Best Family Summer Vacation Destinations

We love traveling and have been to many places with our kids. In the summertime, we usually go on a few different trips. Between family reunions, road trips, and flying to new places, our summer days fill up fast.  Here are some of our favorite trips to take in the summertime!

Best Flight Vacation Destinations Around the US

DC – national mall –This is such a fun historical place to visit with so much packed in a small area. We took our kids to D.C. in 2021; they were the perfect ages to enjoy our trip. (if your kids are little you may want to wait until they are a bit older). There are the Washington and Lincon memorials, constitution gardens, memorials for the wars in history, and multiple art galleries and museums, and don’t forget the white house and library of congress. Make sure you plan enough time to visit all the sites you want to hit. You will have so much to see: here’s an extended list to get you started: Guide to the national mall in D.C.

California Beach – Each year we get together with extended family and do a family reunion on the beach. Dana Point and Capistrano Beach are some of the beaches in California that we have visited and like. We love bringing our boogie boards and surfboards. Our family usually rents a large beach house to stay in with all the grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. There are also fun things to do in the city if you want a break from the beach.

Florida Beach – We love the clearwater beach. We visited here in 2018 when we did our road trip around the US and loved it some much we wanted to stay! We chose to stay at a hotel but there are many Airbnb options there as well. There are so many fun things to do in Clearwater Florida.

Hawaii Vacation – We lived here for years and definitely have our favorite places. The north shore of Oahu is our family’s favorite place for the perfect waves in the summer. There are a few different good beaches depending on what your want to do.

Best Family Vacations Internationally

Europe – Take the train all around Europe. We loved the Eurail, they were easy to schedule, purchase tickets, and trains went so many places, all around Europe. We went from Northern France to the south, over to Italy, and up to Switzerland. There are so many more countries you can visit by train! We did a backpacking trip in 2018. If you have the time there is always more to see.

Turkey – We loved visiting turkey. Some of our favorites were the ruins in Ephesus, Cappadocia (the best hot air balloon ride), and the natural hot pools in Pamukkale.

Our Favorite Road Trips

Alaska- We did a road trip all around Alaska in July 2020. One of our favorite stops was the Christmas Town (it’s Christmas all year round!)

East Coast – We did a month-long road trip in our RV. We visited some national historical sites like The Statue of Liberty, and some of the big cities like New York. We all loved watching a Broadway show.

Mount Rushmore – A few years back we did this trip. On the way, there are a few detours in South Dakota you can take.

Pioneer trip – We visited Adam-Ondi-Ahman, Carthage Illinois, Nauvoo, Illinois, the Amish Community, and the Sacred Grove. Here are more details about this road trip.

National Parks- If you like camping, visiting the national parks is a great summer road trip vacation idea. Many National Parks are relatively close together so you can plan to see a few on one road trip.

There are so many places to visit that we have not yet taken our kids but hopefully someday! If you are looking for more options check out The Daintree Rainforest in Australia or La Fortuna Arenal, Costa Rica. Don’t go to Disney Land in the summer, this is their peak season. Besides, it’s too hot and the crowds are bad.

I would love to hear what family trips you planning for summer!

Rach