First real vacation with kids - where to go?

We've always traveled with our young son on some exotic trips - and my top advice to you is, wait until they're older unless your idea of heaven is renting a house and staying put. Even 4 will be a slight nightmare. The fun travel for us started when he was 6. At that age you will still only have a couple hrs of activities you'll be able to do in a day, and you'll always be in parks even in the coolest city, and you'll never get to shop or go to dinner at a reasonable hour ........ but theyre way way more able to handle it than when they're younger. Remember that young children get exhausted by MENTAL stimulation - time in a new city will wipe them out. Major meltdowns will happen. No one will be able to walk long distances. What if you get lost? what if there's no food they'll eat? what if they get sick from just a change of diet? What if it's super hot and they can't handle the heat. It's all happened to us. 

If you must go while they're under 6, just rent a house in a village somewhere and rent a car too - like in Italy. Have very modest expectations and low stimulation. The one other suggestion I'd have is Club Med - actually very fun for kids, with sitters, and not all of them on beaches.

I have a couple of suggestions, depending on your family's interests.  If you love nature, animals, and a little adventure (mild rather than rugged), I would go for Costa Rica. We took our son when he was six, and we all had a fantastic time there.  We floated on a river raft with a guide, where we saw monkeys, a sloth, a caiman, amazing birds, and the most beautiful little jewel-like frogs.  We did a zip-line experience in the canopy of the rain forest, we ate lunch at a restaurant where huge iguanas slowly ambled around, we went on a dolphin watch and also saw whales and flying fish, we saw macaws and toucans up close. There were lovely and quiet beaches (though you have to watch waves and undertow). The people were friendly and so many spoke English that I was easily able to get along with my rudimentary Spanish. The country is well developed for green tourism, so the businesses tend to be small and personal.  We were based in Arenal and then at an eco-resort on Drake's Bay, and both places were great.  When my son was little we also traveled in Europe, and there I think that the mode of experiencing the place is more important than the choice of place.  By that I mean that if you go to Paris (or London or Madrid or Venice) you can have either a really awful time or a great time, depending on your pace and how you choose to explore. Going to a big European capital in the summer can often be very trying because of the heat and the sheer volume of tourists, all trying to see the same things. I took my son to Paris with my Mom when he was four.  We went in November. The weather was chilly and gray, but I enjoyed the city much more than I had when I had been there in the summer -- the heat in the city can be miserable in the summer, and in November the lines getting into the elevator for the Eiffel Tower, for instance, were a breeze. The Parisians were less harassed by tourists and thus more accommodating. And then selecting sites to visit is key... the Louvre is really just torture for kids, unless you do it in very small doses and pick your exhibits judiciously (mummies...). But the Rodin museum has an outdoor section where kids can run around. The parks are magnificent, and you can meet Parisian parents at the playgrounds. The big squares (like the one in front of Notre Dame or the Place des Vosges) are great for running around.  And living in an apartment rather than a hotel room is also key (air bnb and vrbo.com can both help with finding one). You can elect to live in a neighborhood away from the center of town: more bang for your buck and less touristic.  In the summer you might consider instead a small or mid-sized city as a base, like Padua in Italy or Dresden in Germany or Chichester in England or the like. Do a little research and find a town that has amenities (parks, pool, entertainment) with good train connections to other interesting places (from Padua to Venice or from Dresden to Prague are easy and fun day trips). Just living in a foreign place and getting to know the daily life can be more fun than sight-seeing. And I have to put in a word for Scandinavia, a very kid-friendly region. In Denmark there are islands with great little villages: one that I loved was Ærø, and the northern tip of Denmark, Skagen, is fantastic.  Happy travels!

I would go to Sweden because they are very kid friendly and there are lots of things they can do .  

Check out these ideas:  http://www.visitsweden.com/sweden/Things-to-do/With-kids/Theme-and-amus…

Another place I would go is Denmark and take the kids to  LegoLand    https://www.legoland.dk/en/about-us/about-legoland/    and the Tivoli Gardens which you have to see http://www.visitdenmark.co.uk/en-gb/denmark/tivoli-gardens-gdk424504

Hi! I am really happy for you. Have you thought of a cruise? Personally, with small kids a cruise maybe ideal because the flights can be so long and now with all the rules and airport security; it can take hoursI would think of a cruise. We lived in Australia, but that is 14 hours from LA. That is a beautiful place to visit and you can easily spend two weeks traveling thru Sydney and and the Great Barrier Reef. It is all kid friendly and we found the Australian people lovely. You could also fly to Australia and take a cruise from Sydney. The best time to visit in my opinion, would be about November, as summer starts Dec 1st. Also, when you book, make sure you look at school holiday's in Australia because that bumps up the prices. I am happy to provide anymore information if you are interested. If not, enjoy all your suggestions :) Amy

It all depends on when you plan of traveling. Your money will go a lot father if you plan a trip on the off season. That doesn't mean it will be cold or undesirable, just less crowded and lower rates for airfare and accommodations. Also consider how long you'd like to be on the plane? maybe you're littles would handle a 8 hour flight okay or even a 4 hour flight would be a struggle. I would say get a taste of what your family would really enjoy and start there.  You could toss a day trip to a beach into the mix. Northern Europe is very kid friendly; and public transportation is very easy over there. The Caribbean can give you a taste of beaches, old world culture and country adventures. Best of luck, this is the fun part!

