Southwest Airlines - Travel Mom

The Travel Mom

A Traveling Mom's Tips for Trips

Spring Into Your Next Trip

Family vacations are all about living in the moment, while making memories that last a lifetime. When I reflect on some of my most special trips, our family spring break escapes are some of my favorites. Southwest Airlines shares that same enthusiasm for great vacation memories and makes taking a Spring Break trip less stressful and more affordable. SWA flies into so many family-friendly Spring Break destinations so it is easy to create a trip that works for your family. In addition to flying into some terrific vacation spots, Southwest has teamed up with some amazing places to make your travel planning a snap.

Our Nation’s Capitol is at its’ most beautiful during the spring and Southwest is proud to sponsor the Cherry Blossom Festival Parade on Saturday, April 12th. From March 29th through April 13th, Washington DC is home to the annual festival that celebrates the beauty, history, and culture of this family-friendly city. Spring Break is the perfect time to take in the museums, monuments, attractions and enjoy a visit that is filled with loads of hands-on family fun. As a Mom, I am always looking for ways to incorporate a learning experience into a fun family getaway, and flying Southwest into Washington Dulles or Baltimore Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport will let you do just that!

American Girl Dolls are a huge part of the lives of many girls and there is actually a place to visit that allows these kids the opportunity to enjoy the ultimate experience with their dolls. Located on world famous Michigan Avenue is American Girl Doll Place. This fan favorite features a wide variety of events and activities all themed around the popular dolls. There are theater performances with a matinee and an American Girl Doll Revue, a café with brunch, lunch, tea, and dinner, a doll hair salon where girls can spend all the time that they want creating the perfect “do” for their dolls and a photo studio to capture the visit. The flagship location is in Chicago but there are other American Girl Doll Places in Los Angeles and Dallas. Southwest visits all three of these cities and will gladly accommodate the doll in the lap of your daughter.

Looking for a late season ski escape? Then Snowbird is the perfect place for you to visit. Southwest will deliver you to Salt Lake City and Snowbird is just 29 miles away. This resort is known as being home to “Utah’s longest ski and snowboard season” because skiers and snowboarders can ride the mountains well into May, possibly even later depending on the conditions. There are 89 different runs that are evenly dispersed amongst ability levels and for folks that want to take lessons, they can choose from structured group instruction to private coaching.

Who can forget the Shamu painted planes in the Southwest Airlines fleet? SWA continues to team up with Sea World to make it easy to visit one of the three marine life theme parks in Orlando, San Diego, and San Antonio by offering vacation packages and theme park tickets at www.southwest.com and www.southwestvacations.com. Sea World Orlando is boasting a brand new addition to their already terrific parks called Aquatica where up close animal encounters are blended with high speed water thrill rides to give guests an amazing interactive experience. Sea World San Diego is bringing Sesame Street to their park this March with a unique 4-D movie, breakfasts with Elmo, and Big Bird’s Beach Party. This summer they will open the Bay Of Play with three fun filled, family friendly rides. Sea World San Antonio is celebrating their 20th birthday with special events such as appearances by world famous animal expert Jack Hannah and offering folks the opportunity to dine with Shamu.

Spring Break is definitely the time to regroup with your family and bring it on home for the rest of the school year. Visiting any of these places will be a great way to do that and getting there on Southwest Airlines is a great way to travel!