If you had $8K+ to take your family of 7 on a 1st REAL vacation, where would you go?

[HSmom25andRN]

I could use some thoughts. We've never been anywhere except Florida to visit family and we spent one day in Magic Kingdom and went to NASA. I have been working forever (or so it seems) to try to raise money for 1 good vacation. My children are now 11,10,8,4,and almost 1 and we're planning on going on a vacation sometime after September 2008. We live in Maryland so we've obviously been to the beach and Washington DC, etc. We'll have (hopefully) $8000+ BUT we have 7 people which will spread it thin.

We could go visit a friend of my husbands in London because we would have a place to stay. The flight would be over $5000 for all of us.

We could go on a cruise.

We could...................I just don't know?????????????????????? Does anyone have any idea for a great vacation that the children would like but wouldn't make Mom and Dad absolutely crazy (I loved Magic Kingdom but wouldn't want to do it for 5 days straight)?

Thanks Angela

[beansprouts]

My dh has always wanted to go to Yellowstone. :cool:

Are you campers?

[*anj*]

London sounds great.
A cruise to Alaska would be cool too.
I guess it all depends on whether you really want to leave the country or not. You could do an incredible tour of the US with that kind of money.

Hurray for you! Sounds like a great thing, no matter where you decide to go! :)

[Surfside Academy]

I love London but the exchange rate is just BRUTAL right now. I think it's almost $2/1 pound. My mom and I went last May and it was pretty expensive. I love Costa Rica too! Very tropical and not nearly as expensive as Hawaii.

[Jennifer in MI]

We just got back from Disney and had a great time, but it wasn't really relaxing! I would think London would be amazing, but again, I would think it would be stressful with the ages of your kids.

What kind of thing are you looking for? Do you want to cook? Rent a house? Or go somewhere full service?

I recently decided that I was going to budget for a true vacation every year. I do not want to cook and I don't want to get in my car. This year we did Disney for 10 days. Next year we opted for the Disney Cruise. I think next year will be more relaxing. Have you checked into a Disney Cruise? We decided to go with them because we won't have to worry about the content of the shows and any entertainment. The older kids can walk around by themselves on the ship. There is entertainment for the other kids too. It just seemed so relaxing.

We're also looking into the Adventures By Disney (are you noticing a theme here? LOL). They have trips all over the country and some overseas as well. (We're saving for one in Rome - the kids get to go to gladiator training. Mom and dad get a full tour of the Colleseum. Mom and dad go wine tasting while kids go gelato tasting! Of course, much of the tour you're together though.) Disney just knows how to cater to ALL ages so well. We're sticking with them for a while.

I've also been tempted by those full service family resorts. I think Sandals has a few. They just look so relaxing!!

Good luck with your decision!!! I LOVE vacation planning.

[HSmom25andRN]

I don't care if I cook and/or drive but with 7 people in a 7 passenger mini van, we really don't want to drive across country or anything. The only real boundary is that we have to be gone no more then 9-10 days. My husband is self employed and we would starve if we left for longer. Our longest vacation was 6 days to the beach untill now (If you don't count picking up our son from Vietnam which took 3 weeks but hubby was only there 9 days).

[jail warden]

There is tons to do, but we rented a condo on the beach and were able to just relax most of the time. The nice thing is you can mix relaxation with fun things to do. Can't wait until the finances allow it again!

[Gamom3]

About 2 yrs ago for 4 days. Family of 5 and we spent about $5500 and that included the flight(we got first class on the way back..they messed up on our tickets so all 5 of us got special treatment!!:D), the resort(all inclusive), a visit to XCaret where we went snorkeling, Chichen Itza..the trip included the bus ride, drinks, snacks, lunch, and a stop at--what they call-- a beautiful sink hole called "Ik-Kil", also we went horseback riding on the beach. We were also able to go snorkeling at the resort, which was RIGHT on the beach.

We had so much fun and our money over there(at that time) was 10x more.
Which made it very easy to calculate the cost of items.
We would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to go back.

