Some of the best summer family vacation ideas are less about where you’re going and more about the experience you hope to have together. Want to bring history lessons to life on a cultural mega-trip? Try Paris, Rome, or New York. Ready for your first international adventure together? Costa Rica is a great place to start. Or, is it the great outdoors that brings your squad closer? Set off for the beaches of Michigan or California, or mountain getaways at the doorstep of some of the country’s best national parks. And even new parents dying for a proper vacation can find a dreamy Los Cabos resort with everything they need. Here are our best summer family vacation ideas, along with where your family should stay in each place—all of which are designed to deliver exactly the kind of adventure your family has been waiting for.
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Central Coast, California
Best for: A low-key California beach vacation
Why we love it: Located midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, the beach towns of California’s Central Coast—Cayucos, Cambria, Avila Beach, and more—offer a rare and seemingly secluded small-town experience right on the Pacific. Stay in Cayucos for easy access to a great beach with colorful tide pools, plus Ocean Avenue’s locally-owned shops and restaurants (don’t miss Brown Butter Cookie Company and an outrageously tasty, gluten-free breakfast at Hidden Kitchen).
Ready for coastal wildlife adventures? Ten of the 100 best spots in the state for spotting whales are here along the Whale Trail (see the last of the Gray Whales in May and humpbacks from August to September). San Simeon’s Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery bills itself as the only elephant seal rookery in the world that's free and open to the public every day of the year, and otters galore are a hit while kayaking in the Morro Bay Estuary. Little ones love the Pismo Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove, while teens can imagine California living on a tour of Cal Poly and the college town of San Luis Obispo. For a totally unique guided experience that takes beach combing next level, set out on a seaweed foraging adventure with Marley Family Seaweeds, where you’ll learn to identify, sustainably harvest, and cook up your own fresh ramen, right on the beach.