Top US Vacation Destinations for Families in 2021

Image: Aerial shot of Hawaii's Waikiki Beach. (Photo via jhorrocks / iStock / Getty Images Plus) (jhorrocks/iStock/Getty Images Plus)

by Janeen Christoff
Last updated: 3:40 PM ET, Fri June 25, 2021

Hawaii is one of the hottest destinations for U.S. travelers right now, and research shows that it's just as popular with families.

Go Koala's Family Friendly Travel Index has Hawaii destinations in its top two spots. Waikiki and Wailea are numbers one and two on the list followed by Sanibel, Florida; Sedona, Arizona; and Lake Tahoe, California (tied for fourth).

Waikiki scored 8.38 out of 10, the highest of all destinations, for both the percentage of kid-friendly activities with 83 percent and the percentage of child-friendly restaurants at 84 percent.

Wailea scored only slightly lower than Waikiki with 8.27 out of 10. Families love the destinations for the number of kid-friendly activities and family-friendly dining options. More than 80 percent of restaurants are good for kids.

Sanibel, in the number-three spot, has nearly 70 percent of restaurants listed as kid-friendly.

The list was compiled based on a variety of factors, including the average price of accommodation per night, the number of kid-friendly attractions, annual temperature, average rainfall and crime rate.

Here is the full list of family-friendly destinations from Go Koala:

-Waikiki, Hawaii

-Wailea, Hawaii

-Sanibel, Florida

-Sedona, Arizona

-Lake Tahoe, California

-Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

-Durango, Colorado

-Williamsburg, Virginia

-Estes Park, Colorado

-Nantucket, Massachusetts

Go Koala also ranked the top national parks for families. Topping the list was Virgin Islands National Park, Redwood National Park and Big Bend National Park. Below is the full list of parks.

-Virgin Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands

-Redwood, California

-Big Bend, Texas

-Badlands, South Dakota

-Arches, Utah

-Guadalupe Mountains, Texas

-Everglades, Florida

-Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico

-Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Colorado

-Bryce Canyon, Utah

-Lake Clark, Alaska

When considering national parks, for this list, Go Koala looked at the number of acres per visitor, the percentage of attractions listed as "good for kids," percentage of attractions that are listed as "nature and parks," average temperature and rainfall to determine family-friendliness.

Based on these criteria, the Virgin Islands was the best national park for family-friendly vacations in the U.S., with an overall score of 6.58 out of 10. With the second-highest temperature of 79.2 and with 55 percent of attractions being listed as good for kids.

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