If you’re looking for skiiing nearly 365 days a year, then Whistler-Blackcomb is the place to go. Located less than two hours from Vancouver, British Columbia, Whistler will be the site of the 2010 Winter Olympics. It has over eight thousand acres of territory, including over two hundred ski trails, and receives thirty feet of snow per year, on average. And, since the peak of Whistler Mountain has year-round snow, a trip in June doesn’t mean leaving the skis behind.

Winter fun abounds, with skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, heli-skiing (helicopter ride to the top of the mountain), and the Coca Cola Tube park, where entire families can ride inner tubes down the slopes.

In the summer, the upper peaks remain snow covered, and the lower hills become the Whistler Blackcomb Mountain Bike Park. The Zipline Ecotour is a fun and exciting way to explore old-growth forest–by zooming across a cable a hundred feet off the ground. Other summer activities include a combination bungee/trampoline, ATV and jet boat rides, whitewater rafting, bungee jumping, and a climbing wall.

Whistler has one of the best children’s ski training programs in the world, pairing the children with the same instructor for the entire week. The ski areas include family friendly slopes with “Go Slow!” flags posted, a ski-through castle, and an Enchanted Forest.

Daycare is also available for younger children; the daycare attendants are licensed, and they keep a 1 to 4 ratio for infants and toddlers, and a 1 to 7 ratio for preschoolers. For both groups, the parents are given a pager in case of emergency. Whistler even has a Kid’s Night on Saturday evenings for children aged 5 to 12; after all, they deserve a break from their parents sometime, right?

Finally, Whistler is Dog Friendly! No need to leave Rex in the care of neighbors or strangers, because even the furry family members are welcome.

Universal Studios is a great place to take the kids. Not only do they have wild and interesting rides, but you can get a look “behind the scenes” at how movies and tv shows are made.

The park is actually split into two parts. The upper part is the theme park, with the majority of the rides, the characters, and the food. It’s separated from the lower part with one of the largest escalators in the world. The lower part is the actual film lot, and a tram ride shows visitors quite a lot of it.

First, the rides and attractions. Using the same sort of “flight simulator” design as Disney’s Star Tours, the Back to the Future ride lets visitors ride in a modified time machine into the past and future, and the tourists almost get eaten by a dinosaur along the way.

The ride that dominates the entire park, though, is the Jurassic Park ride. The plot is simple; the tourists are on a boat excursion through the park when the “incident” from the movie releases the animals. The boats are diverted into the waste processing facility, while being threatened by a variety of animated dinosaurs, and just as it seems they’re about to be eaten by the T-Rex, they dive beneath his feet and down a huge drop into water. The “you might get wet” warning is an understatement–the ride is designed to soak every rider to the skin.

Follow the soaking with the Backdraft attraction. After an intro area that shows how some of the fire effects are created, the crowd is ushered into a mock-up of a factory that explodes into flame right in front of them. There are literally explosions happening twenty feet in front of you, with no more protection than a handrail.

The tram ride is a mostly tame but very entertaining ride through movie history, complete with the Bates Motel from Psycho, the shark from Jaws, and a simulated earthquake in a train station.

All in all, Universal Studios Hollywood is a great place to take the kids for a weekend.

Club Mediterranee–”Club Med”–is a chain of resorts based in France, based on the concept that the staff should make friends and freely associate with the guests. Their Sandpiper location is two hours from either Orlando or Miami, and was designed to be the perfect “family friendly” Club Med location.

The rooms are perfect for a family. They are roomy and comfortable, with large closets and easy access to washer and dryer, and even a sitting area with sofa and chairs.

Sandpiper offers specific rooms and programs for each age group. Infants, one year olds, two year olds, three, etc; each one has a room dedicated and a program suited to them. There’s even a “Baby Bottle Room,” open 24 hours and stocked to handle any child’s snack requests.

For walkers up to two years old, there are activities like Bubbles Walk and Swing and Slide. Two and three year olds are helped with Plaster Hands, Magic Show, and Discovery Walk.

Four to seven year olds can enjoy hat making, trampoline, and the Sandpiper 500, while eight to ten year olds get to start on rollerblading, waterskiing, and tubing (waterskiing on an inner tube). And eleven to seventeen year olds can enjoy trapeze, golf, tennis, sailing and more; just check the activities list posted daily.

Every week, the kids join in for a MiniClub stage show, complete with costumes and lighting. And every evening, the kids hop into pedal cars for the nightly Sandpiper 500 race.

Oh, and there’s stuff for the adults, too. Tennis, trapeze, trampoline, waterskiing, Disco Yoga, sailing, and golf are all available. There’s also the Siesta Club, where Sandpiper staff will sit with kids from 8pm to 1am while the grownups get out of the hotel room.

All in all, there aren’t too many places more family-oriented than Club Med Sandpiper.

For sheer variety, there aren’t too many places that can beat Northern Arizona for landscape and beauty.

