Favorite Vacation with a 3 year old

Where did you go with your 3 year old that you absolutely loved?

We went to Dutch Wonderland and stayed at Eden last summer and we loved it. We might go there again this year, but I would like to plan another bigger vacation as well. I'm open to anywhere.

I have not been on a plane since 2012 so I wouldn't mind getting out of the Northeast. We also need to travel over the summer since I'm a teacher.

Re: Favorite Vacation with a 3 year old

We LOVED our Disney cruise with our 3yr old DS. It was our first major vacation, but honestly I wouldn't hesitate to take any cruise line with him.

Other trips we enjoyed at this age though a much smaller scale was Philly and Mystic CT.

Philadelphia we went to the zoo (which was fantastic), sesame (not in philly but not far), intended to go to Please Touch museum (went there previously but not on our most recent trip Bc my DS got very sick).. they also have the Franklin Institute which I hear is wonderful.

Mystic obviously they have the aquarium and we also took my DS to Foxwoods on that trip which was fun (we don't gamble so having him with us wasn't limiting in that area). Obviously not a major trip, but a fun getaway.

Re: Favorite Vacation with a 3 year old

NYC (stay in the city) & visit the transit museum, Statue of Liberty, museum of natural history
Boston (have done this twice... must do whale watching, duck tours, historical stuff)
Philly (museums of art, please touch, zoo, beer gardens & sights are enough to fill a week)
Any cruise (I preferred out of NYC)... in summer, Bermuda is amazing. We went on NCL when DD was 3 & we loved it!
Florida (split Disney with a beach location... we are fans of Fort Lauderdale and Naples)... this is our overall favorite!
Any place with a zero entry pool
I liked mystic when they were older (5) though we went to the aquarium plenty of times before then.

Re: Favorite Vacation with a 3 year old

Any beach resort in Florida with a nice beach and zero entry pool.
I prefer the gulf coast as the water is calmer.

Favorite Vacation with a 3 year old

All great ideas!

We have been to Boston several times as my ILs live there. We have done the children's museum and the aquarium and DS loved both!

I should probably mention that I'm looking for a "relaxing" vacation. I am not one for lots of sight seeing - LOL. A few smaller activities are fine. I am trying to save Disney until he is older (5 or 6?) since I think we will only do that 1-2 times. A cruise may work though. My corworker just went on the Disney one last year and liked it.

Re: Favorite Vacation with a 3 year old

We did a Disney cruise this past summer with our then 6 and almost 3 yr old and it was great! We did 7-nights so we got to do lots of relaxing and some port adventures. I hadn't relaxed like that in a while! A Disney cruise can be as relaxing or intense as you like, it's easy to mix things up. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. Summer is pricey though, we cruised in July and I could've done Europe for less.

I never found Dutch Wonderland or Hershey or any of those relaxing, fun yes but relaxing no.

I would also consider a beach resort somewhere in Forida. A really nice hotel with good amenities and activites and food nearby could be amazing too! Or an all-inclusive in Mexico could work.

Favorite Vacation with a 3 year old

We did Turks and Caicos when DS was 8 months old and LOVED it. We would definitely bring him back again as a 2-3 year old. It's a great place if you are beach/pool people and looking for relaxation. We also enjoy Naples and have been many times both before and after DS. Withing driving distance, VA Beach is a fun family vacation spot. Lots of fun family activities and shows right on the boardwalk nightly in the summer.

Favorite Vacation with a 3 year old

We have stayed with my parents norht of Tampa and there are a ton of more local animal parks and things like that

Ana Maria Island. Gulf beaches so the water is calm and no waves to battle with the young ones!!!

Favorite Vacation with a 3 year old

We did a resort at St Pete Beach and it was really nice. There was a lot to do at the resort and we even went to Busch Gardens and the Tampa aquarium.

Re: Favorite Vacation with a 3 year old

Re: Favorite Vacation with a 3 year old

Re: Favorite Vacation with a 3 year old

Dd was younger when we traveled there, but I love San Francisco and Napa. Lots of general relaxing sightseeing things that kids will also get a kick out of.

Favorite Vacation with a 3 year old

We did the obvious one, Disney. It was great. Kids were 18mo and 3yo at the time and they both loved it.

Favorite Vacation with a 3 year old

Hilton Head, SC. There are tons of threads on here about it. Perfect for a family vacation. Both of my DDs have been there every summer since birth and absolutely love it