8 great kid-friendly destinations for 2016

Is your family getting so tired of the same old, same old vacation plan that your kids end up spending most of the time staring at their iPads? If you’re looking to shake up the family vacation, here are 8 great kid-friendly destinations for 2016.

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Legoland | Flickr CC: VisitCentralFL

Winter Haven, Florida

Other than a break from a brutal winter, just why would anyone pack their little ones into the family caravan and trek on down to this town of just 35,000 people situated between coastal Tampa and Disney-obsessed Orlando? One word: Legoland. With the success of the 2014 film, a sequel on the way and a 152-room resort that opened last year, now is the time to ditch the mouse and surrender a few days to this theme park, water park and botanicalgarden all rolled into one.

Lion cubs at the London Zoo | Flickr CC: Cable27

London, England

Britain’s swinging capital has always been a winner with families what with its double decker buses, energetic theater scene and reliance on the English language. But beginning in 2016 you can even take your family on safari there. The London Zoo is in the process of constructing luxury lodges just steps away from its new 27,000 square foot lion enclosure. Each of the nine cabins include a private veranda and both a private morning and evening tour. Family nights are geared toward children.

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Why Wyoming? Simply put, some of the biggest news on every travel enthusiast’s radar is that the National Parks Service will be turning 100 in 2016 and each will celebrate in its own way. As the oldest park in the entire system, Yellowstone celebrates its centennial with the recent addition of five new eco-friendly lodges which means even more room for families to explore its many splendors including canyons, rivers, forests and geysers—like Old Faithful plus wild animals galore such as antelope, bears, bison, elk and wolves.

Costa Rica

This Central American country has everything kids love including exotic animals, volcanoes, miles of beaches and much more and the one thing parents love—relative safety. Costa Rica is a stable country where the highest crime is theft according to a 2015 State Department report. Check the entire gang into a kid-friendly luxury resort like the Four Seasons Costa Rica situated on the Papagayo Peninsula or spend a few days zip lining through a rain forest or watching sea turtles lay their eggs.

Maggie Daley Park in Chicago | Flickr CC: Daniel X. O’Neil

Chicago, IL

The City of Big Shoulders embarked on a series of parks projects that came to fruition in 2015. Maggie Daley Park is a centrally located patch of green space featuring an ice skating ribbon andkids area called the Play Garden with cool features like the Wave Lawn, the Harbor, the Watering Hole, the Slide Crater, the Enchanted Forest and the Sea. For a nature-oriented adventure, take the family to the recently ribbon-cut park at Northerly Island and feel like your in the middle of nowhere or head inland and bike the bustling 606 built atop an old El line.

Related: Best bests – fun things to so with kids in New York City

Los Cabos, Mexico

In 2014 Hurricane Odile struck the resorts of Los Cabos in the southernmost tip of the country’s Baja Peninsula leaving a trail of ruin in its wake. One year later the area has rebounded making 2016 a perfect time to once again pay it a visit. Check out the family-friendly, all-inclusive Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos which sits upon the sea of Cortez and entices the little ones with amenities geared just for them including a kids pool, an open-air theater with family shows, a tree house for kids and a seasonal opportunity to release baby sea turtles into the ocean.

Churchill, Canada

Could the release of summer blockbusters like Ice Age 3 and Norm of the North (about a polar who loses his home to global warming) inspire a frigid family vacation? We think so, and if that’s the case families should look no further than the tiny town of Churchill in the Manitoba province in Canada where the prime tourist activity is polar bear spotting. Winters can be brutal, but summer tours include polar bear sightings, plus a chance to swim with beluga whales and many resorts are family friendly.

Hogwarts Castle | Flickr CC: Ruth Hartnup

Universal City, CA

West Coast families no longer have to make the long haul to swampy Florida for a taste of Harry Potter magic. At long last, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is coming to Universal Studios in Southern California and bringing with it Hogsmeade village, the 3-D attraction “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey” and “Flight of the Hippogriff,” the first outdoor roller coaster at Universal Studios Hollywood. Meanwhile, lovely Griffith Park, gorgeous Santa Monica, the Grove, Hollywood and many more attractions are all within a stone’s throw.

Tagged: California, Europe, Family time, Florida, Mexico