How far in advance should I plan my family's vacation?

How far in advance should I plan my family's vacation?

Dorothy Jordon (Family Travel Expert) gives expert video advice on: How far in advance should I plan my family's vacation?; If I have young children, what type of vacation should I plan?; How can my family maximize our travel dollar when planning our trip? and more...

As soon as you know when your time is off, I think you can start planning. Or you can just dream about it - we're always talking about family vacations, about where we are going to go next. I always say, what is the goal of a family vacation? The goal of a family vacation is to come home and look forward to striking out as a family again. That's the only thing you have to get out of a family vacation. So you have to talk about the kind of vacations that you as a family want to take, though I am a firm believer that it's the parents' choice. You should just start to plan it when you know what your timing is, or just thinking about it. If you did a beach vacation this year, maybe next year you want to go to a city. If you live in a city, maybe you want to go and check out some places that have a lot of nature and hiking - the choices are endless. Sometimes, planning at the last minute happens, so there is no set time and there is no rule. It is whatever works for you.