Vacation thread #3,284: Vacation with a teenager?

[CitizenBBN]

Felt bad starting a new thread on this, but maybe it's warranted.

I need to find a holidays (Xmas through new years) vacation spot for myself, girlfriend and her 16 year old daughter. Thinking Gulf coast but not bound to it.

Normally I go to Key West, which I love dearly, but the only things to do there are drink and fish. that's fine for me, but I think her daughter will get bored there quickly. She does love art, and there is a lot of it there, but the beaches are iffy at best.

So I may need a new spot, at least for this trip as it is around the holidays, about the only time of year I can take off any at all.

I'm thinking Gulf coast somewhere, panhandle since so many here are familiar with that area and may have good ideas.

I may also include one of her friends so she has someone to do things with, so would need a place they can go have fun, hang out and not get into trouble. My only need is it be warm and have good bars and restaurants, and a nice house or condo or hotel, preferable house rental or condo type place, which I'm sure I can find once we pick a spot.

Have never vacationed with kids before (full disclosure), and even when I was a kid I was very active with work and debate and so then as now when I vacationed I really didn't want to do much. I don't think my teenage vacations will suit her very well, but it's possible.

I did go to Siesta Key when I was younger, and thought about that as an option. I love the beach, I think she may like it OK though there's not a lot o activity, and it is a safe area. I'm sure it's even more built up than when I was there.

[KentuckyWildcat]

Gulf Shores, Destin, and Panama City are your more teenage areas IMO. They have more of the commercialized stuff like water parks, mini golf, etc...Do you want that or do you want the opposite of that?

[Doc]

I am working on our Alaska trip. Just booked this

https://www.glacierjetskiadventures.com/

Yes, you jetski to the glaciers! This along with white water trip thru class V Rapids, plus a seaplane trip to the interior for a bear watching, a kayak trip into the Sound, and a trans glacier train trip...should be fun, and teenager friendly

[Doc]

We often did Atlantis over in Nassau when our kids were younger. Is a great place, and easily accessible (a 45 min flight). Teenagers would love it. Travel from LEX would not be bad due to travel options based on multiple available airports.

Of course you know I am partial to Colorado. Summers and winters are awesome with tons of activities...from rafting to ATVing to Hot Air Balloon for the summer, then winter with skiing, snowmobiles, tubing, dog sledding, etc.....

[PedroDaGr8]

Sanibel Island/Fort Meyers area? Lots of stuff to do, easy to get away from everything or have a night of fun

[dan_bgblue]

I think you would be very lucky to catch the weather and water warm enough on the redneck Rivera at Christmas/ New Year. I wold not stop going south until I got to Ft Meyers on the gulf side (my preference) or Ft Lauderdale on the Atlantic side. Plenty for a 16 year old to do at either city.

Even though I am a spend my money in the USA kinda guy, Doc's suggestion of Nassau, Bahamas is a very good suggestion IMO. Warm, lots of sand, good shows at the Casino, dolphin encounter at the Old Salt Cay, now called Blue Lagoon which is home to the dolphin encounter. It is a pretty cool experience for everyone that loves to be in the water and is a female who's cycle is not active.

We found that out when we went to the dolphin encounter way back in the day when our daughter was 12. The park workers had to get between an unfortunate lady and a male dolphin who was intent on breeding the swimmer. They warn all swimmers of this issue before getting in the water. They held 1 special encounter every day with female dolphins only to alleviate that issue but the lady ignored their warning or was unaware it was her time of the month.



Just a small sample of Nassau organized activities to occupy a visitors time

[MickintheHam]

Dan is spot on mentioning the weather. The temps in the panhandle vary at that time of year. Expect overnight temps around 45 to 55. Daytime temps can get to as high as low 70s, expect mid to upper 60s. To make it work get a place with a heated pool. Unless, the girls want to spend a lot of time in the gulf water, beach time should be ok. The white sand reflects the bright sun and makes it feel warmer than air temps a half mile from the shoreline. The panhandle is doable that time of year if you know what to expect and plan for it. It is my favorite time to visit. It’s peaceful. Fishing is great if boyfriend needs alone time.

[VirginiaCat]

Chuck, a couple of thoughts.

First, for that time of year the beaches are sketchy temp wise at best in the Panhandle. I suggest further south.

