I’m just curious if most Liners always do Disney related trips (DLR, WDW, DCL, etc.), or if there are other places you frequent. Our family has been going to Beaches Turks and Caicos every year for the past 8 years. It feels like home to us and the kids (11 and 13) love it. They see some of the same kids every year when we go. This year for t he first time we are doing a big International trip to London, Tel-Aviv and Paris (2 weeks total). Really excited to experience this type of trip now that the kids are older.
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Hawaii!!! I lived there for a few years when I was in the military and my youngest daughter was born there. We like to go back visit for a couple of weeks in February, the worst part of the year here in upstate New York. By the time we get back, Spring is only a month away.
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Hawaii is totally on our list- our issue is it is so far that I feel like we need at least two weeks. The only time we have a two weeks stretch is in the Summer (do not want to pull kids from school) and we would much rather go when it is cold here in MA. So we are thinking maybe Christmas break 2021 and pull them for a couple days at the beginning of Christmas vacation.
Charleston, SC or Asheville, NC. As a family of 6, it is hard to get everyone’s schedules to always line up so when we get a trip than it is often hard to travel far. We live on the coast of NC, so either location is only a few hours away. Asheville gives you the hiking, whitewater rafting, Biltmore House, and that overall mountain vibe. Charleston has the southern charm, the good food, quaint one-of-a-kind shops, haunted ghost tours, and tons of historical sites! The smaller vacations give us more chances to have fun trips while still putting money towards Disney! Right now we are also doing this thing where we have promised that each child will get a trip as a graduation gift. Our oldest is going on a Western Caribbean cruise, and one of our others is doing a week-long trip to Belize for cave tubing, zip-lining, etc.
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In general we do not return to places on a regular basis. Recent trips have been Italy (Rome, Florence, and Milan), Sweden, Sedona, London, and Hawaii (Kauai - pure paradise). We do take a lot of trips to NYC because DD goes to college in Brooklyn. Also, we live on Cape Cod, so every weekend can be like a vacation if we want it to (but as locals, we tend to avoid the tourists at all costs).
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@hcerar - we are scheduled to go to Beaches T&C Feb 2020, but may need to cancel in lieu of some home renovations. Do you have any tips on how to get discounted pricing for Beaches T&C? We did Ocho Rios Feb 2018 and I fell in love with it!!
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We do all inclusive beach holidays for about a quarter of the price and travel time - Spain/Balearic Islands are about 2.5 hours away and the Canary Islands are 4-4.5 hours. I’ve considered Greece/Turkey which are also around 4.5 hours but DH doesn’t fancy them.
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That’s when we go (President’s Week) and it’s great. We have been going for so long that we always book ahead and save that way- so Feb 2020 was booked actually in Feb 2018. We actually did NOT book for 2021 b/c of all the talk that they might have to close (resolved now as far as I know). They are opening a new one in Barbados that sounds like it will be amazing. We def want to try that one- will be big like T&C and have zip line and other fun stuff. Def join the loyalty program (free and there are perks like special luncheons, etc.).
We do the National Parks… someday I’d like to hit them all. Also camping near home. I’m currently planning a spring break Disney trip and a week-long August trip to Glacier with my MIL.
We did all 3 FL parks this last spring break, Acadia the summer before that. My DH loves hiking and geocaching, so I have to allow the hiking as much as he allows my Disney obsession.
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We go up to Bar Harbor, ME a couple times a year. We love Acadia National Park! (Though not the new park policies that are basically designed to keep people out.) There are lots of family friendly trails and walks, ponds and lakes to swim in, the ocean to gaze at (and swim in if you’re really, really brave - or foolhardy), kayaking and canoeing, whale watching, gardens, popovers at Jordan Pond house, etc. Sometimes it’s nice just to build up a fire and watch a movie or read a book. It’s also nice that we don’t have to plan out the trips way in advance (cough, cough, Disney, cough). We can chat about what we’d like to do on the drive up, or even on the morning of.
We also like to do once-in-a-lifetime (or maybe twice) trips periodically. Most recently we went to Yellowstone and Grand Teton. Disney was supposed to be a one time destination, but now we’re going back this year, so who knows what’ll happen there.
