The 12 Best All-Inclusive Family Vacation Resorts in the US

If there’s one thing that family vacations are often not, it’s relaxing. If anything, traveling with kids can be more stressful than if you just stayed home and hit the local swimming pool. But one-way parents can ease the stress of summer travel is by booking their vacation at an all-inclusive family resort. And no, that doesn’t mean flying your rich kids to Mexico or the Caribbean.

It’s a common misconception that there aren’t all-inclusive resorts in the United States. There are, or at least hotels and resorts ⏤ many of which are targeted to families ⏤ that offer all-inclusive packages complete with meals, activities, and structured daily programs to keep kids of all ages entertained. Some are billed as family summer camps, some are beach resorts, and still others are luxurious dude ranches. They’re located in every region, horseback riding seems to be a common activity, and childcare is almost always built-in to the price. Which isn’t nearly as expensive, in most cases, as one might assume for the level of accommodations and amenities.

But which all-inclusive resorts in the United States are right for your next family vacation? Here are 13 of the best.

Club Med Sandpiper Bay

Port St. Lucie, Florida

Rate per night: From $136 per adult (based on a 7-night stay), 50 percent off for kids ages 4 to 15 (kids under 4-years-old stay free).

Club Med is the world’s original all-inclusive resort ⏤ having first opened on the island of Majorca in 1950 ⏤ and Sandpiper Bay is the chain’s only US location. Targeted toward families, and athletic ones at that, the resort (which was renovated in 2011) focuses heavily on sports and advertises state-of-the-art equipment and top professional instructors ⏤ from golf, tennis, and volleyball, to yoga, sailing, and water skiing. Even better, there’s a kids club for ages 4- to 17-year-old complete with a tennis academy, circus school, and a flying trapeze. The 50+ acre property also has a newly renovated championship golf course opening at the resort for summer 2021 as well as a freshly renovated spa. Just keep in mind you’re on the St. Lucie River here (with a roped-off swimmable section where you can take Hobie Cats for a spin, too) and not on the beach, which is some 8 miles away.

Tanque Verde Ranch

Tuscon, Arizona

Rate per night: Starting at $510 per adult with one child.

Tucson’s Tanque Verde dude ranch is all about the kids. In addition to horseback riding lessons, three squares a day, and cowboy cookouts, the daily program for children is broken up by age ⏤ Buckaroos (4-6), Wranglers (7-9), and Outlaws (10-12) ⏤ and includes tennis, hiking, arts & crafts, and more. They also offer day and summer overnight camps.

Tyler Place Family Resort

Highgate Springs, Vermont

Rate per night: From $121 per adult, add $88 per child over 18 months.

It’s not surprising that a resort with ‘family’ in the name would be kid-friendly; this renowned vacation spot on Vermont’s Lake Champlain has been attracting families in search of lakeside new England fun since 1933. The list of family all-inclusive activities is long and includes everything from disc golf, paddle boats, and fishing, to a trampoline park, pony rides, and bikes for everybody. There’s extensive infant and toddler care, play centers for all age groups, and guaranteed “parents night out” whenever you want one.

Flathead Lake Lodge

Bigfork, Montana

Rate per night: Starts at $4,123 per week per adult, $3,213 for ages 6-17, $1,918 for ages 3-5, $210 for under 3.

Located on Montana’s Flathead Lake not far from Glacier National Park, the Lodge is as much a luxury dude ranch as it is an uber-expensive family summer camp. Accommodations range from rustic cabins to historic lodges, meals are billed as family-style western cuisine, and the list of activities included in the price is as long as the rope with which you’ll learn to lasso a steer: fly fishing lessons, all-you-can-ride horseback riding, and even sailboat racing on two historic 50-foot sloops. Also, mice racing and barn dances!

Grand Hotel Mackinac Island

Mackinac Island, Michigan

Rate per night: Starts at $323 per adult (kids under 18-years-old stay free, with reduced prices on meal packages for kids ages 6 to 17 and free meals for kids under 6).

Built on Michigan’s Mackinac Island in 1887, the Grand Hotel is a resort that harkens back to the days of horse-and-buggies and playing croquet in top hats. In addition to lawn chess, swimming, and horseback riding (the resort has its own stable), afternoon and dinner children’s programs are included in the all-inclusive plan (which also features a 5-course meal nightly) and babysitting is also available.

