2.5 year olds and vacation

My DH and I are contemplating taking a vacation in May. There are so many things to consider! I wanted to get your opinions before I make any commitments!

We live in Indiana and I would love to go to Florida to the beach. I want to fly, he wants to drive. He is not sure that the girls (2.5 in April) will enjoy Florida, the beach, etc. He thinks we should spend our money on getting them a new swing set for our back yard instead! My girls don't enjoy riding in the car very well, that's why I would like to fly. But then again, they have tubes in their ears and I'm wondering if the flying would hurt their ears?

He has thought about just going to the Gatlinburg area, which would only be a 4-5 hour drive. I'm not excited about that idea, but I'm open to it (I really love Florida!)

I should also mention that they have only slept in their cribs... we have just spent one night away in a hotel and they slept in pack n plays. I don't want to transition them to big girl beds for a while (for as long as we all can take cribs, so far, they aren't climbing out yet)

Anyway, I am wondering what your experiences have been with 2.5 year old twins- did they like to go on vacation? To the beach or anywhere in particular? Driving for 12-14 hours? Flying for 3-4 hours? I'm anxious to hear BTDT stories..... TIA!

 

Last summer, my boys were just over 2.5 and Annabella was just a year old. We drove down to Sesame Place(there's an option!) which was 4.5 hours there, and 7 hours home(NY/CT traffic). They had never slept anywhere else besides their crib(minus the trip to Italy when they were nine months old). We stayed in the hotel and they slept on the floor with blankets, and she slept in the PNP we brought down with us. There were no problems whatsoever. They LOVED Sesame Place and did really well with traveling, etc. It was great.

And we bought a pop-up camper last June/July. We went two-three times with the kids. Annabella stayed with us one of the trips, the other one she went home with the inlaws. She was a lot of work! Basically...we were up and at 'em all day...went to the beach...hung out at the camper...roasted marshmallows, etc. Very low key, for the most part. The boys did awesome again! They were still sleeping in their cribs and wearing diapers in the beginning of the summer. They slept fine on the mattress on the camper. We bought the bedrails for them. We brought the PNP inside the camper and put it where the kitchen table was at night and Annabella slept there.

So-I say go for it! My boys didn't get out of their cribs until their third birthday this past October, and they did fine! They LOVED the beach and could have stayed there all day long! I think no matter where you go, or what you do, you will all have an amazing time and make wonderful memories!

 

When our twins were 2, we drove to Destin, FL. We couldn't have asked for a better vacation with 2 year olds! We drove (about a 14 hour drive)...planned stops along the way and surprise bags every so many hundreds of miles. I, honestly, couldn't even fathom flying at that age. We flew with them at 13 months and we decided it would be long while before we would do it again. We stayed at the Destin West Resort. With there splash park, kiddie pools, lazy river, and beach, there was MORE than enough for us to do to entertain them. Plus it was all right there..so when they got tired we just went upstairs to the condo. As far as sleeping, we took PNP's (for each) with us. They were still under the weight limit and it worked for us.

I think the beach at this age is a perfect vacation destination. Just do it :ibiggrin: and have F-U-N!

 

We just got back from Destin last week! My girls turned two in January. Now, it was only a 2 hour trip for us, but as far as the beach went, they loved it! It took them 30 minutes or so to warm up to it and we weren't sure at first if they would even like it, but we ended up staying for hours and hours! There are several other things to do and see in the area. The Gulfarium and the Air Force Museum (that was more for my 6 year old son, but my girls loved looking at all the 'apanes' too!) are close by as well as all sorts of other beachy attractions (putt-putt, go-carts, kiddie parks, etc). We just skipped the naps each day (they napped some in the car) and by bed time, they actually slept well in the hotel room. We had a PnP for each.

I say go for the vacation and memories Oh, and here's a hotel tip that I've used twice now from another TS mommy - throw a roll of duct tape in your bag. It is useful for all sorts of child-proofing (covering outlets, taping shut refrigerator doors, covering sharp corners on closet doors, taping shut A/C control covers, etc).

 

We just drove from Ohio to Florida when my twins were a month shy of three. It was a fabulous drive. They were great. We used the DVD player a lot and had little toys for them.

We went to Disney and had a great time. I can't comment on the beach because we haven't been with the kids yet.

 

When the twins were 1.5 years old we drove 12 hours to Michigan to visit family and they handled the drives really well. At the time, we had toys and books to keep them occupied (now that they are older, we are making the same trip in the summer and we'll probably do DVD players). At 2.5, we went to the Jersey Shore and the kids had a blast at the beach. They had beach toys (buckets, shovels, etc) and loved building sand castles and they enjoyed walking in the ocean and finding sea shells.
For both trips, they slept in PnP's and did well both times. I have not flown with the kids so I have no flying experience with them but they've handled drives pretty well.

 

We went from St Louis (home) to the Gulf Shores when the twins were 9mos old. We did stop over in Tennessee and then again in Huntsville to break up the trip but they did awesome!! I can't wait to do it again maybe this next Sept or the following year. I can't wait to go and introduce the beach to them again b/c I think they would love it. They would be a little over 2 1/2 if we went this year and I would totally drive.

 

We drive 2000 miles one way every summer from SC to Canada to visit my family. I haven't done it with twin 2 yr olds yet (that's this summer's adventure), but I've done it with almost every other age with my older kids It's a 3 day drive of about 14 hrs a day, or a 4 day drive of about 11 hrs a day. We stop every 2 hrs or so unless someone is napping, and we get out at a rest area and just let them RUN to stretch their legs. We take bubbles and soccer balls for them to use. It's a very long trip but they kids do fantastically! Even last year when the twins were 1, they did pretty good.

As for where to go, you won't go wrong with the beach unless one of the kids hates water! Sun, sand, water = exhausted kiddo's at the end of the day! They'll have a blast I promise you! Again, I haven't taken twin 2.5 yr olds but we've taken the older kids several times, and the twins first went at 6 months old

Gatlinburg is fun, the aquarium is awesome, but there isn't a ton of other stuff for younger kids from what I remember (we've been several times to Pigeon Forge). I want to take the kids to the aquarium again, hopefully next year

 

Go for it! Personally I prefer flying over driving because I don't want to have to build in the road time into my vacation. I'd rather just get there and get the party started But we've done both (the longest drive was 5 hours though). We've taken a couple of beach trip and it they are always so much fun! The girls slept in pnp's and we brought their sand toys and life jackets. We didn't need much to entertain them. Enjoy!