Family Travel Tips and Tricks
Travel can be nothing short of wonderful. Sometimes planning and preparing for the trip is the best part. I’m reflecting on our recent family vacation so future travel adventures go more smoothly. There are a few things I would have done differently and some things I’m so grateful we did.
Last week we headed down to Florida for some glorious time away. Family from both coasts joined us. So for five nights we embraced salty air, sandy feet, rich conversation, baby giggles and outstanding food.
Travel with a big family can be tricky. Here’s what I learned from our recent travels and a few tricks that can help on your next big family vacation.
Gathering a group together? Consider renting a house and eating in.
I’m going to be the first say; some vacations need to be completely chore free. This was not that trip. The best thing we did was rent a house for all of us. Three different families pitched in and stayed at a quaint yellow house by the beach to allow for some cousin and adult sibling time. Everyone pulled their own weight to get our babes fed and down to the water each day. The menu planning, cooking, cleaning, and errand running all happened seamlessly. Everyone just naturally fell into a lets keep all this together role for the sake of the cause and the result was lovely.
Every meal, to include afternoon coffee, was enjoyed at the house. With the help of VENMO all of us pitched in a little more than our weekly grocery budgets to make it happen. The only thing we would have done differently is planned our beach snacks/lunches and breakfasts a little better. For me, there is nothing like sharing a meal around a crowded table with people I love. It was worth all the extra planning and communicating. Our kids say their favorite part of the trip was the people and I couldn’t agree more.
One of the families drove to Destin and in hindsight they said they would have brought a few more house activities for their littles like an inflatable kiddie pool or some yard toys. If you are renting a house keep in mind some of the comforts of your home you can easily bring without too much trouble.
If you are in the midst of planning a big family trip I highly recommend renting a house together. Go into it knowing there will be a few added dynamics and embrace the time with your loved ones.
Stay hydrated and take vitamins during the trip.
With all the fun, sun, and libations it’s easy to forget to stay hydrated. Thankfully someone (not me) had the foresight to buy a case of water. By the third day I was literally forcing water down my wilting kiddos throats. In hindsight, I would have packed some vitamin C too and made that part of our morning routine.
Because…
I’m literally in bed with a cold as I write this. Laundry needs to be done, herbs are ready for harvesting, and bananas want to be made into bread. So hydrate and take vitamins that way when you get home you can hit the ground running.
Research the weather.
I did not do this very thoroughly in advance and we got really lucky. The big kids wanted to do a snorkel, dolphin-siting tour. Due to afternoon storms each day we had to cancel it. Researching the weather probably wouldn’t have changed our timeline for travel but it would have clarified our conversations with the big kids. Aside from the most obvious benefit of packing for the week, knowing the weather just informs conversations about activities.
Family travel means just go with the flow.
If someone is tired before the rest of the crowd, no biggee. They can stroll back to the house and have some down time (another perk of getting a house walking distance from the beach). If the toddler needs to have a little rest before the beach sunset walk, no problem. Our crew had four kids ranging in ages 1 to 14 so all the adults were very realistic about their needs and could make quick adjustments. With our pitch-in mentality the adults tag teamed the kiddos without issue.
We took a pretty clear no one is forced to do what he or she doesn’t want to do attitude for the trip. It’s easy for someone to play cruise director on a big group trip like this. Aside from family unit discussions and ground rules, everyone just rolled with it. My best advice is, from the start, verbalize your expectations for the trip with everyone and then move forward in that mindset. That way the type of energy you bring to the trip surprises no one.
Without hesitation every single individual who came on this trip would say they had a wonderful time. We made it all about family and the fact that we were at the beach was just the icing on the cake. The memories our kids made will be treasured for a lifetime and that is one of the purest most delightful outcomes of successful travel.
With intention,
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