Where To Go for Spring Break with Kids

Wondering what the best spring break destinations are for kids? Get tons of different ideas to suit any budget and any location in the United States.

Family at the airport looking at a monitor

Spring break is a fun school break each year. Everyone is excited with the smell of spring in the air, and spring break marks the hint that summer vacation is right around the corner.

There are endless options of where to go and what to do for spring break with your family. Where you decide to go will be based on many different factors. What is your budget? Where do you live? What are you looking for with a spring break vacation? How often do you travel? Do you want to fly or drive?

Here are some of the best family spring break destinations to consider as you decide where to go this year and in years to come.

Staycation

There is nothing wrong with staying home over spring break. We have spent many spring breaks at home and have always enjoyed them.

No matter where you live, there are things you can do in your area to have fun on a day trip. If you want to stay home and still go do some fun things as a family, there will be things you can find to do.

You can also save a lot of money and just stay home and make memories as a family. The time spent together is the most important aspect of any family vacation or activity, and that can be spent at home just as much as on an expensive getaway.

Staying home can be really nice for busy families whose children are very busy with activities. Most activities take a break for spring break, so you are able to just relax and hang out at the house for a change.

Road Trip

A road trip is a great way to travel on a budget. Driving is almost always cheaper than flying, so if you have a destination you can drive to, that can be a budget-friendly way to spend your spring break.

Destinations will vary depending on your starting point, how far you are willing to drive, and desirable locations in that driving distance.

>>>Read: Road Trip Activities for Kids

National Parks

The national parks are a wonderful place to spend your spring break. They can be quite inexpensive if you live close enough to drive to them. Spring break can be a busy time to visit a national park, so if you do not like crowds, choose a less popular park. With that said, we have traveled to national parks over three separate spring breaks and have always had a wonderful time.

A national park is a great opportunity to be close with nature, go on hikes, and see the beauty of the world around you.

Most national parks have places to camp in them and many even have hotels in them. There are also always lots of places to camp or stay just outside of national parks. If you do decide to go to a national park, do not wait until right before to make your accommodations. Check with your specific park and know how early you can start booking things. Some are 6 months and some less than that.

And of course, if you have a fourth grader, you can get in to all national parks for free, so if you do want a national park visit to be a destination for a spring break one year, plan ahead and do it a year you have a fourth grader.

Be aware of the weather at any given national park. Not every part of every park is open year-round, so know if your desired destination will be open when you want to go. Know the weather and if you are willing to experience that weather or not.

Some of the more popular spring break destinations include Yosemite National Park, Grand Canyon, and Zion National Park.

Here are our tips from some of our National Park trips:

Beach

A beach is a great place to go and relax during spring break. Depending on where you live, getting a beach might be expensive, but once you are there, beach activities are not much money at all.

There are countless beach destinations. Choose one that works for you and your goals at the beach. If you just want to be near the ocean, you will be okay with a west coast beach or northern east coast beach. If you want to play in the water, an east coast or gulf beach that is further south is what you will want to go for.

Our favorite spring break beaches are in Florida and Texas.

Hawaii is a beautiful location as well, although flying there can be expensive at times.

>>>Read: What To Take to the Beach with a Toddler

California

California has a lot to offer across the entire state. You have the beautiful redwoods, you have the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. You have deserts, mountains, and beaches. You also have Hollywood, Disneyland, San Diego (and Balboa Park), Sea World, Universal Studios, and Legoland.

Know the state is large. You will not hit all of those things in one spring break, but the state has quite a variety of options and can offer something for every taste and desire.

Florida

Just as California has a lot to offer, so does Florida. There are a lot of different fun destinations to visit in Florida. This state has become one of our most traveled to states as a family despite living across the country from it.

There are many beautiful beaches in Florida. Everyone knows that and beaches can be super busy at spring break. If you want to hit up a beach but don’t care where, do some research to find beaches less traveled and beaches that are more family-friendly over Spring Break time.

>>>Read: Cocoa Beach Travel Tips for Families

We love Cocoa Beach and the Florida Keys, but those can be more popular among the college crowd. Destin, Florida is an absolutely beautiful location with white sand beaches. It is one of the most popular spring break destinations for families with children and teens. So it will be family-friendly, but busy (and it does get a college crowd, too).