We’ll probably go to Sweden next year to visit family. (I feel like a brat admitting this, but I am not at all excited about it. We were supposed to go this year, but I couldn’t work up the motivation to plan the trip. And given our tax bill this year, it’s probably a good thing that we didn’t have that expense!)
DH really wants to go to the Galapagos sometime. I’d love to go too, but I’m not sure that our kids (4 and 6) could handle that kind of trip anytime soon. But maybe someday!
DH and I went to Kauai before kids, and it was fabulous! We’d love to go back someday. If you have any tips (ex. places you’d recommend going, things you’d recommend doing/avoiding) based on your Sweden trip, @brklinck, I’d love to hear them!
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We just went to Charleston last week abd Asheville is next on my list! Would love all of your tips!
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Get excited about going to Sweden - it is great! We actually went to both Denmark and Sweden - we started in Copenhagen and ended up in Stockholm. Both cities have so much to do, it’s difficult to list it all. I’d definitely recommend getting the City Pass in each of them (Stockholm, Copenhagen), as that can save you a lot of $$$ and help you to bypass lines. Also, on the way from Copenhagen to Stockholm we stopped off in the Glass district overnight and toured all around there.
Quick highlights:
Copenhagen:
- Tivoli Gardens (see where Walt stole it all from)
- Carlsberg brewery
- Little Mermaid statue
- Canal tours
- National Museum
- Ruins under Cristiansborg
Stockholm:
- Vasa Museum (worth the trip to Stockholm on its own!)
- Skansen Open Air Museum
- Nobel Prize Museum
- Canal tours
- Gamla Stan (the Old Town district of Stockholm)
- Tradition restaurant in Gamla Stan (unbelievable Swedish food - we went twice!)
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Thanks so much!
Last trip we spent a lot of time in old churches and cemeteries visiting family history stuff and deceased relatives that I never met. I think it’s coloring my view of how fun a trip there could be. Your list gives me hope that we can make our next trip more interesting!
Awesome! Asheville is amazing, especially at night. Biltmore House is wonderful. If price is an issue, they lower it after 4pm, so we have gone to Biltmore Village and had an afternoon snack and then toured the house. If you go at Christmas, it is SO magical to see all the lights in every room and to walk the grounds in the evening! Also, if you are into hiking, I highly recommend going to Chimney Rock for a day. It is about a 23-30 minute drive just outside of Asheville and has great hiking trails. If you are unable to hike, they have a way to drive to the top and an elevator that takes you the rest of the way. We like to do that in the morning, then do some shopping and dining at the base of the mountain. Also, I also highly recommend “Blue Heron Whitewater” if you guys wanna go whitewater rafting. They are so patient, are affordable, and make the trip a blast! Hope you have fun!
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Where do you like to stay? Great info thanks!
I live in Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands and have done for 13 years. I go to mainland Spain for my holidays, or to other Canary Islands. Next year I am hoping to go back to Rhodes in Greece where we also lived for a while.
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We love doing Disney Cruises, but decided to take a bit of a break until the new ships launch. Later this month, my mom, niece and I are going to Toronto for a long weekend (my niece picked for her birthday). And we always spend lots of time at the beaches at Cape Cod, Mass in the summer because our family has a house there and it’s a 2 hour easy drive from home, but as soon as we cross the bridge, it feels like vacation. Because it’s a family house, it’s always fun when my parents and sister and her kids are down at the same time - days at the beach, adult beverages at 3pm and card games after dark (which can get vicious!)…I can’t wait for summer…
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We go to Disney every other year. The kids are at a great age and we let them help pick the location for the other years. Two years ago we went to London, which the kids asked to do. We were surprised because they were 10 and 8 at the time, but they follow a British YouTuber that played Pokemon all over London and they had a huge list of things they wanted to visit.
This year we are going to Hawaii and staying at Aulani for part of the trip.
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Cruises and road trips. Anything makes me happy. I’ve even learned to camp and I love it.
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I spend so much on (two) Orlando trips per year that I can’t afford any other kind of vacation.
Anyone else like this?
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