Author Profile: Abhinav Aneel

As much fun as we had traveling with a younger child, I’m really enjoying traveling with a teen. This has been particularly true about our two recent vacations in London, one over winter break and one in the...   view more

Albuquerque was both the first and last stop on a spring break New Mexico road trip that also included Taos and Santa Fe. It’s a flat and sprawling southwestern city and everything is connected by Freeway. It didn’t instantly charm us the way Santa Fe did or offer the adventures that Taos did. But it has some unique museums and more opportunities to get outdoors than we...   view more

New Yorkers love food. With all the walking we do, we can indulge in sweet treats now and again, and when I’m exploring the city with my teen we definitely do! Whether you want ice cream, cake, cookies, tarts or pastries NYC have some of the best desserts in the world, with flavors and recipes from around the...   view more

We went to Williamsburg, VA to take a walk through American history. Within a few square miles, Williamsburg offers up a historic triangle: the first successful English colony in North America, the battlefield where we won the Revolution and the town that was Virginia’s capital until...   view more

College visits brought us to Rochester, NY. for a 3-day weekend. But it was somewhat opportunistic on my part because I’d been wanting to check out this city in Upstate New York for some time. While we found activities that our teen enjoyed, it’s really a great city to visit with school-age kids. On the Autumn holiday weekend we visited, our hotel was full of families that had come for the Strong Museum of Play and the plethora of good, casual, kid-friendly restaurants around...   view more

Rich and I managed to carve out only four days for a couple’s getaway this summer. We wanted a nice hotel, good restaurants, cultural experiences and maybe some time outdoors. And we didn’t want to fly or drive very far. We headed to Saratoga Springs, NY, which provided all of those things, plus opportunities to kick back and...   view more

It’s easy to like Boston, especially with kids along. The city’s neighborhoods are compact and easy explore. There are a lot of things to do outside in both summer and winter. It has unique museums for rainy and cold days. And it’s bursting with historic land marks and good...   view more

We loved Santa Fe pretty much the moment we rolled into town, and I imagine that’s how most people react. The Old Town is a historic district where local people live and work —rather than one that seems frozen in time for tourists. This gives it liveliness and relevancy as well as an ample amount of...   view more

We would start every port day of our Holland America Mediterranean Cruise by stepping out onto our balcony to take a first look at the picturesque port town that would be our destination for the day. When we arrived in Kusadasi, Turkey, our reaction wasn’t, ooooh! so much as,...   view more

Gulf Shores and Orange beach sit side-by-side on the Gulf of Mexico, just over the state line from Pensacola, Florida. Upscale vacation rentals and a range of hotels and restaurants line 38 miles of a wide and lovely beach with soft white sand. Here are my recommendations for fun things to do with kids on and away from the water, my favorite places to eat and lovely places to stay. It’s everything you need to know to plan your Gulf Shore, Alabama family beach...   view more

Montreal is not a pretty city in the winter — what city is? But look beyond its gray building exteriors and slushy streets and it’s a really fun city. It’s full of good things to eat, has lots of culture, and even in winter it offers lots of opportunities to get outside. Here are all the things we squeezed in during a 2-night stay, many of which are available to do all year round plus a great family hotel we revisited a few...   view more

On previous, child-free trips to Newport, Rhode Island, we grooved in the hot sun at the famous Folk Festival, kayaked in Narragansett Bay, slurped raw clams and drank a lot of beer. None of these activities were likely to go over well with Tiny Traveler, age 4.5. And I wondered what we would do during a two-night stopover on the way from Mystic, CT to Cape...   view more

We’ve visited Washington, DC many times as our daughter has grown up and have had the chance to rediscover the city several times over as she’s reached different ages. We’ve explored must-see sites like the Vietnam Memorial (best with teens) and the free and excellent Smithsonian Zoo (great for youngsters), and we’ve found off-the-beaten track things to do, like kayaking on the Potomac. Here, organized roughly by age group, are some of the coolest things to do, places to eat and places...   view more

