Are you ready to travel with the grandkids? Here are your Top 5 Bucket List Travel Spots to Take the Grandkids!
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Why a Top 5 Bucket List for Grandkids?
I am new to being a grandparent. My daughter married a man with children from a previous marriage so I was instantly made a grandmother with two beautiful grandkids, Kyla, age 18 and Zechariah, age 5.
A year and a half after the wedding, my daughter gave birth to Ezra! For now, Ezra will stay home. But I plan on having fun with the big grandkids and living out this top 5 bucket list!
I love being a grandmother, and I am always thinking of cool bucket list travel spots to take the grandkids! You get to see them experience new things and places that their parents just do not have the time because of work restraints, younger children, and tighter budgets.
Top 5 Bucket List Travel Spots to Take the Grandkids!
Take the Kids Camping in Yellowstone National Park to Connect With Nature
Yellowstone National Park
June is definitely the best month to go! This is when all of the animals are out and about. There are cabins or you can rent an RV once you are out there and camp that way. If you are up to it physically, tent camping is an option as well.
This is one of the coolest trips for kids.
Whichever way you go you will want to stay in the park if at all possible and move locations so you can experience more of the park. Yellowstone National Park is definitely a trip of a lifetime and kids love all there is to do and see there!
No List Would Be Complete Without Disney World and a Disney Cruise
Going to Disney is great, but add a Disney Cruise to the mix and now you have a bucket list trip! Experience twice the fun by taking the cruise then heading to a Disney park!
Disney’s first-class level accommodations and service will wow you and the grandkids! My personal favorite is Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge!
They offer lots to do in the parks! Then you can head over to Port Canaveral for your high seas adventure on Disney’s Cruise line!
New York City – A Cultural Trip for Kids
If you love Broadway, the Freedom Towers, Empire State Building and oodles of museums, then New York City is the trip for you! Maybe you love baseball and want to take them to a Yankee’s game.
Don’t forget a trip in the winter to see the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade and Rockefeller Center! Whatever your flavor the big city will most likely have it!
Best Family Bonding Vacations – Traveling their Ancestry
My Grandfather did this with me and although I did not appreciate it at the time, now I realize it was a wonderful trip. It’s one of the best family bonding vacations I have ever had.
He took me to Europe to visit where our ancestry originated. I would recommend this trip for teenagers though as it is a big trip for younger kids that will struggle with long flights and bouncing around hotels.
My grandparents were the ones to tell us about their ancestry! Not my parents. The stories get lost as the generations continue. Why not take them to Europe, Asia, the Middle East, where ever your family originated from, to experience their homeland.
You could do research about your family history or even a DNA test to get you started and go to the towns where your family resided in the past.
My grandfather had our family tree done so he knew we were from Tipperary in Ireland, among other places!
Head Out To A Dude Ranch!
I think my grandkids would enjoy this trip the most! Dude Ranches have become real family-friendly over the years with activities for everyone! Some ranches even have children’s programs with counselors and riding is optional!
Some activities include petting zoos, mountain biking, river rafting, swimming pools, card games, hayrides, western dancing, campfires, cookouts, tennis, volleyball, basketball, softball, fishing, and hiking!
You can find a dude ranch right here!
Top 5 Bucket List Travel Spots to Take the Grandkids!
Related Article: What to Bring When Traveling With Your Grandchildren
I would love to hear your stories on great trips you have taken with your grandkids or what’s on your bucket list!
91 responses to “Top 5 Bucket List Travel Spots to Take the Grand Kids!”
Lots of great ideas here! You are a fun Grandma!
Thanks, Lee Anne! We try!
We haven’t been on a Disney cruise yet. I want to take my girls. They look really fun! I love the ancestry adventure!! That would be so cool.
Thank you Amanda!
You’re one cool grandma! Those are indeed bucket list travel for kids. I’m an adult and I even want to go on a Disney cruise and just be a kid again. The Europe vacation sounds amazing as well! What a great article Trish!
Not yet but hopefully soon! I am looking for next summer to make one of these happen!
Great concept! Travel builds relationships and having specific bucket lists for particular loved ones easily deepen them b/c it’s so much fun!
Thanks, Hera!
I would like to take my kids to a dude ranch for sure. My parents have taken my kids to Disney and they had a great time.
Disney is always popular! Let us know how you like the Dude Ranch!
What a fun bucket list! For grandkids and kids at heart!
Thank you!
These are all great ideas of places to take your children/grandchildren. I ditto all because fortunately we took our children to all, but never a dude ranch, which is on my list to do. Thank you for adding that link with dude ranches to look into.
I can’t wait to hear about it. Dude ranches are at the top of my list!
Yes, all great ideas for my granddaughter..Once she is away from the phone screen so many great ideas to share with her. Thanks for this post and the great ideas.
Thank you James! We always liked cruises. The phones don’t work without a hefty price! No phones allowed!
Shared with my parents! Hoping they get the hint! 🙂
LOL good luck! Maybe they will take you too!
I love traveling with my grandkids.
Great Louise!
I have a bucket list of things to do with my kids! Those are great ideas for trips!
Thanks Lisa! Can’t wait to hear about them!
I love traveling with my grandkids, even though it can be challenging at times. I’ve taken my own kids to some of these places, but never the grand kids. Time to start planning!
I often think I need to bring my kids to help! LOL
I can’t wait to start traveling more with grand kids. I love your pics!
Thank you Shannon!
Awesome roundup!!!!!!
Thanks, Emily!
