Good for a family holiday, but not Florida!?

keepupwith

2007-02-20 12:01:58

Hi everyone,

I'm sure there will be millions of people out there who will throw their hands up in horror, but we really don't fancy Florida. We've done EuroDisney three times, but the idea of Florida just leaves us and the kids cold.

What I would like is somewhere that gives us the real flavour of the states, but with attractions that the kids will love, such as water parks etc. We would like to be able to dip in and out rather than be in the thick of it for a fortnight. Our best holiday so far has been Mexico, we did a variety of trips, but loved the R&R as well.

Any ideas would be great and tips on who to book through or whether DIY is best would be really helpful. Also time of year to go as well- with school we are really limited to the Easter or summer holidays.

Thanks very much in advance.

Pam

bridd

2007-02-20 12:25:41

Los Angeles. Its got theme parks and water parks but they are not in your face. I liked Six Flags Magic Mountain best.
http://www.sixflags.com/parks/magicmountain/
There's Disney of course and also Universal Studios as well as several other theme parks.
Loads to do in the LA area. The beaches are lovely, we enjoyed staying in Santa Monica. It felt safe and there was loads going on. You can visit San Diego if you want to see Sea World and the Zoo. Las Vegas is a short hop by air or you could have a side trip to Yosemite.
I would go in the summer rather at Easter if you like warm weather.

I have to add, that IMHO, Eurodisney is a very poor second best to the Disney World experience in Florida.

keepupwith

2007-02-20 12:40:07

Thanks Bridd- that sounds lovely and to be able to go in the summer is a much better option. So many people have told us how superior Florida is to Paris for Disney and i do kind of feel it has to be done at some point, it's just that other things come higher up the list.

Thanks again

Pam

puddleduck2

2007-02-20 12:55:43

What about a fly drive to California?

You could fly into San Francisco, stay there a while (there's loads to do for the kids).
It's easy to get out and about from there. You could hire a car and drive along the coast to places like Muir Woods, Sausalito, on into wine country (one for for mum and dad!) and Yosemite.
See this site for info - http://www.sanfrancisco.com/attractions/index.shtml

keepupwith

2007-02-20 14:05:31

Thanks puddleduck2- that looks great as well. What is the most economical way to do the US. As far as tour operators go Virgin is the one that springs to mind, but they always seem expensive to me. I'm guessing that DIY is perhaps better?

Pam

bridd

2007-02-20 14:42:58

We've done 3 fly drives with United Vacations. They were excellent. You get a free internal flight if you book a transatlantic flight with them. We have used ours to visit Las Vegas and also Phoenix.

puddleduck2

2007-02-20 16:04:43

We flew to San Francisco with KLM (from Newcastle via Amsterdam) and found them very reasonable. We were also very lucky and had lovely weather except for 1 day.
We went in April, however when our friends returned in the August it cost them the same for two tickets as it had for us four earlier in the year :shock:

so you may find it cheaper at Easter

Try looking on airline network as a place to start as they'll give you an idea of fairs and options.

keepupwith

2007-02-20 16:19:31

Thankyou bridd and puddleduck2, that's great as it gives me somewhere to start. Both destinations look interesting- I've never done DIY before, we've always taken the easy option and got packages. However since my husband wanted the TomTom, that had American mapping on it I see no reason, not to go it alone!!

Pam

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