Family Vacation Critic reader and mom Melissa Cain wrote asking for help planning a trip to Massachusetts in August. “I would love to visit some of the major cities in Mass. I would like to visit Boston, New Bedford, Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket and Cape Cod. What is the best way to go about seeing them all? Will it be impossible to do in just one week? I have read your guides on each individual one but was hoping you could compile a tour of Mass. guide! Thank you!”
Visiting the area for a week is definitely doable! Here’s my reply, for everyone who may be considering a similar trip this summer!
You’re in luck! I lived in the area for eight years. Start in Boston and do not rent a car while you are there because it’s a small, walkable city and the T is easy to use. You could do a lot in two to three days.
Then rent a car and drive to Cape Cod, where you also catch the ferry to Nantucket and the Vineyard. Nantucket is small enough you really could take the fast ferry (an hour) from Hyannis and then walk around the town to see everything in a day and go back to Hyannis on the last ferry. If you’re just looking to see Edgartown, you could do that in a day, as well. If you want to see more of Martha’s Vineyard, including the three different towns, you’d want to spend a night and just take taxis or rent bikes.
For the Cape, you’ll want to head to the Lower Cape, which is Chatham/Orleans up to Provincetown. That’s really the best essence of the Cape, and you could do that in a couple of days. Take 6A to drive by all the quaint towns and antique shops.
New Bedford has a ferry service, as well, so you could loop the trip quite easily, although of your choices if you skip anything, perhaps skip it. You could do the trip in one week, certainly, and get a great sense of the islands, the Cape and Boston.
Dee, a mother and Cape Cod resident who heads up the site Affordable Cape Cod Vacations, agreed with my reply, offering even more information.
“I so agree! You don’t need/want a car in Boston. Having a car in Boston really can be a hassle: traffic issues, it’s tough to navigate around the city if you don’t know it well, and very expensive to park. Not sure what rental car rates are like in Boston, but if memory serves — they’re much higher in Boston than on Cape Cod. If you don’t want to rent a car in Boston and drive to the Cape, there are a couple other options you might want to consider:
1. Take the bus from Boston to Hyannis, then rent a car in Hyannis. The Boston-Cape Cod buses are clean, comfortable and inexpensive ($34 and up for adults round-trip Boston-Hyannis).
2. Take the ferry from Boston to Provincetown, and rent a car there. The fast ferry is about a 90 minute ride, round-trip fare is $83 for adults. Either which way you do it, I know you’ll have a wonderful time here on the Cape. Enjoy!”
If you would like to get some ideas on summer family vacation travel, feel free to ask! I’m happy to help!
–Lissa Poirot
There’s an entire exhibit devoted to Champ at the ECHO Lake Aquarium Science Center, which sits on the waterfront. ECHO (Ecology, Culture, History and Opportunity) features over 70 live species of marine life, more than 100 interactive experiences, seasonal exhibits and participatory events. 
The largest group sighting of Champ supposedly occurred in 1984 during a lake cruise aboard the Ethan Allen, so we brought our binoculars along when we took a scenic ride. We had no luck spotting him/her/it, but we appreciated the views from the top deck, and the air-conditioned comfort of the dining room below, where we enjoyed a buffet lunch. The 90-minute narrated tour brought us to the center and deepest point of the lake, past shale outcroppings, scuba dive sites, several of the 70 small islands, and along Burlington’s coast.
There are a lot of factory tours in this region of Vermont. In 1983, Lake Champlain Chocolates began producing handmade, artisanal truffles, and have since expanded to chocolate bars, dipped fruit, ice cream and hot drinks. You can learn about the process and watch production on their weekday tours at the factory store and café. We left with factory seconds of broken chocolate-covered pretzels, which tasted just fine!
Along the way, the guide will describe production, from cutting fur, sewing, stuffing, to dressing. The tour ends in a gift shop with a station to make your own bear, which will be presented with a birth certificate, bow tie, and travel box.
Ogunquit Beach is consistently named among New England’s top beaches for good reason. The 3.5-mile coastal stretch – predominantly a giant sandbar, separated from the “mainland” by the Ogunquit River – is ideal for families. The beach is so expansive there’s plenty of room for everybody to mark their spots with colorful blankets, umbrellas, chairs and coolers. (Just move away from the footbridges for less congestion.) Gentle waves beckon boogie boarders and even surfers. Powdery sand – and few rocks – invite long strolls on the beach and sandcastle building. There are no sudden drop offs into the ocean, so youngest visitors can wade safely.
Walk Marginal Way: This 1.75-mile paved trail hugs the cliff between Perkins Cove (a touristy area filled with shops and seafood restaurants) and the center of Ogunquit. It’s a popular walk; you’ll see plenty of parents pushing strollers, kids scampering ahead, older couples strolling hand in hand… For a quiet moment, step off the trail and rest on a bench to admire the rugged rocks, crashing waves and vast blue sea.
I’d also consider staying at in-town resorts such as the Beachmere Inn, with direct access to Marginal Way and a small sandy/rocky beach. Rooms at this historic property have kitchenettes, free wireless (always a huge plus in my book) and it’s only a 10-minute walk to shops and restaurants in Perkins Cove and the downtown core.
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The Science Centre sits on King Edward Pier, on the periphery of 
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Families flock to Colorado’s slopes in the winter for the varied ski terrain and excellent snow conditions. But the state’s mountain resorts are equally fun – if not more entertaining – in the summer months, when the ski hills are transformed into outdoor playgrounds. Here’s a peek at a few favorite ski resorts that offer loads of fun for the whole family:
Durango: This resort in southwest Colorado is also jumping on the zipline bandwagon with the new Purgatory Plunge. Open year-round, the zipline cable takes riders over the resort’s main plaza (i.e. right over après-skiers at the al fresco bar and other spectators). Also available in the summer at Durango Mountain Resort are a climbing wall, mechanical bull, mini golf and bungee trampoline.
Whether you are in Barcelona before your family leaves on a cruise, or you have decided to make it a family vacation destination of its own (worth it!), one thing you simply MUST do is visit Montjuic’s Font Magica, or Magic Fountain. Located at the base of Montjuic, home of the 1992 Olympic Games, and the imposing National Museum of Art, the fountain is a gorgeous setting, day or night. 