My parents (the grandparents) sponsored a Disney cruise two Christmases ago and it was by far one of the most magical perfect memories to date. We talk about it all the time. When you don’t have to think about food and transpiration all the energy focus is being together. My favorite thing 🙂
It is a great idea with tons of great memories!
These are great suggestions! I love the one about an ancestry trip-what a great idea! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Cynthia!
I love the idea of the dude ranch! That would be awesome.
I agree Missy! Looking into them for next year!
These are great ideas. Definitely stay at Animal Kingdom at Disney – it’s our favorite by far and there are so many activities to do you don’t even need to spend all your time at the parks. I love the idea of NYC too – it’s such a fun city to visit.
There are just so many important sites to see in NY!
I love these ideas! Pretty soon, my grandkids will be old enough to take trips with me and I’m very much looking forward to it. I would love to take my currently 4 year old granddaughter on a Disney cruise, maybe in a couple of years.
7-12 is a great time to take your granddaughter! She will be able to remember it!
how fun! These are great ideas I will pass along to my dad so that hopefully he may plan a fun trip for our kids when they’re a bit older!
Awesome! I can’t wait to hear about it!
This is a great bucket list! I would love to take my kids to Thailand and visit my birthplace! Growing up I had no interest in visiting Thailand but as I have my own kids, I would love to share with them my family story and home country.
Isn’t funny how our priorities change as we get older? I think your kids could really benefit from that trip!
My favorite is to take the family to New York. We live in a small rural town in Northern California. So, there is not a lot of diversity of people, art, food, activity. Going to New York is such a great way to expose family to culture and art. Love it!
I was lucky enough to grow up in Philadelphia and we went to NY on field trips. The kids in FL never get to see any culture. I agree it is a great trip for kids!
Can I be your grandkid? LOL This is such a great list!
Haha! Thanks! It is my bucket list. Still needs to happen!
All really great ideas for sure!
Thank you Nicole!
This is a great list! I have grandsons and I plan on surprising everyone with a vacation to WDW. The boys are at the perfect age!
Have a great time!
Such a great list! I would love to try a Dude Ranch.
I am ready!
What a great list. I have fond memories of my dad taking me on an “ancestry” tour of Utah. Yellowstone and Glacier are both favorites of mine.
Thanks Pauline!
You have to be the best grandma ever. My mom wants very little to do with my children. It’s her time now after all her years of raising children and working as a single parent. I get that, but oh how I would have loved her to share even a fraction of your enthusiasm to travel with my kids. She considers it a trip just to come over to my house, and she only lives 5 miles away! 😊Great post, and I can’t wait to hear about some of your adventures with your grandkids!
I guess my kids did not have wonderful grandparents and that is why spending time with them is so important. Even if you can’t afford to do bucket list trips. There is still plenty of time to enjoy my life while enjoying family. We make sure we go to dinner once a week and meet at the beach on Saturday’s except when we are traveling for work. It is a very important relationship and my daughter, like you, wants this so much for her kids too.
I love this! We have taken Payton to Disney World and NYC and we are heading to Yellowstone in September! Looks like I need to add in a dude ranch! Thanks for sharing the link of where to find one!
You are hitting the list! Sounds amazing!
What a great list!! I’ll keep this in mind 🙂
Thanks, Allyson!
All super fabulous ideas for memory making with the grandkids! I’m partial to NYC (of course 🤗) and a family history trip would also be amazing! Thank you so much for sharing!
Thanks, Angela! I love NY too!
This is a great list. My kids are still teens, but we are certainly showing them these places. The one thing we have not done is a dude ranch. That sounds like a lot of fun. We are headed to Calgary next summer and I believe that is on the list.
Yellowstone is but Canada is also a great option. Just had a friend post her trip to Banff. It looks amazing!
Yes, Banff is on the list next summer too!
Such great suggestions! I especially love the ancestry trip……will keep this in mind for that day I “might” have grandkids!
Thanks, Jill, or do it now!
Awesome suggestions. Great vacation plans for couples, too. This city girl has always wanted to visit a dude ranch! Maybe, someday!
Thank you, Kymberly! No time like the present!
I love this list! I agree with all of these. I love exploring new places, and I love Disney!
Thanks, Stacey!
This is a diverse list! I have been to several similar places, but not the Disney Cruise. A cruise of any kind is on my list, for me first then the grandkids! I know they’d love it!
You will not regret choosing Disney. They are amazing!
All of these are on my bucket list!! Do you have plans to do them?
Someday, nothing in stone this year.
I love all these ideas. I know my grandparents took me and my children on an American History and a family history tour we traveled for 2 weeks along the east coast and it is all of our top favorite memory plus we learned so much! I can’t wait to take my grandchildren on some trips.
I love it! I would love to do the family history one as well. Even with my own kids!
YES!!! Love every single one of these. One of my fave trips was going to a dude ranch with my grandpa and of course my parents… They told stories of how they had gone there when they were little. We’re hoping to go soon with my kids… keep up the tradition.
We are big horse people. I can’t wait to do this one!
Definitely saving this list! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for looking Haley!
I love all of those myself! Thanks for sharing the ideas to spend time. These are great!
Thank you, Anna!
Great ideas! I especially love the idea of going to a dude ranch and traveling their ancestry! I’ll have to remember these for when my grandson is a bit older. Thank you!
The Dude Ranch is my favorite too!
I don’t have any grandkids so I may try them myself 🙂
That is a great idea!
Travel with kids is so rewarding. I love to see the world through their eyes. Also when I take them to places I had great memories as a kid too, it is like a great time machine. They are never too young!
Nope! It is so important to have kids travel and see other cultures!
No grandkids yet…but when I do… 😀
Or start now!