My Family Travels | Latest Articles
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5 Places in Europe Every Kid Should Visit One Day

Europe is not only full of fantastic old buildings, churches, and museums but is also full of many places where every child, and every adult who’s a kid inside, can have the best time of their lives....

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Mexico City, Mexico Activities And Attractions

Here's a quick guide to Mexico City, Mexico, one of the world's largest cities, where interesting museums, parks, monuments and culture await the family. The Mexica, a branch of the Aztec people, founded...

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Road Trip USA: The Pacific Coast Highway from San Francisco To Los Angeles

Perhaps the best known stretch of highway in America -- California's Highway 1 between Los Angeles and San Francisco is 400 miles of coastal beauty that's become our "favorite family roadtrip." What...

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China Launches Action-Packed Adventure Park

Coinciding with the 2016 Year of China-U.S. Tourism, Discovery Communications has launched its first branded “outdoors” theme park in China. The Discovery Adventures Moganshan Park,...

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Planning a Brilliant Holiday in the English Countryside

Both inland, and along the dramatic coast of the English Channel, the countryside of South West England is picturesque, quaint, historic and full of delightful sights and quintessentially British people....

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Cincinnati, Ohio Attractions

There's more than meets the eye in Cincinnati; from artisanal donut shops in restored brewery worker housing, to a waterfront park that would make cities twice its size proud,...

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Cody, Wyoming And The Buffalo Bill Center of the West

Authentic Wild West activities for all ages and a world class museum draw families to Cody, in the area of northeastern Wyoming known as Yellowstone Country. Drive into the small city of Cody,...

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Busy Bee Stop Has a Hashtag for its Bathrooms!

Our family is on a road trip to Jacksonville, Florida, and before getting to Jacksonville, we needed to make one more pit stop. My wife's aunt and uncle said that we have to stop at the Busy Bee in...

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Save Big On College Visits And Student Travels

I've found that packing smartly, shopping around for flights, and bundling flights and hotels into one efficient travel package make instant savings that can be used for more important student expenses. Parents...

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Dublin Deals: Ireland Getaways from $613 Including Air

It's time for Ireland. Great Value Vacations is offering a three-night “Dublin City Break” package with...

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A White Water Rafting Adventure In Maine

If your offspring are anything like mine, the thought of limited cell phone coverage is worse than root canal, so I never imagined my college age son would be game to head to a remote corner of Maine...

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Disney Themeparks Going Where They Haven’t Gone Before

Wondering what's up and coming for the 2017 season at the Disney theme parks? Whether you're heading to Orlando, Hong Kong or a galaxy far, far away, there's a lot new in store.  Disney's...

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Milford Sound And Fiordland National Park

Fiordland on the South Island, one of New Zealand's most scenic regions and a UNESCO World Heritage site, is one of those bucket list destinations every family should...

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Top 10 Orlando Vacation Hotels and Resorts

Where to stay in Orlando?  We offer some suggestions on the Universal Orlando campus, as well as some other fun options (Sponge Bob, anyone?), golf resorts, condo rentals and more for your consideration. 1....

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Disney World Moderately Priced Resorts

Disney World Resort has a wide range of hotel, room and villa options priced around $80 on up to $500 or more. But this list reflects a level ranging from moderate to less expensive luxury options. At...

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Camp Salmen Nature Park Slidell, LA

Our family loves to take road trips, and this summer was no exception. We decided to venture out of our hometown of Lafayette, LA and head east to Jacksonville, FL so that our kids, ages 3 & 5,...

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Short Breaks And Weekend Getaways From San Francisco

We love vacationing in the Bay Area and its environs, but sometimes even families lucky enough to live there have to find weekend getaways from San Francisco.

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A Day of Amusement at Elitch Gardens in Denver

When in Denver, the list of family activities is plentiful, but there is a fun and historic place to go that the kids will be begging to go back to. Located near the Broncos Stadium in downtown Denver,...

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Short Breaks And Weekend Getaways From Dallas Fort Worth

Many families from the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area enjoy spending their short breaks in Hill Country or along the south coast of Texas. Whether...

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Puerto Plata’s Cheap All-Inclusive Beach Getaways

Cheap all-inclusive resorts became really popular when the recession started to take its toll on the economy, so Family Travel Forum selected our award-winning

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Mixing Fun and Volunteering on a Fathom Cruise

The recently created Fathom Cruises, a division of the mammoth Carnival Cruise Line, offers a kind of social good cruise unprecedented in the industry. For the inaugural Dominican Republic itinerary,...

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Overnight At America’s Top Aquariums And Zoos

From coast to coast, special sleepovers at aquariums and zoos are available to travelers who book ahead. Interested in sleeping with the fishes or feeding reptiles after dark? Not only...

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Joie de Vivre On A Family River Cruise

On a CroisiEurope river cruise through Germany our family experienced the joie de vivre of France’s prized lifestyle, while learning about German history....

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Star Trekking: Thomas Stays at the Hilton

In this month's celebrity travel column, we stalk Thomas the Tank Engine, the friendly blue train engine that could, and has, captivated the imaginations of every preschooler...

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Radiohead at Dublin

About the most touristy thing to do in Ireland is visit a castle. Little did I know that most castle grounds double as concert venues.  For Dublin, that place is

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The Sherry-Netherland Redefines Old School with Fresh Family Deals

Looking for a trendy Manhattan hotel with exposed brick, stainless steel furniture and live DJ music? The Sherry-Netherland on New York’s swanky 5th Avenue isn’t it -- and the hotel aims...

