Holiday Destinations - CBS News
The holidays present a great opportunity to take a family vacation.
If you're still trying to pick a destination, Travel + Leisure magazine has some suggestions for kid-friendly, affordable spots.
The magazine's associate editor, Heidi Mitchell, visits The Early Show with advice.
Package deals are definitely a good way to go this time of year. The price suddenly becomes much more reasonable when you consider that kids eat for free, or that your room cost includes admission to nearby attractions.
Here are six locations Travel + Leisure magazine recommends taking your family to over the holiday season.
Winter Wonderland: Lake Placid, N.Y.
The area is perfect for snowshoeing, skiing, taking ice-skating lessons or a sleigh ride. Nearby Olympic attractions allow you to take a bobsled, skate in the Olympic oval, see aerial freestyle jumping and watch figure skaters train.
In December, Lake Placid becomes the North Pole - check out northpoleny.com for events and information. The site also offers several "Christmas Preview Weekend Packages" that include two nights lodging, two dinners, admission to Santa's Workshop, and more. Deals available through Dec. 21 on this site.
Spots That Cater to Kids
Disneyland, Calif.
The park transforms itself into the "Merriest Place on Earth" - Yuletide magic includes the 300,000 sparkling lights of a holiday-themed "It's a Small World" ride and "A Christmas Fantasy" parade daily starting Nov. 21.
Disney's Grand Californian Hotel has a huge tree in the lobby and live music throughout the season. The hotel's restaurant serves special desserts all month - such as Eggnog Brulee - and offers kids the chance to do some holiday baking with its pastry chef.
Disneyland Resort Fall & Holiday Getaway at the Grand Californian includes a four-night package with five days of admission to Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure for as low as $539 per adult, $96 kids three to nine, $119 for kids ten to 17. Plus, the new low-cost carrier, Song Airlines, flies into Los Angeles.
New Orleans
Each day during the season, well-known New Orleans chefs do free cooking demos and distribute tasty samples of their work. Each evening public concerts are held in St. Louis Cathedral. Tour 19th Century homes decorated for Christmas and attend jazz brunches, bonfires and special riverboat cruises.
The Louisiana Children's Museum offers a New Year's Eve party specifically for kids - little ones "count down to noon." Check out christmasneworleans.com for a full list of holiday events and attractions.
The Fairmont New Orleans hotel presents its annual "Angel Hair Christmas Lobby" complete with 11 tons of angel hair, almost 100,000 twinkling lights, over 800 ornaments, 54 Christmas trees and 900 poinsettias. The lobby also has a life-size gingerbread house, visits with Santa Claus and teddy bear teas.
Warm Weather
Phoenix, Ariz.
Phoenix can be 80 degrees this time of year, and offers a wealth of hiking and other outdoor activities. It's also a place for kids to learn about Native American culture.
The Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort and Spa is located on 400,000 acres of the Gila River Indian Community; 1,500 horses roam freely over the grounds. The resort is a short 11 miles from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.
The Family Holiday Package offers a discount of 50 percent. The package includes a two-night stay in a deluxe room, a 1.5 hour horseback trailride, free breakfasts for kids 12 and under, and a full day's enrollment in "Koyote Kids" which includes lunch. The price for two adults and one child is $595. Additional children can be added to the package for $100 each.
Honduras
This is a location that many people don't consider visiting. Maybe that's why it's less expensive than many other warm-weather escapes right now. Rates at the Lodge at Pico Bonito start at $155 a night. The Lodge is an eco-friendly resort located in a rain forest. The beach is beautiful and diving incredible. Pico Bonito also has an on-site butterfly farm that raises more than 40 varieties of the insect.
While the locale seems exotic, it's quite easy to get to - you can fly direct into three different cities in Honduras. The country's Latin roots make it a culturally-interesting place for families to visit. A local Christmas tradition is to travel house to house visiting friends and family, eating tamales and drinking eggnog. Of course you can get your own taste of this tradition at the Lodge itself.
Urban
London
The city is a little like New York City this time of year in that every tourist attraction and every shop window is dressed to the hilt for the holidays. Carols are sung around a 75-foot tree in Trafalgar Square; the Serpentine in Hyde Park has an annual swimming race in the lake's icy waters on Christmas morning.
Mitchell suggests staying at 22 Jermyn Street, a family-owned 18-room hotel that caters to kids. She recently took her own baby to London and found it very "stroller friendly!"