When my kids were almost four and six, we took them to Costa Rica for 9 days. They were a little (or a lot) too young to appreciate the trip, but they had fun and enjoyed themselves. We went to the beach, swam at the pool, went on a river cruise to see animals, visiting a butterfly garden, walked in the tropical jungles, saw a pineapple plantation, etc. One day we hired a babysitter for an afternoon and my husband and I went zip lining. We stayed in three places - San Jose (capital), Arenal (volcano) and Manuel Antonio (coast/ national park). It was all perfect. My husband and I had travelled widely and we were ready for an international vacation!

Spain is a wonderful country to visit with kids. Spanish people love children, amid they are welcome everywhere! In particular, look into Barcelona, which has delicious food, beaches, and tons to do.

We've been all over the world with our daughter since she was a baby (she's 17 now).  I have 3 good ideas for you: 1) Barcelona, Spain - I'd recommend getting an Air BnB, live there, and take day trips to Granada (the Alhmabra!), and along the coast in the other direction towards Southern France, stopping in Nimes.  Barcelona has OK beaches, too, for when you want to chill a bit; 2) Sydney, Australia - Very similar to our California cities, with TONS to do with kids, beaches nearby, very friendly people; 3) New England/Quebec - Fly to Burlington VT, see sites there, drive directly to Quebec City (very pretty drive), lots to see and do there (recommend driving about 45 minutes out of town to a spectacular waterfall- forgot the name), then drive down through NH to Mt. Washington (drive of a lifetime!), see sights there, etc., and then drive to Boston and do Boston - tons of history and culture everywhere you look.

If your kids are all interested in walking, I'd recommend renting a house in the Lake District in the northwest England.  We had great fun when our daughter was that age.  Mixed easy walks with harder ones, and the kid-carrying backpack made it all do-able.  Would depend on the older one's stamina.  A week there and then the train down to London for a week.  The pound is way down against the dollar, so your money would stretch a lot further.  Matinee shows, the huge Ferris wheel [if you're up to that], the Museum of Natural History [you can experience an earthquake if they've never felt one!]. 

We have traveled every year with my son since he was 2. He's now 14! I think 4 and 6 are great ages to travel. One thing that makes it fun is your children will shift your experiences, so that you see things you might otherwise not visit - for example zoos or natural history museums.   Also, if they still nap, you and your partner can go off and sight-see on your own while one stays behind. One to two weeks is not long, so I would recommend Mexico or Central America. Other destinations will take two days out of your trip for travel and one to two more for jet lag. Costa Rica is good for the variety of landscape and wildlife. It's very touristed, so therefore very accessible. I did not find it very culturally rich. Belize is small like Costa Rica, and has a beautiful coast and a great rainforest. I loved the culture which is unique. Mexico has loads to offer. We traveled the Yucatán peninsula extensively when our son was very young. We all loved it. We also traveled the Pacific coast. BTW-my son's favorite destination was Queensland, Australia.  Happy travels. 

Lair of the Bear in Pinecrest is great. All the cooking and cleanup is taken care of by college students, and there is free laundry, a pool, and age-specific kid activities (also run by the college students).

http://alumni.berkeley.edu/lair/planning-your-vacation/calendar

At one time it was only for U.C. Berkeley alumni, but now anyone can join the California Alumni Association and attend.

London! We took our kids there when they were 3 and 5. The first time we stayed for a short sabbatical in late spring, which turned out to be perfect timing -- before the big tourist rush, but the weather was sunnier with much less rain than we expected (this was for the month of May). Our kids LOVED riding the double decker buses, pretending that we were locals, doing day trips to castles and estates, riding trains and the Tube, rambling around incredible gardens...it was all so fun (and more affordable than one might expect, if you rent an apt and do most of your cooking at home, take the bus, etc.) and we were surprised to find that, even two years later, our kids STILL remember a lot of the trip, or at least very vivid impressions of their fun times there. There are also all kinds of concessions for kids (free transportation, kids meals, etc) and people were friendly and polite. Tube riders could teach Bart riders a thing or two about etiquette. Have a wonderful time, wherever you end up! And what a thoughtful gift for your friend to leave your family.

Im surprised so many people are enthusiastic about travel with such young ones. That's great. I guess Im kind of like the first poster who said maybe hold off on a grand adventure until they are older, or go to a Club Med or something easy. It takes a certain temperament to want to travel with young ones and all that entails, and I think my husband and I just don't have those temperaments. We even waited til our kids were 7 and 8 to take them to Disneyland. Id see other families with 2, 3 and 4 year olds, the kids having meltdowns, being overstimulated and Id think, ugh, glad that's not me! We wanted to wait until they didn't need naps anymore, had the stamina for Disneyland, and to be able to stay up later without it wrecking them the next day. It was money well spent! We had a wonderful time! We also postponed Hawaii until they were old enough to be good swimmers--8 and 10--and be able to snorkel, hike etc. Again, glad we did. I saw kids having meltdowns because they hated the water, couldn't swim, cranky....I just didn't want to spend thousands of dollars and deal with those kinds of things. But again, I can see from this post that many, many people have done it, had a great time and encourage others to just do it.

When our kids became 9 and 11 we traveled all over--France, Italy, Spain etc. And even then we dealt with stuff you just have to deal with when traveling with kids...if they get hungry, tired or bored, watch out! They will ruin half the day!

With your kids being 3 years apart though you may have to go a little sooner than we did. Our kids are barely 2 years apart, so I can understand not wanting to wait another 2, 3, 4 more years to travel until your 3 old year reaches an age that makes traveling easier. So my vote would be a Club Med or an all exclusive place in Mexico.