Traveling with the family presents many challenges, but with the right preparation and some
forward planning, it needn’t be the cause of stress or chaos. Traveling with your family should
be an incredible opportunity to bond closer together and create new memories that will last a
lifetime, and no matter how old your family members may be, there are ways of making sure
that your vacation together goes a lot smoother. If you’re looking for ways to reduce tantrums,
minimize boredom, and get the most from your family vacation, these three top tips will go a
long way to encouraging everyone to have a better time.
Travel at night
If you’re traveling with young children, especially babies, then you might be best off making all
of your journeys nighttime ones. Doing this can be of benefit for a few reasons, but the most
important is that you will minimize the potential for boredom on long flights or car journeys by
simply letting the youngest members of your family sleep through it. Encourage this by
integrating as much of their bedtime routine into the journey as possible, with their favorite
pajamas or teddy with them so that they find it easier to sleep no matter how excited they might be. You might even be able to catch some sleep yourself, and if you’re traveling to somewhere
in a different time zone, you will definitely benefit from a few hours of shuteye.
Take control of the journey
One of the best ways to make the journey element of your family vacation more fun is by
skipping on the public transport and taking control of the journey yourself. Renting a car, loading
it up, and leaving when you’re good and ready, is a far more stress-free way to travel, and it
means that you miss out on those flight delays or train cancellations too. If you’ve never rented
a car for a family vacation, it couldn’t be easier. Simply search for ‘car rentals near me’ and
you’ll be sure to find a vehicle to suit your vacation needs, and a budget option to suit every
family.
Be prepared
One of the biggest hurdles for traveling anywhere with the family is always going to be boredom.
Bored children in the car or on the plane can be an absolute nightmare, so prepare for the
eventuality. You might be happy to gaze out of the window and take in the beautiful scenery, but
your children might not be so keen. Make sure that you have your electronic devices all charged
up, and prepare some of the best travel games to play. No matter how you distract them,
remember that they want to enjoy the holiday too, and simply being aware that children have
shorter attention spans will go a long way to helping you remember the essential items to pack.
Families that vacation together become stronger together and those shared memories will last a
lifetime. Always take the time to prepare carefully for the journey element of your vacation, and
you’ll find that every member of your family will have a much better time.
This post was written by Bill Clark. Bill is a freelance journalist who specialises in writing about culture and the arts, however will write about anything that piques his interest including business, travel and lifestyle. He can be reached on Twitter @BilboClark01.