If you're still trying to pick a destination, Travel + Leisure magazine has some suggestions for kid-friendly, affordable spots.
The magazine's associate editor, Heidi Mitchell, visits The Early Show with advice.
Package deals are definitely a good way to go this time of year. The price suddenly becomes much more reasonable when you consider that kids eat for free, or that your room cost includes admission to nearby attractions.
Here are six locations Travel + Leisure magazine recommends taking your family to over the holiday season.
Winter Wonderland: Lake Placid, N.Y.
The area is perfect for snowshoeing, skiing, taking ice-skating lessons or a sleigh ride. Nearby Olympic attractions allow you to take a bobsled, skate in the Olympic oval, see aerial freestyle jumping and watch figure skaters train.
In December, Lake Placid becomes the North Pole - check out northpoleny.com for events and information. The site also offers several "Christmas Preview Weekend Packages" that include two nights lodging, two dinners, admission to Santa's Workshop, and more. Deals available through Dec. 21 on this site.
Spots That Cater to Kids
Disneyland, Calif.
The park transforms itself into the "Merriest Place on Earth" - Yuletide magic includes the 300,000 sparkling lights of a holiday-themed "It's a Small World" ride and "A Christmas Fantasy" parade daily starting Nov. 21.
Disney's Grand Californian Hotel has a huge tree in the lobby and live music throughout the season. The hotel's restaurant serves special desserts all month - such as Eggnog Brulee - and offers kids the chance to do some holiday baking with its pastry chef.
Disneyland Resort Fall & Holiday Getaway at the Grand Californian includes a four-night package with five days of admission to Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure for as low as $539 per adult, $96 kids three to nine, $119 for kids ten to 17. Plus, the new low-cost carrier, Song Airlines, flies into Los Angeles.
New Orleans
Each day during the season, well-known New Orleans chefs do free cooking demos and distribute tasty samples of their work. Each evening public concerts are held in St. Louis Cathedral. Tour 19th Century homes decorated for Christmas and attend jazz brunches, bonfires and special riverboat cruises.
The Louisiana Children's Museum offers a New Year's Eve party specifically for kids - little ones "count down to noon." Check out christmasneworleans.com for a full list of holiday events and attractions.
The Fairmont New Orleans hotel presents its annual "Angel Hair Christmas Lobby" complete with 11 tons of angel hair, almost 100,000 twinkling lights, over 800 ornaments, 54 Christmas trees and 900 poinsettias. The lobby also has a life-size gingerbread house, visits with Santa Claus and teddy bear teas.
Warm Weather
Phoenix, Ariz.
Phoenix can be 80 degrees this time of year, and offers a wealth of hiking and other outdoor activities. It's also a place for kids to learn about Native American culture.
The Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort and Spa is located on 400,000 acres of the Gila River Indian Community; 1,500 horses roam freely over the grounds. The resort is a short 11 miles from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.
The Family Holiday Package offers a discount of 50 percent. The package includes a two-night stay in a deluxe room, a 1.5 hour horseback trailride, free breakfasts for kids 12 and under, and a full day's enrollment in "Koyote Kids" which includes lunch. The price for two adults and one child is $595. Additional children can be added to the package for $100 each.
Honduras
This is a location that many people don't consider visiting. Maybe that's why it's less expensive than many other warm-weather escapes right now. Rates at the Lodge at Pico Bonito start at $155 a night. The Lodge is an eco-friendly resort located in a rain forest. The beach is beautiful and diving incredible. Pico Bonito also has an on-site butterfly farm that raises more than 40 varieties of the insect.
While the locale seems exotic, it's quite easy to get to - you can fly direct into three different cities in Honduras. The country's Latin roots make it a culturally-interesting place for families to visit. A local Christmas tradition is to travel house to house visiting friends and family, eating tamales and drinking eggnog. Of course you can get your own taste of this tradition at the Lodge itself.
Urban
London
The city is a little like New York City this time of year in that every tourist attraction and every shop window is dressed to the hilt for the holidays. Carols are sung around a 75-foot tree in Trafalgar Square; the Serpentine in Hyde Park has an annual swimming race in the lake's icy waters on Christmas morning.
Mitchell suggests staying at 22 Jermyn Street, a family-owned 18-room hotel that caters to kids. She recently took her own baby to London and found it very "stroller friendly!"
