Family Travel Bucket List for Kids

I wanted to make a travel bucket list of places I think the whole family will enjoy. Although, I do have my own travel list that includes places in Asia, Africa, and Europe. However, my kids are younger and I feel better staying closer to home for now. Furthermore, it’s a long time to have children on a plane. I can’t imagine being on a plane for 13 hours with a little one. In addition, I think they will be able to appreciate those places more when they are older. For this reason, I have made a list of places I think the kids will enjoy that doesn’t include extremely long flights. Here is our family bucket list.

Hawaiian Cruise

Hawaii is a beautiful place and unfortunately, I’ve never been there. I know my children would love to play on the beaches and learn to surf. I recently looked into Hawaiian cruises because I thought that would be a perfect way to see the Hawaiian islands.

The Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises have a port in Vancouver, British Columbia. Celebrity Cruises have 10 and 11 night cruising’s, 5 of those days are at sea. It’s also a one way trip. One cruise departs from Vancouver to the Hawaiian Islands. The other cruise starts in Hawaii and ends in Vancouver. Princess Cruises depart from Los Angeles and returns to Los Angeles. They have a 15 day cruise but you spend the majority of the time at sea.

Norwegian Cruise Pride of America

The Norwegian Cruise is stationed in Hawaii and is a 7 day cruise. Norwegian Cruises appealed to me more than the other cruises. That is to say that I like that it’s a 7 day cruise. I’m not sure I want to do a 15 or 11 day cruise. Especially, since half the time is at sea, and I want to spend more time in Hawaii.  Also, It would be simpler to just fly to Hawaii and fly back from Hawaii. Each day you get to explore one of the islands. It’s a great way to be introduced to Hawaii. That way if we vacation again in Hawaii, we will have some ideas of where we want to explore for the next time.

There is plenty of shore excursions to choose from. The shore excursions include; scenic and city tours, historical landmarks, scuba and snorkeling, flight tours, and wildlife tours just to name a few. There are 96 different shore excursions. It will be easy to find something fun for each kid, since there are so many options to choose from.

What I really like about going on a cruise is that little planning is required. When you have children to take care of it can add to the stress of traveling. But, when things are already planned out it makes a vacation less stressful. Also, when you are on a cruise meals are included. Therefore, you don’t have to stress about where you are going to eat and how to get there. A Hawaiian Cruise would be a great family vacation.

Legoland California

All my kids love to play with legos, so this is a must do. The Legoland website says that it’s for ages 12 to 2. My kids ages are from 10 to 2 years old. For that reason, it is a perfect time to visit the theme park. Legoland has plenty to do, including rides, shows, a water park, and an aquarium.

Legoland California has 2 themed hotels to choose from, Legoland California Hotel and Legoland Castle Hotel. The Legoland Castle Hotel is a newer hotel and opened in April 2018. The hotels include free breakfast and an in-room treasure hunt. I really appreciate that breakfast is included because that is one more cost that I don’t have to worry about.

 When I started researching the Legoland hotels I was really happy to find out that we would be able to stay in one room as a family. Both Legoland hotels offer rooms that accommodate 7 people. As a family of 6 it can be more challenging to find rooms to accommodate our family.

My kids are really excited to visit the park. Two days seems like enough to experience everything. This will be our next big trip. I want to make sure we go as a family before my kids get too old.

Disney Cruise

Planning a trip can be very time consuming and stressful. For this reason, I like the idea of going on a cruise. I don’t have to worry about where to eat, and where to stay.

I have never been on a cruise and I’ve heard that Disney Cruise Line is one of the best. One of the things I find most exciting are the kids clubs. They have separate kids clubs based on age. Disney’s Oceaneer Club is for children 3-12 years old. The club includes things like arts and crafts, toys, games, movies, play areas and interactive activities. They also have activities for tweens the Edge is for ages 11 to 14 and Vibe for teens ages 14-17. Kids can be left to play while the adults explore the ship and do other activities. I know my children will have so much fun they won’t want to leave.

3 Night Bahamian Cruise

We plan on a 3 night Bahamian cruise for our first cruise. This would be a perfect introductory cruise. Who wants to go on a 14 day cruise only to find out you are sick the whole time? My kids and I all get motion sickness. Moreover, to know if cruising will make us sick we will have to test the waters first, literally.

From what I can tell we might need to book 2 rooms. We are a family of 6 and the majority of the rooms are for 3 to 5 people depending on the ship. Disney has 4 ships, the Dream, Magic, Fantasy, and Wonder. The Disney Wonder and Disney Dream have concierge 2 bedroom suites that sleep 7 and a Royal suite that sleeps 7. However, the 2 bedrooms and Royal Suite are very limited. Each ship only has a few of each. Therefore, we will most likely book 2 different rooms.

Lincoln City, Oregon

Next on the list is Lincoln City Oregon. I was searching towns on the Oregon Coast and I saw something called Finders Keepers, glass floats. Hand crafted glass floats made by local artisans are hidden on the beach. If you find one it’s yours to keep. The rule is one float per person, per year. Thousands are hidden throughout the year. The glass treasures are hidden at random times and locations. Here is a link for more information about Finders Keepers. https://www.oregoncoast.org/glass-floats/  Blown glass is beautiful and It would be fun for the whole family to search for the treasures.

It has been years since I last visited the Oregon Coast. I didn’t have kids the last time I was there. Therefore, we are due for an Oregon coast family vacation. My kids talk about how they want to play on the beach and this would be fun. Lincoln City also has other fun events like, a sandcastle contest, kite festival and free fishing days. With so many things to do, it seems like a great place for a family vacation.

In conclusion, I hope that as a family we will be able to go to these places within the next two years. We are always adding to our bucket list, so this is just the start of all the places we will go.

The greatest legacy we can leave our children is happy memories

Og Mandino

What is on your bucket list? Have you traveled to the places I’ve listed? I’d love to know your ideas, so leave a comment below.