Camp Denali

Denali National Park, Alaska

Rate per night: Starts at $655 per adult; $491 for kids under 12.

It’s hard to imagine a more iconic way to experience Alaska as a family than from your base within Denali National Park at this all-inclusive lodge. Included activities range from walks across alpine ridges and tundra valleys with naturalist guides to paddling a canoe on your own with your crew across Wonder Lake. Do note that daycare in not offered here, so together time is guaranteed.

Kachemak Bay Wilderness Lodge

Homer, Alaska

Rate per night: Starts at $3000 per person for two nights (kids 12 and under pay 2/3 of full price).

With just five cabins and a max of 10 to 12 guests (and as many staff to guide and serve them), the family-owned Kachemak Bay Wilderness Lodge offers an intimate Alaska experience within the wilds Kachemak Bay State Park, in the southern Kenai Peninsula. It doesn’t come cheap, but a typical day here is unforgettable and might see you hiking on a glacier, sea kayaking to a sea bird rookery or hooking a salmon from the beach before settling in for a five-course spread of Alaskan seafood and organic vegetables grown onsite.

Lodge on Little St. Simons Island

Little St. Simons Island, Georgia

Rate per night: $475 for two adults, kids under 12 pay $100 per night, $200 per night for kids for over 12.

Georgia’s short stretch of Atlantic coastline is often overlooked, despite being staggeringly beautiful and wild. Make the most of it with a stay at this rustic-luxe all-inclusive lodge on Little St. Simons Island, accessed by boat only. Here, you can bike along sandy paths lined with oak trees to reach seven miles of private beach. Rates include all meals and naturalist-led activities like birding along the Atlantic Migratory Flyway and fishing within the pristine estuaries surrounding the lodge.

Coffee Creek Ranch

Trinity Center, California

Rate per night: From $279 per adult, per night, $239 for kids ages 6 to 12, $219 for kids ages 3 to 5, free under 3.

Set along a stream that’s great for family fun a la trout fishing, panning for gold and tubing, this 367-acre family-owned ranch in Northern California brims with old-fashioned diversions. Guests stay in secluded knotty pine cabins equipped with wood-burning stoves and the included activities range from pony rides for your toddlers to archery, hiking, and horsemanship clinics, in addition to some of the state’s most gorgeous trail riding that’s just out the door.

Vista Verde Guest Ranch

Steamboat Springs, Colorado

Rate per night: From $500 per night per adult ($100 less for kids ages six to 13).

With as much to love in winter as in summer, this working ranch near the epic skiing at Steamboat Springs (and incredible horseback riding terrain in the warmer months) makes for a heavenly Colorado vacation with the family. For the most comfortable stay, upgrade to one of the log cabins with fireplaces and mountain views. The included kids program is broken into three different age groups and among the many activities offered are riding lessons, trail rides, cross country skiing, archery, fly fishing, hiking, mountain biking, and more.

Salmon Falls Resort

Ketchikan, Alaska

Rate per night: $1,500 per person per night.

Right at the entrance to Alaska’s Inside Passage, within the Tongass National Forest, this waterfront resort in Ketchikan comes at a more affordable price tag for families than many other Alaska all-inclusive properties. Pricing includes accommodations, three meals per day, round-trip airport transfers, a customized itinerary with choice of Alaskan adventure activities each day, transportation to all activities and more. You can also on adventures like float plane fishing trips and shrimping excursions to make the most of nature’s bounty all around.

Drowsy Water Ranch

Granby, Colorado

Rates per night: From $2,500 per week for adults, $2,200 for teens ages 13 to 17, $1,900 per week for ages 6 to 12, $1,300 per week for ages 2 to 5, $700 per week for under 2 ($450 per week discount for non-riders)

Generations of families that return year after year love the unpretentious hospitality and authentic feel of things at this working, family-run ranch in Granby, Colorado where the owner’s grandkids might lead your own kids around to get to know the lay of the land. If you’ve come to ride—or learn to ride as a family—Drowsy Water Ranch is the place, with dedicated programs for different age groups and ability levels that are steeped in true western horsemanship. When you stay for the week, a whitewater rafting trip is included in the all-inclusive rates, which also wraps in all your riding and meals and a comfortable stay in one of the lodge rooms or private cabins scattered through the valley.