From Teresa Plowright,
Your Guide to Family Vacations.
FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now!

continued from p. 1, New England

Summer Vacations: Great Outdoors

4. Camping
Camping -- like cottage rentals-- is a classic summer vacation; but if you're picturing a tent, back-to-nature, and hot dogs over a fire pit, be prepared to update your thinking. Nowadays there's such a thing as "camping resorts" that offer everything from cabins to swimming pools to kids' programs. And even if you're roughing it, new styles of tents have rooms and foyers; and camping cooking has become camping cuisine -- see link below.

• Camping Resorts: combine a budget vacation, the Great Outdoors, plus a nice level of amenities

• Camping Cookery:Cherry Upside-down-Cake, Apple Cider Stew... About's guide for Camping has dozens of recipes.

Also: now you can book online for a number of federal and state park campgrounds. Click Reserve America for an alphabetical list, starting with Arches National Park, Utah.

And speaking of camping...

5. Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
This Park is a summer vacation destination recommended by About's guide for Budget Travel: "a great weekend getaway for people in places like Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Baltimore or Richmond." No fancy hotels or restaurants, but visitors can enjoy million-dollar views from Skyline Drive while staying at campgrounds for only a few dollars a night.

for more Great Outdoors vacation ideas, see Yosemite on p. 3. See also: National Parks: Programs for Families.

Summer Vacation: Florida

6. Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort
This giant 2400-acre resort has a beach side on the Emerald Coast (Gulf of Mexico) and also a bay side with many activities. Fun at Sandestin includes: kids' sailing, kayaking, putting course, Jolee Island Nature Park with pirate-ship playground, kids' programs for ages 4-6 and 7-12, body-surfing and boogie boards (complimentary), and Junior Golf Academy with excellent instructors.

Guests can choose from many different types of accommodation, including a popular beachside tower, townhouses, and a budget-minded option. Meanwhile, the centre of gravity of this huge resort is the picture-perfect Village of Baytowne Wharf. Several accommodations choices are right near the Village, including suites. Read a review of Sandestin, and see many photos too.

7. Family Reunions at Walt Disney World
Wander around Walt Disney World on any given day, and you're sure to see multigenerational and extended families, usually taking each others' pictures, and having pretty much as good a time as pictured in Disney's tv ads. "Multi-household vacations" are a new travel buzzword, and surveys show that people want to travel with extended family and friends.

But planning a group vacation can mean many hassles with coordination and logistics. Now, those clever thinkers at Disney want to de-stress this mess, with online planning tools to help coordinate multi-household holidays. Disney World also offers special entertainment options for "Magical Gatherings" and "Grand Gatherings" (--groups of eight or more.)

more Florida Ideas

continue to p. 3, California, Southwest, Alaska
back to p. 1, New England