If you want to stay land based the ST. Pete Beach and Clearwater Beach area may be a good option. St. Pete is an Art area and I think the young lady will be well entertained there and there a lots of great dining and beach options in the area. The Dali Museum is really cool. Also, Clearwater Aquarium is a rescue Aquarium where the Dolphin Tale stars are housed and is a really cool day. Busch Gardens in area as well as all that Tampa and Ebor City have to offer. Warmer than Pan Handle. 1.5 hour drive to Disney as well.

Another Option would be a Cruise. 7 night out of either Tampa (Royal or Carnival) or Port Canaveral (almost all of the lines). A Cruise option takes into account all ages for entertainment, will have cultural port stops, and beaches. Can let teens go with very little worry of trouble.

Finally, the Virgin Islands/Bahamas. Lots to do. Lots of Fun activites. St. John is a natural refuge.

[VirginiaCat]

Chuck, a couple of thoughts.

First, for that time of year the beaches are sketchy temp wise at best in the Panhandle. I suggest further south.

If you want to stay land based the ST. Pete Beach and Clearwater Beach area may be a good option. St. Pete is an Art area and I think the young lady will be well entertained there and there a lots of great dining and beach options in the area. The Dali Museum is really cool. Also, Clearwater Aquarium is a rescue Aquarium where the Dolphin Tale stars are housed (My daughter loves it and seeing all the injured manatees and sea turtles etc) and is a really cool day. Busch Gardens in area as well as all that Tampa and Ebor City have to offer. Warmer than Pan Handle. 1.5 hour drive to Disney as well.

Another Option would be a Cruise. 7 night out of either Tampa (Royal or Carnival) or Port Canaveral (almost all of the lines). A Cruise option takes into account all ages for entertainment, will have cultural port stops, and beaches. Can let teens go with very little worry of trouble.

Finally, the Virgin Islands/Bahamas. Lots to do. Lots of Fun activites. St. John is a natural refuge.

[KentuckyWildcat]

I am an oddball. I love the temps then. But as others have said it is not warm.

Don't be tight. Take them to an all inclusive resort on a small island someplace

[VirginiaCat]

Chuck, a couple of thoughts.

First, for that time of year the beaches are sketchy temp wise at best in the Panhandle. I suggest further south.

If you want to stay land based the ST. Pete Beach and Clearwater Beach area may be a good option. St. Pete is an Art area and I think the young lady will be well entertained there and there a lots of great dining and beach options in the area. The Dali Museum is really cool. Also, Clearwater Aquarium is a rescue Aquarium where the Dolphin Tale stars are housed (My daughter loves it and seeing all the injured manatees and sea turtles etc) and is a really cool day. Busch Gardens in area as well as all that Tampa and Ebor City have to offer. Warmer than Pan Handle. 1.5 hour drive to Disney as well.

Another Option would be a Cruise. 7 night out of either Tampa (Royal or Carnival) or Port Canaveral (almost all of the lines). A Cruise option takes into account all ages for entertainment, will have cultural port stops, and beaches. Can let teens go with very little worry of trouble. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruis...oliday-cruises

Finally, the Virgin Islands/Bahamas. Lots to do. Lots of Fun activites. St. John is a natural refuge.

[KentuckyWildcat]

I did go to Siesta Key when I was younger, and thought about that as an option. I love the beach, I think she may like it OK though there's not a lot o activity, and it is a safe area. I'm sure it's even more built up than when I was there.

We went there a few years ago. Stayed at a place you suggested. Probably my favorite beach. If you like to drive and explore, go there and drive to Sanibel for the day. Sanibel is gorgeous but not a place I would want to stay a week at. But would like to see it again. Fly into Tampa, cut over to Clearwater and drive the coast line down. So pretty near sunset. We did this and really enjoyed it

[VirginiaCat]

Chuck, a couple of thoughts.

First, for that time of year the beaches are sketchy temp wise at best in the Panhandle. I suggest further south.

If you want to stay land based the ST. Pete Beach and Clearwater Beach area may be a good option. St. Pete is an Art area and I think the young lady will be well entertained there and there a lots of great dining and beach options in the area. The Dali Museum is really cool. Also, Clearwater Aquarium is a rescue Aquarium where the Dolphin Tale stars are housed (My daughter loves it and seeing all the injured manatees and sea turtles etc) and is a really cool day. Busch Gardens in area as well as all that Tampa and Ebor City have to offer. Warmer than Pan Handle. 1.5 hour drive to Disney as well.

Another Option would be a Cruise. 7 night out of either Tampa (Royal or Carnival) or Port Canaveral (almost all of the lines). A Cruise option takes into account all ages for entertainment, will have cultural port stops, and beaches. Can let teens go with very little worry of trouble. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruis...oliday-cruises

Finally, the Virgin Islands/Bahamas. Lots to do. Lots of Fun activites. St. John is a natural refuge.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruis...12%2F01%2F2021
Here is a Cruise leaving Dec 26th...

