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Teens sometimes get a bad rap. People think they’re hard to please and harder to travel with. But the key to traveling with teens—and keeping the whole family happy—is to...
“’Cause down the shore everything’s all right.” ---Tom Waits, JERSEY GIRL Some see the Jersey Shore as a travel destination, a place to take the family for a couple of...
Thomas Jefferson advised the we should have a revolution every 20 years. He meant government, but the idea applies to anything: If we don’t continually rethink how we do what...
Planning your family vacation can be overwhelming--where to go, what to do, how to get there, you name it. There are a lot of details to planning a summer vacation....
Summertime's almost here – time to start planning your summer travels! We've taken the guesswork out of your planning by seeking out advice from top family travel writers from across...
Air travel can be stressful nowadays with long lines, flight delays and cramped seating. Add luggage, children, strollers and even pets to the mix and you have a veritable powder...
Summer vacations for some families mean active adventures, while for others the summer is a perfect time to start exploring college campuses. Imagine being able to do both in one...
Midwest winters can seem endless. The payoff? Perfect summer temperatures! Each year I vow to savor every minute of the warm weather. Although I can’t put everything on hold, I...
This month we are hosting our first Traveling Moms Instagram meme and we would love to have you join in the fun!
You could visit South Florida without paying homage to the Everglades, but why would you want to? And paying proper homage to the Florida Everglades requires an airboat ride.
Your passport is gone and you are in another county. What are you going to do? Misplacing your passport is enough to strike terror in the hearts of any traveler but imagine you are 15, traveling with your aunt to Paris on your first-ever international trip, and you set down your airplane ticket and [ ... ]
One of the best ways to experience new places is to eat the local favorite. Each country, state, region and even city has a dish that allows you to have a unique culinary experience while visiting. It tells me about the destination and the people who call it home.
Unfortunately, I can’t travel all [ ... ]
Heading to Las Vegas with the family this summer? Not to worry, here's a quick list of my Top 5 picks to keep all ages satisfied: Wet-N-Wild Las Vegas is the place to be this summer. Nevada's premier water park will offer over 25 slides and attractions. Several of the attractions are named after fa [ ... ]
Train travel is often associated with romance and air travel (at least nowadays) with hassle. Similarly, hotel airports have a seedy reputation, while a hotel in a train station sounds elegant.
My kids and I have stayed at the Crowne Plaza Indianapolis Downtown Union Station, with rooms in an actual [ ... ]
Playing in the mud, getting splashed with paint, lighting up the night or getting chased by zombies all add a little excitement to the typical 5K race. Fun runs are all the rage and a great way to get newbies involved in running; or to give veteran runners a change of pace. Most fun runs remove the [ ... ]
Head over to Universal Studios Hollywood for two new rides and an expanded Studio Tour! It’s a perfect Summer Vacation Idea. Plus, right now when you “a day you get the rest of 2013 free."
New York City with kids and grandma can be done and still be fun! We spent two days and one night in NYC and everyone got to choose their site to see.
First step to a successful visit is to find a family friendly NYC hotel that can sleep everyone comfortably. We stayed in a tower suite at the New Yorker in Herald Square. Great location, close to Penn Station, Macy’s, Grand Central Station.
Our suite offered a separate bedroom and living room. Both rooms had amazing views of the city, the beds were large and comfy and the pullout couch had a real mattress. Housekeeping made up the sofa bed for us and brought in extra toiletries because we ran out of shampoo. There was plenty of room to move around.
My daughter and I checked out the fitness room in the basement. Not impressive but should be soon – it’s under renovation. I liked that security checked our room keys before allowing us entry to the elevator bank.
We dedicated Day 1 to hotel check-in and one tourist stop: Ripley's Believe It or Not! The PR company gave us passes but we wore our Yankees gear anyway in honor of their latest Yankees exhibit and promotion they were running. Grandma and my kids - ages 13, 11, and 9 - were excited about touring the museum but I was dreading it a bit. I imagined peering at a lot of cheesy circus-like spectacles. And some of their exhibits were just that. But most, like the neck stretching jewelry, the very disturbing torture chamber, and the picture of Abe Lincoln made from pennies were really interesting. It didn't take long before was waving the kids over to see my latest discovery. No regrets except for letting my kids try their luck more than once (at 5 bucks a pop) dodging lasers in a laser mine (a 27 second thrill).
Our only plan for Day 2 was to max out our one-day NY Passes. Each of the kids and Grandma got to choose one attraction from the choices in the NY Passes booklet. Luckily, the concierge at the New Yorker gave us very detailed subway info (like ride in the middle car so we can exit the right stairwell), which saved us loads of planning time.
Even though we had a huge itinerary to accomplish, we didn’t get started until noon. Being in a hotel room was part of the fun so we hung out and enjoyed it.
That fueled us for several subway rides up and down Manhattan including an organ demonstration at St. John the Divine (my 13 y/o's choice), my pick - a visit to Bodies Exhibit, Top of the Rock (9 y/o) and Madame Tussaud’s (11 y/o). If the sun had been cooperating, we would have opted for at least one of the cruises included in the pass. Grandma let the kids take a photo with just about every wax celebrity in Tussaud's, my daughter played the magnificent organ at St. John's and I know my kids will never smoke after holding the black lung on display at bodies.
The NY Pass is a money and time saver. Cost for tickets, per attraction, were at least $20 each for kids and more for adults. We didn't need the line-skipping feature this time but I was glad to have it. The last time I visited Top of the Rock, we waited for days it seemed. Note: Beware of Monday sightseeing! Many of the attractions are closed (i.e., Intrepid).
You have to be prepared for a packed itinerary to get the full use of the 1-day pass, and flexibility when traveling with grandma and kids is key. We all were exhausted at the end of the day but it was worth it.
One day New York passes are $75 for adults and $55 for kids. New York Pass also offers two-day passes, $110 for adults, $90 for children; three-day passes, $140 for adults, $120 for children; and seven-day passes, $180 for adults and $140 for children. Ripleys offers different promotions regularly.
The NY Passes, Ripley's tickets and room at the New Yorker were comped for this mini-cation.
One glimpse of Skagway and it’s easy to see why this quaint Alaskan town is a popular port for cruise ships sailing along Alaska’s Inside Passage. Skagway offers beautiful [ ... ]
Milwaukee, Wisconsin has big city attractions and a friendly Midwestern vibe. Families can take in a Brewers game, or tour a brewery (with soft drinks for the kids). There are [ ... ]
Police, Fire and EMS Appreciation Days return in May. Police officers, fire fighters and EMS employees can receive a free single day admission to LEGOLAND Florida, along with [ ... ]
