Make the Most of Your Family’s 18 Summer Vacations

Summer vacations are an exciting time of year for the whole family. It’s when your family bonds and makes memories that last a lifetime.

If you pause to think about it, you only have around eighteen summer vacations with your kids, so making every year count is essential.

Travel is also “the school of life,” and starting this school early for children is essential. You’re helping create the next generation of global citizens.

One of KeeKee’s Big Adventures goals is to provide tools to help you and your family dream, plan, and get the most out of your travel adventures. In this article, we explore building your family’s 18 Summer Vacations Roadmap so you can make every summer count.

Below, we explore the different age ranges of kids and the great travel options for each.

And you’ll find activities at the bottom of the article to help you build your roadmap and involve the kids.

Let’s get planning!

Infants

As new parents, just leaving the house with infants can be daunting. A vacation with them may seem nearly impossible, yet it’s something most new parents need.

Babies are far more adaptable than we give them credit for. And at this stage, their needs are basic. Not to oversimplify things, but you just need to plan around nap times and feedings.

This stage can be a great time to start their travel adventures. Even the littlest ones pick up on what you enjoy and how you travel. You can begin to show them how to go with the flow at this early age.

Where to Travel with Infants

Start with a close-in, not-too-distant destination for a weekend or a road trip to get a feel for traveling as a new family.

Once you’re more comfortable, a beach resort in Florida or an all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean or Mexico can be a great option. These destinations allow you to get away, have everything you need at your disposal, and enjoy some sun and relaxation.

As infants are portable, you could even consider a walkable city you know well, like New York, London, or Paris, to explore. Have a baby carrier, will travel!

Toddlers & Pre-Schoolers

This can be a magical time to travel with your kids. Parents get the chance to see the world through their children’s eyes.

Children at this age like to do things on their own; they are curious and want to express themselves. They enjoy seeing and learning new things.

The kids don’t yet have a school calendar, so you can take advantage of off-season rates and fewer crowds.

Given their short attention spans, visiting places with many activities is vital.

Where to Travel with Toddlers & Pre-Schoolers

Blending education and fun into vacations is a great way to introduce travel at this age. Take them to a sunny spot like Sarasota, Florida, or San Diego, California, where you can have beach time and educational experiences like aquariums and zoos.

Water activities are enjoyable, so consider a cruise to the Bahamas or an all-inclusive resort in Mexico’s Riviera Maya. A great benefit of this type of vacation is the Kids’ Clubs. They are fun for the kids and give the parents free time.

And, of course, this is an excellent age for theme park adventures at Walt Disney World Resort, Sesame Place, and Hershey Park.

School-Age Children

Between the ages of 6-12 years old is the sweet spot when parents and travel have the most significant impact on children.

Travel can be genuinely formative. It allows children to experience and see a world of endless opportunities.

Learning and imagination are at their peak. Children discover their interests, likes, and passions. They start to develop their personalities, and parents can help them explore.

Elementary School-age children enjoy spending time with their parents. Interactivity is essential with this age and a combination of structured and free time.

In the tween years, they yearn for more freedom and independence. Kids have more developed interests you can tap into with your travels. They also have longer attention spans and can tolerate longer flights.

At this age, you can also start including your kids in the travel planning process to get them more involved and engaged in the vacation.

Where to Travel with School-Age Children

Educational trips to places the kids are studying can bring to life what they are learning in school.

Step into Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, where the founding fathers created the U.S. Constitution. Then follow the Historic American Revolution Trail through the city and see the Liberty Bell. Walk the Freedom Trail in Boston to visit 16 Revolutionary War landmarks, including Paul Revere’s House, the USS Constitution, and the site of the Boston Tea Party.

There are also fantastic Factory Tours across the U.S. that combine fun and education, like the Jelly Belly Factory in California, the Bluebell Ice Cream factory in Texas, and the Crayola Factory in Pennsylvania.

Exploring the U.S. can be a great theme with school-age kids. How many states or regions can you visit? Explore the Northeast or the Pacific Coast Highway and California’s coast.

Including parks is a great way to combine the outdoors and nature. See National Parks like Yellowstone and Old Faithful, Redwood National Forest, home to the tallest trees on earth, and Dinosaur Valley State Park in Texas, with some of the best-preserved dinosaur tracks in the world. And remember, fourth-graders and their families get free admission to all National Parks. You can also start your National Park Passport and see how many stamps you can collect over the 18 summers.

Traveling by train can be a great adventure. Did you know Amtrak serves over 500 destinations across the U.S.? And there are over 200 National Park Service sites accessible by Amtrak.

Wildlife encounters in the wild will mesmerize your kids. See Alaska’s “Big Five” in their natural habitat…the grizzly bear, moose, caribou, Dall sheep, and wolves. Or cruise the Galapagos Islands, off the coast of Ecuador in the Pacific, one of the world’s best wildlife destinations.

Beach vacations are great to add in as part of your plans, whether it’s your nearest beach town, all-inclusive resorts, or combining beach and education, like with Florida’s Space Coast and Cocoa Beach.

Theme Park trips also entertain this age with Disney for the younger kids and Universal Studios’ Harry Potter World for the older kids.

Bring culture, food, geography, and language to life for your kids with a trip to London to see where the real Queen lives at Buckingham Palace, or to Rome, Italy, to explore ancient Rome, the Colosseum with gladiators, and a pizza-making class.

Travel with Teens

Any trip is on the table in the teenage years, as the kids can do most activities and enjoy most places.

Adventures and excitement are the secrets. And as they pursue independence, getting your teens involved in the vacation-planning process is more important than ever.

At this stage, we celebrate major milestones, like 16^th birthdays and graduations. These can also be great trips to plan with the extended family.

Where to Travel with Teens

Active vacations are perfect for teens.

Bike and hike in National Parks. Visit the Sting Ray City in the Cayman Islands. Snow ski in Colorado. Visit Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to raft the Snake River and explore Grand Teton National Park. Kayak in the Northwest. Zipline and explore active volcanoes and exotic wildlife in Costa Rica.

USA Themed trips with a food theme can be fun and engaging. Visit the best BBQ restaurants in the US. Take a Foodie tour of the South. Get to know some of the most popular cities, such as New York City, San Francisco, and New Orleans, by trying their signature dishes.

Plan a vacation to destinations featuring things they are interested in, like the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, in Cleveland, Ohio, or the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

Combine sun, fun, history, and adventure in a place like Hawaii, with water sports in Honolulu on Waikiki Beach and Pearl Harbor Historic Sites. Or sun and fun at resorts like Atlantis in the Bahamas, or on a cruise where they also have teen programs.

The big milestones can be a great time to go big with travel. Take a cultural trip to one of the top cities in the world, like Paris or Tokyo. Introduce sustainable travel with an African Safari. Go on a guided tour to a developing country that includes connecting with locals, which can leave a lifelong impression.

Including extended family? Consider a European Tour, renting a villa in Tuscany, or a Dude Ranch trip out west.

Build Your 18 Summer Vacations Roadmap

Now that you’ve seen many of the travel possibilities, it’s important to have a plan and roadmap to take advantage of your 18 summers.

We’ve got just the resource for you! In partnership with AAA Travel, KeeKee’s Big Adventures has created the Family Travel Passport Survey custom designed to gather the preferences of your entire family – young and old – and it will provide you with a “passport” of up to 18 years worth of recommendations.

Try it now! → Family Travel Passport Survey

It takes maybe 10 minutes per person and is designed to be completed by the whole family. (In fact, the survey looks different based on the age of your kids).

18 Summer Vacations of Adventure Await!