Planning Your Family Vacation
Why is it important to plan a trip with my family?
First of all, there are two ways to look at that question. One is whether to be together as a family. I mean, one of the things that's happened in this generation is that we spend very little time together. We're always running, we're always doing things, the kids have play dates, the kids have basketball games, or baseball games, and there's very little time that we spend together as a family. Also, vacation time is the time when we can really do that. To plan that vacation time in advance is really important, because it will make it go smoother. It will make it easier in the long run. I always say the name of my company is Twitch, right? And a lot of people twitch when they think about traveling with their kids. If you do the proper planning in advance then you wont twitch - you'll really come back having had a great time.
What does planning a family vacation involve?
Planning is something different for everybody, because every family has to plan according to their own needs. I always suggest that you plan with your youngest child and work your way up. Unless you are planning a multi-generaltion vacation, then start your planning from the older and the youngest, and work your way toward the middle. However, the needs of a younger child are usually greater than the needs of an older child. In many instances, you may need to make sure that you have room to push a stroller. You want to make sure that you have a crib, and you want to make sure that the hotel has bumpers for the crib. It's not to say you won't go there if they don't have what you need, but you need to know what you must bring on vacation to help make it easier. One of the things I always like to tell a parent to do, is the things we do in our lives as parents that make parenting more pleasurable. We want to be able to see if we can replace some of these items on vacation, that will make the vacation more pleasurable. Such as a babysitter, or having a highchair. Such as knowing, for example, if you're going on a ski vacation, the ski-in and ski-out facts. All the things that I've learnt over the years, and doing all the research, have told me that what others perceive as ameneable or amenities don't necessarily work for families, and families have to get together and figure out what it is that they need, and how to get those needs met.
How far in advance should I plan my family's vacation?
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.
How can my family decide what vacation to take?
Kids get 12 to 18 weeks of vacation a year once they go to school. Before that, they are pretty much always on vacation. I know very few adults who have that much time for vacation. I really believe that parents should plan the vacation that they want. I always recommend to think about where you would go if you didn't have kids, and then to work it out so that it works both for you and your children.
If I have young children, what type of vacation should I plan?
What types of accommodations are more suited for families?
Well, accommodations are interesting because you travel very differently when your kids are 2 and 5, as opposed to when they're 12 and 15, for example. When the kids are very little, it's nice to have a place to warm a bottle, so having a kitchen is nice. When they're older, in fact, as teenagers, it's nice to have a kitchen because they eat all the time. But it's also nice to have extra space. I always say that all suite hotels were really designed for families, because they have a little bit of everything. They don't have a big kitchen, but enough that you can store things, that you can make breakfast, or whatever. However, that doesn't always work. Sometimes it's nice to have a hotel room. Sometimes you want to rent a house. Sometimes you want to have a condo. It really depends, often on how old your kids are, and also on the venue where you're going to. I, for one, am not a big fan of renting condos as they don't make your beds for you most of the time. I don't want to go on vacation and make beds. But it's really up to everybody - every individual. Space is always important because one of the things that I find very interesting is that the travel industry seems to think that it's an amenity that your kids stay free in the room. We don't live in one room as a family, so why is it an ammenity to share a room with your kids? Having two hotel rooms is probably more expensive than renting a condo, which is a major reason why people don't stay at hotels and do stay in condos and in en-suites - because they have that extra space, and it's a similar price.
What kind of vacation can my family have on a budget?
A budget is interesting, because a budget vacation for one person is different than a budget vacation for another person, and if you go to a place where kids stay free and eat free, then of course you don't have to count that in. You have to figure out what it is and where you want to go. It's very important to me, to go to a place that you like and not to compromise on where you're going. Rather than compromising on where you're staying, it is better to compromise on how long you stay. It is better to take a five day vacation that you enjoy rather than a seven day vacation where you're all struggling. One of the things that happens on a family vacation is what I call the 'buy me syndrome'. Buy me this, buy me that - and you always want to say yes to your kids, but on vacation sometimes you can't. I used to give my kids a vacation allowance, and it was theirs to spend. We didn't let them buy things that we wouldn't let them buy at home, and we tried to tell them to buy things that reminded them of their vacation, but it conquered the buy me syndrome because they knew that they were in charge of spending the money.
What does an 'all-inclusive' vacation entail?
