My favorite trips are the ones that require a passport. When going somewhere I’ve never been, there’s the promise of the new and unknown. There’s excitement and a sense of adventure that starts when you make the first reservation and lasts until the plane touches down at home. But trips are not always vacations.

There’s a big difference, especially when kids are involved. My favorite vacations involve sandy beaches and warm water, and one of my favorite sandy stretches is the New Jersey Shore.

Hiking is a wonderful all-family activity. When kids are very young and can fit in a backpack, any hike is fair game as long as you pack food and don’t overestimate your endurance to carry the extra pounds. When kids start walking, selecting kid-friendly hikes is essential, although it’s amazing how far motivated school-age kids can go.

I’ll never forget the Dutch family we ran into in Banff National Park a few years ago with 5-year-old twin boys who were hiking the same 6-mile-loop we were with some serious vertical.

It’s amazing to me how easy it is to miss great travel opportunities in your own backyard. Last year, I spent a fair amount of time researching and preparing for a family trip to New York to climb the Statue of Liberty and visit Ellis Island. It was a fabulous trip. This summer, I discovered the “Ellis Island of the West” is about an hour from my front door.

Who knew? The results, another fabulous trip, no plane tickets needed.

The San Diego Zoo is one of the area’s best-known attractions. The zoo also operates a Wild Animal Park offering an array of fantastic safari-style experiences.

One of the amusing moments during our recent visit to the park was this vision of a lion sleeping on this range rover. OK, so that’s not really what happens in Africa, but nonetheless, it’s nice to see these animals so relaxed and comfortable in their environment.

Conjure up the typical English countryside scene: think of a patchwork landscape of fields laden with crops or dotted with sheep and cattle, interspersed with stately homes, church spires and quaint little villages. Not much of rural England looks like this anymore, but The Cotswolds really does.

It has something to delight everyone, whether it’s one of the many manor houses, which have been turned into luxurious country house hotels and spas …

I’m lucky enough to call the Bay Area home. And for almost seven years I lived in the center of it all, San Francisco. I was young, and newly married with a great job. The city was the place to be.

Then I had a baby.

But instead of packing up and moving out, I quickly discovered raising a “city kid” had major perks.

Bergen has devised wonderful attractions so families can explore from the mountain tops to the depths of the sea. Ride the Funicular cable car up to the top of Mount Floyen to see the breathtaking view of the coastal city and the beautiful fiords and nearby islands.

At the Bergen Aquarium, watch the seals and penguins play in their fresh sea water pool before—and after—exploring the extensive collection of marine fauna and fish from all over the world.

We spent last weekend in San Diego and had the opportunity to check out the new Legoland Water Park. My favorite thing about Legoland in general is that it’s so optimized for toddlers and school-aged kids.

You don’t have to worry about rides that are too scary (using your judgement based on your kids) and unruly teens.

So you’ve decided to take the leap and take the family to Vegas. Maybe it’s to see a show, there’s hundreds to choose from. Maybe it’s for a wedding. They happen around the clock there … just ask Elvis. Maybe it’s just because you want to go to Vegas. Whatever the reason, Las Vegas with kids can be a lot of fun.

The Strip is like a giant amusement park. You could spend days just wandering and staring.

Up until the room service cart was trundled into our room at Boston’s Fairmont Copley Plaza a few years ago, my then six-year-old’s only exposure to Boston Cream had been the filling of a chain-store donut.

And despite my having gone to school in the area, I too only knew of Boston Cream in this way until the waiter whisked away the silver dome to reveal an impossibly tall and flamboyant slice of Boston Cream Pie, which my daughter and I shared to the last bite (my younger daughter, alas, had fallen asleep five minutes before the food arrived).