Dear family travelers:
Sun or Snow? Maybe your kids are angling for a getaway to a favorite city. Maybe you want to squeeze in a little fun amid a week of college touring.
Whether you have a weekend or a week this spring to get away with the kids, there are lots of options. And it's not too early to start planning. Check out our Sun, Snow and Sea Spring Break 2013 Section.
Here are five options you might not have considered:
AN ECO ADVENTURE: Couples as well as families will appreciate time to explore new adventure destinations like Nicaragua, where eco-friendly resorts like Morgan's Rock provide a comfortable home base and the local knowledge you'll need to plan day excursions. Outfitters like Austin-Lehman Adventures are branching out with kid-friendly trips to Nicaragua while Thomson Family Adventures also touts family eco adventures in destinations like Costa Rica. Take your gang on an expedition cruise arranged by Adventuresmith Explorations
CITY LIGHTS: You will find hotel rates drop on weekends when the business travelers go home. Pick up a Citypass for every family member, saving up to 50% on attractions and bypass the lines. New museum exhibits are geared to all ages; we especially love the Children's Museum of Indianapolis, the largest in the country, and the food exhibit at New York's American Museum of Natural History. (If you visit New York City, consider taking any of three walking tours with our new TakingTheKids app 
for iPhones and iPads and picking up a copy of our Kid's Guide to New York City.)
SAIL AWAY: from a port near home. Cruises are always a good bet for families whether the kids are preschoolers (supervised play time) or teens (all they can eat, a safe place to roam, youth spa treatments). See our Family Cruise Section. Some ships like Disney Cruise Line and select Royal Caribbean ships even have day care for infants while Carnival Cruises nursery begins at age 2. Check websites like www.discountcruises.com for the latest deals, and get custom advice from one of their agents. 
HEAD TO THE SNOW: for more than skiing or riding. There's plenty else to do besides ski or snowboard at snow resorts these days--whether on the Alpine coaster at Park City Mountain Resort, a unique canopy tour at (actually nine zip lines, two sky bridges and three rappels) at Bretton Woods, NH, the Friday night ULR NIGHTS fun in honor of the Norse God of Snow at Aspen's Snowmass or the Kidtopia activities at Keystone Resort where kids ski free. Visit a dude ranch in winter like C Lazy U or Vista Verde in Colorado. Check out our FUN IN THE SNOW section for more ideas.
PLAY BALL: Take your team to spring training, a mainstay at small stadiums in Florida and Arizona where in between games you will have plenty of time for fun at the beach in Florida, or around the pools in Arizona. Make sure you've got plenty of balls and markers for autographs!