[CitizenBBN]

You guys rock. seriously.

Responding thoughts:

- Very excellent point about temps. it's one reason I stick to the Keys, b/c the weather is extremely predictable that time of year, and all year.

- I went to Nassau when I was much younger, that did come to mind as a good option. Resort is very self contained now, much more than it was when I was a kid, it was just coming up at that time. Also much more built up and upgraded. And I do love craps tables.

- I have not been to Ft. Myers, and other than my ex and ex in laws possibly being in the same town at the same time (they winter there) I like the option. I also like that the Key West Ferry runs there, so I could still get to the Keys for a bit potentially. That split time may work well as a few days in Key West may be OK, not sure about a week for her.

- I've been to Clearwater, was beautiful, but was only there overnight, so don't know much about it. She loves art, and the Dali museum would be a good idea.

[Doc]

Another to consider is Costa Rice. Is surprisingly affordable and offers something unique. Coastal regions are fine but being a Floridian, it did not have the appeal for us. However the volcano regions of Arenal is real cool. Me and the wife went a few years back for a 4 day trip and spent maybe $1500 for everything...flight, hotel, food, car. Is certainly something different from the same old beach trip. I suspect it is cheaper and more exotic to go to C.R. than to a FL resort, and definately less than Nassau

[Doc]

Chuck, a couple of thoughts.

First, for that time of year the beaches are sketchy temp wise at best in the Panhandle. I suggest further south.

If you want to stay land based the ST. Pete Beach and Clearwater Beach area may be a good option. St. Pete is an Art area and I think the young lady will be well entertained there and there a lots of great dining and beach options in the area. The Dali Museum is really cool. Also, Clearwater Aquarium is a rescue Aquarium where the Dolphin Tale stars are housed (My daughter loves it and seeing all the injured manatees and sea turtles etc) and is a really cool day. Busch Gardens in area as well as all that Tampa and Ebor City have to offer. Warmer than Pan Handle. 1.5 hour drive to Disney as well.

Another Option would be a Cruise. 7 night out of either Tampa (Royal or Carnival) or Port Canaveral (almost all of the lines). A Cruise option takes into account all ages for entertainment, will have cultural port stops, and beaches. Can let teens go with very little worry of trouble. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruis...oliday-cruises

Finally, the Virgin Islands/Bahamas. Lots to do. Lots of Fun activites. St. John is a natural refuge.

If you go cruise route, avoid Carnival as they cater to the 20 something crowd. Princess and Royal Carb are better options. We have done both. Wife is not a cruise person but I like that the kids can be off alone and be happy. Of course COVID makes cruises iffy

[kingcat]

I'd vote Clearwater beach and stuff like pier 60, The Clearwater Aquarium, which was also once a major movie set (Be sure to have everyone watch Dolphin Tale and Dolphin Tale 2 before you go and learn about "Winter" and "Hope" the dolphins.
I'm sure the 16 year old has and is likely a fan, and maybe take a sunset booze cruise or the like. Parks, museums, and architecture there are nice but not really my thing in a beach setting.

Plus you are close to Tampa/St. Pete. although the drive can be perplexing at busy times. We wasted over half a day traveling 20 miles out of Clearwater a couple of years back.
Didnt do Busch Gardens but that's another activity close by.

You'd still have the white sand beach which is awesome. The pier is the big deal there.

Then again, stays are pretty high dollar close to the pier.

[Darrell KSR]

I may also include one of her friends so she has someone to do things with, so would need a place they can go have fun, hang out and not get into trouble.

You made your best suggestion yourself. Give her a friend to go on the vacation with you guys and they'll make/find their own fun. They'll go to the beach together, if you're at the beach. They'll hang out at an indoor pool if their is a pool. They'll go to a shopping mall/outlet center, if there is a shopping mall/outlet center nearby. Renting bikes at the beach is fun, and if the weather is cooler, even better. We had one of our best vacations ever with teenage kids when we rented a place at Sandestin that wasn't near the beach, but had a golf cart that could be driven through a tunnel to the beach. As long as we all made the beach at the same time initially (took 2 trips), then kids could come and go as they pleased, with firm commitments for someone to return. (Golf carts are serious business. Wouldn't feel right if I didn't add to make sure there's a serious discussion about no horseplay if you get one. Everybody rides on the seats, no hanging off the back, etc. Have seen too many incidents of serious injuries to kids with those. Same for renting motorized scooters and such, too, I suppose. PSA over.)

