Vacation idea
 

I am looking for a nice vacation idea something 2 adult 1 toddler (will be 23 months) for the beginning of this June. We are hoping for somewhere nice fun relaxing not breaking the bank. We love beach, etc.. We have done Puerto Rico, Aruba, a cruise and various other trips. We live in NYC. Any thoughts would be appreciated, thank you.

Cape Cod

It seems you might be able to spend a week in a Caribbean resort for less cost than many mainland U.S. resort areas like New Jersey or Cape Cod.

Otherwise, I suggest Martha's Vineyard instead of mainland Cape Cod. I've spent quite a bit of time on MV and find it very nice and relaxing, unless you're staying in or too close to Edgartown area which is good for a visit/stroll but too crowded for my taste. Since I know the people who own it, I've stayed at this specific place many times; it's private, beautiful, peaceful, romantic...all those good things: Camp Tashmoo | Home

I havent checked prices lately, but you might try Bermuda.

Atlantic City, Virginia Beach or the Outer Banks.

The Adirondacks also has lakes, but they may not be warm by June.

I have only been to Virginia Beach, and it is a pretty good place to go if the weather is nice.

Zoo & Museum Tour.

Being in NYC you're less than a single day's light rail ride from:

National Zoo (Washington, DC)
National Aquarium (Baltimore, MD)
National Aviary (Pittsburgh, PA)
National Mall - Museum of Natural History, Air & Space Museum, etc (Washington, DC)
Philadelphia Museum of Art (Philadelphia, PA)

There are also other attractions in those areas, all those cities have a zoo and other museums. The train to Pittsburgh gets you reasonably close to Hershey Park (may have to rent a car, I'm not sure if Harrisburg runs a bus or not). There is also ZooAmerica at Hersheypark, which specializes in North American Wildlife. You could also catch a baseball game in any of those cities, if you're into that sort of thing.

Of course, not having a two year old, I can't vouch for how interesting any of these will be to a toddler. You would also have a fair bit of planning in to limit travel times between place and getting hotel reservations in each city, but this could be accomplished for a reasonable price.


I don't know how interested you are in the beach, but if you want dirt cheap - Pa has many state parks with beaches on lakes, some with cabins to rent if you aren't into the camping bit.

haveing taken toddlers on trips, I would stay away from museum tours entirely. Zoos are a stretch, and may be good for a day trip. I took my 14 month old toddler to the zoo in Columbia, SC, and it was a fun 2 out of 4 hours. similarly, the walking tour of Charleston, with that same 14 month old on my shoulders most of the time was engaging for a few minutes in the 95 degree heat & humidity. It was then I thought that kipping back on the beach (Myrtle?) for a few days with a book sounded very attractive.

Anything that can accommodate a toddler's routine will be in your favor.

Cruises are a phenomenal value right now, and would probably be my first pick.

Come to Denver. Check us out... Really.

It seems to me, it isn't important where to go, the main thing that there was fresh air and interests of the child were considered. It cannot sit hours on a beach, and go from a city to a city senselessly...

Cruises are a great value right now, as monkie mentioned. They also have stuff to keep the child occupied if you decide you need a day/night out. Last minute deals can be great. I just booked a five day, four night cruise from Fl with with three stops for 229 a person. Could barely get a hotel room for that. Plus cruises usually include food.

Tully, would you mind sharing what website you booked through for your cruise? A few more details might help me and others find some good deals like you did.

I plan on getting a pass for the NYC zoo's and aquarium for her since she loves animals but I am not sure how she will do on a tour. We have been looking at Behamus, St Martin, Jamaica, but I do think that it might not be as stimulating for her since she can not stay all day in the sun.

I would love to know what cruise site you found, the best price we had was 1400 for us, and that was for a 4 day cruise to Canada. Thank you all for the ideas, I am considering them all.

We are trying to take advantage of the pre-2 cheap flights, since once she hits 2 we need 3 tickets for airfare.

I used Last Minute Cruises for this trip, but you can find deals at several on-line booking sites like Cruise Pro's

One thing I've learned from searching, more like wading, through these sites listing is the more flexible you are and the sooner to the departure date the better the deals. If you're dates are set and you can't find a cruise you want on one site try another. Google "last minute cruises," you'll get a bunch of site to wade through.

We just got back from Jamaica - we went to Beaches Trelawny (formerly Starfish Trelawny). My SIL brought her 14 month old with no issues. They have a very good kids camp for some private time.

The Florida Keys. It's the American Caribbean.

Here's a story from ARA regarding getting a good deal on a cruise. Cruises are like like flights- the person sitting next to you probably paid a different price then you. Often 50% or more, I prefer to be the person paying 50% less.

Link