Destinations

Anaheim with kids is really Disneyland with kids, plus one beach day, one museum, and the world's most photogenic food hall.

Yellowstone with kids isn't a trip to a park. It's a planning operation that starts 13 months out, runs across two or three lodges, and ends with kids who suddenly know what a bison sounds like up close.

NYC with kids isn't a 'see everything' trip. It's a one-big-thing-per-day, neighborhood-anchored, bus-not-subway operation — and the hotel room is going to be smaller than the closet at home.

Boston is the easier-than-NYC, lower-stakes-than-Disney, we-did-it first-city-trip with kids — America's walking city, museums that earned their reputations, and a downtown that fits in a stroller-friendly afternoon.

San Francisco with kids is the trip your kid will remember — if you ignore the guidebook and pack a fleece in July.

Seattle with kids is the trip that quietly outperforms expectations — if you stay near the Seattle Center, skip the Space Needle, and treat the Bainbridge ferry as the day's activity.

Denver with kids is the trip that quietly works — if you treat the city as the gateway and not the destination, give Day 1 to the altitude, and time your Rocky Mountain National Park permit before you book the flight.

Honolulu with kids is the easy-first-Hawaii trip — if you pick the right base (Waikiki, Ko Olina, Kailua, or the North Shore), book Diamond Head and Hanauma Bay reservations weeks ahead, and treat North Shore winter surf as a watch-only sport.

Vancouver, BC (not the one in Washington state two hours south of Seattle — we're talking about the Canadian one) with kids is the easy-walking Pacific Northwest trip that lives or dies on which day trips you pick. The city itself is a 3-4 day trip. Whistler needs an overnight, Victoria via BC Ferries is better as one too, and a pre-Alaska-cruise pre-stay slots cleanly between your flight and your boat.

Edinburgh with kids is the medieval-city walking trip that lives or dies on whether you packed the carrier instead of the pushchair. It's a 3-day city. Four if you add a day trip. Cobblestones, hills, free museums, a yacht with a corgi hunt, and a castle that splits parents right down the middle — half say it's the whole reason to come, half quietly swap it for Stirling Castle and get a better day out.

Toronto with kids is the easy first international trip for an American family — same language, same outlets, an easy border, and a city that's built around the under-10 with a transit system that lets kids 12 and under ride free. Three days in the city plus an overnight at Niagara Falls is the canonical first visit. The CN Tower divides parents, the Toronto Islands ferry is the sleeper win nobody warned you about, and the Ontario Science Centre your friend keeps recommending? Closed since June 2024.

Orlando is the world's busiest family-travel destination — built around theme parks, water parks, and the kind of infrastructure that makes traveling with kids genuinely easy. The hot take: skip Magic Kingdom on day one. Start with EPCOT's World Showcase — wide paths, calm pace, real food, and toddlers who get overstimulated by Magic Kingdom usually love it.

San Diego is the rare California family trip where the city, the zoo, the beach, and the theme parks all sit within 30 miles. The hot take: don't try to do both the Zoo and the Safari Park on the same trip. First-timers with kids 0-7 do the Zoo. Save Safari Park for the second trip.

London is the rare capital where the trip with kids genuinely works on a £1.75 bus ticket and a free museum admission. Skip the Heathrow Express. Skip the £40 hop-on-hop-off. Don't even think about renting a car. The Elizabeth Line, the buses, and the free museums do all the heavy lifting.

Las Vegas with kids is the trip everyone side-eyes you for booking — and it works, if you plan around the heat, respect how big the Strip really is on foot, and treat the desert as the main event. The Strip is a spectacle you dose, not a playground you grind. The best of the trip is an hour out of town.