Toronto has all the things Rich and I want when we plan a couple’s weekend getaway. Ideally, we want two-to-four days of good food, cultural activities, interesting neighborhoods for walking around and a nice hotel that feels like a treat. In other words, we like cities. Toronto has all of these things and more. Here are things to do, see and eat on a kid-free getaway for two. Plus, hotel...   view more

The most important thing to know about my family’s Paris vacation is that we did a home swap. We got to pretend we were local Parisians for ten days. As a result, we found fun, local things to do that we probably would not have if we’d stuck strictly to the touristy neighborhoods. We did hit some of the essential sights, like the Louvre and Notre Dame. We took day trips to Chartres, Versailles and Reims. We ate at Brasserie Lipp and shopped for books at Shakespeare & Co. We also discovered...   view more

People flock to Athens every summer because, on a continent full of old buildings and history, this Greek city offers some of the most iconic and ancient. But spending all your days touring ruins and museums is a good way to bore the heck out of kids and even teens. You need kid-friendly ways to see the historic sights and other things to do in between. Here are the things we did with our teen, including ruins you can’t miss, neighborhoods to explore and good things to eat. I also have some...   view more

Once you’ve been Venice, Italy, you laugh at all those places that tout themselves as “the Venice of X” because they have a few canals. There is only one Venice. And it was one of the places we most wanted to visit with Teen Traveler before she finishes high school. We spent four days there last summer and it didn’t disappoint. Here are some of the best things we found to see, eat and do in Venice with teenagers. There are also plenty of tips on what to do and what to avoid when trying...   view more

Rich and I enjoyed 48 hours of couple time in Dublin, Ireland this summer. It felt pretty sophisticated after 15 years of family vacations and the odd romantic weekend close to home! Dublin is a great destination for a kids-free couple weekend. While you can’t see everything, you can get a good feel for the city in three days. And you can take advantage of the excellent restaurants and vibrant pub scene to give your 48 hours a decidedly grown-up feel. Here are some ideas for where to stay,...   view more

Dropping into a city for one day and getting a good feel for it is never easy and absolutely requires a little advanced research. We had a few clear ideas of what we wanted to see and do to make the most of our day trip To Cambridge from London on a recent vacation. We wanted to get a feel for Cambridge University as a possible college choice. And Teen Traveler wanted to follow in the footsteps of some of her favorite characters in a book that’s set in Cambridge. Here are my best tips for...   view more

Rich and I told Teen Traveler we were taking a three-night trip to Las Vegas over winter break. Teen Traveler responded that she was sure she would hate it because “It’s fake and commercial and I hate things that are too commercially.” Much to her surprise, she —and we— had a lot of fun in Las Vegas. And we found quite a bit to do away from the strip, both around town and outside of the city. Here’s all that we crammed in to a four-day weekend in Las Vegas with a teen, including the...   view more

The last leg on our epic Pacific-Northwest summer road trip was Seattle, where we have long-time friends. Partly because we have good friends there, it was our third visit to the city, and the first with our tween. We’d done the touristy things we wanted to do on previous vacations, so this time around we were looking to explore lesser-known neighborhoods and eat good local food. These are some of the gems we...   view more

I really liked St. Augustine, Florida. It’s a city that predates both Jamestown and Plymouth. Its lesser know history, outdoor activities and great local food blend very nicely to create a fun family destination that’s about more than just the...   view more

I had a 36-hour layover in Helsinki on the way to Rovaniemi in Lapland. It wasn’t nearly enough time to properly explore this charming walkable port city on the Baltic Sea. Helsinki is compact, very family friendly and easy to get around. My group managed to squeeze two-or three-days’ worth of activities into the 36 hours and still didn’t get to see as much as we...   view more

Taos, an artsy town in northern New Mexico, receives a mere 13 inches of rain a year. We had the bad luck to encounter a fair amount of it during our three-day spring break visit. But we still managed to enjoy this town that gives an authentic takes of the old...   view more

