Whether your kids are science geeks, future engineers or artists, or you just want them to have a unique experience, San Francisco’s two-dozen museums deliver. The California Museum of Sciences — one of the city’s top tourist draws since its move to Golden Gate Park — is the only place in the world to combine a natural history museum, aquarium and planetarium in one building. It’s the greenest museum in the world.
Not all inns and B&Bs offer the right fit for families with children. Many travelers choose inns and B&Bs for romantic getaways and a break from the kids. Yet, even as recent economic instability has challenged the travel industry, family travel has remained steady and is now on the rise once again. Innkeepers have realized they can have their parents and kids too living harmoniously at the same inn. This guest blog by B&B experts Marti Mayne and Sandy Soule offers tips on finding the right inn
Talk about a unique family getaway — yes, while this is primarily for adults and couples there are family weekends with a litany of kids’ activities — pony rides nearby, a bonfire with s’mores, croquet on the lawn, biking and hikes, fishing in the pond… you can even sleep in a helicopter!
Locals and tourists scoff at the notion that they might not be safe here or along the Riviera Maya (www.rivieramaya.com), which stretches south of Cancun to Tulum. “Mexico is a big country and the violence is so far away from here,” explains cab driver Fernando Morales, who has lived in this area all his life. “Once people get here, they relax.”
Along the Riviera Maya south of Cancun, you have your choice of more than 300 hotels (some 38,0000 rooms from tiny 15-room beach front hotels like the Playa Azul in Tulum to Massive all inclusive to upscale condos like the Condo Hotels right in the heart of Playa del Carmen.
The Grand Canyon, set aside as a national monument by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1908, became a national park in 1919. Today, it remains one of the most visited parks, drawing more than 4.3 million visitors a year. Families from around the world come here to experience what is widely considered one of the great wonders of the world. Like I said, wow!
One of the best preserved coastal Maya sites — it was at its height between the 13th and 15th Centuries — Tulum is built along the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula on the Caribbean Sea –the high cliffs protecting the city from hurricanes even in ancient times. Tulum was one of the last cities inhabited and built by the Mayans.
Four days on Mexico’s Riviera Maya (Yes, it’s safe!)
Family vacations, of course, are a lot about memories. But there’s something to be said for returning to places where things might not have gone as planned and let’s face it, they often don’t on family vacations. Returning gives you an opportunity to measure how much you and your kids have grown and to create new memories.
I don’t think there is anything you might want to try that you can’t find in San Francisco. Last night, we sample a restaurant on the Embarcadero, about a block from the restored Ferry Building home to the bustling farmers market selling and explaining their local goods