Most of us think of “kid-friendly” as being anything welcoming of tots or pre-schoolers – after all, they’re the ones most likely to cause an embarrassing scene.  But teens go on family vacations too, and although they’re just shy of adulthood, they’re not mini-mes – they have their own interests, some shared with parents, some not.

Loews Hotels has some excellent teen-focused Edu-Cations being featured at several of their properties around the country.  These cool packages allow teens to explore a new world or delve deep into a current interest.  At Loews Santa Monica, for instance, your hipster can move one step closer to living like Lohan, with a 2-night stay in a premium suite, limo service for the duration of the stay, an acting lesson, meeting with an agent, and a makeover.  (Can we sign up?  We swear we’re 16, really…)

If your teen is less into the meat market of LA and more into the stock market, the Loews Regency in NY offers an inside view of the financial markets, with a tour of the NASDAQ, a power breakfast featuring a financial speaker, and a photo of your budding broker on the NASDAQ tower.

Other packages include surfing in San Diego, a tour of the National Press in Washington D.C, and a music and lyric session in Nashville, all with inside scoop and/or access to people really connected in their respective fields.  With vacations like these, you might actually get some (begrudging) respect from your know-it-all kid.

We had an opportunity to visit New York’s Scholastic Store in Soho recently. As a bookstore specializing in children’s reading, it’s a great destination for visitors and New Yorkers alike. Here’s the 411:

Pros: We’re enamored with the fact that it’s a bookstore, period! In a technological world, it’s nice to see kids reading a book every now and then and Scholastic, a household name in children’s books, has a nice bricks-and-mortar place. The store features reading fare for babies right on up to 12-year olds. And it’s not just straight books – there are dozens of science kits, princess accoutrements from Melissa and Doug, and other story-related paraphernalia.

We like the huge rubbery dinosaur that graces the 6200-square foot floor, providing ample seating for kids who want to read on the spot. There’s also a Magic School Bus area, complete with running TV shows on a built in TV. The store often holds events and readings in its activity loft, reached by stairs and therefore perhaps not so convenient for the stroller-set…

Cons: Speaking of the stroller-set, if you’re visiting this store with a stroller, head for the Mercer Street entrance. The Broadway entrance forces you to navigate stairs – trust us, you don’t want to deal with them.

The biggest drawback here, though, was the restrooms. Did we say restrooms? We meant restroom – as in one. Yes, one, marked “Employees” and fairly screaming “public toilet”. By the time we emerged from holding daughter gingerly over the toilet and changing son’s diaper, there was a long line of people, grumpily commenting on the folly of having one toilet in a large store catering to children.

The Scholastic Store, 557 Broadway bet. Prince & Spring (stroller entrance at 130 Mercer St.) 212.343.6166

Although there are times when you just need the do-nothing-but-veg vacation, travel can be infinitely more interesting when we make deeper connections with our destinations. Context Travel, who by their own words are a group of “architects, historians, and art historians who organize walking seminars for intellectually curious travelers,” helps people to make those deeper connections and come away from their vacations with a richer sense of place. (more…)