And of course, there are endless theme parks in Florida, including Disney World and our favorite, Universal Orlando (Harry Potter!!!).

Cruise

A cruise is a wonderful option for a family vacation. It is easy for the parents. You don’t make any of the food and you don’t have to decide where to eat. There are endless activities. You can get pool time and beach time. It can appeal to many ages of kids all at once.

>>>Read: Cruise Tips with Kids!

New York City

New York City is one of my personal favorite locations. This is a very different type of vacation than a national park, a beach, or an amusement park. You have sporting events, musicals, endless playgrounds, sightseeing, and so much more. There is plenty to do in NYC.

>>>Read: Travel Tips for New York City with Children

Camping

Camping can be very budget-friendly. It is also a vacation that allows the family to slow down and relax while connecting with nature and each other.

>>>Read: Tips for Camping with Children

Skiing

While some people are yearning for warmth and the sunshine at spring break, others are hoping to get one last ski trip in.

Skiing is possible at spring break! You just need to find a location that will probably still have snow.

Winter is different year to year. Snow totals differ and snowpack differs. That means skiing experience in the spring can vary from place to place each year. Most places that are known for their skiing can be counted on to ski, but before you book that trip, it might be wise to crowdsource and get some info on what it is like this year.

Places like Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado should all be good to go for skiing in April.

Texas

Texas weather is typically quite pleasant in April. San Antonio is a very fun part of Texas with a variety of interesting things to do. If you are looking for a beach trip, Galveston is a charming location with several fun things to do. You can also look at Corpus Christi. With any beach location, you will be relatively close to major cities, so you can get major city activities as well as some beach time.

>>>Read: Galveston Texas Travel Tips for Families

International

Internation trips are not always really expensive. It sounds expensive to “fly internationally,” but we often can get international flights cheaper than many domestic flights.

Mexico

Mexico is a great place for a family trip. There are countless family-friendly resorts. You can go have a beach vacation where all of the food is taken care of.

>>>Read: 8 Perfect Activities To Do in Riviera Maya Mexico

France

There are many wonderful International options. We have done France before over spring break and absolutely loved it. We flew there for less money than it takes for us to fly to Florida, so watch out for flight deals. Once you get into Europe, you can move around among countries for relatively little money.

Other Fun Locations for Spring Break Ideas

There are endless, amazing locations to visit. Here are some other fun spots for a spring break trip.

Washington D.C.

Washington DC is one of my favorite trips ever. We went in April. It is a beautiful time of year with the cherry blossoms blooming. The blooms are beautiful and also smell lovely. The National Cherry Blossom Festival is mid-ish March to mid-ish April.

This location can have a LOT of walking as you go around the Mall and the monuments, so I recommend waiting until your kids are older (unless you live close enough that D.C. wouldn’t be once in a lifetime).

Chicago

Chicago is one of the first big trips we took with our family of 6. We absolutely loved it. It is very kid-friendly. There are many places I have traveled where people looked at me like I was crazy for having 4 kids, but Chicago is not that place. It is a very family-friendly city.

>>>Read: Traveling to Chicago Tips

Portland

The city of Portland has some cool spots, but the coolest areas are the beautiful nature spots around the city. It is also a close drive to Mt. St. Helen’s, so there are a lot of attractions.

>>>Read: Portland, Oregon Travel Tips

Denver

Denver is another city with lots of fun things and entertainment to do in the city itself with a lot of beauty outside of the city.

>>>Read: Things To Do in Denver as a Family

Even More Spots

Here are some other popular family spring break trip spots we haven’t been to:

Arizona (reliably warm weather)
Puerto Rico
Nashville
New Orleans
South Carolina (places like Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head, and Charleston)
Savannah, Georgia
Costa Rica

Conclusion

Spring break is definitely not the only time of year to travel. If you don’t love crowds, spring break can be less desirable because it is a really busy time to travel.

A tip I have for you is to make a master wish list of places you would like to ideally visit before your oldest child moves out. Narrow that list down to the number of years you have before that happens. Think about the best times of year for each spot and make a flexible game plan. Now that my oldest has graduated and moved out of the house, I am so glad we were intentional and took the time to take these trips.

The location is less important than the time spent together, so wherever you do or don’t go, make sure you make time for each other.