Which holiday destination is best for family?

Well depends on your family. What do you guys like to do? Hiking, biking, family games etc.

You need to tell us what you family likes to do then we can figure it out.

Honestly, it does not matter, just as long as your family is together.

“Over the meadow and through the woods, to grandmothers house we go”.

Grandmother’s house is one of the very best Christmas destinations you could ever ask for.

If you like hiking and being out in the woods, Fish Creek Pond campsites in the Adirondacks are great because they are campsites that are on the lakeshore, they have easy access to canoeing and kayaking and hiking as well.
If you like amusement parks and the beach, Florida works. It has Busch Gardens, Universal Studios and Disney world, not to mention great beaches.
If you want unspoiled nature, Yellowstone and Iceland are both great. It depends on what you’re going for.

You want a great family place, you can’t beat Lake Placid NY. Hiking, swimming, great food, and the Olympic venues.

Considering that everyone in your family loves the outdoors, great weather, amazing views, etc. I would suggest hitting the California coast. Redwood forests, see whales from your car, etc. Oh, wait – you didn’t provide any information at all. Stay home. It’s cheaper.

Disney World, Orlando, FL

Stowe VT, meet the Von Traps, learn about making maple syrup, making cheese, spend a few hours at a farm, go to Ben and Jerry’s and take the tour.

Washington, D.C. Great museums, history, events during the summer on the mall, and more.

Upstate NY, rent a place on a lake, mountains, water sports, horseback riding.

So many places, how old are the kids?

Yes, we would have to know more about your family; it is not one size fits all. For my family, renting a cottage in a rural area or a cabin in a state park was always enjoyable because we like hiking, swimming and great scenery.

We had a family Christmas in Steamboat Colorado one year I would love to do again! It was magical with all that snow they get. Strawberry Park hot springs out in the mountains was the best part!

I took a family vacation in Hawaii. Everyone had a great time. We went snorkling, swimming, site seeing, luau’s, comedy shows. The weather was beautiful everyday. It only showers for a minute and then its gone, so outdoor activities where never canceled.

It just occurred to me the OP probably is not American. He/she used holiday. So we also need to know where you live @mellisat and how far you are willing to travel?

@JLeslie She used holiday and refers to Scotland in her avatar.

I appreciate what @Pandora said. We had a great Christmas in Hawaii. The trip was the only gift for that year, but we did make a pretend tree with green tinsel ropes hanging down from the light fixture over the table. We had one small inexpensive gift each for the kids, candy canes, and chocolate covered macadamia nuts. Of course, the outdoors and the ocean were wonderful. It was a lovely time.

@Adirondackwannabe I see. Maybe she wants to stick to that side of the Atlantic?

Im going to Greece on Sunday, I don’t recommend visiting the same country every year.
I see that most of the people here are advising different places in America.. even if I were American I would spend vacations somewhere abroad.
Our holiday’s time shouldnt be spent only on attractions, I think it’s a good idea to explore the world at the same time ;]

@WrongW Welcome to Fluther!
Lucky you to be going to Greece! One of my favorite memories is 3 weeks in Greece, camping and traveling by motor scooter. Different people are comfortable with different kinds and amounts of traveling. I know people who live 15 miles from San Francisco and have never been to the city. I also know people who spend most of their time traveling and never settle anywhere they can call home. (And they love it!) In between are all kinds of variations.
I have one recommendation for all people who travel or want to travel. Make a list of all the places you’d like to visit (and realize that list may change). Then rank the places as to physical difficulty. What you can do when you’re 20 is different from what you can do when you are 75. So go climb mountain, hike trails, canoe in wilderness country, early. Rome, Paris and London you can do in a wheelchair. They’ll still be there (I hope).

@mellisat Welcome to Fluther and thanks for asking the question.

@WrongW I think a little differently than you. I feel so few Americans experience this large country of ours. They travel everywhere but in their own backyard. The US has so much to offer. Also, not that many people have the money or time to travel abroad. (I don’t, and I prefer traveling by car instead of by plane). This question is very hard to answer specifically though because we don’t know what the OP is looking for. Many of my friends prefer the Wisconsin Dells, but I’d rather go further north into northern Wisconsin and stay in a cabin, away from all the touristy stuff. We are all different. =)

@WrongW I guess it really depends on the age of the children. I loved going to Europe with my son and husband but my son is grown now. But when they were little, there are a lot of things you have to consider. Long plane rides, quick places you can grab a bite, outdoor activities that are fun for children, illnesses, doctors. Its just easier to deal with all that when you know the language well because it is your own. Not so great when your abroad and your not familiar with the language. When we were in France, we got lost for 3 hours. Even though my husband knew french pretty well, apparently he wasn’t asking the right questions for direction. People seemed confused. At least in English, you know there will be no confusion. Also as adults we could all take care of ourselves if anything happened to one of us. Not so easy with little kids. They get restless in hotels and can easily wander away and not know who to ask for help since they don’t know the language. Just overall less stressful for the parents. Less to worry about on a trip that is suppose to be fun and worry free.
If they do have teens over 16 than a European trip would be nice. But Europe is more about indulging in the culture. Really young kids are more about burning off energy and are pickier eaters. If you asked a pre-teen, do you want to see the Eiffel Tower or the beaches of Hawaii.
Most will rather save the history lesson for another day.

The destination is a lot less important than proper planning to include the needs and wants of every family member. A vacation is no fun if there isn’t enough flexibility to meet the demands of travel.

I agree that you should should probably travel in your own country first and that it’s easier to do that with small kids. It kind of depends on the ages of the kids. Riding in a car for hours is not great for kids. When ours were very little, we’d plan where we would stop for lunch so we could have a picnic in a town on the way to wherever we were going. The breaks were important to let the kids run. We’d also stop early (4PM) at a place that had a swimming pool so they could exercise. In the morning we’d start early and drive an hour or so before stopping for breakfast.
We had great times on our vacations.