United States with kids

Sound stages, the Friends set and the Batmobiles, on a guided cart tour. Better for older children who know the shows.

Dinosaur hall, an insect zoo and a garden, for eighteen dollars. The cheapest good indoor day in the city.

One of the best zoos in the world, two hours south. A full day and a long drive — better as an overnight than a day trip.

A self-guided audio walk round the gardens and museum quarter beside the zoo, fourteen dollars. Useful filler on a San Diego overnight.

The original park, and smaller and more walkable than Orlando's. Two parks on one ticket; two days if you can, one if you must.

A working studio with a backlot tram tour through real sets, which is the part Orlando cannot match. Some rides have height minimums.

An older, cheaper park next door to Disneyland, with a Peanuts area for younger children. Around twenty-two dollars if you catch it right.

Rides, aquariums and animal shows. The orca show was retired in 2017; what remains is closer to a marine park than a circus.

A guided climb to the observatory with the Hollywood sign across the canyon. Exposed and hot by midday — go early.

The short express version, about thirty dollars. Manages expectations better than driving around looking for a view of it.

Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica and the beaches in one guided day. The sane answer to a city with no centre.

Baseball at Petco Park from about forty-three dollars. Slow, snack-driven and a genuinely easy introduction to American sport.

Grey whales in winter, blue whales in summer, and dolphins most of the year. Sightings are never guaranteed and the boat keeps its distance.

An open-sided van round the sign, the hills and the houses, forty-four dollars. Cheerfully shallow and children enjoy it.

An hour on a classic sailboat out of the marina, seventy dollars. Small boat, small group, no commentary.

A stunt show over dinner in Buena Park, near Knott's. Loud, silly and it holds a seven-year-old through a meal.

A choice of the city's paid attractions on one ticket. Add up what you would actually visit — the parks are usually cheaper bought direct.

Up the coast on the Amtrak Coast Starlight and back, with the sea beside the track for most of it. The train is the point.

A real launch complex with a Saturn V on its side and a retired shuttle. An hour east, and the best non-park day in Florida.

A wheel on International Drive with a combo ticket for the neighbouring attractions. Thirty dollars and about half an hour.

Recovered objects and rebuilt rooms, with actors in role. Sobering rather than gruesome, and it lands from about nine.

A modest zoo half an hour north with a splash ground, twenty-two dollars. The cheap, calm day nobody plans and everybody needs.

A track tour with a walk on the banking, an hour north-east. Cheap, and startling in person — the banking is far steeper than it looks on television.

Ninety minutes west across the state, with a splash pad outside. Worth it if you are going to the Gulf coast anyway.

Four parks across an area the size of a city. Two days minimum, four if you have them, and the ticket price falls sharply per day as you add days.

Two parks joined by the Hogwarts Express, with the better half of the Harry Potter world. Rides skew thrill — check heights before buying.

SeaWorld's water park, and the cheapest full day in Orlando at about fifty dollars. A good recovery day between the big parks.

A small local fairground with go-karts and no reservation system. The antidote to a week of app-managed queueing.

Clear kayaks over water that glows when disturbed, on the lagoon near the space centre. Summer only, and it depends on the plankton.

A self-guided commentary for the drive down the overseas highway. Only worth it if you are already heading south — Orlando to Key West is nine hours.

The blue whale, the dinosaur halls and the planetarium. Allow a full day and still expect to miss rooms.

The one children have seen in films. The 86th-floor deck is open-air; the queues are shortest first thing.

Thirty dollars, and the only deck with the Empire State in the view — which is the argument for choosing it over the Empire State itself.

Mirrored rooms and a glass floor over Madison Avenue, more art installation than viewing platform. Vertigo is a genuine consideration.

The ferry, the island and the immigration museum. Half a day at least, and the security queue at the terminal is the slow part.

A hands-on science centre across the river in Jersey City, twenty-two dollars, with the biggest planetarium dome in the western hemisphere.

The safest Broadway choice with children — spectacle, songs they know and a magic carpet that flies. Book weeks ahead.

Thirty dollars, and the Van Goghs and Monets are the ones a child will recognise. Busy at weekends.

