Introduction
Are you wanting to plan a stress-free family holiday? Family holidays are supposed to be something that are treasured and to make lasting memories, right? But let’s face it, spending 24/7 with your precious loved ones can have its downside. How can you ensure that you have a happy family holiday?
Take a look through these family vacation tips so that you can do everything possible to have an enjoyable trip with your family.
Contents
- Introduction
- Contents
- Planning Ahead
- 1. Choose the Right Destination
- 2. Get the Kids Involved with Decision Making
- 3. Pick the Right Accommodation
- 4. Plan an Itinerary
- 5. Pack Smartly
- 6. Bring Downtime Entertainment
- 7. Don’t Do Too Much
- 8. Keep Children Well Fed
- 9. Plan For Time Alone
- 10. Relax and Don’t Compare
- Conclusion
Planning Ahead
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1. Choose the Right Destination
How do you picture your ideal family holiday? Think carefully about a destination that caters for everybody’s needs.
Research on Google and Pinterest and read blogs about your chosen destination.
Are your children good with travelling long distance? They might actually surprise you how great they can be. Our children are fine on planes but don’t fare too well in the back of a car for hours.
2. Get the Kids Involved with Decision Making
Choose your destination together and make a group decision (if your children are old enough). Children often have great ideas about where they would like to visit.
Maybe they’ve learnt about somewhere in class or from their friends. For example, my son wanted to see a volcano after learning about them at school so we booked a holiday to Lanzarote.
We once asked our kids to make a presentation about where they would like to go. This meant they had to do research and find out all about the country they fancied. We then took a family vote to make our decision. It’s a fun way of getting them involved.
🌟 Tip: Choose a destination with something for everyone. Get the kids to help out and take a vote.
3. Pick the Right Accommodation
🌟 Tip: Pick the right accommodation for your family’s needs and personality.
Read the Description and Reviews
- Where is the property?
- Is it within walking distance of local amenities?
- Are there enough beds?
- Has it got a pool?
- Is there air conditioning?
Where you stay can make a massive difference whether you have a happy family holiday. Consider your family’s character, where will they thrive?
🌟Really, the biggest decision is: do you suit a hotel or self-catering or a bit of both?
Hotel or Safe-Catering? Pros and Cons
Pros of Hotel
- No chores.
- Some meals might be catered for.
- Children may be able to make friends.
- Depending on the grade of the hotel, you could be waited on hand and foot, have your children fed as much as they like and be entertained.
Cons of Hotel
- You need to be mindful of other guests and there maybe limited seating around the pool.
- Catered food might not cater for your family’s tastes.
- There is usually less space, no washing machine and hotels are often more expensive than self-catered accommodation.
Pros of Self-Catering
- You can have your own space and a washing machine, maybe a private pool.
- You can be noisier.
- You have the choice to make food or eat out, which means it’s less expensive.
Cons of Self-Catering
- You still have to do some chores and make your own food unless you eat out.
- You need to make your own entertainment and there is less chance of making friends.
We nearly always chose self-catering when our children were younger. It meant we had lots of space, we could be noisy, we preferred having our own pool and having a washing machine was a godsend.
🔗 Blog to read: See my Guide to Accommodation on Booking.com for tips.
4. Plan an Itinerary
🌟 Tip: Plan shared experiences that you will all love and make a rough itinerary.
Find things to do
- Children love new experiences; plan a few activities to keep them entertained.
- Ask them to help choose things to do.
- Plan an activity that the whole family will love.
👉 Take a look at Get Your Guide and Viator and check if you need to pre-book.
Make an itinerary
Have an itinerary so you know when activities are taking place and share the plan with your family. An itinerary will also prepare the children and help with packing choices.
🔗 Blog to read: How to Plan a Perfect Itinerary
5. Pack Smartly
Organisation
- Write a list based on your itinerary and the weather.
- Use packing cubes to organise your belongings and try to keep everyone’s stuff separate.
First Aid
A few plasters, antiseptic wipes/cream, insect repellent, bite relief, anti-histamine, pain killers, diarrhoea tablets.
🔗 Blog to read: See my Smart Packing Guide.
6. Bring Downtime Entertainment
Remember to bring entertainment for the journey and downtime.
We take an Amazon Fire Stick, playing cards, books, colouring stuff and download films and games onto our devices. We used to take a favourite small toy too.
7. Don’t Do Too Much
Don’t over plan and do too much. Children need rest and so do you. If you overexert them, they might end up being grumpy and that will spoil everyone’s mood.
🌟Tip: Be like a local – take a siesta.
If you are in a hot country especially, some siesta time is a great way to unwind. Even if they won’t take a nap, some time in the shade or indoors will benefit them and give them a chance to recoup.
8. Keep Children Well Fed
We can always tell when it is feeding time on holiday. Even now that our children are grown up, they still start to get niggly when the hunger kicks in.
For some reason, they seem to eat twice as much than when we’re at home. I think they burn more calories with all the swimming, walking and activities.
Give them breakfast, snack, lunch, snack and dinner to keep them in an even mood.
9. Plan For Time Alone
Having a happy family holiday doesn’t mean you have to be in each other’s company continuously.
Allow grown ups and children (especially teens) a chance to have some alone time to decompress.
Take turns to give each other an hour a day to take some time out. If you are lucky enough to have a babysitter or kids club on hand – take advantage.
🌟 Tip: Families do better when they have a little space to be apart for a short while. Go for a lie down, a walk, maybe even a massage!
10. Relax and Don’t Compare
🌟 Remember: You are taking the same family on holiday that you live with at home.
Don’t Believe Social Media
People paint a picture on social media that their lives are perfect but everybody knows that’s far from true. Try not to worry about having a perfect time because that just won’t happen.
Relax
A happy family holiday means enjoying each other’s company and making some special memories.
There will be the same squabbles and tantrums but don’t allow that to spoil your whole holiday. Families are families wherever they are, even when surrounded by paradise.
Relax and lower your expectations of your family and you will feel much better when your child refuses to eat anything but bread at the fancy restaurant, or argues over the swimming pool float even though they have one each. And breathe.
Conclusion
Family holidays are never perfect but if you bear in mind these tips you will make some wonderful memories and anything less than perfect becomes a funny anecdote in years to come anyway – so don’t stress.
Do you enjoy your family holidays? What are you top tips for keeping the peace? Let me know in the comments.
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