Family Friendly Vacation

THEMED PACKAGES!

Let Family-Friendly Vacations, Inc. arrange a custom-designed trip for your family with a fun theme. Kids need a vacation too! Our expertise lies in the West, but we have traveled extensively and can design many itineraries.

Following are some a few examples of suggested itineraries that we can customize for your family:

Southwest

     Dinosaur Tracking Safari (Arizona & Colorado) - Start your trip in Phoenix with a visit to Mesa's Southwest Museum with it's life size moving dinosaurs and perhaps a visit to the Arizona Science Center with its hands-on fun. Heading up north, you'll want to visit the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff with its dinosaur exhibits, then the Grand Canyon and Petrified Forest National Parks with their many fossils and dioramas. As we cross into Colorado, a stay in the Grand Junction area is a must with a visit to Dinosaur National Monument, Dinosaur Valley Museum and Dinosaur Discovery Museum. End your trip in Denver with a stop at the Denver Museum of Natural History before flying home.  This trip may also be reversed.  Minimum Travel Time - One Week or more.

     Cowboys & Indians (Arizona and/or New Mexico) - Highlights might include a visit to the acclaimed Indian-artifact Heard Museum in Phoenix, accommodations at a real dude ranch in Tucson or Wickenburg, a visit to one or more Indian reservations such as the Navajo or Hopi, and a chance to see a Pow Wow or other tribal ceremonies.  Minimum Travel Time - One Week or More.

     Scenic Rail Adventures (Arizona & Colorado) - Kids love trains! Thomas the Train (life size version) makes stops across the country at regular intervals, including the Grand Canyon Railway depot in Williams Arizona. You might time a visit there to coincide with a ride on the Verde Canyon Railroad in nearby Clarkdale. If time permits, Colorado offers gorgeous scenery on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad or the Georgetown Loop Railroad near Denver. The vicinity of Colorado Springs offers the Cripple Creek/Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad, Pikes Peak Cog Railway and the Royal Gorge Scenic Railway. The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad in southern Colorado is also recommended. If time permits, you also might include the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden and Tiny Town in Morrison--both near Denver.  Minimum Travel Time - Varies greatly depending on how many trains you want to ride.

     Aliens & Outer Space (Arizona, New Mexico and/or Nevada) - For a child fascinated with aliens & outer space, the Southwest region is of special interest. Arizona's clear night skies are perfect for viewing the stars and planets from Lowell's Observatory in Flagstaff where the planet Pluto was discovered or Kitt's Peak Observatory near Tucson. Southern New Mexico is also of specific interest due to the famous Roswell alien encounter of 1947, and the Space Museum and related sites in nearby Alamogordo. Highway 51 "the loneliest highway in the US" in Nevada would also be of interest to the alien buff. Minimum Travel Time - Varies greatly depending on how many sites are seen.  Packages are available.

     National Park & Monument Fun (Arizona & Utah) - Must-see parks include the "natural wonder of the world" Grand Canyon and Petrified Forest National Parks in northern Arizona, plus Zion & Bryce National Parks in southern Utah. In between if you have the time, you can see several more national monuments such as Tuzigoot, Walnut Canyon, Sunset Crater.  A visit to Lake Powell and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is recommended. A trip starting in Phoenix and ending in Las Vegas (or vice versa) is recommended for this itinerary. Minimum Travel Time - One Week or More.

West
      California Dreamin' (see Amusement Park section below)

East

     Amish & Pennsylvania Dutch Country (Pennsylvania) - The area around Lancaster & Hershey Pennsylvania is a great learning yet fun adventure for kids. A trip here can start or end in either Baltimore or Philadelphia (both with lots of interesting attractions for kids), then it's just a few hours drive to Lancaster--the heart of Amish country. Highlights of this simpler way of life can include a real buggy ride in the country, eating shoo-fly pie as part of an all-you-can-eat unique buffet at one of several restaurants that offer this, sampling the fresh foods at a local farmers market, and a visit or two to a farm to meet the Amish and experience their way of life.  Fun family amusement parks and themed attractions in this area include Hershey Park (spectacular), Chocolate World, Dutch Wonderland Family Amusement Park, the Choo Choo Barn and the National Toy Train Museum. There are also many outlet shops and dinner theaters to enjoy. Within a days drive are historical Gettysburg, Sesame Place and the Crayola Factory--a family horn of plenty! Minimum Travel Time - One Week or More.

     Frolicking in Florida (see Amusement Park section below)

South

     Gulf Coast

     Space Camp (Alabama)

Midwest

     Water & Waterparks Everywhere (Wisconsin) - Wisconsin seems like an unlikely place to have a water park mecca, but the Wisconsin Dells draws many visitors from neighboring Chicago and elsewhere. What is the attraction? Waterparks that compete nationwide for some of the biggest, fastest and steepest titles--some are indoor and some are outdoor. A trip here could be combined with a side trip to Chicago, which has enough cool museums and attractions to keep a family busy for an entire week.

