Holiday in America advice

Marwhite

Hiya!

I'm thinking of planning a holiday in the States either next year, or year after for me and my partner and our 15 and 11yr old sons. Current option includes weekend in New York, few weeks in Florida or few weeks in California. I've never been to New York and not sure if it's a family holiday kind of thing but have been to both Florida and California with friends in my youth, and enjoyed both due the various things to do. I guess my mind is made either one of these two but unsure which would be best as family holiday. FWIW the missus hates theme parks lol!

DPinBucks

I'm not sure if you mean New York as an alternative to Florida or California; or as well as.  NY is great for a short family holiday but I would say not more than 3-4 days or so.  There is enough to keep the kids happy over that period.

I'm not familiar with Florida, but California would be great.  What kind of holiday: beach or touring, or a bit of both?  Assume you would have a car.

I and my kids absolutely love theme parks; my wife not so much (certainly not our favourite fast rides).  We got round this in San Francisco by leaving her to tour the city by bus & cable car whist we went off to Great America.  It worked great!

BT Bob

There's a ton of stuff to do in Florida that's not theme-park related. Although, you could throw a cheeky visit to Seaworld in, which isn't a theme park in the way the Disney ones are, for example.
Other things you can do around the Orlando area are Stand-up paddle-boarding (Home Page), Tree-hoppers (like a Go-Ape kind of thing) (TreeHoppers Aerial Adventure Park), airboat ride (Florida Airboat Tours, Swamp Tours near Orlando and Tampa in Central Florida)

There's loads things like these runs by different companies. I've done each of the above and weld recommend them. They're all family-run businesses that go out of their way to make you feel welcome, in my experience, and you'll get a warm fuzzy feeling that, for once, your not pumping your hard-earned cash into a multi-billion $$ company..

There's a load of shopping in large discount malls around the Orlando area too.

You could also venture further west and south - over to the Gulf coast. St. Petersburg, Clearwater, etc, or south to Naples, Marco Island. If you have time and don't mind the drive, why not go all the way south to Key West - it's a really fun place, with loads of things to do. It's a full-day's drive from Orlando - stop for lunch around Miami or a bit further south in Key Largo.

hyperfish

We toured CA/NV and have been to NY a couple of times and I agree with FL for the family. We are fans of touring and that does not suit everyone, but there are beautiful places and beaches all the way around. We have done this circuit more times than I can remember and would happily do it again. Been to the Keys twice on a bike but TBH it's a long drive to Key West with not a lot in between, so I would give that a miss personally.

davidjohnson

Do you mean a weekend in New York and a few weeks in Fl/Ca?

Marwhite

Sorry. Yeah, I meant one of the three. Would love California as there's so many places I'd like to revisit, but obviously this involves a lot of driving with no base hotel, if that makes sense. I'm thinking with Florida we could maybe hire a holiday home with pool etc and from what I can remember there's a lot on your doorstep so to speak. California would mean San Fran, Yosamite, L.A, Death Valley etc and not sure how that would work with a family as it would mean a lot of different hotels and hassle - although that is the preferred option. Never been New York so have no idea if that would be better/easier.

AMc

Depends a bit on your budget, time available and the temperament of your kids.

We did California a few years back with our 10yr old - flew into LA took the Coast Starlight sleeper to Seattle - stayed a few days with friends then drove back to LA through Portland, Crater Lake, SF, Yosemite, Monterey and then LA for a week with an overnight to San Diego.  Covered about 3K miles in just under 4 weeks.  
Most of the accommodation we took pot luck on motels and hotels or prebooked a couple of days ahead when we knew when we'd arrived.  We booked ahead for SF - very expensive city.  In LA we used AirBnB and rented a cottage in Santa Monica.
If you have less time then San Francisco to LA is a lot more sensible but you'll still be piling on the miles.
You could always rent a motorhome

A couple of years back we did just over 1 week in New York and 1 in Washington DC.  Hotel in NYC and Air BnB in Washington.  There is a lot to do and see in both places in terms of galleries, museums etc. We loved both but both were pricey

We used Citypass.com for both the LA theme parks and for the NYC attractions.  They give you discounts and queue jumping in some places.  Certainly saved us money on the LA theme parks.  Might give you an idea of what is available in both places.

Only been to Florida once for a company conference - really not my thing at all.

Watch out for any of these places in summer as the heat can be very oppressive.
  
If you can arrange your trips to be the later end of August/September then most of the American schools will have finished their 3 month summer holiday.  That means cheaper deals and in our case much shorted queues at Disney

davidjohnson

It is always a problem balancing everyone's preferences with holidays. We love road trips, but also like to have a few days in one location at either end of the driving.
At 11, my daughter would have hated being stuck in a car and regularly changing hotels, at 15 she would have quite enjoyed it.
The best trip we ever had was California/Nevada/Utah/Arizona/New Mexico/Colorado and I can't wait to go back there, but given your family dynamic, I think Florida would be the best choice. Villas with pools are plentiful and excellent value in and around Orlando, which is a good base for going to beaches etc. If you don't mind long drives, you can maybe have a couple of overnight stays maybe the Everglades/Keys or up to Savannah and Charleston.

Timmy C

I would say despite the fact your missus hates theme parks, go to Florida and give the kids an amazing holiday that they will no doubt love. It won't be long until they don't want to go on holiday with you at all and then you can do all the touring and other stuff kids may not like without them.

davidjohnson

Our daughter is 23 and still wants to come away with us!