Let them have their time out of the rental abode; let them have some time in the rental abode in case they want to just be goofy and watch a teenager movie and be their age without "adults" around. Bonus is it gives you and GF alone time at the same time.

Of course, I always picture Vegas Vacation when I think like that (where Chevy Chase tells everyone to go do their own thing at the beginning of the day, and their "family" vacation is spent apart from each other). But bouncing back and forth between everybody together and some independence is a good balance, IMO.

[Doc]

Agree about taking a friend. My son Jr yr of HS, we went to Cancun Mexico, and Brandon took his best friend. It was nice as they spent time at the beaches and pools, and we didnt feel obligated to keep them busy. It really did not cost any extra as we had a 2 bedroom condo, and I think Payton (the friend) paid for his flight and food. Of course the excursion was another matter

[Doc]

Back to the cruises...we have done 2 xmas cruise. One in Belize on the 25th and one at Turks and Caicos (although weather prohibited docking for that one). Cruises do it right as far as the holiday goes. First was Royal Caribbean and second Princess. Both were quality trip with nice seasonal extras. It is a good suggestion

Some other Xmas trips we have done (was a good travel period for us as my wife did not want to holiday with either family so it was a good excuse).

Rome, Italy. One of the hallmarks for Xmas due to the Vatican, etc. We did xmas eve midnight service at St Peter's. If a consideration then get tix to that.

London England. Was cold and gloomy as expected

Paris France. Not as Xmas as I expected. Only real xmas area is an area on the Champ de eliseo. We were there just after a bombing so security was very evident, and somewhat intimidating

Loon Mtn in New Hampshire. Was nice for winter stuff (skiing, snowmobiling) but sort of out of the way. We spent a few days in Boston beforehand

Vegas. Too cold. Only went because UK was playing

NYC. Lots to do but again, very cold. The parks are great in the winter, especially Bryant Park


Late Dec is a good time to take an overseas trip. More affordable than one would expect

[KSRBEvans]

We went to Disney in the summer of 04 and Hurricane Charley was coming. it was juking around but finally settled on a path that would ultimately take it through Orlando.

We'd originally planned to take a day and go to Clearwater Beach, which our then-15 y/o daughter really wanted to do. But doing that now was going to knock us out of a day (at least) at Disney due to the hurricane. So we had to decide to make a command decision to cancel the beach day or stick with our original plan.

I voted for the command decision to cancel the beach day. Mrs. BEvans wanted to cancel the beach, too, but she wanted to give the 15 y/o the choice.

Bad decision. Daughter immediately said "beach" and wouldn't budge regardless of how much Mrs. BEvans engaged in passive- (and not-so-passive-) aggressive lobbying.

So it was 2 hours of grumbling to the beach, a day of mucking around in seaweed-infused waters (we thought Clearwater Beach was ironically named, but I'm sure it was because of the churn from the coming hurricane) and then more grumbling on the way back to Orlando.

This has nothing to do with choosing a winter holiday destination, except maybe that teenagers are inherently unhappy creatures and you shouldn't give them any authority on any important choices. Good luck, and Godspeed.

[PedroDaGr8]

She loves art, and the Dali museum would be a good idea.

Honestly, even if you don't love art the Dali museum is still truly incredible! You get a much better sense of his artwork and how he used scale to convey his meaning. Something you lose seeing it in books.

[CitizenBBN]

W
This has nothing to do with choosing a winter holiday destination, except maybe that teenagers are inherently unhappy creatures and you shouldn't give them any authority on any important choices. Good luck, and Godspeed.

Beyond the vacation, I figured this out over the past year. She's a great girl, but she's the poster child for moody female teenager at times. I agree completely that you do not give power to such a being. You make choices that will work with her needs and wants as part of a family, but you don't give her the keys and put her behind the wheel. if for no other reason than she'll change her mind 3 times before the car starts. lol

[CitizenBBN]

Honestly, even if you don't love art the Dali museum is still truly incredible! You get a much better sense of his artwork and how he used scale to convey his meaning. Something you lose seeing it in books.

I've sold a number of pieces of his work, including print series done by the museum, and some very nice individual prints. We sell a lot of fine art and I know we'd all enjoy the museum.

The caveat is that you're still looking at 1 day there in a 1 week trip, so the other 6 days need to work too. But it's definitely an option on the table.

