Family Vacation Travel Tips
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. If you like this article feel free to use the "share this" bookmarking link at the end of the article.
Family vacation. That’s one of those phrases that can cause one of two reactions in parents: excitement or dread. That’s because family vacations are terrific opportunities to spend time with each other in new locations, having new experiences and getting a break from your normal routine. But that break in routine can also cause chaos for the kids which can make parents go a little crazy and return home needing a vacation of their own.
Here are some tips for making family travel something to love, not something to fear:
- Plan ahead but anticipate changes to the plan. Parents should plan their family travel in advance to help them feel organized and prepared for the experience. Book tickets at kid-friendly hotels. Do your research into area attractions including back-up plans (for example, if you plan to be outdoors during most of the trip, have a back-up indoor entertainment plan in case it rains). But once it’s all settled and in place, be aware that your plans could change and be open to that. Being too uptight with your plans can ruin family travel.
- Make only moderate changes to your family routine. If your kids always go to bed at nine, it’s okay to let them stay up until ten or eleven during family vacation. This makes the trip even more of a treat and allows for you to do more things with your family in a relaxed way. At the same time, you shouldn’t let the kids stay up all night long because they’ll be grumpy the next day which makes for a bad vacation. Make moderate changes to routines for sleeping, eating and picking up after yourselves but let the kids know what those changes are in advance and stick to them.
- Pick a destination that everyone can enjoy. Sure, where you want to go is a romantic villa in Tuscany, but it’s not going to be any fun for your kids. Likewise, your kids will love Disneyland but if the very sight of Mickey makes you want to tear your hair out, the trip isn’t going to be much fun. Find a place that’s family-friendly and has activities that you can all enjoy, even though that means compromise on everyone’s part.
- Think ahead about involving extended family. Some people love going to visit the grandparents for family vacation because it brings the family together and gets parents a little alone time because they have built-in babysitters. But some families find that the stress of dealing with extended family only adds to the dread they associate with family travel. Know what works for you and be okay with that when making your plans.
- Keep it short. You don’t have to take a week-long trip just because that’s what most families do. If your ideal family vacation is just three days, then go with that. With a shorter trip, you may do less but you’ll have quality time in what you do.
- Laugh. Relax. Enjoy yourself. Family travel comes with its headaches, there’s no doubt about that. But it’s truly a chance to get to experience something new and fun without the hassles of home. Take advantage of that and enjoy it while you’ve got the chance.
- Oh, and don’t forget to take lots of pictures. Family travel – even with all of its ups and downs – is something that your kids are going to remember for the rest of their lives. Before you know it, they’ll be all grown up and you’ll be reminiscing about those trips with them when they bring their new families home to visit you!