Though it may seem as if choosing a destination is the most important aspect of planning your vacation, services and transportation options just might be the unsung heroes during your travels. In fact, your choice of booking sites, tours and modes of transit can make or break your trip. From helping you get to your location to assisting you in getting around once you’re there, here are this year’s standout winners that will enhance your vacation.
BOOKING PLATFORMS | SIGHTSEEING | FAMILY CARS
This easy-to-navigate, robust marketplace of RV rentals will have your family camping in no time. On RVshare, you simply plug in your preferred dates and pickup or delivery location for the rental. While the site includes more than 100,000 RVs and motorhomes of all sizes to rent practically anywhere in the U.S., you’ll likely receive at least eight options to choose from if you book three weeks in advance, based on GH testing. You can easily filter your results by size, towing capability, amenities (like a microwave) and — the greatest option of all for many RV newbies — delivery of your home-on-wheels to and setup of it at a campsite of your choice. You can have peace of mind knowing that the brand vets each owner and provides around-the-clock customer service.
TESTER NOTES: “I love that the service offers a drop-off option so you don’t have to drive the RV if that’s not something you’re comfortable with,” said our tester, a first-time RVer who tried out her fully equipped rental at Interlake RV Park in Rhinebeck, NY. When searching on the app, she appreciated the fact that an icon at the top of the page allows potential renters to filter to show the RVs that can be dropped off at a campsite with one touch. She added, “Renting our RV was just as easy as booking a hotel room.”
Your family can cut costs while staying in a roomy Disney Deluxe Villa Resort by booking through David’s Vacation Club Rentals. This platform connects Disney Vacation Club timeshare holders who have extra “points” with vacationers who are looking for good deals on accommodations. Plug your travel dates into the site to view a chart with the availability and price of stays at Walt Disney World, Disneyland and Disney’s non–theme park resorts in Hawaii, South Carolina and Florida. You can save hundreds to thousands of dollars, and you get the perks of staying on-property, including convenient transportation and extended theme park hours. To book through David’s, submit a request and a $105 deposit; the vacation-club owner makes the reservation for you.
TESTER NOTES: “I really like the concept of this platform,” said our tester, who stayed at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort. “I frequently visit Disney World with my family, and having a villa with more space and amenities, including a kitchen, makes the trip so much more enjoyable for us.” She noted that the cancellation policy is stricter through David’s than through Disney directly (refunds come only in the form of a travel credit, and you must cancel at least 120 days in advance to receive 100% of the reservation price back), so be sure to consider travel insurance.
Ask many kids what the best part of staying at a hotel is and they’ll tell you it’s the pool (duh!). Thanks to ResortPass, your water enthusiasts can play Marco Polo during the day and then crash in their beds at home, letting you take a mini vacation without having to pay for a hotel room. After all, isn’t post-pool sleep the greatest? ResortPass offers day-guest reservations at more than 1,300 properties worldwide. You simply search the app for what’s near you, make a reservation for your crew and show up with your sunscreen (towels are usually supplied). Rain in the forecast? No sweat — you can cancel or change your reservation until 11:59 p.m. on the previous day.
TESTER NOTES: “We spent $80 for two adults and two kids to get a day pass to the resort pool with slides and a lazy river about an hour from our house,” one mom said. “If we had stayed at the hotel, I would have paid more than $250 and we would have all been squished into a small hotel room for the night.” Beyond daycations, our testers noted that the service would also be good for families staying with relatives and for travelers who have booked a stay at a lower-cost property that does not have a pool.
A marketplace that includes more than 300,000 experiences worldwide, Viator is a one-stop shop for booking fun activities, especially in Europe. Plug your destination and dates into the app, then browse a selection of options. You can filter further by time of day, type of activity and traveler ratings. The robust selection of tour reviews offers much to appreciate but is not surprising given that Viator has been owned by Tripadvisor for the past 10 years. For most experiences, refunds are offered up to 24 hours in advance, and around-the-clock customer service helps with navigating questions or issues.
TESTER NOTES: “The filters are especially crucial for narrowing down options in major European cities where there are thousands of choices,” said one tester who used Viator to book a pizza-making class for her family at a restaurant in Naples, Italy. She added, “The app is intuitive to use, and you’ll receive notification reminders about an upcoming tour and messages from your tour operator.”
Available in more than 25 locations worldwide, Go City bundles attractions and experiences in one pass, letting you save on ticket prices and offering organized and useful intel on hours, directions, child-friendliness and accessibility in one easy-to-access place. With the brand’s All-Inclusive Pass, you gain entrance to unlimited attractions for two to seven days during a two-week period while an Explorer Pass permits you to select a number of attractions to visit over a 60-day period.
