3 tips for the best family vacation

What exactly goes into making your next family vacation your best trip ever? I’m here to share an important secret: It starts before you ever leave the house. Consider these three tips:

Too often, we create elaborate vacations thinking they’re what our family really wants, but we never actually ask. We used to do this with Disney World a lot. We would plan marathon days in the park with our preschool kids until we realized that they considered riding Disney buses and going to Downtown Disney a trip to Disney World. These are things that didn’t even require a park ticket! Imagine the time and money we could have saved. This taught us a lesson about including our kids in our vacation plans before booking them.

It’s important to have a plan for your family vacation, but it’s also important to leave some wiggle room. Whether it’s leaving extra time at the beginning and end of a road trip to sightsee along the way or just leaving downtime in your schedule, it helps not to have every minute accounted for.

State your expectations before leaving home. Do you expect to spend a lot of time together as a family? Is this trip designed to learn something new or simply get some R&R? Are your kids allowed to bring their own spending money or will you buy souvenirs and treats? Will you keep your home routine or is it OK to sleep in and eat sweets? Addressing questions like these before you go will help prevent and manage conflict on the trip.

Sami Cone is a blogger, TV and radio personality who encourages families to live their best life on less and pursue their passions. She thrives in Nashville with her husband and two children. You can keep up with her frugal family adventures & travel deals on her blog, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

 

What are your best tips for creating a memorable family vacation?  Leave your ideas in the comments below.