WhereverFamily Announces the Winners in the World of Family Travel

WhereverFamily, Global Traveler’s sister web publication, is the trusted source for family travel, bringing readers daily content on all things family travel encompassing a variety of budgets, destinations, familial configurations and much more. Each year the dedicated readers of whereverfamily.com vote on their favorites in the world of travel. Now it’s time for fun and celebration as we announce the winners in the 2025 Wherever Awards, now in its eighth year. A big congratulations to the following honorees.

Let’s take to the family-friendly skies with Alaska Airlines, winning Best Family-Friendly Domestic Airline and taking the award from a five-year winner. United Airlines takes two awards: Best Family-Friendly Airline in North America, two years running, and Best Family-Friendly Frequent-Flyer Program, for MileagePlus, for the sixth consecutive year. The international counterpart is TAP Air Portugal, Best Family-Friendly International Airline.

PHOTO: © HYATT ZIVA RIVIERA MAYA

It’s especially important for families to find accommodations they can call their home away from home. Here’s a look at those winning hotels and resorts. Marriott Hotels & Resorts earns two nods this year: Best Family-Friendly Hotel Chain, four years running, and Best Family-Friendly Frequent-Stay Program for its Marriott Bonvoy, second year in a row. Best Family-Friendly Individual Hotel goes to Nemacolin, while InterContinental Hotels & Resorts takes the No. 1 spot for Best Family-Friendly Resort Chain, with the overarching IHG Hotels & Resorts earning its second win as Best Family-Friendly Pet Hotel. Hyatt Ziva wins Best Family-Friendly All-Inclusive Hotel. When it comes to kids clubs, Beaches Turks & Caicos comes out on top.

PHOTO: © ABERCROMBIE & KENT

Organized tours take the stress out of all the detail work, and family travelers across generations agree these two are the best of the best: National Geographic Family Journeys takes its third Best Family-Friendly Domestic Tour Company award, and Best Family-Friendly International Tour Company goes to Abercrombie & Kent.

Princess Cruises sets sail with two awards in our cruise categories this year: Best Family-Friendly Cruise Line and Best Family-Friendly Cruise Line Kids Club for Princess Cruises – Youth & Teens. Seabourn Cruises earns Best Family-Friendly MultiGen Cruise Line.

While paying the bill might be every parent’s least favorite part of the vacation, with these award-winning, family-friendly, co-branded credit cards, each swipe can help fund future family fun: Capital One Venture X, Best Family-Friendly Credit Card, and Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Card from Chase, Best Family-Friendly Credit Card Rewards Program, an eight-time winner.

Are we there yet? Answer “Yes” when your family arrives in these award-winning destinations.

Spain wins Best Family-Friendly International Destination, while, domestically, Phoenix, Arizona, is named Best Family- Friendly Domestic Destination. Jamaica upsets a long-time winner to become Best Family-Friendly Caribbean Island/ Destination. In the Northeast United States, Ocean City, Maryland, wins Best Family-Friendly Beach Town, Northeast, while Tybee Island, Georgia wins Best Family-Friendly Beach Town, Southern United States. Two Florida cities represent Best Family-Friendly Beach Towns based on location: Amelia Island, best in the east, for the third consecutive year, and Marco Island in the west. Santa Monica, California, was named Best Family-Friendly Beach Town, West Coast United States; and Waikīkī, O‘ahu, is Best Family-Friendly Beach Town, Hawai‘i. Greece secures its spot as Best Family-Friendly Multigenerational Destination of the Year for the third time.

PHOTO: © ALAN BUDMAN | DREAMSTIME.COM

Dutch Wonderland, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, takes the top spot as Best Family-Friendly Amusement Park, while Great Wolf Lodge wins Best Family-Friendly Waterpark.

