Family vacations are wonderful memory making occasions that will be talked about for years to come. In many ways, family vacations are traditions even if each vacation is a different destination. The age of children going on vacation has a lot to do with the type of trip you’ll be making. There are ways to plan a stress-free family vacation where everybody is going to be happy. Consider putting these plans and action:
Don’t Start with Google
When planning a family vacation, you’re going to get a lot of resources off of a Google search. However, this isn’t where you should start. Instead, consider having a family meeting to get a sense of what everybody wants to do and where they would like to go. Hopefully, there will be a consensus. At the very least, there should be some shared ideas about certain types of activities that everyone wants to partake in. This family meaning can help determine whether the vacation will involve a road trip or a plane trip.
Send Important Items in Advance
Whether you are going by car or by plane you don’t have to take everything you need with you. There may be a lot of products such as diapers, baby wipes, sunscreen and other sundries that you can pack up in a box and ship to your hotel destination. That will leave a lot more room in your luggage for other items. You can also rent car seats and strollers at your destination as opposed to trying to lug them with you. That will make traveling go a lot smoother.
Ask Plenty of Questions
Once you have locked down your destination and have picked the hotel, then you’ll want to call up and ask questions about your specific needs. For instance, if you have a toddler going to sleep early, then you might want to have turndown service at a different time. You should also think about food allergies and what might need to be removed from the room’s minibar. If you are going somewhere where English is not the native language, then you should write down the allergy restrictions in the language of your destination.
Don’t Over Plan
You’ll want to fill up your vacation with a lot of fun activities but that doesn’t mean round-the-clock activities. You need to give your family some time to rest and recuperate from all the excursions. Most hotels you will be staying at will have concierge services that you can call in advance to find out what are some of the family activities they might recommend and you can plan your days according.
Have an Airplane Strategy
Flying with babies leads you little control over how to make them comfortable when you can communicate with them. When the kids get a bit older, it will be easier to distract them on a long flight. You should have an airplane strategy that involves a portable DVD movie player just in case the in-flight system is working. You might also want to wrap up small toys that you can give out throughout the flight. Also keep in mind that passports for children expire every five years versus every 10 years for adult so make sure that information is up-to-date.
Walk Away from Stress
Vacations are meant to be stress-free. However, even with the best planning sometimes the unexpected can happen. For instance, if you are going to a theme park, then there could be long lines that will put a damper on the fun. Most theme parks have fast pass options. If those aren’t available, then you should prepare your family for the option to regroup and go somewhere else instead of the particular ride that’s going to take six hours to get on! Anytime you find yourself in a situation that is presenting too many restrictions for the family, it would be best to walk away with a positive attitude. There will always be more fun right around the corner!