An all-inclusive vacation will usually cover your accommodations, your food, and sometimes it even includes alcohol and activities. One price pays all, which makes it really good because you know in advance pretty much what this vacation is going to cost you. The myth about all-inclusive vacations is that they are just beach vacations, because a lot of beach resorts have now marketed themselves as all-inclusive. But if you think about it, there are a lot of family resorts that are all-inclusive vacations, and we go to a place in Vermont called the Tyler Place that is all-inclusive. Dude ranches are all-inclusive, cruises are all-inclusive, and there are certain items that you have to pay for even at all-inclusives. But they are not just beach vacations - there are lots and lots of possibilities.
Are cruises good choices for family vacations?
Cruises make for great family vacations. One of the things I like most about cruises is that you can really give your kids a lot of freedom. You can give them more freedom on a cruise ship than you can on a land-based vacation. Where are they going to go? How far can they go? But, I think one of the other main advantages of a cruise is that it has something for everybody. It has activities for kids usually starting at about age two, up to seniors. I've seen hundred-year-old people on cruises. Also, there is always something for people to do, no matter what age they are, and that, of course, is something that is wonderful for families who want to take vacations with extended family.
How can my family maximize our travel dollar when planning our trip?
In this day and age, searching for bargains could be a full-time career. There are some very reliable sites that you can go to that will help you with information. I always go to kayak.com when I'm looking for a flight, or Expedia. The big sites are reliable, so you don't have to worry - you're not going to lose your money. I just sent my son on a vacation; we went to a website called vacationstogo, and it was a last-minute vacation, so he saved a lot of money and had a great time. There are a lot of ways, for example, if you're going to a city, there's a thing called CityPass, and there's another called the Smart Card if you go to Seattle. Different cities have different deals where they lump together a bunch of activities, and it costs, instead of paying $100, you may pay $60. You could save up to 40% just by buying these packages in advance.
How can I get my kids involved in vacation planning?
It's really important to involve your kids from the get-go about where you're going. If in fact you want to have them involved in actually making the decision, I think you should guide them towards the 2 or 3 places that you are considering going, and then let them make a choice. But more important is to give them information about what to expect when they get there. I always say, what do kids like? They like to know what to expect and what's expected, so that they have an idea of what,s going on when they get there; that's really important. Get brochures, and let them look at the brochures. When we went to Wyoming for the first time, we had our kids go to the library, where they found books on Wyoming and came home, and they decided the Custer battlefield didn't look very far from where we were going. We made a stop at the Custer battlefield, which hadn't been planned, and it was due to getting the kids involved.
What is the secret to packing for a family vacation?
I always try to pack enough outfits for every day, so that I don't have to do laundry, but it also depends on how much I'm going to have to be carrying and schlepping these bags - if I go some place for a longer period of time I may take less. For my kids, I used to let them pack their stuff. We're going to be away for 3 days, or we're going to be away for a week, so what do we need? We need 7 pairs of underwear and 7 tops, and 7 shorts, and are we going to change for dinner? Things like that. Depending on where you're going will dictate how much you pack, and how you do it. One good pair of pants or one good skirt. One thing that you can wear in the evening that will go to lots of places. You want to make your outfits multi-purposeful, so you would pack layers. You wouldn't pack as many things but you would make sure you have an outside, an inside, and a bottom. You would pack smaller things, and I also find packing flat helps. A lot of people fold things, but I find that packing flat gives you much more space.
Should I schedule daily activities for my family vacation?
It is a great idea to plan your daily activities. Here is where you need to underplan rather than overplan. It is a great idea to plan one activity in the morning, and one activity in the afternoon. The afternoon activity should be the child-friendly activity, so that when your child gets grumpy in the morning, you can say to them, You know, when we leave here, we are going to go to the zoo. Or When we leave here, we are going to go to a park, or someplace else that you have told them about because you have communicated with them about what is going on during the day. I like to find green spaces where they can run off some energy. I like to do cluster sightseeing. I am a firm believer that you do not run in New York from the Statue of Liberty to the Empire State Building. It always drives me crazy that so many books, when they list family-friendly activities, they don't put them together - so if parents are going to follow their suggestions, they are going to be running around the city and are going to miss things. The biggest thing that I always try to remind parents is that it is not how much you do, but it is rather how much fun you had doing it. Kids like to go back to things, so if you have planned too many things, then you won't get to do it all. One of the major advantages of travelling with kids is that you pick and choose what you are going to see and do much more carefully.
