By Amie O’Shaughnessy - Ciao Bambino

For many, spring break is a time for families to shed winter coats and carpool schedules and reconnect with loved ones. Here’s a compilation of Best Family Travel Advice’s top 10 destinations for spring break travel. 

Go International:

1. Algarve, Portugal (Michelle Duffy, WanderMom)

Spring Break is a great time to visit the Algarve in Portugal. Airfares are typically significantly lower than during the summer months, making it a much more affordable family travel destination. It may seem that spring break is too short for such a trip; however, by taking overnight flights from the US and including the weekends before and after school closure days, you can easily spend ten days exploring this beautiful area.

The summer crowds are absent from the streets of Albufeira and the pretty beaches at tiny towns such as Carvoeiro. Houses and apartments are available for rental at off-season rates—a big bonus to any vacation budget. This area is rich in the history of Henry the Navigator and Portugal’s seafaring and colonial past, which you can easily learn about on day-trips to the cities and towns along the coast.

2. Costa Rica (Jennifer Miner, The Vacation Gals)

A family looking to take a spring break out of the States, but in that warm, tropical environment that’s so popular with US tourists, would do well to consider a vacation in Costa Rica. It’s still the dry season in Costa Rica for most of the spring break weeks (December through April is the dry season). The country was rated among the world’s happiest, and the cultural affinity for living peaceably with the environment—as compared to trying to conquer it to death—make Costa Rica ideal for an eco-friendly family spring break vacation.

Take time to explore Arenal Volcano National Park, Guanacaste, Monteverde, and Manual Antonio National Park. Zip lining in the Costa Rica rainforest is an exhilarating experience that provides lifelong memories for kids. Costa Rica is an easy country to get to in Central America, and many people speak at least a little English; this year, consider breaking away from the usual Florida trip, and take your kids to a brand new place.

3. Paris, France: (Mara Gorman, Mother of All Trips)

If you’re headed to Europe for spring break, Paris is the perfect family destination. Keep busy legs active in the Jardin de Luxembourg or on the Promenade Plantee, an old railway line that’s been turned into a 3-mile walking path. If you’re looking for something diverting, try the rides, puppet shows, playgrounds and other amusements at the Jardin d’Acclimatation.

Or take a tour of the city on bicycles with Fat Tire Bike Tours (which has English-speaking guides). Lovely (and easy) day trips from Paris include Giverny where Claude Monet’s house and garden have been restored to the exact state in which the famous Impressionist painted them. The garden is sure to be full of blooms in April and May. Another option is to take the train to Versailles and spend the day exploring. Children will especially love the whimsy of Marie Antoinette’s Petit Trianon. And of course, what would be a more fitting way to celebrate your visit than by going to the top of the Eiffel Tower?

4. Victoria, British Columbia (Anne Taylor Hartzell, Hip Travel Mama)

A short 2 hour ferry ride on the Victoria Clipper, or a one hour flight on Kenmore Air from downtown Seattle, Victoria BC, is the a beautiful retreat for families looking for great outdoor activities, rich history, shopping, food and exceptionally friendly people.

Some of our favorite activities when visiting Victoria with kids is to take a 45 minute pedicab tour around the city at night, show up at the Inner Harbour at 10:45 am every Sunday and watch the Victoria Harbour Ferries weave in and out together in a synchronized Water Ballet, or hop on one of the ferries after the show to Fisherman’s Wharf for Fish and Chips at BarbsPlace. Get more fun tips on spring break in Victoria BC with kids.

5. Castaway Cay, Bahamas via Disney Dream: (Best Family Travel Advice team)

While a Disney cruise may not seem remote, when you step onto Castaway Cay, Disney’s own private island in the Bahamas, you will feel like you are miles away. Several of the Best Family Travel Advice experts experienced the inaugural sailing of the Disney Dream to Castaway Cay and highly recommend it as an experience for families in any season.