First off, select a home base–a place to return to after driving around all day. The Northern Arizona sights are relatively close, but “relatively” still might mean a few hours drive. One of the best home bases is Sedona. It’s got quite a collection of shops and restaurants, and also has Slide Rock, in Oak Creek Canyon, just a few minutes outside of Sedona.

Slide Rock is a canyon carved out of the red rock by Oak Creek. The algae covering the rocks makes them especially slippery, so swimmers can actually slide right on down the river, like a naturally formed water park. It’s a very popular destination, but be sure to check with the park in advance, because they will close the creek to swimming if the algae level gets too high or the water level gets too low. Oak Creek is also great for fishing.

With a comfortable home base, the family is ready to make their expeditions to the other Northern Arizona sites of interest, starting with the world’s biggest hole in the ground, the Grand Canyon. Carved out of bedrock by the Colorado River, the canyon is a scar across Northern Arizona, and offers some of the most incredible views in the state.

Between Sedona and the Canyon is Flagstaff, one of the few places in Arizona where you can go skiing. That’s always been an attraction for Phoenix dwellers–the possibility of driving to Flagstaff at dawn to ski all morning, then driving home to jump in the backyard pool.

There are several other sites of interest within a few hours’ drive from Sedona, such as Meteor Crater, the Petrified Forest, the Painted Desert, and Montezuma’s Castle. All of them are worth the trip, and make Northern Arizona one of the most attractive areas in the country.

If you were traveling with children in Europe, wouldn’t it be nice to have a “home base” to start from? That place would need large, family friendly lodging, with plenty of activities for both kids and parents for those “stay in the hotel” days, and a staff fairly fluent in English. It would also have to be affordable, and located pretty near the spots you’re thinking about visiting.

Amazingly enough, such a place does exist. Center Parcs has a chain of twenty locations spread across Europe, with resorts in France, England, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands. They haven’t done much advertising in the United States, so most American travelers don’t even know they exist.

The distinguishing feature of each of these resorts is the big dome that houses the kid’s activity area, restaurants, shops, spas, and pool–though “pool” hardly does it justice, since it has water slides, kiddie pools, wave pools, and more. The restaurants cover the full range from fast food to gourmet specialty, and there’s even a supermarket.

Each resort offers a variety of kid-friendly activities. They have activities like Baluba and Experience Factory, which are a roomful of play equipment and toys to climb on, plus petting zoo, pony rides, climbing walls, and even snorkeling.

For adults, each resort has shopping, saunas, bicycle and hiking trails, swimming and skiing, and more.

All of the resorts are located fairly near to landmarks and cities (like Waterloo, Antwerp, the Hague, and Paris), so they make a perfect “home base” from which to explore Europe.

What’s more, the cottages at each resort are roomy and comfortable, because they were designed to handle a three-generation family. Most have fireplaces, widescreen TV, children’s beds, and private balconies. As a special feature, families can even reserve a room with a puppet theater, circus tent, baby bath, and collection of toys.

Disneyland is a very popular destination for families, and there are an incredible number of things to see and do at the park.

For many young children, the highlight of the trip is the chance to shake hands and pose for pictures with a favorite character, like Mickey Mouse.

Some of the first things that come to mind in Disneyland are the rides. Disney rides range from extremely tame, like the Bug’s Life play area in California Adventures, to the unusual, like “Honey I Shrunk the Audience,” to the really fast, like the Matterhorn Bobsled and Space Mountain.

Many of the rides have height limitations, which means one adult may be left at the end of the line with the smallest child while the other adult takes the older children onto the ride. Fortunately, the park has a policy that keeps it fair: when one adult is forced to wait for the other, the ride staff will give them a free pass that allows the second parent to go to the front of the line.

Start the day by arriving as soon as the park opens. Then, before the crowds arrive, hit the most popular rides, like the Indiana Jones Adventure and Star Tours. In the afternoon, when the lines get long, abandon the rides for a little while, and hit the stage and theater shows, like Honey I Shrunk the Kids, the Enchanted Tiki Room, and the Country Bear Jamboree. When evening arrives, be sure to catch Fantasmic, a spectacular show that takes place on the lagoon.

After Fantasmic, and the evening fireworks, the crowds will start to thin. If the youngsters are up to it, this is the perfect time to go hit the rest of the popular rides, like Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion. In fact, after midnight, it’s often possible to dash from ride to ride to ride with no lines at all, before the staff begins shutting everything down at one AM.

Unless the entire vacation is going to be spent locked in a hotel room and lobby, chances are, the family is going to encounter some local wildlife. Fortunately, the vast majority of wildlife is harmless.

The most dangerous animal in the world, statistically speaking, is the mosquito. Most breeds of mosquito come out at dusk and remain active throughout the night. Mosquitos can spread encephalitis, deng fever, and most commonly, malaria. When travelling in areas with lots of mosquitos, make sure to use a good repellant (test it first for allergic reactions), loose clothing, and netting over the bed. Pay special attention to the ankles, because tube socks can prevent quite a few mosquito bites.

