In “Travel Takes,” Guide staffers share their personal opinions about the world’s best, worst, and most debated travel destinations. This week’s question: What’s the best family trip you’ve ever been on? Check out our picks, below.

Ian Hicks

The year I graduated college, my folks decided to reignite our family's longtime tradition of gradually losing patience with one another in a different city. Being our first family trip in years, we opted for a place none of us had been before: the West Coast. More specifically, Montara, California—a coastal town about 25 miles south of San Francisco. Since I was no longer the angsty, easily embarrassed teen who undoubtedly soured previous trips, I was able to truly enjoy the serenity and togetherness our secluded little beach house offered. And our proximity to iconic Route 1 allowed us to while away the week exploring the Golden Gate city, humbling ourselves in the Redwoods, winery-hopping in Napa Valley, and trying something called an "arugula pizza." It turned out to be one of our best trips, forever transforming my view of what family vacations could be.

Born and raised in the Midwest, Ian has both an affection for and an intense hatred of the cold. Though he enjoys traveling, he kinda hates to leave his three dumb cats alone for too long.

Sarah Gorr

Road trips were the de facto vacation of my childhood and none were more epic than the long haul to Yellowstone National Park when I was 12. There were six of us: my parents, two sisters, me, and the dog. We loaded up into a massive conversion van, hitched a pop-up trailer to the back, and made the journey west to Big Sky Country and the Rocky Mountains, camping as we went. I saw the Badlands, the Grand Tetons, wild herds of buffalo, and the giant jackalope of Wall Drug. We camped at Devil's Tower and watched Close Encounters of the Third Kind on the campsite's outdoor screen while shooting stars crossed the sky above. However insane my sisters and I drove our parents with our bickering (the back seat is never really big enough), it's the campfires and the mountains and the wide open skies that have been burned into my brain ever since.

Sarah is a writer, book lover, and dog petter who’s hiked the Inca Trail, chased the northern lights, and fallen into the Mediterranean Sea. She's forever planning her next (mis)adventure.

Rashawn Mitchner

Last year, 16 of us went to Florida. But not family-friendly Orlando, home of the world’s most famous mouse (8-year-old me was underwhelmed by that trip). Getting nine adults to agree on a place where everyone from the toddler to the 50-somethings could have fun proved tough, and we somehow landed on Panama City Beach. I expected a vacation filled with drunk bros and choruses of “WOOO!” But it turned out that aside from spring break, PCB is pretty much free of that crowd. I hung out on the beach while my niece and cousin built sand castles and watched dolphins swim as I walked along a pier, and we took our first family portrait in years.

Rashawn, an editor, hopes to eventually pack her Kindle and trail mix for a trip that requires a passport. For now, she visits US cities with microbreweries and nice views.

Zac Thompson

In 2011, my three sisters and I went to Walt Disney World® Theme Parks as adults. I am not one of those people who think Orlando is better when you’re a grownup; the place is clearly designed for those whose capacity for enchantment hasn’t been diminished by, well, growing up. But my oldest sister was taking her children to the park for the first time, so we all tagged along. I won’t say that I fell under the place’s spell as I had as a child, but let’s not underestimate the power of nostalgia. Yes, it’s crowded and the magic is manufactured, but if you can get through the evening fireworks display—timed with heartstring-plucking precision to the songs you grew up with—while surrounded by some of the people you grew up with, and not get a lump in your throat, you’re a stronger grump than I am.

Zac is a writer living in Chicago. His favorite trips ever were to Istanbul, Paris, Argentina, and the Irish countryside. He will do anything Rick Steves tells him to do. Anything.

Molly Metzig

It’s hard to narrow my best family trips down to just one, but the week I spent in Ireland with my mom and grandmother is up there. We started out in Dublin, which had a nice balance of pubs, clothing shops, and churches to satisfy all of our interests. Then we rented a car and drove around the Ring of Kerry. The rugged scenery of coastal Ireland provided a remarkable contrast to the delicate decor of the B&Bs we stayed at, where I got my first-ever taste of blood sausage during a very hearty Irish breakfast. We got to spend time with several of our Irish relatives along the way; it was my first time meeting them, and they treated us just like the family we were. I’m so thankful that we got to go on this trip.

Molly has been to 10 countries, but her favorite trip is a good old American drive up the Pacific Coast Highway.