One of the challenges to visiting New York City is finding fun, authentic, kid-friendly things to do, that every other tourist isn’t also doing. Here’s one good tip to help you avoid the crowds: The Big Apple has more than 100 museums, many of them are smaller, far less crowded and easier to explore as a family than the marquee ones like the Met and the Museum of Natural...   view more

Chicago is a popular weekend destination for families, but the city has more than enough things to do to fill a four-to-six day trip. And most of the city’s most popular tourist activities are exceptionally kid-friendly and fun for...   view more

In the spring, Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley Virginia is impossibly green and in the fall its leaves burst into color. The historic town of Staunton, at the valley’s southern end, is the perfect base for a romantic couple getaway at any time of year, but it’s particularly appealing in these two seasons. Plus the weather is perfect for pretty much anything you want to do. Here are some activities I enjoyed when I visited in early May and that I recommend for making the most of a kid-free...   view more

Edinburgh is the perfect city for a long weekend getaway with kids. It’s compact and walkable. People are friendly. And there are plenty of things to do, see and eat around the pedestrian Royal Mile in the city...   view more

Let me tell you why you need to come to Brooklyn for a day during your next New York City visit with your kids: It’s less crowded than Times Square. It has abundant art and architecture. Restaurants are less expensive and more family friendly. It has historic neighborhoods full of families. DUMBO is one such neighborhood. Just across the river from Lower Manhattan, its popular with local families as well as with...   view more

Like most families we have certain places we visit over and over again. One of our favorites is nearby Philadelphia. It’s an easy drive (if we time it right) and a big enough city that there is always something new to see. And of course, our favorite activities have changed as our young Traveler has...   view more

We went to Steamboat Springs, Colorado to visit friends for Thanksgiving. While we were looking forward to finding cool local things to do with kids in early winter, there was no skiing in our forecast. Then we arrived to several inches of the fresh powder snow the Rockies are famous...   view more

Germany is an incredibly easy place to travel with children. How could the country that gave us the Brothers Grimm and gummy bears not be? Bavaria is one the most laid back parts of Germany, making it a doubly great place to vacation with kids. Munich is an easy city to navigate with good public transit, plenty of parks, and good mixture of culture and fun for preschoolers, kids and teens. Here are our top things to do in Munich with kids, some on the well-worn tourist track and some a small...   view more

Parents sometimes hesitate to visit Los Angeles with kids. Hollywood, trendy restaurants and velvet-rope clubs don’t scream child-friendly. But there are a lot of things for families to do in L.A., and you really can’t beat the perfect Southern California weather. The concierge at the Peninsula Beverly Hills was kind enough to provide his top ten list for things to do with kids in...   view more

Why in the world would a family in New York City fly north to Quebec City for spring break? It was still pretty wintery and gray in this Canadian city. But we did it because we found a fantastic off-season airfare-hotel package and nothing was very crowded. With its sophisticated French food, and its focus on museums, culture and history, Quebec didn’t seem like the ideal place to vacation with a 4-year-old when we first arrived. But over the five days we stayed we found plenty of places to...   view more

Autumn is a perfect time for a family weekend getaway to San Diego. The weather is fine, attractions are less crowded, the beaches are still open, and promotional events like Restaurant week and Kids Free month make travel cheaper. Stay in the city proper, visit Carlsbad or venture to a nearby beach or up the coast. Here are ten fun activities around San Diego and Southern California. They all make for an easy day out or a long weekend away with...   view more

For a long time, Baltimore was a place for us to stretch our legs, eat something (and find a clean bathroom) on the way to or from Washington, DC. But Tiny Traveler and I had the opportunity to spend a weekend in Charm City. We learned that it is chock-full of family-friendly activities, including a few...   view more

In a bookstore in Portland, Oregon we spotted a book called This is Portland: The City You’ve Heard You Should Like. It pretty well summed up our experience in this Pacific Northwest...   view more