TESTER NOTES: Since most families with kids will sightsee at a slower pace and may even head back to the hotel for nap time, our testers advised focusing on the Explorer Pass. “It provides substantial savings without the pressure to run around the city to get your money’s worth,” said one mom who estimated that she saved nearly $40 per person by ordering a three-attraction Explorer Pass in Boston to take a sunset cruise and visit the Museum of Science and the Boston Children’s Museum.
Specializing in walking tours and themed sightseeing cruises, City Experiences offers high-quality activities in hot spots around the globe. It partners with popular attractions, including the Vatican in Italy and the Prado Museum in Madrid, to provide ticket holders with admission and entry options not available to the general public. Its new cooking classes with master chefs are a popular choice for families visiting Rome, while kid-friendly cruises in New York City give guests a bird’s-eye view of the Statue of Liberty.
TESTING NOTES: Lean in to the brand’s sightseeing cruises with younger kids (you can even sail with Santa in some locations) and book a walking tour with teens and grown kids. “The tapas walking tour my family took in Barcelona not only introduced us to delicious off-the-beaten-path restaurants but also provided a fascinating history of the city,” said one tester, who added, “Each stop supplied copious amounts of food and drink to share family-style.”
If you use Google Maps only for driving navigation, chances are you’re missing out on other features that make this no-cost app a handy travel guide. For starters, you can collaborate with friends and family to create an itinerary, and thanks to a feature that is new this year, you can react with emojis and tips. Beyond using it with your group, you can soon employ generative AI to help you find spots. It also is equipped with inclusivity features such as highlighting of businesses with accessibility and LGBQT-friendly attributes.
TESTER NOTES: “I love how you can save different locations,” said one GH engineer. “I like saving all the restaurants I want to check out in a city on a map so I can plan depending on what area I‘m in.” Another one of our engineers highlighted the post-trip benefits of the app, especially the ability to save recommendations and share them with friends and family members: “I love the timeline feature because if I travel somewhere and can’t remember where I went, the timeline tells me exactly where I was at any time.”
Ideal for families who love to go on adventures, Rivian vehicles have spacious interiors for both rider comfort and ample packing space so you can bring along everything you need. The three-row fully electric SUV offers multiple battery pack options, including one that can drive over 400 miles for longer road trips with less worrying about how far you can make it before needing to charge. It also includes a slew of smart software and safety features, including enhanced cameras and radar to detect objects in all directions.
TESTER NOTES: “We were amazed by the space and how much we could pack during a family road trip,” said our tester, who logged several hundred miles across multiple states, from back roads to highways and everything in between. She also raved about the “frunk” (front trunk), where packing space is gained due to it not having an engine. “We fit an entire three-day packing load for three people with room to spare without even touching the back trunk,” she added. “It was also comfortable to ride in and had a great style – both inside and out.”
Giving you the flexibility of electric (for local driving) and gas (for extended trips), this Volvo plug-in electric hybrid is a midsize SUV. It seats five, but the second row (which has optional built-in booster seats!) can be folded down for even more trunk space. It also has a panoramic roof that gives passengers an open-air feel. Other standout features include all-wheel drive for traction in hazardous weather, an air filtration system to block allergens and pollutants and automatic emergency braking for added safety.
TESTER NOTES: “I LOVED this car!” raved our tester, who drove it from a city to a national park. She called the seats “super comfortable” and noted, “I really enjoyed how smooth this car is all around, from steering to not feeling any bumps on the road.” One of our GH product experts, a mom of two who drives an XC60 on a regular basis, added that she especially loves the safety testing that Volvo puts into its vehicles and noted that the infotainment system with Google built-in is especially useful for families on the go.
When you need a ride from one vacation spot to the next but would love to stop somewhere in between, Daytrip comes through with flying colors. Available to book in 130+ countries, the private car transfer company with vetted English-speaking drivers specializes in sightseeing stops on your way from one destination to the next. While doing so allows you to maximize your vacation time, giving tiny (and tired) travelers a built-in stop to blow off some steam is a game changer. Depending upon the location, Daytrip may also be able to provide car seats or boosters based on the kids' ages if you ask.
TESTER NOTES: “Our driver was early and helpful with the luggage, and the van was roomy enough for my family of four,” said our tester who used the service to travel about 200 miles from Dijon, France, to Paris, adding a stop in Chablis for lunch. “If we took the train between the two destinations, we'd have to wrangle our luggage and we wouldn't have gotten a chance to visit Chablis.”