Two million square feet, which is precisely why a guided route helps. The Egyptian wing and the arms and armour are the child-proof parts.

The stagecraft is the reason to go and it is genuinely startling. Long — around three and a half hours — so not for a tired child.

A spy museum where you do the tasks — lie detection, surveillance, code breaking — and get a profile at the end. Better than it sounds.

An indoor theme park in a New Jersey mall, thirty minutes out. The wet-day answer, and there is a DreamWorks water park in the same building.

The largest indoor water park in the country, at the same mall. Runs through a New York winter, which is the entire point.

Also at American Dream, thirty-two dollars, and aimed squarely at the under-tens. Adults are not admitted without a child.

Ninety minutes past the lit skyline and the Statue of Liberty. Cheaper and steadier than the dinner cruises.

Dugout, clubhouse and monument park on a walking tour, forty-six dollars. Works even if nobody follows baseball.

The Bronx, Brooklyn, Harlem, Queens and Coney Island in a day. The city most visitors never leave Manhattan to see.

A tall ship out into the harbour under sail. More interesting than a motor cruise and about the same price.

A guided bus circuit of the main sights, ninety-nine dollars. Worth it on a first visit when the map is still meaningless.

The natural history museum, the Empire State and three more on one ticket. In New York this genuinely does save money — do the arithmetic and it usually wins.

Eight hours each way by coach for a couple of hours at the falls. Brutal as a day trip — the overnight version is the humane one.

The monuments, the Mall and the White House from outside, four hours each way. A very long day, and only worth it for a child who wants it.

A choice of the city's museums on one ticket, fifty-seven dollars. Cheaper than the full CityPASS if museums are all you want.

The prison audio tour is narrated by former guards and inmates and is genuinely excellent. Tickets sell out weeks ahead — book before you fly.

An aquarium, a planetarium, a rainforest dome and a living roof under one ticket, in Golden Gate Park.

The man rather than the parks — early drawings, the multiplane camera, the failures. Twenty-eight dollars and a good counterweight to a Disneyland trip.

Two museums on one twenty-five dollar ticket, one of them with a free observation tower. Rainy-afternoon ground.

An Edwardian estate and formal gardens half an hour south, thirty-nine dollars. Space to run, which the city does not have much of.

Six hundred hands-on exhibits on a pier, twenty-three dollars. The best children's science museum in the country and the reason to bring a curious eight-year-old here.

Under the Golden Gate and back past Alcatraz, forty-eight dollars. Cold on deck whatever the forecast says.

Open-top loops over the bridge and round the city. San Francisco's hills make this more useful than it looks on a map.

A tiny two-seat car that narrates its own route. Silly, memorable, and you drive it yourself — an adult licence is needed.

Coast redwoods across the bridge, then the headlands. Mostly boardwalk rather than hiking, and cool under the canopy.

A restored logging railway through the redwoods on the north coast. A long way up — for a family already driving Highway 1.

Apple Park, the Googleplex and the Computer History Museum. Only lands with a child who already cares; otherwise it is a day of car parks.

The Academy of Sciences, the Exploratorium, a bay cruise and more, plus cable car rides. Good value if you are here three days.

Four hours each way for the valley floor, El Capitan and a sequoia grove. A punishing day trip and an extraordinary one.

A narrow-gauge steam train through the redwoods and a boardwalk beach on the same day. The most child-shaped day trip from the city.

The quieter of the Antelope canyons, booked directly with the Navajo-run guides at Page. Eighty-two dollars.

Twenty-five minutes at the South Rim village, fifteen dollars, and a decent way to explain the canyon to a young child before they see it.

Acrobatics on a vertical moving stage, and the most child-suitable of the Cirque shows here. Loud, wordless and about ninety minutes.

The oldest and gentlest of the Vegas Cirque shows — clowns, acrobats, no innuendo to speak of. The safer choice with under-tens.

The famous light beams are here rather than in the Lower canyon, and it is walked on the level rather than climbed. Booked with the Navajo guides at Page.

The film remastered across a screen the height of a building. The venue is the attraction and there is nothing else like it.

A masked dance crew, no dialogue, no innuendo — the most child-safe show on the strip after the Cirque ones.

