Summer Family Vacation Ideas    

The Caribbean

The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman has an environmental program for kids, sandy beaches and many activities, such as fishing, diving and golf. Ambassadors of the Environment by Jean-Michel Cousteau is a program that lets kids explore the natural treasures of the Cayman Islands. The program changes daily and offers avtivities for different age groups. Adults can participate as well, allowing you to plan family vacation activities that let you spend more time together.

For those who want to spend a good part of their summer family vacation in a boat, Bitter End Yacht Club offers the perfect solution. This all-inclusive resorts puts its impressive fleet at your disposal. The resort's casually elegant atmosphere appeals to many family vacationers, as does their extensive menu of water activities. Whether you like to snorkel, fish, sail, or windsurf, this family vacation destination has it all. If you are new to watersports, there is a sailing and windsurfing school, as well as a dive place. Choose from a Club fleet of over 100 boats, or join one of the excursions to nearby islands and reefs. British Virgin Islands are famous for their white sandy beaches and at the Bitter End Yacht Club you'll have access to three. There is a fresh water pool and a full service spa.

Hawaii

Summer in Hawaii is on everyone's dream list. The ocean provides an unlimited playground for watersports enthusiasts, and sandy beaches inspire everyone to relax. Turtle Bay Resort on Oahu has a spa, golf and offers an array for vacation activities for the whole family. Oahu has many cultural attractions, sightseeing tours and shops. Find more family vacations in Hawaii.

Squaw Valley

The Resort at Squaw Creek is a year-round family vacation destination. The resort offers ski-in/ski-out access to Squaw Valley USA, a private ice rink, three heated swimming pools, a 120-foot water slide, an 18-hole championship golf course, two lighted tennis courts and a sledding hill.

Children ages 4 to 12 can participate in the Mountain Buddies year-round, fully supervised children's program. In the winter, kids can go sledding, snow shoeing and ice skating. In the summer, supervised activities include swimming, hiking, biking, tennis, arts & crafts and games. Each day's activities feature a theme, such as adventure or learning about animals. Educational activities include stargazing, natural history lessons, kid friendly cooking demonstrations and computer workshops in the Buddy Learning Center, a computer lab for kids.

Cape Cod

Chatham Bars Inn, an oceanfront resort on Cape Cod, offers a great selection of vacation activities for the whole family. You can take everybody to the beach, relax by the kiddie pool while your kids play in the water, or try one of the beach games at the Activities Centre.

Depending on the age group of your child, the following programs are available Chatham Bars Inn from mid-June through early September:

For children ages 4 to 6, the resort offers the complimentary Beach Buddie program where kids learn about cooking, music, gardening, local plants and animals. In the evening there are pajama parties, safaris and treasure hunts. Children must be toilet-trained and able to swim to participate.

Children ages 7 to 9 can participate in the complimentary Clam Diggers program where they learn about animal tracking and participate in beach Olympics. Children must be able to swim to participate.

Older kids, ages 10 and up, can join the Wash-a-Shores program, also complimentary. The program includes boat excursions, lighthouse tour, photography, tennis, golf, soccer and croquet. In the evening, there are pool parties, scavenger hunts and a survival challenge.

Chatham Bars Inn also offers a Teen Program where kids play beach volleyball, basketball and create their own newscast reports. There is also tennis, kayaking and bicycle tours. Twice weekly there is a Children's Etiquette Program as well as a Cooking Class for Kids.

Cooking school for Kids

The cooking school Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons will introduce your kids to healthy cooking. This is one of those investments that will help your kids lead a more healthy life and, who knows, perhaps even reduce your workload in the kitchen once you return home from your family vacation.

Le Manoir is an English country estate located in the village of Great Milton near Oxford. La Petite Ecole de Cuisine is designed to inspire and educated kids through diverse hands-on activities in the kitchen and in the organic herb garden.

While your kids are being turned into master chefs, you can unwind and relax at Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons and its beautiful gardens. At the end of the day, you are invited to join your kids for a tea party and a presentation of course certificates.

Mexico

Relax at a luxury resort in Mexico while your kids participate in a children's program. The Ritz Carlton, Cancun has a sandy beach and two outdoor swimming pools. Take a cooking class at the Culinary Center, swim in the ocean, relax at the spa and work out in the fitness center. Visit Cancun, 20 minutes away, for a bit of sightseeing. During the summer, participate in the Turtle Camp program that supports turtles. Kanan-Ak, meaning “turtle guardian” in the Mayan language, protects nests and helps baby turtles after they hatch.

Historic Edmonton, Canada

Explore the historic city of Edmonton, Canada on your summer family vacation. Edmonton offers an array of family-friendly activities and attractions such as the TELUS World of Science-Edmonton, Fort Edmonton Park, the River Valley and West Edmonton Mall. The Fairmont Hotel Macdonald has a health spa, 40-foot saline swimming pool, and a whirlpool. For younger guests, there is a separate children's wading pool. Choose from rooms with views of the North Saskatchewan River Valley or the city skyline.

IMAX Movies in Vegas

Located on the Pharaoh's Pavilion Attraction level of the Luxor Hotel, IMAX theatre offers a multitude of films that are suitable for all ages. IMAX films are projected on a screen measuring nearly seven stories high. Feature films are shot in exotic locations around the world, as well as places few individuals ever get to venture. Examples include the International Space Station, the Titanic deep down on the ocean floor, Fantasia II, Beauty and the Beast, and Mysteries of Egypt.

The theater at Luxor Las Vegas seats 312 viewers and features a 15,000-watt sound system, eight channel, multi-dimensional, digital surround sound system incorporated into the IMAX Personal Sound Environment headset, headsets with Liquid Crystal Display 3D viewing technology.