Schoooool’s Out for Summer

The family vacation: an American institution.

Strange then that such trips are often about as relaxing and enjoyable as a descent into hell, thanks to poor planning, short tempers, and close quarters. Spare yourselves this Griswold-ian fate: Let DailyCandy lead you to a fabulous family getaway. For once.

A Schlep Up
You all too often feel like a pack animal, with the diaper bag and the soccer gear and all those snacks. Why not try a vacation where someone (or something) else does all the heavy lifting? Roam the Absaroka-Beartooth wilderness with help from High Prairie Llamas (406-445-2057). The kids get to help with the care and feeding of cuddly, exotic animals while the whole family gets to explore the pristine Montana and Wyoming mountain ranges. Your only worry will be dodging llama spit. (No, really.)

Beginner’s Luxe
Chances are if you’re a parent, one day you’re going to end up in Orlando. The Spa at the Ritz-Carlton, Grande Lakes (800-576-5760) can help de-Mouse you and the kiddies with its new programs for kids and teens. While you’re being pampered, the wee ones can try a 25-minute Ritz Kids Cleansing Facial or the Fizzing Pedicure, which lets them choose which type of effervescent salts they want in the foot hydro spa. Start ’em young, we say.

Ranch, Dude
“I want a pooooony.” How many times have you heard that one? Trot on over to the Rocking Horse Ranch (800-647-2624) in upstate New York’s Shawangunk Mountains and make their dreams a (temporary) reality. The Turks have been catering to families since 1958, and they’ve created a whole world of fun beyond the 110 horses, trail rides, and riding lessons: a supervised day camp, babysitting, three pools, a climbing wall, and an enormous playground. Git along, little dogies!

The Family That Oms Together …
Kids need inner peace too. Pack your yoga mats and head to the Kalani Oceanside Retreat (800-800-6886) on Hawaii’s Big Island for Family Experience, a weeklong yoga program for the whole clan. While mom and dad take their adult hatha or vinyasa classes, kids 5 to 15 get four hours of supervised activity, inclucing an hour-long introduction to yoga, with basic poses and meditation practice.

Brits About You
London rocks for kids. Check out the world’s most futuristic Ferris wheel, the London Eye (+44 870-5000-600), which rises 440 feet above the Thames. From a space-age steel-and-Plexiglas capsule, you can pick out famous landmarks like Big Ben and St. Paul’s Cathedral. Forsake the tourist treadmill and head to the East End’s Museum of Childhood at Bethnal Green (+44 20-8980-2415), which houses one of the largest toy collections in the world, as well as gravity-powered cars and a cool design-a-virtual-toy computer game.

Heidi Ho!
Switzerland and RailEurope have found a way to make up for the weak dollar: Kids under 16 travel free with their parents on the Swiss Family Card. Ride the rails to Interlaken for an idyllic interlude of cowbells and wildflowers. Or see Grimmelwald and the Jungfrau from a boat trip on Lakes Thun and Brienz. For the urban experience, Swiss style, zip over to Zurich. Eat delicious pastries or ice cream by the lake, and then take a dip. (Wait 30 minutes, of course.) All kids speak the same language at Franz Carl Weber, the largest toy shop in Europe.

The Maine Event
The seaside town of Ogunquit, Maine, is a little slice of New England heaven. Drag the crew away from the three miles of white-sand beaches and onto the Marginal Way, a clifftop path that goes past large rocks and gray-blue surf. Explore the tide pools on one side; on the other, survey the velvety green lawns and flower gardens of Victorian hotels like the Beachmere Inn (800-336-3983). The Way ends at Perkins Cove, the twee-est harbor ever, where your reward is a scrumptious lobster roll at Barnacle Billy’s (800-866-5575): soft bun, tangy lobster, and just the right touch of mayo.