Good family vacation spots in the us

By TripadvisorMar 10, 2020 • 7 minutes read

Family vacations are the ultimate way to explore the world with your kids. Travel is the perfect excuse to be there when they catch their first fish, see their first mountaintop view, or watch penguins waddle and swim that very first time. America’s most kid-friendly attractions go way beyond waterparks, museums, and zoos, making it easy to create a trip as unique as your family. Whether you’re looking for educational fun, wild roller coaster thrills, or laid-back beaches, you’ll find family-vacation magic in these cities, islands, small towns, and wild places.

San Diego, California

San Diego is a warm-weather wonderland packed with kid-friendly experiences and fun places to go. Budding wildlife biologists can spot everything from pandas to polar bears at the San Diego Zoo. Or look beneath the waves at the Birch Aquarium at Scripps. Legoland California, a 45-ish-minute drive up the coast, is a must for Lego-obsessed kids (and adults). And for the perfect excuse to learn something new with your kids, take a surf class and catch your first waves in the warm water and gentle breaks off pretty La Jolla.

Indianapolis, Indiana

Indianapolis is bursting with kid-friendly attractions sure to delight both little ones and grown-ups. Find endless chances to learn, build, and explore alongside your kids at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, the world's biggest children's museum. Team up with older kids to test your wits with an escape room game. Find your groove at the Rhythm! Discovery Center, the world's only interactive drum and percussion museum. And get the whole fam in on the action while exploring Indianapolis on a tour or scavenger hunt.

Washington, D.C.

Introduce your kids to the Founding Fathers on a family vacation to Washington, D.C., mixing a dash of history with plenty of kid-focused attractions and tours. Hop-on, hop-off bus tours are a flexible way to take in D.C. highlights at your family’s pace. All the Smithsonian Museums are free to visit, so you can sample them or jump in and out without breaking the bank (or needing to stay all day). Raising a future James Bond or Mata Hari? The kid-friendly International Spy Museum is a favorite with would-be double agents.

Atlanta, Georgia

Kids can go eyeball-to-eyeball with enormous whale sharks at the Georgia Aquarium, an underwater universe that singlehandedly secures Atlanta a spot among the best family vacation destinations in the South. Beyond the aquarium, Atlanta continues to hold plenty of appeal for families. Games, food, music, and shopping are all on offer at Ponce City Market (don't miss the rooftop area). And the World of Coca-Cola is packed with interactive and multimedia exhibits to keep kids hooked from beginning to end.

Los Angeles, California

Kid-friendly vacations in Los Angeles mean beach time, theme parks, and even a few celebrity selfies (in Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, that is). Kids can practice their wand work in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and from Downtown LA, Anaheim and its famous theme parks are only about an hour away by car. Because whether you're meeting Mickey, dodging stars on Space Mountain, or wandering through Galaxy's Edge, Disneyland remains one of the most magical and memorable places to go with your kids in California.

Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii

With surfing, scenery, and a laid-back pace, Maui is among the top kid-friendly vacations in Hawaii. Touch tanks at the Maui Ocean Center let kids get hands-on experience with the wonders of the underwater world, and snorkeling trips from Wailuku give the chance to see sea turtles and colorful fish swimming in their natural habitats. Don’t leave Maui without swaying your way through a traditional luau, an amazing cultural immersion for kids of all ages.

Branson, Missouri

Since it's home to the World’s Largest Toy Museum, it’s no surprise that Branson is a favorite for kid-friendly vacations. But the children’s attractions here go way beyond Lincoln Logs and toy trains. Some favorite family vacation ideas include visiting Branson’s water parks and amusement parks, taking in a family-friendly show or reeling in fish in one of the nearby lakes or streams.

Virginia Beach, Virginia

Sun, sea, and sandcastles make Virginia Beach a favorite for kid-friendly beach vacations, and a trip to the shore can be as active or relaxed as you want. Slip and slide through the Ocean Breeze Waterpark, or double up in a kayak for a dolphin-watching tour along the coast. For indoor activities, children will get a kick out of the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center or Military Aviation Museum, about which one TripAdvisor reviewer raved: “My grandson loved all the planes!”

Empire, Michigan

At the doorstep of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Empire is among the best family vacation spots on Lake Michigan—especially for junior outdoor adventurers. While hiking through sand dunes and forests, you could spot Lake Michigan shipwrecks, swim in a vast lake, then introduce your kids to nights spent under the stars. And since Lake Michigan’s freshwater, kid-friendly waves are just the right size for beginning surfers, the entire family can paddle into the waters and hang-ten just off one of Empire’s sandy beaches.