Here are a few posts on their experiences:

A fun stop for families on the Disney Dream Cruise
New Disney cruise ship Disney Dream
Our magical Disney Dream: Fairytale luxury meets family fun at sea
Family travel to Florida

Stay Domestic:

6. Jekyll Island, Georgia (Sue Rodman, Field trips with Sue)

Jekyll Island, along the Georgia coast, was once the winter escape for some of America’s richest families. Members of the Jekyll Island Club included William Rockefeller, Joseph Pulitzer, J.P. Morgan and William Vanderbilt. Now the Island is a playground for the public and the Club, a beautiful historic hotel.

Jekyll Island offers a variety of activities ranging from environmental education at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center where you’ll see real sea turtles the Center is rehabilitating, to water park fun at Summer Waves. Don’t miss the surreal Driftwood Beach, also known as Boneyard Beach for the way the gray, weathered trees lay like bones along the sand. In addition to this list of five things to do on Jekyll Island, a cruise on the Lady Jane Shrimp Boat is a must.

7. Orlando, Florida: (Mary Turner, Travel with Teens)

As an East Coast family that seems to get more than our fair share of cold weather and snow, spring break for us demands warm weather. We’ve been visiting Orlando regularly in the spring since our kids were still in strollers and every time we go it’s a different vacation. Our favorites are Disney World and Discovery Cove.

When traveling to Disney World and Universal Studios Orlando during spring break, prepare to be confronted with theme park crowds. To avoid the lines you can splurge for a VIP Pass at Universal Studios Orlando to give you back-door access with no lines at all to any of the theme park rides. Also consider hiring a personal VIP guide at Disney (this option is not inexpensive, as the service starts at $175/hour) to bypass ride lines.

8. Northern California (Amie O’Shaughnessy, Ciao Bambino)

Spring is a wonderful time for a road trip through Northern California when the hills are bright green after months of winter rain, trees are in bloom, and days are more likely to be fog-free. Spend 2-3 nights in San Francisco where you can hit the usual tourist spots like Alcatraz Island, Ghiradelli Square for a chocolate break, and Chrissy Field for a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge.  If you’re a foodie, take a night to go to Napa Valley where you can easily pair culinary treats for mom and dad with kid-friendly activities (check out our list of recommended kid-friendly hotels in Napa Valley for accommodation ideas).

Then, head south down the coast to the Monterey Peninsula for the rest of the trip. The Monterey Bay Aquarium is a must with kids of all ages — you can even sleep over special nights of the year.  A visit to charming Carmel is a crowd pleaser too, and can be particularly lovely this time of year when coastal fog is likely to be absent.

9. Grand Mound, Washington: (Amy Whitley, Pit Stops for Kids)

If spring break means dreary weather in your part of the world as it does in ours, a Northwest Great Wolf Lodge family getaway can be the perfect antidote! I’ve dubbed these resorts ‘cruise ships on land’: for the duration of your stay, you and your family will be fully immersed in all-age fun, food, and relaxation, all under one roof.

The Grand Mound, Washington property is conveniently located between Portland and Seattle, lending itself to day trips to either family-friendly city and within easy driving distance of Olympic and Mount Rainier national parks. You may not want to leave the resort, however: with something for everyone, Great Wolf is the ideal place to reconnect with family and friends in a kid-friendly atmosphere. And best of all, you don’t have to worry about the Pacific Northwest weather forecast ruining your good time! Here are six reasons to love Great Wolf Lodge, whichever property you visit across the U.S.!

10. San Diego, California: (Sharlene Earnshaw, Trekaroo)

Nothing says Spring Break quite like warm weather and ocean breezes. Besides having great weather, San Diego offers endless opportunities to get outside and have some fun. Animal lovers definitely shouldn’t miss the world-class San Diego Zoo or ocean themed fun of Sea World. Balboa Park is the perfect place to go for a museum stroll, with the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, San Diego Natural History Museum, and San Diego Model Railroad Museum being a few of the standouts amongst the 15 museums that call the park home.

No trip to San Diego is complete without a day at the beach, and some of Trekaroo’s family favorites include Torrey Pines State Beach and Cabrillo National Monument, which provide much more than the typical spot in the sand.

Photo credit: Ciao Bambino, The Vacation Gals, Hip Travel Mama, Pit Stops for Kids