Family Travel Ideas

The cold weather is finally hitting the Northeast and while we are looking forward to skiing and hockey, we can’t help but start thinking about some warm weather winter getaway ideas.  Since we are dreaming, we figure we might as well dream big — you know, those extended, vacation of a lifetime getaways that the teens will remember even after they have gone off to college!

As always, our travel blogger friends have lots of  inspiration to share so here we go .. follow the links for some great articles chock full of lots of wonderful photos, then start checking out airfare and hotels for some major league warm weather winter family vacations with your teens and tweens.

Hawaiian Beaches, Nature, Shopping and Water Sports

Although it is a long trip from the East Coast, Hawaii is a can’t miss trip for families with teens.  Our teens loved the opportunity to see an activevolcano, hike among the petroglyphs, snorkel and enjoy the beach on the Big Island.  We wished we could have stayed twice as long.  If you are looking for ideas on the other islands one of our favorite sites, The Vacation Gals, has a great series of posts about shopping and wave paddling at Waikki Beach on Oahu.  Trekaroo hosts a great list of family activities on Maui.  Don’t miss the Haleakala Crater National Park or the beautiful beaches.

Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and Beyond

Ciao Bambino got us thinking about Australia – where the seasons are opposite those of Boston and December is the height of summer.  Check out their Photo Essay from a family Christmas vacation on the Great Barrier Reef featuring birds, beach, fish, boats and lots of warm sunshine.  A similar Photo Essay on their site features Bondi Beach, just outside Sydney.  Australia is big so whether you want beaches or backcountry there are plenty of holiday options.

Spain’s Costa Del Sol Off the Beaten Track

The beaches of Spain are know worldwide, but long time round-the-world family travel bloggers,Soul Travelers 3 suggest getting off the beaten path, particularly during the winter months to explore  the best winter weather in Europe.  The Costa Del Sol is over a hundred miles long, filled with sandy beaches, rolling hills and majestic mountains. Enjoy their beautiful Costa Del Sol photos to see what they are talking about!

Cancun and the Mayan Ruins

Travel Mamas reminds us that Mexico is still a great, affordable warm weather family vacation.  Her recent article Cancun Should be on Your Bucket List, describes how much there is to do within just a couple hours of Cancun’s major beach resorts.  Important archeological sites like Tulum on the ocean and the pyramids of Chichen Itza botQoffer educational and exciting days trips.  The 200 acre Xcaret ecopark offers animal exhibits featuring jaguars, lions, and, monkeys. There’s also a Butterfly Pavilion, Bat Cave, and Coral Reef Aquarium and you can book a stingray encounter, dolp n swim, or underground river snorkeling adventure.  And of course, Cancun has some awesome beaches too!

Get Your Passports Ready!

We hope many of our readers get to take a wonderful warm weather trip with their teens and tweens this winter, if you do please leave a link to your blog so we can enjoy the trip too!

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