Of course, families must get there and get around, and we finish our winners’ list this year with the following honorees: Hertz, Best Family-Friendly Rental Car Company; Chicago Midway Airport, Best Family-Friendly Domestic Airport; iGA Istanbul Airport, Best Family-Friendly International Airport for the fourth consecutive year; and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Best Family-Friendly Airport Dining and Best Family-Friendly Airport Shopping. This year marks the fifth consecutive year ATL has won the shopping nod, meaning it now has earned Quint Status.

Congratulations to the 2025 Wherever Awards winners!

THE PROCESS
Whereverfamily.com conducted a survey of its readers Sept. 20, 2024–May 16, 2025, with open-ended questions for the best in many categories important to the family travel market (including multigenerational families). This survey was conducted online at whereverfamily.com/wherever-awards and emailed during the period in question. Only those questionnaires with more than 50 percent of the questions completed were counted. Those with less than 50 percent answered were discarded. Employees of the magazine or individuals associated with the travel industry could not participate.

FAMILY INNOVATORS OF THE YEAR
In addition to the Wherever Awards, we acknowledge family travel providers leading the way in the industry. Our Family Innovators of the Year accolades recognize leaders among airlines, hotels, resorts, rental cars, cruise lines, travel providers and destinations. These winners were nominated by our staff and chosen by our subscriber board. Congratulations to this year’s honorees!

Alaska Airlines guarantees children 13 and under will be seated with an accompanying adult at no extra charge. And that’s just one of the many family-friendly amenities that make the airline a favorite of the community of traveling parents, and why the airline was named Family Innovator of the Year, Airline.

Great Wolf Lodge offers several locations around North America, spanning East and West coasts and areas in between. Designed for children, it is no wonder Great Wolf Lodge was bestowed the title of Family Innovator of the Year, Hotel.

We all know families and their members come in all configurations and with all their distinct needs, and winning travel providers try to offer something for every type of traveler. Beaches Resorts was the first resort company in the world to complete training and autism certification, enabling families with special needs to enjoy a beach vacation and earning the brand the Family Innovator of the Year, Resort title.

Looking for the right-sized vehicle for your crew? Hertz has it! When it comes to meeting the needs of family travelers taking to the open road, the Family Innovator of the Year, Rental Car winner also offers a range of child safety seats.

It’s a big year for the Family Innovator of the Year, Travel Provider winner: MSC Cruises debuted North America’s largest cruise terminal, set a world record with LEGO on MSC World America and also launched new family entertainment.

Designed for kids or kids at heart, Ocean City, New Jersey, is the quintessential family beach town. This year’s Family Innovator of the Year, Destination offers a bounty of fun family places and activities, including its exciting boardwalk.

And last, but certainly not least, our Family Innovator of the Year, Cruise Line title goes to Norwegian Cruise Line, which launched its 20th ship, Norwegian Aqua, this year with a commitment to delivering more immersive experiences at sea.

WINNERS’ CIRCLE

Best Family-Friendly Domestic Airline
1. Alaska Airlines
2. Delta Air Lines
3. United Airlines

Best Family-Friendly Airline in North America
1. United Airlines
2. Hawaiian Airlines
3. Delta Air Lines

Best Family-Friendly International Airline
1. TAP Air Portugal
2. United Airlines
3. Alaska Airlines

Best Family-Friendly Frequent-Flyer Program
1. United MileagePlus
2. Air Canada Aeroplan
3. Delta SkyMiles

Best Family-Friendly Hotel Chain
1. Marriott Hotels & Resorts
2. InterContinental Hotels & Resorts
3. Hilton Hotels

Best Family-Friendly Resort Chain
1. InterContinental Hotels & Resorts
2. Marriott Hotels & Resorts
3. Meliá Hotels International

Best Family-Friendly Individual Hotel
1. Nemacolin
2. Clayoquot Wilderness Resort, British Columbia, Canada
3. Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa, Kapolei, Hawai‘i

Best Family-Friendly Frequent-Stay Program
1. Marriott Bonvoy
2. IHG One Rewards
3. Wyndham Rewards