StoryBook Themes & Packages
Storybook tours are tours that visit places used as settings or written about in famous children's books. We can customize anything, but some examples are given below.

     Little House on the Prairie (Wisconsin, Minnesota, New York, Kansas, South Dakota & Missouri) - Follow in the footsteps of Laura Ingalls Wilder to the sites featured in the book and TV series. Many of the homes (or sometimes replicas of them) still exist and you can thrill to re-living it all.  The main sites include Pepin, Wisconsin (site of Little House in the Big Woods ); Independence, Kansas (site of Little House on the Prairie ); Walnut Grove, Minnesota (site of On the Banks of Plum Creek ); Malone, New York (site of Farmer Boy ); De Smet, South Dakota (site of the By the Shores of Silver Lake, the Long Winter, Little Town on the Prairie, These Happy Golden Years, and the First Four Years ). Also to be visited is Mansfield, Missouri where Laura and Almanzo lived after leaving South Dakota, and where many important artifacts (like Pa's fiddle) are at today.

     Harry Potter Tours (England) - Visit the sites and scenes where the movies were filmed. Travel to London, Windsor and Durham England to relive the magic and do some sleuthing of your own.

     Lord of the Rings (New Zealand) - Travel to New Zealand to take in some of the breathtaking beauty of the sites in the movie. New Zealand is often rated very highly from those who have traveled there. A popular option here is to rent an RV and tootle around at your own pace.

     Brighty of the Grand Canyon (Arizona) - This famous burro roamed the trails of the Grand Canyon and ambled into our hearts along the way. You can visit the Grand Canyon today and follow in his footsteps or ride a mule down the Bright Angel Trail. Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the canyon beckons those who make reservations well in advance and want to experience the canyon from within. For those who are happy to look down into the canyon from above, a number of fine accommodations are available either inside or outside the park.

     The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Missouri) - Pretend to be Tom, visit Hannibal, Missouri and/or ride a riverboat down the Mississippi River.

Amusement Park Themes & Packages
Is someone in your family a roller coaster enthusiast? Ever want to hit the top coasters all in one trip or to plan several trips to do so? Just want to visit a park or two and need advice? We can make reservations, coordinate a "theme park adventure trip" and advise of any deals available. Top parks include Disney, Six Flags, SeaWorld, the Anheuser-Busch Adventure Parks, Knotts Berry Farm, LegoLand and Universal Studios. Great parks geared especially for small tots include LegoLand in California and Sesame Place in Pennsylvania. Families of all ages will enjoy Disney, SeaWorld and Universal Studios. Older kids and teens will especially enjoy the Six Flags and Knott's Berry Farm because of the wilder rides.

     California Dreamin' (Southern California) - A trip to the Golden State can be broken up into different recommendations depending on available time.  With only a few days to spare, the San Diego area offers choices such as Sea World (popular with all ages), the San Diego Zoo, the San Diego Wild Animal Park Lego Land LegoLand (a hit with the young ones!). As an alternative or in addition to this, the Los Angeles/Anaheim area offers Disneyland, California Adventure Theme Park, Universal Studios, Knotts Berry Farm and Six Flags Magic Mountain.  The beach and a myriad of other attractions are also available should you have the time and/or desire. Discounted passes may be available. Minimum Travel Time - 1/2 Week to Full Week or More depending on available time.

   Frolicking in Florida - (Orlando, Florida) - Nobody should miss a trip to Orlando at least once in their lifetime, and there is no better time than when you're with a child. You'll have to plan your time wisely and choose accordingly if you want to hit the main attractions in a week--the Magic Kingdom, Epcot Center, Animal Kingdom, Disney MGM Studios, Downtown Disney, Universal Studios, and on, and on. Should you decide to do a park/cruise combo, Disney has it's own cruise line with characters on board to make all your fantasies come true. Choose from three/four days in the park, three/four days on the ship, or seven days in the park or ship. There are many more attractions in the area including the Kennedy Space Center should your family tire of the parks.

Adventure Themes & Packages

Winter Skiing - Some winter ski destinations cater to the junior crowd and have more activities and/or easy slopes for the younger set.  Cross-country skiing too!

White Water Rafting - Call us to find out which rafting companies and destinations are better for kids. This can be the journey of a lifetime.

Wildlife Encounters - From Seaworld to safarisSea World wildlife encounters can be anything but tame. Let us help you plan a "fauna" trip for the kids interested in animals--tame or wild.

More - Other adventure themes we can help you with include archeology, backpacking, biking, canoeing, cattle drives, covered wagon adventures, dogsledding, fishing, dog sledding, horseback riding, kayaking, Native American experiences, rock climbing, sailing, snorkeling and diving, and trekking with llamas.