Other dangerous insects include scorpions and spiders. Make sure your children know not to go flipping rocks and rotten logs hunting for treasure, because the treasure they find might bite! Fortunately, most scorpions and spider stings are not deadly.

Other insects, like fleas, ticks, bees, and ants, are generally more nuisance than dangerous. The exception to this is allergic reactions. If your child is allergic to insect stings, be prepared for it with antihistamies or epi pens.

The second most dangerous animal in the world…is the dog. Don’t let children pet or play with dogs they don’t know. Besides the risk of rabies, some dogs might have a short temper, and dog teeth can do quite a lot of damage to small hands. Cats and kittens, too, can do damage or spread disease with scratches or bites.

Make sure your children understand the difference between Winnie the Pooh and the family of bear in the wilderness. Sure, the cubs look fun and playful, but they can still do a lot of damage, and there’s always momma bear to contend with.

Under no circumstances should children approach a bat. More than half of the rabies deaths in the last thirty years have all been traced to bats.

Sometimes the kids have to fly alone. Maybe because it’s too expensive for the parents to fly a round trip to drop off the kids with grandma, or maybe there’s an emergency where the parents have to put the child on the plane by themselves. Regardless, there are times when the kids have to fly by themselves.

Fortunately, the airlines recognize that this situation happens, and they do try to assist the parents as best they can. Most airlines will assign a flight attendant to the child, and that person will make sure the child is comfortable on the flight, makes his connection to the next flight, and will hand the child off to the responsible adult at his destination.

If you need to send the child on his way, think ahead. Don’t saddle the kid with carry on baggage that weighs as much as he does. Try to pack light, with perhaps just a backpack containing a change of clothes and some favorite books and toys. Don’t forget medications and contact information, either. The child shouldn’t have to remember the name, address, and phone number of the relative he’s going to visit; he should be able to just hand over a sheet of paper with all of that information.

Think about security, too. You might want to establish a code word, a secret password that only the relative on the far end will know. Besides the obvious—“yes, this is the right grown-up”—the code word will also help to comfort the child, as a link to his parents (“My parents really did talk to them and give them the secret word, that means they know where I am and everything is going to be okay.”).

Most of all, reassure the child that they will make it to their destination safe and sound, and return home when the trip is done.

Childhood food allergies can be deadly. Take care to protect your child while traveling.

If possible, make sure your child knows and understands the foods they are allergic to and what happens when they eat that food. If traveling to visit friends or family, be sure to inform them of the child’s allergy. Ask them to be diligent in reading labels while your child is visiting.

Some airlines list flight meals on their website. Most airlines provide special meals for those with food allergies, if you notify them in advance. Check with your airline for details. However, there is no guarantee that your meal will not be prepared or come in contact with something you are allergic to. Avoid potential problems on the road or airplane by making and packing trip snacks yourself.

When eating out, be sure to ask servers about offending ingredients and avoid roadside stands and unlicensed eating establishments.

Different countries have different food labeling laws. Make sure you know the labeling laws and customs for the country you are visiting. Also, you and your child must know how to effectively communicate the name of the food and severity of the allergy in the language of every country you visit.

The food allergic child should wear medical alert bracelet at all times. In an emergency, parents my not be available to give information to medical personnel.

Carry your child’s allergy medication and emergency injectable with you at all times. The medications should go where ever the child goes.

Keep doctor’s phone number and local emergency numbers handy.

If traveling out of the country consider purchasing pre-printed cards with your child’s food allergy information printed on them. You order cards from a company called Select Wisely. Cards come in many languages and cover any allergy or combination of allergies.

After a long drive, a nice, quiet night in a hotel room sounds perfect. Unfortunately, after that long drive, the toddlers might not see it the same way. If parents don’t want to wake up in a room decorated in Early Baby Wipe with Hotel Shampoo accents, a bit of baby-proofing might be in order before settling down to sleep.

First, take anything that can be opened and sprayed or spilled, like the tiny hotel soaps and shampoos, and move it out of reach. You might leave the bar soaps as a distraction, since a couple of scattered soap bars are a cinch to pick up compared to finger-painting in conditioner. Likewise, move any toxic or messy substances you brought with you out of reach, as well. Check the dresser drawers, too, for things left in the room that could be torn up, or for helpful items like pens and notepads that could be used for redecorating.

Bring along a pack of baby electrical outlet plugs, so that any free electrical outlets can be locked down. Check for lamp power cords that reach out where small fingers can yank on them, and double-check the settings on air conditioners and heaters.

You might consider blocking off a play and sleep area with luggage, depending on the child’s climbing ability. Also, keeping the bathroom door shut at all times might not be a bad idea either. It’s much easier to contain the child before, than clean up after.

Make sure the child can’t open the front door, and if he can, keep it locked from the inside. Make sure that all windows are locked and can’t be opened far enough for toddlers to squeeze through.

A few minutes of forethought should be enough to make sure that every member of the family can spend a safe and comfortable night in the hotel room.