Family vacation with an infant

[kijip]

Thoughts on where to go for 5 days or so with an infant and a nearly or newly 6 year old? We were thinking of going to Disneyland this year but with a new baby it seems best to wait until he is a couple years older. So we want something that will be interesting to a 6 year old but easy enough to do with an infant in tow and still be low key enough overall for mom and dad. This would be for sometime in June or thereabouts. So baby F will be 5-6 months old.

Thanks in advance.

[egoldber]

Well, I think that Disney is a particularly easy trip with an infant because it is CERTAIN to be infant/child friendly LOL!

I like the beach too, as long as you are staying ON the beach and don't have to deal with parking and hauling all your stuff to the beach.

I find that more urban destinations are harder with an infant. Less likely to be stroller/baby friendly.

[vludmilla]

How about renting a small house near or on the ocean somewhere. I think you can get off season rates for part of June and the weather is often nice. We've enjoyed renting small beach houses because we can spread out with toys and make it like home for the week. We make breakfast at the house and other meals when we feel like it which saves money and is convenient. Depending on the area you choose, there may be children's museums and other sightseeing. Of course, if you're on or near the ocean, you can just relax on the beach and read, swim, and play in the sand.

[fivi2]

Do you want to relax on a beach somehwere? Stay in a city? Amusement parks? Do you want to limit it to a certain flying time?

I would rent a condo or suite or vrbo type place. We have been to Grand Cayman (at 11 months) and Orlando/Disney (at almost 3), and a couple weekend trips. Here are some ideas that I want to do, but have not yet (with kids):

San Diego (you might want to wait until baby is older)
Lake Tahoe
San Franciso (or Santa Cruz or Carmel)
Sedona
Tucson (probably hot in june!)
Playa del Carmen/Cozumel/Isla de Mujeres (Mexico)
Hawaii
One of the little railroads in Colorado (Durango/Silverton, I think. Maybe Toltec and Cumbres. Not sure if they are anywhere near a bigger town, though)
Caribbean

or just pick a random city to hang out in and find fun kids things to do - Houston, Atlanta, New Orleans, Dallas, Chicago, Denver, Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, Montreal, etc...!

eta: I agree with pp that Disney is very baby friendly. We had a blast on our trip and can't wait to go back!

eta2: this thread had some good ideas:
http://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=300692

[Tondi G]

I would do Disneyland.... but thats me and my family. We have annual passes and both our boys have been going since they were around 5/6 months of age (or earlier!). Your little one will do their usual eat, sleep and have alert time.... there will be plenty to look at and take in. Your 6 year old will be TOTALLY entertained and be nice & tired so he'll knock out at the end of the day. My boys ask me every time we go to Disneyland when we can stay in the Disneyland hotel again (they love that pool)!

San Diego was the next place that came to mind. You can enjoy the beach, coronado, seaport village, Legoland (your 6 year old will LOVE this! Up in Carlsbad approx 30 mins North of SD), Sea World, The SD Zoo. You can make it as mellow or action packed as you like. I got lots of SD info from this site.... http://www.localwally.com/ Tripadvisor was good too!

Carmel/Monterey could be nice too.... beach and aquarium http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/

[Zansu]

Katie

We'd love to have you come visit the Old Pueblo, but it *is* hot here in June. Wait until October-Feb, so the temp is below 100F :)

[kijip]

We looked into it and settled on Legoland area. We are staying on the ocean in a suite with a kitchen. We figure we will all go to Legoland 1 day and then J and T can go a second day while I just relax with baby at the beach/pool/whatever. We will be there a week. A kitchen will allow us to relax in the evenings with a light dinner and movie or whatever. And T is far more excited about Legoland than he would be about Disney. We can do some other local attractions but with a new baby, I prefer to not over schedule it, we can play it by ear. We decided to do this in the Spring and then do a short trip to Portland in the summer- train there, stay a few nights and get a zipcar as needed. So we will be doing this Lego thing sooner than June. Looks like decent deals in late March/all through April and into May Since we are from Seattle, the weather will seem ok to us even if it is not perfect, LOL. Leaning towards end of March/first of April. Thanks for all the suggestions, I suck at picking trip ideas. Costco seems to have the best price on Legoland tickets.

[egoldber]

He really is the perfect age for Legoland. Is he old enough to do the car driving experience at Legoland? That was easily Sarah's favorite part of our trip to SD last summer.