavy. Each time an animal was spotted, 50 cars would block the roads in an instant. Best driving was Beartooth Highway in Wyoming and Old Trail Road in Estes Park. I would not go all the way to Chicago but I would be wary of temperatures in July and August.

Forgot to say. We did some self catering and food is expensive. Even in places like Safeway. Lots of pre packaged food and finding a farmers market was elusive. Remote supermarkets run out of some fresh produce too. Or just don’t stock it.

If you are in a big-ish town Trader Joe's is better value.
We lived in the US pre kids and it was the splurge option, now it's cheaper!

We went to Falmouth in Cape Cod every year for about 10 years starting when my youngest was 2 years old. We always rented a house - but prices have skyrocketed. There’s loads to do with wee ones near Falmouth - beaches, parks, boat ride to Martha’s Vineyard, wee aquarium at Wood’s Hole, bike hire for the bike path etc. Boston is only about 70 miles away for a day trip.