4 day vacation ideas

[Dan B.]

Looking at taking a couple days as a getaway for the family before I start the new job at IUP. Want to stay somewhat local.....maybe three hours each way. Kids are 8 and 10yrs old. I'm terrible at planning this kindof stuff and was looking for some ideas. Thinking day 1 and day 4 as the partial travel/amusement days with the two in between as full visit/whatever days. Thanks.

[Dan B.]

Thinking maybe even Niagara Falls.....???

[PaxtonShelby]

Deep Creek, Maryland - laid back - hiking - fishing - relaxing family time - tons of places you can rent - 2 hours drive from Pgh.

Or if you are set on an amusement park, Hershey is fun. Really nice park with lots of good coasters - and the ACCA car museum is really great. About a 4 hour drive from Pgh.

[Dan B.]

Amusement doesn't have to be a "park" per se.......just stuff to do. Will check out Deep Creek.

[95V6]

Deep Creek.

[Dan B.]

What specifically at Deep Creek do you guys like to do..........

[PaxtonShelby]

Relax ..good eats...hiking at Swallow Falls...take the dogs to the lake and play fetch for hours...fishing...nice house with a hot tub and some beer & wine...

just a relaxing place to go.

I think the two companies that rent places are...

raileyrealty.com

longandfoster.com

not sure if you have pets - but some places allow pets for a small fee.

[John4cam]

Tygart lake...

[gpfarrell]

Niagara Falls is great on the Canadian side. If you all have passports you'll have a good time there. If not, Deep Creek!

[travj31]

As others have said Deep Creek is nice and close by.

If interested in Niagara Falls, check groupon. Can get some killer deals on nice hotels there, but in my opinion 2 days is about as long as you'll want to be there.

Hershey/Gettysburg would be a nice 3-4 day trip too. Cool amusement park, history, lots of cool old shops and stuff to see and can be relaxing.

For a quick getaway I always liked the Delaware beaches. Ton of stuff to do and is an easy trip.

[CobraII]

Washington DC, if the kids are old enough to check out the museums and monuments. Air & Space Museum, Musuem of Natural History, Museum of American History, should be something in all hold their interests. All the monuments around the mall too, as well as the Vietnam, Korea, and WWII memorials. National Zoo is awesome. Metro is pretty easy to get around on.

[SK360]

We're leaving for Niagara Falls next Tuesday, wife has never been. I'm sure your kids would enjoy it. We are also doing Niagara-on-the-lake and Toronto.

[SonofaBish]

its a little more than 3 hours, but a cruise out of either Baltimore or NYC would be awesome for you.... I'm not sure if they do anymore, but i remember cruise lines used to give big discounts on kids if you had 2 paying adults.

I think a 5 day cruise to Bermuda from Bayonne, NJ (NYC) would probably be $500-600 a person for the adults.... kids should be 1/2 that, but i'm not sure if they do that anymore.

[somethingclever]

while not 4 days....i think great a 2-3 day trip for family stuff is Oglebay near Wheeling.

fishing and paddle boats
playground
mini golf
Indoor zoo/aquarium and outdoor train ride within park
Petting Zoo
I would imagine walking/biking trails but not 100% sure.

Food was incredible when we were there last yr...some rooms are outdated but overall package pricing was pretty cheap and the staff was very friendly.

You can also leave there for an afternoon and spend it at nearby Cabela's. ;)

[cLockWise]

Dan I don't really know you that well, but Sandusky, OH has a lot of fun things to do. The Kalahari In-Door Water Park is an absolute blast, a lot of stuff for the kids to do. There's a few swim up bars as well if you're interested in chilling out. Plus there is always some cool places to eat up there plus things to do.

As Ron said, Deep Creek is really nice. It's laid back and a good time. I went and just drove around and checked out some of the history, we went and had dinner at a nice restaurant and they have a few places to go bowling. Plus they have a lot of little parks and lots of sight seeing you can do. It's definitely worth a 3-4 day trip, as there really is a lot to do. Just pick up one of those Visit Deep Creek manuals when you get there at the Visitor's Center. Has lots of good reads in it for things to do.

Erie, PA is always good, there's some fun stuff to do up there as well. Plus they have an indoor water park as well.

John mentioned Wheeling, I live about 40 mins or so from Oglebay and it's nice. They have a little train museum that your kids might enjoy, plus a small zoo on the premises. The restaurants are nice along with the paddle boating as he said.

Hershey, I've heard is always a good time, I'm actually planning on taking the fiance there this year for a small trip for us to do something different. I don't know a whole lot about it, but I know that the kids would like it because of the amusement park and the history as trav said.

Like I said, I don't know you really well or your family so I'm not sure what all of your interests are, but hopefully it gives you an idea of some things to do. If you want to know anything more about some of the areas, I can message you. I go to Erie a few times a year (usually for the Wine) and Sandusky a few times (Cedar Point / Kalahari typically).

[madmaxin22]

[QUOTE=cLockWise;350086]
Erie, PA is always good, there's some fun stuff to do up there as well. Plus they have an indoor water park as well.