[Ellie]

London would be wonderful, too, but if the exchange rate is so bad...but still, London would be wonderful.

What about a state-side cruise, like going up the Mississippi river on a river boat?

[JFS in IL]

to a week or more at a dude ranch near Yellowstone. With all meals provided so I don't have to cook!

[lvbnhome]

Lots to do.. and it's beautiful too!!

[Raders Fan]

The only problem with going to Yellowstone is that everyone will always want to go back there instead of sticking with the family rule of going someplace new for the annual vacation.

[LaMere Academy]

a panhandle beach in FL. They are beautiful and relaxing. That's what I like w/ young kids.

[Renee in FL]

We would go to a dude ranch out west somewhere and take along a nanny so that dh and I could actually do some grown up stuff!

(I have 6dc, with the youngest 4 being 1, 3, 5, and 7!)

[Basketmaker Amy]

Cruises are fun. We were surprised at how much "adult" time we had when we went. Our kids loved the children's program and spent a lot of time doing those activities. We also loved the food and the service. It was nice not to have to cook or clean up!

The dude ranch idea sounds good also...as long as it includes a housekeeper and cook!

It's all about making memories, so whatever you do as a family, you will be blessed.

Have fun!

[Renee in FL]

The dude ranch idea sounds good also...as long as it includes a housekeeper and cook!


That was a given for me!

[Tracey in TX]

I wouldn't recommend Europe b/c of the exchange rate. Consider a dude ranch with on staff child care; Disney Cruise. Yosemite has family-friendly cabins that we've enjoyed. Given the ages of your kiddos, I would lean toward the beach with some fun side trips (amusement park-style) or children's museums. Boston and road trip to NH for the children's theme park?

No matter what, have a great time!!

[Closeacademy]

Hawai'i but then that is always our first choice. There is a site out there called Vacation Rentals By Owner that has great deals on houses and condos that you can rent wherever you want to go all over the world.

I think London would be great too especially if you have a place to stay.

Hope you have a great time wherever you decided to go.:)

[True Blue]

We're going to Disneyland next year but Mexico would be my next pick.

[lynn]

Rent an RV and travel cross country, Travel through new england in the fall, Rent a cabin in the smokies, Go to alaska. I am not a beach person, I don't want to travel abroad until I've seen it all here in the USA, Disney is fun but I would do something more adventurous once in a life time like travelign coast to coast.

[True Blue]

We've done this and went to Mt. Rushmore. It was great. Driving with kids is kind of tiring but it was very well worth it. Alaska is a great idea, too - they even have cruises.

[Amy loves Bud]

I would go here:

Casa del Secreto (http://www.casadelsecreto.com/)

We stayed at this house in 2002 and it was fabulous! There would be plenty of room for your family, a private pool and beach. You can easily go see ruins, go into Cancun or Playa del Carmen, or go down to Xel Ha (our favorite). It would fall into your budget, and even though it is fairly secluded, it is only about 30 minutes from the Cancun airport, so easy to get to.

[True Blue]

How much did this cost you? My dh wants to go to a family resort in Mexico - I've put him off so far. This looks incredible. The kids don't need college do they? We'll just vacation in a new great spot every year. Wow.

[Amy loves Bud]

I want to say we spent just under 3000 for the second floor of the villa for one week (both floors have 3 bedrooms/3 baths and a kitchen). You can rent the entire villa, but we didn't need so much space. The owner was in residence downstairs, and we had total privacy. This price included the meals they provide and use of their Ford Bronco (which was older, but got us where we needed to go). We will definitely go back some day!

[clane]

DH & I can not wait to take the family on a trip to Colonial Williamsburg one day. Then a drive into DC for the Smithsonian :)

[HSmom25andRN]

I had never thought about a dude ranch, Yellowstone, or Mexico. You guys are the best. I'll be busy researching but now I think my problem will be how to narrow it down!!!! I've kind of scratched London off the list due to cost and the incredible jet lag that the younger in my clan will experience. I think it's better saved for later years. Thanks so much for all of your help! Angela