Passport Diaries

PASSPORT DIARIES
KIDS IN TOW? STAY SANE WITH THESE SUMMER TRAVEL TIPS.

Grab your passport, sunscreen and travel tote—it's time to get the heck outta dodge. Looking for luxe?
Excited for adventure? Angling for offbeat? We’ve got the skinny on adult and child-friendly places to
explore this summer—plus, essential tips that make traveling with kids manageable. Here’s how to make
the most of summer vacay—for you and your whole family.

Domestic Bliss

Check out what these great states have to offer

Florida

Live the high life at posh Breakers Resort in Palm Beach. Not only can you and your partner enjoy the spa and two golf courses, your kids can revel in the 6,160 square-foot Family Entertainment Center with pool, movie room, computer and X-box rooms with desktop PCs.
www.breakersresort.com

For adults, Amelia Island Plantation, near Jacksonville, offers a 13,200 square-foot spa, 72-hole golf course, and 23 clay tennis courts. Kids have plenty to do: 23 swimming pools, on-site nature center, horseback riding, kayaking, fishing and sailing. Plus, Kids’ Camp Amelia during the day and Just For Kids in the evening, ages three to 10.
www.aipfl.com

Tradewinds Island Grand in St. Petersburg Beach (45 minutes from Tampa) offers family games, raft races, pirate show and dive-in movies. KONK (Kids Only, No Kidding) Club, for ages four to 11, has themed programs.
www.tradewindsresort.com

Casa Ybel Resort on Sanibel Island (45 minutes from Ft. Myers) has a kids club that follows a different theme every day (Pirates! Luau!) and cool programs, games and craft projects (make jewelry with sharks teeth).
www.casaybelresort.com

South Seas Island resort, Captiva Island, boasts two lagoon-style pools overlooking the beach, including a family pool with water slide and kids castle. Kids age four to 12 can join Tiva Kid’s Club for activities and enjoy “Kid’s night Out” themed dinner parties.
www.southseas.com

Idaho

Experience the wild, wild West of the Idaho Rockies. The Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness covers 2.4 million acres and is the largest wilderness area in the lower 48 states.
There, enjoy the following:

	Go white water rafting in the Middle Fork of the Salmon River.
	Experience the gold rush in the preserved ghost town of Custer.
	Boat across Red Fish Lake, go on guided nature hikes, horseback ride, see the 988-ton Yankee Fork Gold Dredge.
	Treat yourself back at your log cabin base camp, the Idaho Rocky Mountain Ranch, with a soak in the hot-spring pool. When you’re done, join the kids for bbq night and the Western band.

Virginia

You and your kids can relive history at Colonial Williamsburg, a 300-acre reality show about how life in America used to be. Visit www.colonialwilliamsburg.com for more information.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg mixes 17th century history with high-tech exhibits and 50 rides. Check out www.buschgardens.com for details.

Paramount’s Kings Dominion has 12 roller coasters!

Virginia Discover Museum has extraordinary, kid-friendly exhibits, like “See the Bees” and “The Earth in Motion.”

Kingsmill Resort & Spa is spread out over 2,900 acres and covers everything on your wish list in high style.

	Three award-winning golf courses with family challenges and instruction
	15-court tennis center with coaches and clinics for ages five to 18
	Full-service marina offering kayaks, river tours, fishing and paddle boats
	Kids Night Out (ages four to 12), Kids Kamp and Spa Kamp for children five to 12

Coolin’ in the Caribbean

Off-season equals price-friendly in the islands

The Bahamas

Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island entices families with Waterscape, a 34-acre playground filled with waterfalls, streams, river rides, water slides and snorkeling lagoons filled with more than 50,000 sea creatures. www.atlantis.com

Jamaica

All-inclusive family resorts Franklin D. Resort & Spa and FDR Pebbles Resort give each family a “vacation nanny” for their entire stay—and it’s part of the all-inclusive rate.
www.fdrholidays.com

Turks & Caicos

Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort and Spa has teamed up with the creators of Sesame Street to bring Elmo and his pals down to the Caribbean. With five pools, Waterpark, camp for all ages, and “Ultra Nanny’ nanny service, luxury family travel is definitely a good look! www.beaches.com

Your Own Private Africa

Take your own pack of wild things on a trip they'll never forget

Guided or do-it-yourself safaris in South Africa, Tanzania, Namibia and Botswana offer stunning panoramas, extraordinary animal and wildlife and rewards one can’t even articulate until you’ve been there. Super-luxe Kwa Maritane Bush Lodge in South Africa offers babysitting, trampoline, children’s playground, swimming pools, obstacle course, rock-climbing wall. Just keep in mind: safaris are best-suited for children over 12.
Visit www.legacyhotels.co.za for more information.

South of the Border: Central and South Americas

Explore the ancient and the exotic

For adventurous families, how about a guided camping trip along the Inca Trail? Check out www.perutreks.com for details.

For eco-friendly adventures (and older children), explore Belize, with its untouched beaches (some waters teem with exotic sealife), lush rain forest interior, swimming holes & natural pools, and Mayan ruins. Ian Anderson’s Caves Branch, an eco-tourist resort coordinates hiking and jungle treks, kayaking and spelunking expeditions and floating cave tours.

—Kelli Martin

SAVE YOUR SANITY!
Click here for must-read travel tips, tricks and suggestions that will make your great escape an easy, breezy and beautiful