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Three generations travel to Paris

In spite of transportation strikes, demonstrations, threats of terrorism and flooding in the Seine, my June 2016 trip to Paris with my daughter, Nikki and eight-year-old grandson, Noah was great....

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Ahoy Matey! 10 Special Family-Friendly River Cruises

Cruise fans know that ships provide an effortless family vacation, a way to see the world without hauling suitcases or changing hotels. And while megaships accommodate adults and kids with a huge variety...

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Souvenir Shopping Savvy

Souvenir crazy? We are. With Americans spending $5 billion on souvenirs annually, we want to share shopping tips that should reduce your family’s chances of buying junk and maximize the odds of bringing...

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Free National Park Family Programs

Combining a road trip with a national park visit makes one of the top budget family vacations we know, especially when there are so many free children's activities. Thanks to federal...

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Shelby American Las Vegas – Experiencing the Legend

"I'm not an engineer or a designer but I think I know what people like." - Carroll Shelby I'm so inspired by the humility of a man who...

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Las Vegas, Nevada Hotels And Resorts

We've known for years that Las Vegas, America's #1 city of adult entertainment, had plenty to offer families but hotels didn't really want to welcome visitors under 21. While that's still true at the city's...

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Student Article
How Oleleshwa and Kisaruni Changed My Life

On July 20, 2015, 17 American, Canadian, Ecuadorian, and Irish students departed from Washington DC with imaginations running wild over what they would experience in the Maasai Mara region in Kenya...

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Student Article
Yaquina Head: A Journey Never to be Forgotten

The vast ocean lay in front of me, a massive blanket with no end in sight. Overhead, streaks of cirrus clouds graced the pale blue sky like the wings of an enormous Trumpeter Swan. Beneath my feet lay...

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Student Article
A Rose in the Desert – Serenity in Damascus

Damascus, Syria, a city at the heart of a bloody war. A city that itself is a juxtaposition where life thrives only kilometers away from heavy conflict and war. After years of waiting, a turbulent flight...

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Student Article
Leave No Trace

        The Adirondack Mountains, located in Upstate New York, hold forty-six High Peaks above 3,790 feet.  One of my favorite vacation activities is hiking some...

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Student Article
Dragon Army’s Adventure Legacy : What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Our Memories for Ever

Nostalgia. Nostalgia. Nostalgia. I can still recall the crisp, rushing wind as it grazed my face from every angle. As we twisted and turned so rapidly, the darkness of the night was engulfed by the...

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Student Article
Death on the Bridge of Life

Calm waters shift slowly on one side. Driven, velocious cars journey on the other. A living form of juxtaposition. I feel the shadows of those who marched on the Edmund Pettus Bridge beside me. Heads up,...

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Student Article
Hope in the Midst of Despair

The building looked innocent enough from the street. With its greying stone, plain rectangular structure, and uniform windows, it looked like simply another old office building that you could walk past,...

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Student Article
Italy: The Path of the Gods

The narrow, serpentine road hugs the hillside, rocks and vegetation to the left, a sheer drop to the Mediterranean to the right. We’re taking the Sita...

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Student Article
Breakthrough

Bzzz! We were constantly swatting away persistent mosquitoes which craved our blood, dehydrated from the sweat pouring off our bodies, and sore from the backpacks that felt like a pack of elephants....

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Student Article
The Way That Water Washes Over

If I had to pick one thing, for-sure, that I love most about Thailand, it would be the rain. Where I'm from (San Francisco, I tell everyone I meet, because it's close-by anyways and far more well-known),...

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Student Article
Of Heat and Humanity

The heat slipped into Los Angeles, catching us unaware. Was that the inkling of a coming heat wave, or just a warm breeze? Were those clouds in the distance? Surely, the morning fog meant a mild day? By...

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Student Article
Climbing to New Caledonia

The American flag waved above me as I paraded across stage with forty other Americans all wearing red white and blue. We were surrounded by the reds, whites, greens and yellows of twenty-six other flags...

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Student Article
Setting Foot in a Nation of Faith and Resilience

A blank computer screen… This is the scholarship applicant’s dreaded nightmare, yet at the same time, the cherished dream of countless poverty-stricken Filipino sidewalk dwellers. Gratefully exchanging...

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Student Article
A Final Night to ‘Never Forget’- The Journey Between Summer Camp and Auschwitz

My whole life revolved around summer camp. I would dream of  climbing onto the bus and taking off  for another summer spent lakeside with my best friends at Emma Kaufmann Camp. The school...

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Student Article
Pompeii Dreams

Young and hopeful, I dreamed of seeing the places from my "Who Was" books and History Channel documentaries. I wrote stories of going to Egypt and discovering King Tut’s tomb for myself. I wished...

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Student Article
Dance is the Universal Language

I stood center-stage in a colorful costume and stared out into the crowd eagerly filling the cobblestone square. Beyond, the Sudety mountains stood proudly before a glowing sunset. The music began,...

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Student Article
New York Two Ways

     The air is sharp, like the people who glance at our mini-man for but a second before discerning our place as outsiders looking into their world. The pale, yet colorful, cynical,...

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Student Article
Pilatus: The Dragon’s Mountain

LUCERNE, SWITZERLAND. 1421. It’s summer, when the snows have finally receded back into the fang-like peaks of Mount Pilatus. The small lakeside village rests peacefully...

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