[CitizenBBN]

Doc, I hadn't considered a cruise in large part b/c I don't know if I'd enjoy them or not. Never been on one.

I'm a totally unplanned, unstructured person on vacation. My life is so structured, run against a clock every day, so when I vacation I don't want to plan anything. In Key West I keep meaning to fly out to the Dry Tortugas, or hit a certain restaurant, but that requires reservations and I just don't care to be locked in even for a meal. I just wander around, no real purpose most of the time other than maybe to catch a sunset here and there.

I understand cruises are a lot less structured than they used to be, but I'm a zero-structure vacationer.

There's actually a fair amount to do in Key West, and if I take her and her friend they can go down to the beach at Ft. Zachary Taylor easy enough. Also a real possibility to do Ft. Myers and Key west, as it's a 3.5 hour ferry ride. Could split a trip half and half that way, though you have to pack and move around.

All great suggestions. We will give her some input, like how much emphasis to put on beaches, etc. but as BEvans suggested, we aren't going to put this one in her hands. We asked her places she may want to go and she listed Atlanta (seriously, there's one thing there she wants to see apparently) and California. She's traveled very little and really has no clue what is available, so we'll make this call.

[PedroDaGr8]

I've sold a number of pieces of his work, including print series done by the museum, and some very nice individual prints. We sell a lot of fine art and I know we'd all enjoy the museum.

The caveat is that you're still looking at 1 day there in a 1 week trip, so the other 6 days need to work too. But it's definitely an option on the table.

That's really cool. Back when I was in college, a couple good friends and I went down there for a week of drinking, partying, and what not. We decided to visit the Dali museum on a whim and it ended up being one of our favorite parts of the trip.


The wife and I just visited the Tampa/St. Pete/Clearwater area in April as part of our massive road trip around Florida (Tampa-->Alligator Point-->Sarasota-->Miami-->Key West-->Cocoa Beach/Cape Canaveral-->Tampa). The TSC area was pretty nice and we had a lot of fun going to the various parts of the area.


If you choose that area, a few recommendations:

• There is a PHENOMENAL Vietnamese restaurant in Tampa called Viet Kitchen. The shopping center was a bit dingy (common for ethnic restaurants) but the restaurant is very nice inside and the food is incredible. My (Viet) wife said this would be top notch Viet food even in Saigon. I strongly recommend the clams and the Vietnamese coffee.
• There was a fun bar with great live music in Indian Head Beach called Crabby Bill's
• If you find yourself in Lakeland for some random reason Grove Roots Brewing is one of the best breweries I have been to in quite a while. Damn good beers, an excellent relaxing property, etc.

[dan_bgblue]

We have done 3 cruises, 1 on our own and 2, planned for us business cruises. The cruise on our own was the first one and it was to the Bahamas and Virgin Islands. The entire sailing portion of the trip put me in mind of the television news reports about the Triangle and how the rough seas could put ships on the bottom. Not quite as bad as Deadliest Catch, but it was bad enough that the planned side trip to the private island was cancelled and we spent the last day at sea motoring around in circles until it was time to put into port. I swore that it was our first and last cruise. The business cruises I only had the choice of getting on the freaking boat or quitting my job. They were a little better that the first one, but the water has always been too rough to use the landing craft to shuttle us from the big boat to the island. On none of the voyages I was on was the on board swimming pool available for use. It was full when we left, but sometime during the night the rocking and rolling of the ship splashed most of the water out of the pool and the crew installed safety netting and a tarpaulin as additional safety measure to cover the dry hole.

If you go, I hope you enjoy your time on board, but when planning the trip keep this thought in the front of your mind and that is, if you are not enjoying the ride on a particular day or night. they are not going to pull over and let you off. Imagine 6 or 7 days of having to be where someone else wants you to be with no option to take exception with their schedule.

[KentuckyWildcat]

Cocoa Beach/Cape Canaveral

How as Cocoa Beach? Been debating on splitting a trip to Disney and Cocoa some time.

[Doc]

How as Cocoa Beach? Been debating on splitting a trip to Disney and Cocoa some time.

Not much in the town of Cocoa but the space center is nice. Its a nice break from the theme park insanity.

[PedroDaGr8]

How as Cocoa Beach? Been debating on splitting a trip to Disney and Cocoa some time.

It's OK, we went there for the SpaceX launch. Kennedy Space Center was absolutely incredible! The rest of the area is fine, the beaches weren't crowded but were also just typical Atlantic Coast Florida beaches.

Suncat lives over in Titusville and he can probably speak to the area better than I can.