Fantastic family fun: good news as we hit vacation time: With Rosie at the helm, the world keeps getting more hospitable to our families.

"I wanted people who usually have to settle for crumbs to get a full meal." So said Rosie O'Donnell when launching the first of her first-class R Family Cruises in July 2004. Directly aimed at LGBT parents with kids, R Family Vacations single-handedly brought to light this overlooked niche within a niche. The cruise schedule has continued to expand, and the company now also offers noncruise vacations such history-oriented tours of Philadelphia (complete with '50s-themed bowling parties) and weekend getaways to Albuquerque's Balloon Fiesta.

Thanks to all this enterprise, LGBT families now have more travel options. But they still need to navigate the waters of the gay and straight travel worlds--both of which are trying to understand the needs of LGBT families. According to a recent study by Witeck-Combs Communications and the research firm Packaged Facts, an estimated 1.8 million gay and lesbian households include at least one child.

For instance, many gay bed-and-breakfasts and hotels have a no-kids policy--and that may be well-advised when there's nude sunbathing or a party atmosphere. Few gay-friendly accommodations market to families, and those that do can have a hard time. One of the rare gay-owned lodgings in Palm Springs, Calif., that catered to LGBT families, Viola's Resort, closed in 2004.

On the other hand, neither gay parents nor their kids may feel comfortable hanging out at mainstream family resorts.

But the travel world is slowly coming around. Since it's still more common for lesbians to have children than gay men, women-focused companies and venues lead the way for LGBT family travel: Olivia Cruises and Resorts has held family-oriented weeks at a Florida Club Med; lesbian B&Bs are generally kid-friendly; and lesbian-heavy events like women's music festivals may have no-men policies but welcome children with kids' areas and activities.

And you'll see dads and moms galore enjoying another growing trend: LGBT family weeks organized by the Washington, D.C.-based Family Pride Coalition at hot spots like Provincetown, Mass.; Saugatuck, Mich.; and Disney World. This year marks the 12th anniversary of Family Week in Provincetown, and Family Pride will be partnering with R Family for the first time to make the biggest Family Week ever, with beach bonfires, picnics, dances, carnivals, a pirate dinner, and a "R-aMAHzing Race." Says Rosie: "We actually started R Family Vacations because Kelli and I took our kids to Family Pride's Family Week and I saw the effect that it had on my children."

A sense of belonging and camaraderie is something LGBT families cherish in these vacations--which become something akin to community celebrations and a kind of therapy for kids. Perhaps that's also why queer kids' and families' camps are becoming popular. They can be found throughout the Unite States from New Jersey to California. The camps can be havens for children struggling with their unusual circumstances.

"We had a kid come," says Massachusetts-based CampOut founder Emmy Howe, "who was 13 and had never met a lesbian besides her mom." Besides activities like horseback riding and campfires, these camps specialize in helping kids and their families through confidence-building workshops, affirmation exercises, and social justice programs. Who says one vacation can't change your life or your family's?

Link is the editor at large for The Out Traveler magazine, a sister publication of The Advocate.

Get detailed listings and trip-planning info on LGBT family vacations at www.outtraveler.com.

                  GO IF TO YOU'RE:            DON'T GO IF YOU'RE:

PROVINCETOWN,     A family looking for        Looking for big-city
MASS.             a beachy New England        anonymity. P-town is
Cape Cod meets    vibe with plenty of         all about being social
the Castro        queer comics, live          and bumping into,
                  shows, and                  new friends.
                  music
                  events at
                  night.

SAUGATUCK AND     A family looking for        A tropical-beach freak
DOUGLAS, MICH.    an easy and economical      looking for miles of
Mellow beach      gay beach getaway           perfect ocean swells--
communities       and don't feel like         you're on Lake
                  traveling to                Michigan, after
                  the coasts.                 all.

BRIGHTON,         A culture vulture who       A Eurotrash lover
ENGLAND           wants to show older         looking for the rave
Summer sun        kids some of historic       scenes of Ibiza or
in a seaside      Europe while working        Berlin.
holiday town      on your tan.

WALT DISNEY       A couple of Disney          A political activist,
WORLD RESORT,     queens and have wee         since Disney won't
ORLANDO, FLA.     ones in tow.                officially sponsor the
Introduce the                                 uber-popular Gay
kids to queer                                 Days (May 29-June 4).
family culture

                  HOW GAY?                    DON'T MISS:

PROVINCETOWN,     Locals lament the           The 12th annual
MASS.             wave of straight            Family Pride Week,
Cape Cod meets    families who have           July 28-August 4,
the Castro        been buying up here         coproduced by Family
                  lately, but they mingle     Pride Coalition and R
                  nicely with gays and        Family Vacations.
                  their "gaybies."

SAUGATUCK AND     The twin towns of           Taking the kids on the
DOUGLAS, MICH.    Saugatuck and Douglas       lake or across the
Mellow beach      may be quaint and           dunes in a duck craft,
communities       Midwestern, but that        a World War II--era
                  doesn't mean you            amphibious vehicle.
                  can't hold your
                  lover's hand.

BRIGHTON,         Oscar Wilde and             One of the largest free
ENGLAND           Virginia Woolf both         pride festivals in
Summer sun        wrote books here,           Europe (July 28--
in a seaside      helping to cement           August 5), with over
holiday town      Brighton's reputation       a 100,000 people.
                  as artsy and queer.

WALT DISNEY       Peter Pan, the              The Beach Club
WORLD RESORT,     (cohabiting Seven Dwarfs,   Resort, the best
ORLANDO, FLA.     and Cruella de Vil--you     Disney hotel for
Introduce the     do the math!                families, with three
kids to queer                                 acres of water slides,
family culture                                whirlpools, waterfalls,
                                              and a "lazy river."

                  CAVEATS:

PROVINCETOWN,     Watch out when the
MASS.             town gets swamped
Cape Cod meets    by theme events that
the Castro        aren't aimed at
                  families! Cases in
                  point: Circuit Week,
                  June 30-July 5, or
                  Mates Leather Weekend,
                  September.

SAUGATUCK AND     The 20-acre Dunes
DOUGLAS, MICH.    Resort is the area's
Mellow beach      gay party epicenter,
communities       but its only appropriate
                  for kids during
                  events for Family
                  Week, July 7-14.

BRIGHTON,         With pierced drag
ENGLAND           queens milling around
Summer sun        every corner and more
in a seaside      tattoo parlors than
holiday town      dentists offices,
                  Brighton could
                  frighten little tots.

WALT DISNEY       Summer can be hot
WORLD RESORT,     and humid, and the
ORLANDO, FLA.     worst time for crowds
Introduce the     is during spring break.
kids to queer     Try to visit after Labor
family culture    Day but before
                  Thanksgiving, or in
                  January.