8 Family Trips That Will Instill a Love of Travel in Your Kids

Nothing against amusement parks or bustling beach resorts, but sometimes a family trip that opens your kids’ eyes to an area or aspect of the world they never knew existed is even more epic—and exactly the kind of a-ha experience that can reinvigorate you all when you’re finally coming out of lockdown life. (Check the Centers for Disease Control for the most up-to-date information on how to travel safely.)

What’s more, if you sign up for the brand-new United Quest card from Chase, you’ll get rewarded for your travel: New cardmembers can earn up to 100,000 bonus miles, and three miles for every dollar spent on United purchases—including tickets, inflight food and beverages, and WiFi—plus, two miles for every dollar spent on hotels, restaurants, car rentals, and anything else travel-related.

Need a little inspiration for your next jaunt? Check out our carefully curated list of educational or culturally immersive options to find a just-right one for your kids’ age range.

Ages 0-2: Charleston, South Carolina

With distinctive architecture, strollable sidewalks, and a glut of beautiful parks and squares, Charleston is one of the South’s most welcoming cities for families with infants and toddlers. Your first stop should be the Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry, where the little ones can “steer” pirate ships, chase bugs in a kids’ garden, or channel their inner Picasso with a hands-on art project. At Charles Towne Landing, you can check out the wharf where English immigrants landed more than 350 years ago, tour Charleston’s only zoo, and meander down a picturesque alley of stately oak trees.

Even the tiniest tykes will be enchanted by the sight of cownose rays and rescued sea turtles at the South Carolina Aquarium. And on a hot afternoon, you can all get wet and wild in the Lily Pad Lagoon at Whirlin’ Waters waterpark or on one of the beaches at Sullivan’s Island, less than 10 miles from downtown.

Marriott’s newly remodeled SpringHill Suites Charleston Downtown/Riverview, overlooking the Ashley River Marina, is your ideal home base. The family suites are spacious, with kitchenettes and cribs, and there’s an outdoor saltwater pool, on-site laundry and babysitting services.

Ages 3-4: San Diego, California

If there’s one thing that can get a parent on a plane with a 3-year-old, it’s an outstanding zoo. The century-old San Diego Zoo and Safari Park is arguably the best in the country, celebrated for its endangered species breeding programs and other remarkable conservation efforts (not to mention the opportunity to see bonobos, lemurs, sun bears, Tasmanian devils, and clouded leopards all in one shot.)

And yet there’s lots more to do in this sunny SoCal city, starting with a visit to the Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography to learn about sea dragons and seahorses. (At the aquarium’s Tide Pool Plaza, budding marine biologists can even pet starfish and sea cucumbers.) Wander down to La Jolla Cove for a glimpse of sea lions and harbor seals basking on the rocks or head to Balboa Park, where the historic 1910 Herschell-Spillman menagerie carousel recently got a full makeover.

The fantastical LEGOLAND Hotel and LEGOLAND Castle Resort is a big draw for many families, but lower-key types will also find plenty to love at the newly renovated San Diego Mission Bay Resort. There’s a wading pool for children ages 3 and under and a waterfront pool with cabanas for the adults, plus five tennis courts and weekly bonfire-and-S’mores nights on the beach. Kids 4 and older can even sign up for a Mermaid Experience, which culminates with your little Ariel swimming in a pink or teal monofin tail.

Ages 5-7: Florida’s Space Coast

It makes a great add-on to a trip to Disney World, but this 70-mile stretch of Brevard County shoreline dotted with family-friendly beaches, wildlife refuges, and the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is also exciting enough (and educationally enriching) on its own. At the Ron Jon Surf School in Cocoa Beach, children as young as 7 can learn to catch waves during a private beginner lesson. The non-profit Museum of Dinosaurs and Ancient Cultures, housed within a dino-themed store just two blocks from the beach, displays ancient fossils, skeletons as tall as buildings, and real artifacts from Egypt, China, Mesoamerica, and tribal Africa. (Highlights: the recreations of King Tut’s tomb and Terracotta Soldiers.)

Afterward, rocket over to the interactive Kennedy Space Center to learn all about NASA. Youngsters will be awed by the interactive U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, replica space capsules, and the enormous Saturn V, the largest rocket ever flown. Depending on your timing, you might luck out and catch a live rocket launch by NASA, SpaceX, or Boeing. When your kiddo comes back to earth, take the fam on a hike through the marshes and dunes of Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Titusville. Don’t miss the Manatee Observation Deck at Haulover Canal; other potential sightings include otters, alligators, and bobcats.

