Three Smart Family Travel Destinations

by Tiffany Figueiredo

01. The American West

The best family trip you can take this summer might not require a passport. Over the last several years, the American West has become the strongest family luxury category in North America. Properties across Montana, Utah, Wyoming and Colorado have figured out how to deliver real adventure within a framework that suits how affluent families want to travel: horses by mid-morning, fly-fishing in the afternoon, wide-open country in every direction, healing spas, kids clubs that delight and gorgeous dinners at the end of each day.

The creature comforts, those things we define as “luxury,” are a given. But what clients come back raving about is the eight-year-old who cantered across a valley on her own, the teenager who caught a trout and decided to cook it, the dinner conversations that happened because no one had a screen for the first time in months. These trips lodge in family memory the way a beach week rarely does.

The category is broad, and choosing well matters. Brush Creek in Wyoming is a favorite of mine for families who want real ranch life inside Relais & Châteaux standards. And uberluxe Amangiri has made magic for my clients with little ones. But the right property depends on your children’s ages, how active you want to be on the ground and whether you’re traveling as a nuclear family or bringing grandparents along. A mismatch here is the difference between the trip your kids remember forever and the trip everyone agrees was fine.

02. Punta Mita

For families who’ve written off Mexico in summer as too hot, Punta Mita deserves a second look. The Pacific coast is notably cooler than the Riviera Maya, with consistent ocean breezes and a landscape that feels more rugged and unspoiled than the resort corridors most people picture when they think of Mexico in July. The properties here are spread across a private peninsula, which keeps things quieter and more contained, a quality that matters when you’re traveling with kids.

03. Ireland

Ireland is the European family trip most American parents haven’t considered, but absolutely should. Direct flights from several U.S. hubs, a culture that welcomes children without making a performance of it, castles that feel like fairy tales without trying, and countryside that looks the way you remember it from picture books. For August, when continental Europe becomes a logistical exercise, Ireland is the answer. I know which properties work and which are marketed to families, but shouldn’t be.

Get in touch for more ideas on family destinations and how to make your travel easier.