An art installation disguised as a supermarket, with hidden passages behind the shelves. Genuinely strange and children take to it faster than adults.

A fifteen-dollar half day to a 1930s dam still holding back the Colorado. Bigger and stranger in person than any photograph.

A 168-metre observation wheel, twenty-one dollars, half an hour, enclosed cabins. The one strip attraction that is straightforwardly for everyone.

The strip and downtown from an open top, which spares everyone a lot of walking in the heat.

A self-guided audio commentary for the drive through the hoodoos. Only for a family already road-tripping Utah.

A fifteen-dollar self-guided walk to the overlook. There is no railing at the edge — hold hands and mean it.

Kayaks on the Colorado below Hoover Dam to a green-lit cave. Flat water, and the transfer option is worth taking.

The rim everybody pictures, five hours each way by coach. The classic view, and the long drive is the price of it.

Closer than the South Rim at two and a half hours, with the glass Skywalk as an add-on. Less canyon, much less driving.

The slot canyon and the river bend, on a very long day out of Vegas. Ladders and narrow passages in the canyon — not for a nervous child.

The Arizona Memorial sits over the wreck, and the crew are still aboard. Explain that beforehand — it is a grave, and children behave differently once they know.

The official narrated tour, ten dollars, for families who have booked the free timed memorial tickets themselves rather than through an operator.

Hangars still showing bullet damage, with aircraft you walk around. Thirty dollars and easier going than the memorial.

A Hawaii-set Cirque show in Waikiki, ninety minutes and wordless. A reasonable rainy evening.

Kilauea after dark and then the summit stars, on the Big Island. A very long evening and the best of it happens after bedtime.

The valley where Jurassic Park and much else was filmed, on a guided tour past the sets. The scenery does the work.

A crater rim walk above Waikiki with an audio guide, eleven dollars. Steps and a tunnel, and hot after nine in the morning.

Open-sided trolley lines round Waikiki, Diamond Head and the shops, twenty-two dollars. The easiest way to manage a week without a car.

A catamaran off the west coast with a snorkel stop. Sightings are never guaranteed and the boat keeps its distance.

Cliffs two thousand feet straight out of the sea, with a snorkel stop. Another separate flight, and the swell is real.

Sunset, dinner and a Polynesian show on a large, steady boat. Touristy, and the calmest evening on the island with children.

A historical cruise with dinner along the Kona coast on the Big Island. A separate island — pair it with the volcano day.

A choice of the island's paid attractions on one ticket. Worth it if Kualoa and a cruise are already on your list.

A separate island and a separate flight, but Kilauea is the reason people go to Hawaii twice. Check the park's own activity status before booking.

The 103rd floor of the Willis Tower, with glass boxes that project out over the street. Not for anyone uneasy about heights.

The rival deck, with a floor that tilts you out over Michigan Avenue. Thirty dollars, and pick one deck rather than both.

One of the great collections, and the miniature Thorne Rooms downstairs are the part that holds a child.

Nineteen dollars, with a hands-on children's gallery and the story of the 1871 fire. Small enough to finish.

Tilted rooms and optical tricks. The wet-afternoon answer, and Chicago has plenty of those.

A suspended-seat flight simulator over the city and the lake. Twenty-eight dollars and about twenty minutes.

Ninety minutes up the river with a guide explaining the skyline. Genuinely the best thing to do here, and children take to it more than you would expect.

A shorter, cheaper turn out onto Lake Michigan. Thirty-four dollars, and the one to pick with younger children.

Open-top loops of the Loop and the museum campus. Useful for the distances between the museums.

Millennium Park, the bean, the lakefront and the neighbourhoods with a guide. Good on a first day.

Five attractions including the aquarium, the planetarium and a deck. In Chicago this does pay if you are here three days.

Entry is free; this is the guided tour. The Wright brothers' aircraft and Apollo 11's command module are both here, and a guide earns their fee in this one.

Again free to walk into — the ticket buys a guide. The Star-Spangled Banner and Julia Child's kitchen in the same building.

Two free museums under one roof, with a covered courtyard to sit in. The guided ticket is optional.

