Traveling with family can be either a blessing or a curse. I’ve even heard of people saying that they need a vacation from their family… after their family vacation! Ouch. Being an avid traveler, I always found ways to enjoy my travels even with my family in tow. Whether with your children and partner or you’re with the whole gang (grandparents too!), below are my tips for enjoying your family vacation.
Don’t Plan Too Much…
My general rule when it comes to the itinerary for a family vacation is 1 activity for children and 1 activity for adults per day. If your child prefers morning activities, be sure that they get to do something fun early in the day. Only planning two activities per day allows for flexibility, long naps and quiet time, and prevents any meltdowns from being overtired.
Some simple things I like to include when I travel with my kids are time at a local park and time playing on the beach with toys. Activities that my husband and I enjoy are good food (sometimes difficult with a baby in tow), museum visits and walking tours. And when we travel with the grandparents along, we take advantage of the free childcare.
Have Something for Everyone!
A family vacation can be so fun to plan because everyone can help plan the itinerary. Ask your children what they are most looking forward to on your trip. This creates excitement and ensures that there will be something for everyone.
Remember to think of yourself too. As planners (and mothers), we tend to think of how to make everything nice for everyone else. We forget about ourselves in the process. If you truly want to enjoy your vacation, you need to make sure that you plan something that you are excited about too. And if it’s something that requires you to be alone (spa time perhaps?), schedule another activity for everyone else so you won’t be missed.
When my family and I went to Antelope Canyon, Arizona, my dad wasn’t too happy about the stairs leading down into the Canyon. In my defense, I was pregnant and had done minimal planning – I had no idea there would be stairs. The next trip I planned with my in-laws to Paris and Switzerland , I knew to better plan my itinerary so everyone had something special they could look forward to. No complaints.
Decide on a Theme
No, I don’t mean like a Mardi Gras night, although that sounds like fun. I mean what is the overall goal of your family vacation? Are you hoping to relax and enjoy the beach? Do you want to explore a new city or country? Will you be doing a combination of visiting family and sightseeing? Once you have your theme (or mood), let everything else you plan revolve around that idea.
For beach vacations, I like to find an amazing resort or hotel with restaurants. Good food, good drinks, and a great beach are the foundation while excursions are the compliment. On a 5 day beach vacation, I may only leave my resort 2 days. When I’m exploring a new city, I like to use my 2 activities a day formula. Because we’ll be out and about, the energy for these trips are going to be higher but I know that going in. The themes or moods for these two trips are very different but everyone knows what to expect because we decided beforehand.
Plan, Plan, Plan… For the Unexpected
I love a good backup plan almost as I love planning the first plan. Did that make sense?
Anyway. When planning a family vacation (or any vacation for that matter), sometimes things don’t go as you expected. True story: the one thing I planned for me on my family’s two week trip to Switzerland was to go to the Swiss National Museum. My 18 month old had other ideas. He screamed like a banshee for 10 minutes because he couldn’t climb one of the installments. I was mortified, sad for him, and my feelings were hurt. The back up plan? Take him back to the hotel and try for a second nap (he had already had one so I thought we would be good). My plan for that activity was ruined. Oh well. I dusted myself off and hope that I’ll get to visit that museum another day.
Other things that we don’t expect to happen might be bad weather days, activity closures, illness, bad attitudes, the list goes on. The best way to plan for the unexpected with planning a family vacation is to always have a positive outlook. It rained on your beach day? Aw man, look at those amazing waves you now get to look at from your balcony. You didn’t realize that the Louvre is closed on Monday? Oh well, looks like your day just opened up to walk around Paris and see how absolutely stunning the city is. Look for the good in every day instead of dwelling too long on the disappointment of things you cannot control.
Let Someone Else Plan Your Family Vacation
At Flyy Family Luxury Retreats, trips are curated with every member of your family in mind. Each retreat follows a mood so you know exactly what you can expect. The itinerary is already decided so there is nothing for you to do, plan, or forget about. All you have to do is get there and we take care of everything else.
I want families to travel more and I don’t want the planning part to be what gets in anyone’s way. Family vacations are such a special opportunity to create lifelong memories because you take time away from your day to day and distractions and you get to focus on each other. My last tip for planning your family vacation is to join a Flyy Family Luxury Retreat.