Top 5 Family-Friendly Destinations for Holiday Travel

If you aren’t visiting family this holiday season and are racking your brains looking for fun, convenient and kid-friendly places to take the gang, this list is all you need. Having just gone through a similar exercise with my husband, I bring you Momaboard’s Top Five Family-Friendly Destinations for Holiday Travel.

Our criteria:

1. Relatively easy to get to

2. Enough to do, but with opportunity to relax and do nothing too

3. Safe and clean

4. Availability of amenities, facilities and products for children

5. Fairly economical (you’ll notice Tahiti or Maldives are not on the list).

So here we are:

1. Singapore:

In addition to being one of my most favorite kid-friendly places, Singapore adds more and more in terms of entertainment for everyone each year. You can dine at some of world’s finest restaurants or the tastiest hawker centers, win a buck or two at the new Marina Bay Sands Casino, get a taste of Hollywood at Universal Studios, shop to your heart’s content, in addition to all the other PG-rated stuff Singapore is known for. Singapore can be reached directly from many parts of the world and Changi airport is one of the most efficient and well-planned airports ever, with tons of baby care rooms at your disposal. Just makes it so easy.

2. Dubai:

Called the “Paris of the Middle East”, I think of Dubai rather as the “Vegas” of the Middle East. Subtlety is not a word commonly used in Dubai and as it boasts of the world’s only seven-star hotel and its tallest building, you can see why. Similar to Singapore, Dubai is a retail mecca which means that you can find everything you need for your family, and more. There’s plenty for the kids to do from lounging at the pool, to skiing (yes, really!) to camel rides, and of course, there is certainly no dearth of entertainment for adults. Middle Eastern food is easy on the palette but Dubai has cuisines from every country of the world, so the kids can feel right at home wherever you are from. Dubai is easily accessible from many major cities around the world and Emirates, its national airline is a pleasure to fly.

3. Sydney:

Australia hangs out in a tiny corner of the world minding its business and that’s what makes it so great. Sydney is laid-back and kid-friendly so you never feel the pressure to be somewhere or not. Climb the Harbor Bridge, watch a show at the Opera House, and feast on some great seafood and meats. Although Sydney is a bit far, it’s a one-stop flight from most places and while it is peak time to travel there, it costs nothing to hang out on one of Sydney’s several gorgeous beaches! But if you are looking to spend money, there are some great kids’ boutiques as well, not to mention fantastic Aussie designers for adults.

4. Rio de Janeiro:

If you think Rio is all about scantily clad women and dancing on the beach, you are absolutely right! Throw in some street music on every corner, incredible vistas and beaches and you have yourself a tremendously fun vacation. Make a trip out of it by visiting nearby kid-friendly towns such as Búzios and learn first-hand why Brazilians are considered some of the warmest people in the world!

5. The San Francisco Bay Area:

If you are going to visit anywhere in North America during the winter, it may as well be the San Francisco Bay Area as temperatures here still tend to be moderate in December. While you do get some rain that time of year, there is still plenty to do here indoors with the kids. Plus, you can enjoy long drives around the area in your car from Napa down to Monterey and make pit-stops at many towns along the way. And when you are truly rained in, you can always duck into a mall and indulge in some retail therapy à la America, big and bold, as things tend to be here!

In case you were wondering, we picked Dubai!