Colorful Westgate Cocoa Beach Resort is a reasonably priced pick with a prime location for exploring the coastal area; reserve a two-bedroom suite with a full kitchen and living room. Kids will love the hotel’s Wakulla Falls Water Park, which has one of the largest lazy rivers in Florida; parents will appreciate the complimentary beach concierge and sundowner cocktails by the fire pits.

Ages 8-10: The Black Hills of South Dakota

Your fourth grader just learned about Mount Rushmore—now they’re begging to see it in person. Fly into Rapid City and build out a Black Hills vacation from there, working in stops at Deadwood, a historic gold rush town with a Disneyfied spirit, and Crazy Horse Memorial, a monument that is on track to be the largest mountain carving on earth. Book a ranger-led tour of the dramatic cave formations at Wind Cave National Park and observe the herd of roaming buffalo in Custer State Park. On your way to Badlands National Park, at the eastern edge of the Black Hills, you’ll pass approximately 100,000 billboards advertising Wall Drug. Everything about this place screams tourist trap, but it’s also ridiculously fun. After sucking down root beer floats, kids can dance to an animatronic cowboy orchestra or pose atop a 6-foot-tall fiberglass jackalope.

Once you finally manage to pry them away, you’ll be pleased to discover you’re just 15 minutes from one of Badlands’ most striking natural features: the stunning Pinnacles Overlook. Continue along the Badlands Loop Road, encouraging everyone in the car to keep their peepers peeled for bighorn sheep, birds of prey, and chunky-faced rodents in Roberts Prairie Dog Town. The best time to visit Badlands is two hours before sunset or two hours after sunrise—that’s when the jagged rock formations take on otherworldly pink and orange hues. (To catch both, reserve a site at the Cedar Pass Campground, which has running water, flush toilets, and covered picnic tables.)

Back in Rapid City, kids can view authentic Native American drums, pipes, and ceremonial headdresses at the Prairie Edge & Sioux Trading Post and pick up meaningful souvenirs like hand-beaded bracelets or a book of intertribal stories. And for dessert? Old-fashioned banana splits at Armadillos Ice Cream, no question.

Ages 11-13: The Big Island (Hawaii)

Hawaii, a.k.a. The Big Island, is the youngest and largest of the Hawaiian islands. Its unique mix of climate zones offers a new adventure every day: One minute you’re boogie boarding at a black sand beach and the next, you’re stargazing atop a snow-capped mountain. The island’s greatest draw is Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, home to two of the world’s most active volcanoes (Kīlauea and Maunaloa) and a sacred place for Native Hawaiians. Crater Rim Drive offers a fantastic introduction, leading families with limited time to the park’s most spectacular overlooks.

For a more immersive experience, plan on a day hike to the Pu’u Loa petroglyphs or around the steaming rim of the Kīlauea caldera. Stargazing on Maunakea is another must: The mountain’s dizzyingly high altitude (nearly 14,000 feet above sea level) and isolated location in the middle of the Pacific makes it one of the best places on earth to study the cosmos. (More than a dozen astronomical research facilities are clustered here.) Visitors with a 2WD vehicle can go as far as the parking lot at the Visitor Information Station, but if you have a 4WD vehicle, you can take it all the way to the top. (Always consult the local Weather Center for up-to-the-minute conditions before setting out.)

The rest of your crew’s days can be filled with kayaking, snorkeling, and dolphin spotting in Kealakekua Bay with guides from Kona Boys; riding horses past the waterfalls and taro fields of the mystical Waipi’o Valley with Na’alapa Stables; learning about Native Hawaiian culture at the Pu’uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park in South Kona; or swimming at night alongside manta rays with tour operator Sunlight on Water. Just want a lazy afternoon baking on the beach? The Big Island delivers on that front too. Secluded Makalawena Beach in Kekaha Kai State Park on the Kona Coast is a favorite, demanding its visitors hike 2.2 miles through rocky lava fields and enormous sand dunes to reach its immaculate shoreline and translucent waters. The lesson for tweens: No pain, no gain.

