Recommendation for Family Trip End-of-Dec???

[marchmommy]

Your advice would be so much appreciated! After two bouts of flu in our house, and gray skies, we are in such need of a vacation to somewhere sunny. My DS (6 1/2) and DD (5) have the last two weeks of December off from school, so I'd like to go away for about a week. We also have a 9 month old baby, so it is has to be baby-friendly. We hardly ever go away on vacation--two years ago we went to Disney and that is it! So I am not good at planning vacations, and don't really know where are good places to go. I think Disney would be family-friendly but think it might be too last minute now, and a very busy time. Is there an easy, all-inclusive beach place that would be easy for us to handle? Is Florida too cool in December? California (but too far?) Arizona? Puerto Rico??? I know Mexico is warm but I'm worried about the drinking water...The kids love to swim, but are also high energy--like to be busy. Also, we live in the Chicago area. What do you think? Any suggestions??? Also, would like it to be moderately priced, but clean, nice, perhaps with a mini-kitchen so I can feed the baby? And a nice pool!!!!! TIA!!!!!!!!!!!!

[sadie427]

We were just in the San Diego area (Carlsbad) for a few days and went to Legoland. Your older kids are the perfect age for legoland, and there's also the zoo, other big attractions, and the beach. There's lots of good family restaurants down there too, especially mexican food. If you could get a non-stop flight from Chicago, it might not be too hard of a trip. We stayed at the West Inn and Suites, which was very family friendly.

[mom2binsd]

I used to live in San Diego and while I love it and think it's a great place to vacation, it can be pretty cool in Dec-Jan....I'd opt for someplace warmer if you'd like to do some swimming/wear shorts...I've heard awesome things about Puerto Rico (no passport required I believe either). I'd look for some website's that specialize in family vacation spots for reviews/ideas.

[Katigre]

I'd see what you can find on www.cheapcaribbean.com You should be able to find a nice all-inclusive with a beach/pool for a reasonable price. There are direct flights from Chicago (O'Hare) to Cancun which is nice when going with kids.

We're leaving for the Cancun area of Mexico the week before Christmas. If you stay at a resort that has a filtration system you don't have to worry about the water - we have a lot of friends and family who have gone to various resorts over the years and not gotten sick at all. You only have to be concerned if you eat at a place off of the resort (like a roadside stand or cafe) and are doing non-cooked items.

San Diego will be cool - 60's mostly.

[Tondi G]

I would go for Cancun or somewhere in the Caribbean... St Thomas, Puerto Rico, Aruba, Jamaica, Bahamas maybe?

Florida could be nice but it could be rainy.

Check out Beaches for an all inclusive maybe. Check on Trip Advisor for traveler reviews.