QUOTE]

shocked nobody said this until now.... tons to do in Erie. Got Waldameer decent amusement park, coasters, nice water park w/ 6 or 7 slides, lazy river, etc. Miles of beaches on Presque Isle, biking, think around 15 miles of biking/walking trail, rent kayaks canoes, or bigger Boat rentals/jet skis, also can take the whole family on a 4 hour perch fishing boat. Maritime museum, Erie zoo, casino, and an indoor water park about 5 miles south of erie. Tons of affordable restaurants where you can get some good Perch or Walleye meals. Huge mall at millcreek and movies within 3 miles of the lake. depending on time of year there are usually farms that are open to public and you can pick your own strawberries, cherries, apples, peaches, etc etc, and some winery's as well.

best part is its 2hours away..... Instead of spending big bucks on hotel rooms, rough it out and take a camper or tent and stay on the beach at sara's campground.

Unfortunately i am biased as i make the drive every weekend to my permanent camp in Sara's.... nothing like getting away every weekend.

[Dan B.]

We've spent a bunch of time in and around Erie. Camped at Folly's End a few times, done hotels, zoo, beach, fished, etc, etc.

Also, I covered that area for work for 12yrs and see enough of it! ;)

[SonofaBish]

its a little more than 3 hours, but a cruise out of either Baltimore or NYC would be awesome for you.... I'm not sure if they do anymore, but i remember cruise lines used to give big discounts on kids if you had 2 paying adults.

I think a 5 day cruise to Bermuda from Bayonne, NJ (NYC) would probably be $500-600 a person for the adults.... kids should be 1/2 that, but i'm not sure if they do that anymore.

I took a quick peek at Royal Caribbean's website - kids go "free".... all you have to do is pay port fees, which is like $150 per or something similar.... that's for a 5 night cruise ... 1 day at sea, 2 days in Bermuda, then 1 day at sea..... generally, you can spend a lot of time with your kids, OR, there are age-based "clubs" that the kids can go to and spend the entire day there, make friends, and stay out of your hair.....

Its probably not as cheap as doing somethign like a long weekend trip to Erie, Wheeling or Sandusky - but its not near as expensive as a resort type getaway to the Caribbean.... everything is included except alcohol....

usually, its a love-it or hate-it type of thing.... some people hate it, and some won't even give it a shot becasue they THINK they'll get sea sick... my wife and i really like it... we just booked a cruise for January and are really looking forward to it... i've been on 9 now, and she's been on 4 with me

[travj31]

where do you usually depart from? any places to stay away from? as you said, there are always mixed reviews...

I took a quick peek at Royal Caribbean's website - kids go "free".... all you have to do is pay port fees, which is like $150 per or something similar.... that's for a 5 night cruise ... 1 day at sea, 2 days in Bermuda, then 1 day at sea..... generally, you can spend a lot of time with your kids, OR, there are age-based "clubs" that the kids can go to and spend the entire day there, make friends, and stay out of your hair.....

Its probably not as cheap as doing somethign like a long weekend trip to Erie, Wheeling or Sandusky - but its not near as expensive as a resort type getaway to the Caribbean.... everything is included except alcohol....

usually, its a love-it or hate-it type of thing.... some people hate it, and some won't even give it a shot becasue they THINK they'll get sea sick... my wife and i really like it... we just booked a cruise for January and are really looking forward to it... i've been on 9 now, and she's been on 4 with me

[SonofaBish]

where do you usually depart from? any places to stay away from? as you said, there are always mixed reviews...

I think the mixed reviews come from everyone's own personal preference on what a "vacation" is..... I have absolutely NO interest in just sitting on a beach and drinking for 6-7 days.... so the all-inclusive resorts do me nothing... and if i'm gonig to sit on my butt, i'll do so in front of my television at home, and save myself a ton of money. I like to relax some, but also see different places, etc.

As for departures - I've gone out of Miami to the Caribbean, Fort Lauderdate to the Caribbean, San Juan to the Southern Caribbean, NYC to Bermuda/Caribbean, and Los Angeles to Hawaii... My parents have been on WAY more than me, including Austrailia/New Zealand, Tahiti, Alaska, etc...... I don't really know of any places to avoid, but I would make suggestions on where to go....

Bermuda is the greatest place i've ever been (partially the reason for my suggestion to the OP). Hawaii is nice, but not worth the money. There's nothing there that you can't get within a couple hour plane ride, so no need to go all that way. If you would like to do some bargain shopping as well as beach and other stuff, the Eastern Caribbean is a good choice. St. Thomas and St. Maarteen are famous for the fact that you can get jewelry, watches and liquor at less than 1/2 the cost of the States..... I've never done a Western Caribbean run, which is why we're doing that in January.

If you're interested in the destination, go to Bermuda. You can do a 6 night cruise out of Baltimore that spends 3 days in Bermuda. That would be spectacular. The one we're doing in January is out of Fort Lauderdale, but we're doing it because of the ship, which is another factor in the decision ... The Allure and Oasis (both Royal Caribbean ships) are BY FAR the largest in the world, and are floating cities. We've been on the Allure one time in the past (its the ship we're doing in Jan), and its an experience like no other.... The other ships are all great too, but once you've been on these two, the rest will seem outdated.

Another thing you want to consider is demographics. Royal Caribbean is a good middle-ground, both cost and demographics. There will be some kids, some old people, but mostly middle aged, with enough people my age (late 20's). Pricess cruises (which i've done 2 of) is mostly an older crowd - probably 80% of it is 55+, with only a few kids - middle priced. Celebrity (owned by Royal Caribbean) is mostly older crowd, withe VERY few kids... Higher-middle priced..... Carnival is a more family oriented, with lots of kids, but low priced... Then you have lines line Holland America, which is a MUCH older crowd from what i've heard, but never expereinced it myself.... Oh, and Disney, which is pretty high priced and its obvious who its geared towards