Best Family-Friendly All-Inclusive Hotel
1. Hyatt Ziva
2. Paradisus
3. Club Med

Best Family-Friendly Pet Hotel
1. IHG Hotels & Resorts
2. Loews Hotels
3. Westin Hotels & Resorts

Best Family-Friendly Hotel Kids Club
1. Beaches Turks & Caicos
2. Sea Island, Georgia
3. Terranea, Rancho Palos Verdes, California

Best Family-Friendly Domestic Tour Company
1. National Geographic Family Journeys
2. Adventures by Disney
3. REI Adventures

Best Family-Friendly International Tour Company
1. Abercrombie & Kent
2. National Geographic Vacations
3. Adventures by Disney

Best Family-Friendly Cruise Line
1. Princess Cruises
2. Celebrity Cruises
3. Royal Caribbean

Best Family-Friendly MultiGen Cruise Line
1. Seabourn Cruises
2. Princess Cruises
3. Royal Caribbean

Best Family-Friendly Cruise Line Kids Club
1. Princess Cruises – Youth & Teens
2. Disney Cruise Line Oceaneer Club
3. MSC Cruise Line Junior Club

Best Family-Friendly Credit Card
1. Capital One Venture X
2. United Explorer Credit Card from Chase
3. Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Card

Best Family-Friendly Credit Card Rewards Program
1. Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Card from Chase
2. Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Card
3. Princess Cruises Visa Signature Card

Best Family-Friendly International Destination

1. Spain
2. Greece
3. Portugal

Best Family-Friendly Domestic Destination
1. Phoenix, Arizona
2. Charleston, South Carolina
3. Savannah, Georgia

Best Family-Friendly Caribbean Island/ Destination
1. Jamaica
2.Aruba
3. Dominican Republic

Best Family-Friendly Beach Town, Northeast United States
1. Ocean City, Maryland
2. Kennebunkport, Maine
3. Southampton, New York

Best Family-Friendly Beach Town Southern United States
1. Tybee Island, Georgia
2. Savannah, Georgia
3. Nags Head, North Carolina

Best Family-Friendly Beach Town, Florida (East)
1. Amelia Island
2. Jacksonville
3. St. Augustine

Best Family-Friendly Beach Town, Florida (West)
1. Marco Island
2. Sarasota
3.TampaBay

Best Family-Friendly Beach Town, West Coast United States
1. Santa Monica, California
2. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
3. Monterey, California

Best Family-Friendly Beach Town, Hawai‘i
1. Waikīkī, O‘ahu
2. Lāhainā, Maui
3. Kailua-Kona, Big Island

Best Family-Friendly Multigenerational Destination of the Year
1. Greece
2. Ireland
3. Italy

Best Family-Friendly Amusement Park
1. Dutch Wonderland, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
2. Sesame Place, Langhorne, Pennsylvania

Best Family-Friendly Waterpark
1. Great Wolf Lodge
2. Schlitterbahn Waterparks & Resorts, South Padre Island, Texas
3. Massanutten Resort, Virginia

Best Family-Friendly Rental Car Company

1. Hertz
2. SIXT

Best Family-Friendly Domestic Airport
1. Chicago Midway Airport
2. Tampa International Airport 3. Chi
3. Chicago O’Hare International Airport

Best Family-Friendly International Airport
1. iGA Istanbul Airport
2. Hamad International Airport
3. Incheon International Airport

Best Family-Friendly Airport Dining
1. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
2. Hamad International Airport
3. iGA Istanbul Airport

Best Family-Friendly Airport Shopping
1. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
2. Miami International Airport
3. Incheon International Airport

QUINT STATUS
Fifth Consecutive Year
Best Family-Friendly Airport Shopping
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

FAMILY INNOVATORS OF THE YEAR
Airline
Alaska Airlines

Hotel
Great Wolf Lodge

Resort
Beaches Resorts

Rental Car
Hertz

Travel Provider
MSC Cruises

Destination
Ocean City, New Jersey

Cruise Line
Norwegian Cruise Line