A family trip is a perfect opportunity to spend some quality time together and enjoy each other’s company, but there are a few things you might need to do when planning your vacation so that the time away is a great success.
Here are some tips to help you improve your chances of enjoying an amazing vacation that everyone will remember for all the right reasons, including why it helps to talk about your plans, a good mix and match strategy, plus a sensible idea to give everyone some space.
Get the kids involved
Unless you have very young children it is always a good idea to involve your children in the planning of your family trip. Depending on the age of your child you could take many different trips. Younger children might want a more relaxing time, a safer time for them, while older children might want to take a more exciting trip. Considering trips like white water rafting in Colorado or zip-lining would bring the whole family a lot closer from the experience.
There are various good reasons why that is a sensible strategy. When kids feel included in the planning stage of the trip they will have a much better understanding and appreciation of what’s involved and they get a chance to say what they would like to do while you are away.
The sense of anticipation and the chance to talk together about your plans can be the start of the bonding process that will continue into the holiday itself and by getting everyone involved you can quickly identify any potential issues before you finalize your plans.
Balancing everyone’s needs
A family trip has to be just that, a vacation that doesn’t just suit the interests and needs of one person but an adventure that manages to find a suitable balance between what everyone might want individually.
If you line up a holiday that doesn’t offer much for the kids in terms of entertainment and facilities that would not be a smart move, but equally, arranging a vacation that is solely focused on keeping the kids entertained is going to leave you as the parents feeling underwhelmed by the experience and wanting more.
Talk about all aspects of the trip as a family and if you are booking accommodation, like the Fairfield Inn and Suites Marriott, for example, and making plans for sightseeing trips while you are in the area, share the excitement and the anticipation with each other.
Leave some time in the day
Despite the fact that you are all going on a family trip you don’t have to spend every minute of the day with each other, especially if you have some different things you would like to do for part of the day.
If mom likes the idea of a relaxing morning spent at the hotel without rushing out of the door then there is no reason why you couldn’t schedule an adventure with dad taking the kids somewhere for the part of the day and then meeting up later.
As well as giving everyone a chance to get a bit of a mini-break you don’t have to feel that every part of the day has to be planned, or you could end up returning from the trip feeling like you haven’t rested at all.