A large private museum with a strong point of view — worth knowing that before going. Thirty-seven dollars, unlike the Smithsonians.

Out at Springfield, thirty-two dollars, and aimed at the under-tens. The relief valve after three days of museums.

The White House from outside, the Capitol, the monuments and a river cruise. The monuments are further apart than the map suggests.

The battlefield with a guide, two hours north. Fifty thousand casualties in three days, and it needs explaining before you arrive.

Jefferson's house, and a site that now tells the story of the people enslaved there alongside his. Two and a half hours out.

A replica ship where you throw the tea overboard yourself, with actors in role. The best history-for-children attraction in the country.

A four-storey ocean tank with a spiral walkway round it, and a penguin colony at the base. Thirty-seven dollars.

The Prudential Tower's observatory, thirty-four dollars, with an open-air roof deck. The city is small enough that you can see all of it.

Recovered wreck artefacts at Salem, half an hour north, twenty-two dollars. Actual pirates rather than the film kind.

Sixty-four dollars for slides, sprinkle pools and unlimited ice cream. Expensive and entirely unapologetic about what it is.

The Freedom Trail sites by trolley rather than on foot, which spares a lot of legs. Fifty-one dollars.

A small-group walking tour of the 1770s city. Better than the trolley if the child is old enough to follow a narrative.

The aquarium, the science museum and two more. Worth the arithmetic — Boston's individual tickets are dear.

An aquarium, a planetarium and a hands-on science building on one site downtown. The single best family day in Miami.

A cageless zoo laid out for a subtropical climate, twenty-five dollars. Very large — hire the tram or expect a long day on foot.

An Italianate villa and formal gardens on the bay. Beautiful, and a quiet morning between the louder things.

A botanical garden and wildlife sanctuary north of the city, twenty-four dollars, with rescued Florida animals. Gentle and shaded.

The South Beach branch, forty-one dollars. Cheaper than the Boston one and the same idea.

An enclosed, air-conditioned observation wheel at Bayside. Twenty-five dollars and about fifteen minutes.

An open-top loop of the causeways and South Beach after dark, thirty-six dollars. Cooler than the same route by day.

A catamaran to the reef with a dolphin watch on the way. Sightings are never guaranteed and the boat keeps its distance.

The overseas highway down and back in a day, which is a lot of coach. Worth it for the drive over the water more than the destination.

A choice of Miami attractions on one ticket. Sensible here because the good ones are spread across the city.

The 1962 tower with a rotating glass floor, paired with a glass-sculpture garden at its foot. Forty-eight dollars for both.

Twenty dollars, in Ballard, telling the story of the Scandinavian families who built this coast. Quieter than the waterfront.

A glaciated volcano two hours south, on a guided day with the driving handled. Roads to the higher meadows stay shut into June.

Three hundred and fifty cars over four floors, forty minutes south, twenty-four dollars. A reliable hit with a car-minded child.

An hour round Elliott Bay past the container cranes, forty-five dollars. A working port is more interesting to a child than a pretty one.

Pike Place, the Needle and the waterfront on a loop. Sixty-five dollars, and Seattle's hills justify it.

Mission control as it was for Apollo, a Saturn V lying on its side, and a shuttle carrier aircraft. Thirty dollars and a full day.

Twelve dollars, with a large dinosaur hall and a butterfly centre. The best value museum in this country.

An aquarium with a small fairground attached, twenty-seven dollars. Convenient rather than remarkable.

A hands-on aquarium and animal preserve, twenty-two dollars, with touch pools. Aimed young.

Thirty-three dollars, built into a limestone quarry so there is shade and level ground. Three hours west of Houston.

A small mall aquarium, twenty-six dollars, with a walk-through tunnel. An hour, and useful in the heat.

The ball-on-a-stick observation deck, twenty-one dollars. Four hours north of Houston — only if you are driving that way.

Another mall aquarium, near Dallas, twenty-one dollars. Listed for a family already up there rather than as a reason to go.

A hands-on aquarium at Austin, twenty-five dollars, heavy on touch tanks and feeding.

A narrated barge along the canals below street level, seventeen dollars. Shaded, short and the nicest thing in the city.