Taking the kids: Summer fun despite everything

Where to this summer?

Sure, the economy is worrisome as is the prospect of getting detained when you fly back from overseas.

But that doesn’t mean you should give up on summer fun. Your kindergartner will only be entranced by Di sney princesses for so long; same with your 8-year-old and dinosaurs. As to your young teens, well, who knows what will interest them? But it won’t be too long before they are too busy with summer jobs and internships to take a trip with you. You only have so many years for the kids to spend time with their grandparents and other elderly relatives.

I’m not saying spend what you can’t afford. I’m not saying splurge this summer if that makes you uncomfortable in this economy. I’m just saying there are plenty of ways to carve out some memorable family fun at a time when we most need it.

(AAA forecasts record Memorial Day weekend travel, with 45.1 million travelers planning journeys this year.)

If you can’t score travel deals by driving to a destination, low-cost carriers (LCCs) make it more economical to fly. Maximize your family’s airfare budget by setting alerts on sites such as Hopper, Kayak and Google Flights. Shop Spirit, Frontier and Breeze Airways.

International travelers should shop PLAY, serving 33 European and Turkish cities via Iceland from Baltimore, Boston and New York airports. French Bee, Norse Atlantic and Neos are other low-cost carriers serving Europe from a few American cities. Follow them on social media so you will know when new deals drop. Budget airlines like Ryanair and EasyJet offer affordable options for traveling within Europe as do many smaller carriers.

With our colleagues at Family Travel Forum we’ve put together our best Summer Fun ideas, many closer to home.

For example, did you know that you can cruise from some 20 ports, including Galveston, Baltimore, San Diego and Seattle? There are also great kids-free deals, including on MSC (Kids sail free): Up to 30% off Cruises + Kids Sail Free* - All Itineraries | MSC Cruises, Norwegian (Kids sail free): Cruises: Norwegian Cruise Line Vacation Deals | NCL and Royal Caribbean (Kids sail free): Find a Cruise | Search the Best Cruises for 2025 & 2026.

You can also avoid the hassles of flying by taking a road trip, as we recently did from Denver to California and back. You can bring your pets and camp along the way to save money and check out those starry skies from the Adirondacks to Maine to Utah and Tuolumne County, California, near Yosemite National Park. (Search for a Dark Sky place here.)

Drive up the Central Coast of California known as SloCal or get your kicks on Route 66. It runs from Illinois through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona before ending in Southern California. You will still find old-fashioned motels, neon lights, quirky attractions like the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas, more than 250 buildings, bridges, road alignments and more are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

How about a train trip? Your kids will congratulate you for traveling more sustainably. Families based in the mid-Atlantic will find several great trips. Amtrak, kids 2 to 12 ride at 50 percent off, as long as they are traveling with one adult (18+). If you’re heading for a Western train trip, book Amtrak’s overnight Sunset Limited in either direction between Louisiana and California.

Try RVing. Take your pick of RVs with a peer-to-peer RV rental company like RVShare or Outdoorsy. Autocamp has kicked the experience up a notch with wine tastings and resident naturalists, who guide hikes once you’ve emerged from your vintage Airstream. Hilton Honors members can now book Autocamp experiences using their loyalty points. Check out their nine dog-friendly camps from Joshua Tree to Cape Cod, Napa Valley to Zion, Utah. Make sure you’ve packed a copy of my Kid’s Guide to Camping.

If your family loves baseball, craft a road trip around your favorite teams. Make sure to stop at some historic stadiums like Fenway Park that opened in 1912 and is home to the Boston Red Sox and Wrigley Field in Chicago where the Cubs have played for more than a century. Save more by cheering on minor league teams like the Norfolk Tides, an Orioles AAA team in Virginia, the Tennessee Smokies, a Cubs AA team and the Portland, Maine Sea Dogs who send players to the Red Sox. Look for summer college leagues too. The Cape Cod Baseball League is one of the premier collegiate summer leagues with more than 1,000 former players who have gone on to play in the major leagues.

If your kids are begging for an Orlando trip, there isn’t a better time to indulge them. Start at Universal Studios Florida, where Epic Universe is the most hotly anticipated new theme park “land” to open. The new land was inspired by a blend of outer space, Nintendo games, Harry Potter, the film “How to Train Your Dragon” and Universal’s long history with horror films. At Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World Resort, Space Mountain recalls its opening on Jan. 15, 1975. SeaWorld Orlando debuts the world’s first fully immersive Arctic-themed ‘flying’ theater where guests can experience the Arctic. A new aquarium and additional themed hotel rooms are coming to LEGOLAND Florida, where play is this year’s focus.

You can save money by opting for a vacation rental in nearby Kissimmee (many with their own pools), the new Villatel Orlando Resort with condo-type lodging and the first apartments by Marriott Bonvoy. If you’ve got a teacher in the house, Disney Springs Resort Area Hotels are offering special summer rates exclusively for teachers starting at $93 a night.

Most importantly, stop worrying and have some fun this summer.

========

(For more Taking the Kids, visit www.takingthekids.com and also follow TakingTheKids on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram where Eileen Ogintz welcomes your questions and comments. The fourth edition of The Kid’s Guide to New York City and the third edition of The Kid’s Guide to Washington D.C. are the latest in a series of 14 books for kid travelers published by Eileen.)