Americas Most Popular Family Vacations
by Susan Finch and the Staff of FamilyTravelForum.com
Published by FamilyTravelForum.com
Family Travel Forum, Inc., 135 West 20th Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10011 USA
Copyright 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4835747-0-7
Diamond Resorts International invites you to Stay Vacationed. and experience the benefits of living a vacationed life. As you explore the pages of this vacation guide, you will discover some of the Diamond Resorts destination choices in those regions. It is our hope that you take advantage of our special offer and start planning your next vacation today.
At Diamond Resorts International, our top priority is to provide every member, owner and guest with an unparalleled vacation experience so that they may enjoy affordable luxury and the opportunity to create priceless memories that will last a lifetime.
As champions of happier and healthier living through the power of vacations, we strive to deliver a hassle-free vacation experience. We know that it is about so much more than taking a vacation; it is about vacations taking you to a better place. With Diamond Resorts, Vacations for Life help you keep that vacation feeling all year long, or as we like to call it, it helps you Stay Vacationed.
Vacations for Life from Diamond Resorts are so much more than just a getaway. They provide the kind of vacation experiences that let you get back in touch with what really matters in life: The chance to reconnect with your loved ones, to try new things, and collect a lifetime of cherished memories.
We bring families together at more than 420 resorts all over the world, including the continental United States and Hawaii, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa. It is our goal to continually provide great vacation experiences so that our members, owners and guests can Stay Vacationed. all year long and enjoy a happier, healthier, more well-balanced lifestyle.
To book this special rate please visit Diamond Resorts
How This Book Is Organized
Because many of you will plan road trips (and will need an attraction or two to pacify backseat travelers) or may look for a quick weekend away to escape the grind of school and work, we have organized the book into parts by the following major geographic regions:
Getting the Most from This Guidebook
In our experience, the best family destination is a subjective choice based on your familys needs for a given vacation period. What makes the 200 or so destinations weve included in this book so special is their capacity to entertain, educate, and amaze all visitors, with a special knack for engaging kids.
As you read, youll notice that we selected our favorites in each region and grouped them by theme:
City Style best for an exciting city getaway
Cultural Appeal best museum, event, bit of America, or folk culture
Living History best at illustrating history in a fun way
At the Beach best beaches for kids
Amusement Parks best midways, theme parks, and water parks
Outdoor Adventures best nature, ecological, and recreation areas
Within each theme, every destination review highlights its unique attributes, what ages its appropriate for, the best season to visit, and money-saving tips. The names of our favorite sights and nearby special attractions are bolded, and all the contact information you need to make plans is included.
So please dont take the 200 or so destinations we highlight as the very best for you; learn more about them, discuss them with your family, and use them to plan your itinerary.
Helpful Sidebars
Weve added the following sidebars with even more information:
VACATION PLANNING TIPS - In these sections, youll find advice from other travelers you can use to plan a better itinerary or make better choices about the destination.
FELLOW TRAVELERS SAY- In these sections, youll find quotes from journals, travel blogs, and posts from the Family Travel Forum community websites: www.FamilyTravelForum.com , www.travelBIGO.com , and www.FamilyTravelBoards.com .
TRAVELERS BEWARE! Here, youll find hints to keep you out of trouble. Fortunately, there arent too many of these.
FUN FACTS - Here, youll find unusual factoids you can share with the kidsand maybe, if youre lucky, youll avoid hearing the familiar refrain, "Are we there yet?"
One Last Thing
One thing weve learned in our years of traveling is that, at every age and stage of life, kids needs and interests change. So we ask that you involve everyone in the family when planning your next tripand no matter how much time you have, cut your schedule in half. While kids needs may change, having time to enjoy each other without rushing off to the next attraction will always be what family vacations are all about.
We hope youll use this guidebook in the years to come, whether youre planning a trip for relaxation, hoping to enrich your kids curriculum, or just need a fun diversion on the way to Grammys.
Please keep in touch by writing us in care of the publisher or emailing us at with your suggestions and comments on how to make this guidebook better for the next edition!
Acknowledgments
Id like to thank my co-author, FamilyTravelForum.com , for the latest vacation stories and travel tips shared by millions of families in its travel community. Special thanks go to the Family Travel Forum staffespecially editors Kyle McCarthy, Fran Falkin and Jillian Ryanwho worked long and hard to select the very best family destinations. Their assistance in this update made it possible to bring you the latest information as of spring 2015, though with things changing so quickly, we recommend you contact establishments at your destination to confirm details. We could never have assembled so much wisdom about family travel without the help of FTF interns Lee Dunlap, Emily Yanez, Maureen Linehan, Mia Kunst, and Regan Bozman. And last, but certainly not least, to my own family and those of our editors who gave up several school vacations to help me get this manuscript ready so you could have it to plan your own family vacation. Safe there, safe home, and stay in touch!
Part 1: The Northeast:
The Northeast
The modern history of the Northeast dates to the Pilgrims, who set sail for northern Virginia aboard the Mayflower on September 6, 1620. About nine weeks later, they spied the North American continent around Cape Cod and, sailing south to Virginia, were caught in rough seas. Fearing for their lives, the Pilgrims turned back and settled in Plymouth.
Nearly four centuries later, the Northeast region includes the populous states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington, D.C. As the birthplace of much of American history, the Northeast is one of the nations busiest four-season tourist destinations, with great cities, cultural marvels, beautiful beaches, amusement parks, and towering mountains for outdoor adventure.