Huntsville, Alabama

Launch a lifelong fascination with space at the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, a kid-friendly vacation spot that’s perfect for aspiring astronauts. A series of interactive exhibits keeps kids engaged with the science and pure adventure of the universe. So strap into the g-force simulator, try out space walking in a zero gravity chamber, and watch space footage on a towering IMAX screen.

Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin

Planning a family vacation to the Wisconsin Dells is all about getting wet: this kid-friendly getaway is packed with award-winning destination water parks. Enjoy the outdoor parks to cool off in the heat of the Midwestern summer or opt for an indoor water park when you need some mid-winter bathing suit time. If you'd rather to stay dry, there are other great things to do, too, like the Rick Wilcox Magic Theater and kid-friendly zip lining tours.

Bloomington, Minnesota

The Mall of America combines kid-friendly attractions, fabulous shopping, and theme park attractions under one enormous roof, making it one of the easiest-to-plan family vacations in the U.S. Meet the fish at SEA LIFE Minnesota Aquarium, get an eagle’s-eye view of the world in the multi-sensory Fly Over America, or see if your family can work together to beat an escape room challenge, all without leaving the mall.

Orange Beach, Alabama

White-sand beaches shelter a maze of bays and bayous in Orange Beach, a relaxed family-vacation spot on the scenic, sunny Gulf Coast. It’s one of the best places to go with kids who love to play in the sand and salt water. Dive in and get ready to spot dolphins, teach your kids to bait a hook on a private fishing charter, and level up their sand-castle game on the picture-perfect beaches.

New Braunfels, Texas

Kid-friendly vacations in New Braunfels are all about keeping cool: The Comal River and the Guadalupe River flow right past the town at a pace that’s perfect for a day-long inner tube float. Once you dry off, though, you've got a lot more exploring to do. The San Antonio region overflows with kid-friendly attractions, from feeding the animals at the San Antonio Zoo to picnics in the rolling landscape of Texas Hill Country. Right in New Braunfels, don't miss the McKenna Children’s Museum and the always-a-kid-favorite Schlitterbahn Waterpark.

Williamsburg, Virginia

Rich with American history and heritage, Williamsburg is also packed with kid-friendly attractions that help the past come alive. Costumed actors and reenactments at Colonial Williamsburg invite kids to imagine life in the early United States. And the “working” milliners, printers and blacksmiths are fascinating for visitors of all ages. Family-vacation ideas don’t stop with the past, though, since Williamsburg also has two exciting theme parks: Busch Gardens, with its rides; and plenty of slides, pools, and lazy rivers at Water Country USA.

Phoenix, Arizona

Calling all musical families: With more than 15,000 musical instruments, the Musical Instrument Museum is one of Phoenix’s best places to go with kids. Listen to instruments from around the world, then try playing a tune of your own in the museum’s experience gallery. For a different kind of noise altogether, take your kids on an off-roading adventure through the Sonoran Desert, learning about desert plants and animals as you zoom along the sand.

San Francisco, California

Plenty of kid-friendly attractions make San Francisco a favorite spot for any type of family vacation. Don’t miss exploring the infamous prison on Alcatraz Island, cruising across the Golden Gate Bridge, or firing up your kids’ sense of wonder at the California Academy of Sciences, where you’ll find a planetarium, aquarium, and a four-story indoor rainforest.

Grapevine, Texas

With two world-class kid-friendly attractions—the LEGOLAND Discovery Center and Sealife Aquarium—Grapevine is a family vacation spot that has the added benefit of easy access to both Dallas and Fort Worth. After your family explores the worlds of LEGO characters and undersea creatures, make a day trip into Dallas to see the sights, which include the enormous Dallas Zoo, an open-air collection of sculptures at the Nasher Sculpture Center, and the Dallas Cowboys Stadium, a bucket-list experience for kids who love football.

Boston, Massachusetts

Bursting with rich history, Boston boasts classic experiences that captivate kids. Catch the Red Sox at Fenway Park, cruise Boston Harbor aboard the USS Constitution, then head to Boston Public Garden for a ride on the iconic Swan Boats. The city overflows with historic sites, and there are plenty of kid-friendly attractions that introduce youngsters to America’s revolutionary past. They can even get in on the action by tossing bales of tea into Boston Harbor at the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum.

Orlando, Florida

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