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Suggestions for an April trip from Seattle

My family of 4 (parents + 2 teen daughters) are trying to figure out where to go for spring break, leaving from Seattle. We have about a week in mid-April. We are really stumped trying to decide where to go. I know this is a really vague question, but does anyone have any ideas that jump out? Maybe trips you've taken in April that were lovely? I'm hoping to get some suggestions and find some inspiration!

For a teeny bit of background, we've been to Germany and loved it. Ireland as well. London and Paris last summer were great!
We were thinking about Costa Rica but it sounds awfully hot. Iceland? Peru? Obviously we're not hung up on any particular destination, just hoping to find a nice adventure somewhere.

We are really open to different sorts of destinations. We like small towns with quaint streets to explore, good food/shopping, historical sites. But big cities are fine too, maybe for a couple of days.

The teens aren't huge fans of museums but they did like the Louvre more than I expected. We like having at least one outdoor adventure as part of the trip if possible (like a hike, or outdoor tour of some sort). Like a cool cave, or an island, etc..

For a little more background, we had originally considered two weeks in Morocco but we ran out of time, so we're saving that one for later. We had thought about Peru but I think we don't have enough time for that either. Iceland seemed like a possibility but the weather might not be quite right. We decided to skip Italy because of Jubilee crowds. And somehow we've just ended up having a lot of trouble settling on a destination.

Thanks!

Posted by
8686 posts

How about the Netherlands; and more specifically Amsterdam? It's easy to get to with a lot of direct flights there from the US, public transportation is wonderful, the city itself has a great vibe and there are so many places to see and things to do there. It is one of my favorite cities and I can't wait to get back there. It has the Anne Frank house, which might appeal to your teens, and so many incredible museums.

There is also the opportunity for quick day trips to places like Delft, Leiden, Hoorn (a lovely town on the northern coast) and so on. Keukenhof Gardens will be open by then as well, and you can see the masses of tulips that are just breathtaking.

I think your teens would really love it.

Posted by
2914 posts

At this point given the very short timing I'd suggest looking at what airfares look like for your dates - affordability may not be in your favor. Google Flights lets you plug in "Europe" as a destination with your travel dates and it will show options. With only one week you don't want transit to take up a huge chunk of your time, so I'd focus on places you can get to quickly and without a lot of stops. If any of your dates overlap Easter (April 20), you may also be out of luck with accommodations, as well as having many things closed/limited hours around the time you travel. Best of luck!

Posted by
2933 posts

I adore Iceland, so am biased, but it would be a great spring break trip! There are loads of outdoor adventures you can do such as an ice cave, glacier hike, snowmobiling, horse back riding, etc. Then there are the thermal lagoons and each one is unique. We try to hit as many of those as we can on each trip. Visiting the massive waterfalls, seeing the puffins, the black sand beaches, Yoda Cave. Downtown Reykjavik has a lot to offer as well. The Sun Voyager, Harpa, the Citywalk "free" walking tour (tip at the end), a food tour (excellent!!!), the amazing street art and murals, rainbow road, Hallgrimskirkja and the views from the top of it. Maybe even the Phallological Museum? Don't worry about the weather. If you don't want to drive, you can take day tours or even a multi day tour.

There are 2 flights a day from SEA, 3:45pm and 7:45pm. I would opt for the afternoon flight in case the evening flight gets cancelled. We had that happen on our last trip and were literally racing to the airport for the afternoon flight and barely made it. I know that is not the norm, but it does happen.

If you have any questions let me know. We have been many times and head back again this summer.

Posted by
324 posts

Central Mexico (Mexico City and a smaller colonial city such as San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato or Oaxaca).
Or San Juan, Puerto Rico with some day trips elsewhere on the island.
Spring is a great time to visit Washington DC if you haven’t been there yet with the family.