Ages 14-16: Fairbanks, Alaska

For adventure-loving teens, there’s no beating the wilds of Alaska. The U.S.’s northernmost city beckons families with year-round activities. At A Taste of Alaska Lodge, a 280-acre parcel with a standalone cottage, log cabin, and variety of rooms and suites, families can tackle the property’s four groomed hiking trails, eyes open for wildflowers and wildlife, or kick back and watch the moose lap water at the goldfish pond. In the summer, down at Tanana Lakes, Alaska Dream Adventures hosts beginner classes in canoeing and kayaking; for teens who already know what they’re doing, gear rentals—including SUPs—are available throughout the Fairbanks area. In winter, explore the grounds with snowshoes strapped on your feet, enroll in dog-mushing school at the beloved local outfitter Paws for Adventure, or join a guided reindeer walk at Running Reindeer Ranch.

Another enticing option is Borealis Basecamp, set on 100 acres of boreal forest about 50 minutes north of Fairbanks International Airport, where teenagers can watch for the elusive Aurora Borealis from the comfort of their own glass-roofed geodesic igloo. Other pursuits include snowmachining down the Trans Alaskan Pipeline, helicopter flightseeing through the remote Alaskan backcountry, and getting family portraits professionally shot beneath the dancing Northern Lights.

Open year-round, the Aurora Ice Museum at Chena Hot Springs Resort is always a cool time: Carved from 1,000 tons of snow and ice, all harvested on site, the frigid environment features neon-lit ice sculptures, an ice chapel, ice outhouse, giant ice chess set, ice knights jousting on horses, and an ice bar for parents who’d like to warm up from the inside.

Ages 17-19: The Rockies

The storied Rocky Mountaineer train has introduced a new route for 2021 that showcases some of the most arresting scenery in the American Southwest. This two-day Rockies to the Red Rocks journey chugs between Denver, Colorado, and Moab, Utah, and includes an overnight stay in the hot springs resort town of Glenwood Springs, Colorado. A good chunk of the track runs parallel with the Colorado River, passing steep canyons, desert cliffs, and Mount Lincoln, the eighth highest peak in the Rockies. Glass-domed windows guarantee every passenger a primo view, so no need to fight over seats. And the varied nature of the trip—bookended with two dynamic vacation destinations—means no one gets bored.

If you and your crew start the train journey in Denver, you can fly in a few days early to explore the Mile High City’s crowd-pleasing food halls (like The Source) and high-low cultural offerings (pair a visit to the Denver Art Museum with a stop at the Denver Selfie Museum). Once you’ve disembarked in Utah’s Canyon County, book a couple of lavishly outfitted tents at glamping retreat Under Canvas Moab. The town is ideally located for exploring the 2,000-plus natural sandstone arches within Arches National Park, the towering sandstone spires of Canyonlands National Park, and the gorgeous river vistas of Dead Horse Point State Park.

Voracious high schoolers may want to load up daily on creatively named quesadillas (The Dirtbag, Fiery Fungus) from the Quesadilla Mobilla food truck. Let ’em. Guaranteed they’ll burn it off tenfold in this outdoor playground, hiking, mountain biking, climbing, or whitewater rafting. (Got a paddling newbie? Experienced outfitter Mild 2 Wild Rafting books river tours doable for all levels.)

Adult children: Kenya and Tanzania

Finally! Your kids are all grown up, which means they’re old enough to sit patiently in a safari vehicle and wait. And wait. And wait some more…until finally that lazy lion rouses from his slumber and goes looking for something innocent to eat—right before your eyes.

No one delivers a dreamier, more thrilling safari experience than 55-year-old luxury outfitter Micato Safaris, and one of the company’s most popular family itineraries is its 15-day Micato Grand Safari to game reserves in Kenya and Tanzania. The camp accommodations—including the majestic Four Seasons Safari Lodge in the Serengeti—are some of the best in East Africa, and there’s no shortage of activities to keep multigenerational travelers engaged. Highlights include tree-top canopy walks in the Ngare Ndare Forest, Samburu-led camel rides on the plains, game viewing in the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy (home to the world’s largest concentration of Grevy’s zebra and 130 black and white rhinos), and hot air ballooning above the Maasai Mara followed by a Champagne breakfast in the bush.

For the ultimate splurge (remember, you’ve got United Quest℠ perks to help offset the cost!), consider tacking on a once-in-a-lifetime Gorilla Trekking experience in the volcanoes of Rwanda’s Virunga National Park, with additional side treks to observe chimpanzees and colobus monkeys in their natural habitats. Seeing how tenderly some primates behave in their tight-knit family units may make you appreciate your own even more.

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