travel with kids Archives

4 Tips When Choosing Travel Accommodation As A Family

January 6, 2021 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

Everyone knows that family travel is the gift that keeps on giving. There’s no limit on the memories you create when traveling as a family, and it gets better every year. In truth, it’s one of the few things you can do with your kids when they’re well into their teens and adult years! Of course, for many of you, that’s a long way away. Instead, we’ll focus on family travel with younger children.

Thus, we arrive at a key topic when planning your trip: where will you stay? Traveling as a family throws up more complications and concerns than traveling alone or as a couple. Therefore, the accommodation options aren’t as diverse as they once were. You have limited places that are suitable, so how do you choose where your family stays? Here are a few major things to consider.

Space

Obviously, you need to find somewhere with enough space for your whole family. Now, this can rule out a few options as they’re simply not convenient. For instance, some hotels in the area might have small rooms or cramped family rooms that just don’t work for you. What if you have a family of 5, 6, or 7?! You can’t possibly stay in the same room, meaning you’d need to pay for multiple rooms in the same hotel. This throws up other concerns, which you’ll see in the next point.

Instead, you have to turn your attention to accommodation options with enough space for your family to feel comfortable. You could consider looking at a house for rent – it will give you more than enough space to enjoy your trip over a few days. Or, you may think about staying at a campsite – again, you have lots of space here as you can rent a static caravan or bring your own tents. Look at your family, think about how much space you need, then seek out suitable options.

Money

Naturally, money is a big part of choosing where to stay. This is why hotels aren’t always the best option for large families. As mentioned above, you may need to book two rooms for your entire family. Instead of paying for one room for a few nights, you now have double the costs! It quickly makes your family holiday far more expensive than it needs to be – and it’s even worse when you consider that you won’t be in the hotel for that much of your trip!

So, work out your budget and find accommodation options that suit it better than others. This will also influence your decision if you want to rent a house or an Airbnb for your trip. Instead of renting a massive villa, you can save money by renting a small apartment.

Safety

Keeping your family safe is of the utmost importance for all parents. Once more, this is why some families don’t like staying in separate rooms in a hotel. For starters, you need to get two rooms as close to one another as you can. If this isn’t possible, your family is split up, so there’s more risk of bad things happening. It’s rare, but what if someone breaks into the room where your kids are sleeping? There are also safety concerns surrounding some Airbnb’s or campsites as there might not be any strict security measures.

Ultimately, it’s up to you to discover all the security measures before choosing your accommodation. A key safety aspect is where the place is situated – is it in a rough part of town or somewhere that’s generally deemed safe?

Trip duration

The final factor is your trip duration. Now, this is pretty critical as it influences the cost of your accommodation. If you’re going away for a weekend, you suddenly have more options than if you’re away for two weeks. Staying in a hotel for two nights is nowhere near as expensive as booking one for two weeks! As such, it could be a more suitable option if you’re on a short trip.

Likewise, some accommodation options have minimum stay times. For example, a lot of campsites or short-term rentals have a 3-night minimum. If you’re not staying for that long, these options are crossed out for you.

All in all, you need to consider all four of these points before choosing where to stay during your trip. Think about how much space your family has, consider how long you’ll be staying, then work on finding the safest options within your budget. It sounds complicated, but you soon narrow down the possibilities and find the best places to stay.

4 Tips for Stress-Free Travel With Kids

June 24, 2020 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

Every parent knows that traveling as a family can be difficult, particularly when you have young children. However, you shouldn’t let potential challenges discourage you from going on a family vacation and enjoying trips abroad. Fortunately, there are dozens of ways to ensure that your family getaway is relaxing and enjoyable for everyone. With this in mind, here are four tips for stress-free travel with kids:

1. Get kids involved

Getting your kids involved in the planning process is a great way to get them excited about an upcoming vacation and give them a sense of ownership over the trip. It will also help to prepare your kids for what to expect when you go away, meaning they’ll be more likely to be on their best behavior. Sit down as a family and discuss travel plans, such as what destination to visit, where to stay, and what activities to do while you’re on vacation. Try to be flexible and take your kids’ thoughts and opinions into account when making your travel plans.

2. Organize your travel plans

Booking early and being organized with your travel plans is particularly important when you are traveling with kids. Making plans last minute and being spontaneous may work for solo travelers or couples, but this style of travel is not well-suited to families or those traveling with young children. Instead, make your travel arrangements in advance and book your accommodation and transport as a minimum. You should also consider booking things like tours, activities, and even restaurants before you arrive at your destination, as many of these get fully booked in popular tourist areas. If you are traveling by plane, then you can book parking and transfers online. For instance, LaGuardia airport parking offers a secure online booking form where you can reserve your parking spot of choice before traveling. Having travel plans confirmed in advance will avoid any unnecessary stress and hassle during your vacation.

3. Avoid planning too much

Vacations allow you to spend quality time with your family and plan lots of fun activities and experiences. However, you should avoid planning too much when you go away, or you risk your kids becoming tired and frustrated. For that reason, you should try to limit your itinerary to one or two activities a day. Make sure you factor in plenty of leisure time where your kids can relax and take naps. You should also remember to pack a good selection of kid-friendly activities to keep your kids entertained when you’re not doing activities. According to advice on pretravels.com, you can keep kids occupied on their own by packing electronic games, coloring books, and healthy snacks.

4. Practice travel safety

Many parents worry about their kids wandering off or going missing on vacation. You can help to alleviate feelings of anxiety by practicing family travel safety. This should involve providing your kids with your contact information including details of the place where you are staying and choosing a family meeting point in case you get split up. You could also consider giving your kids a GPS tracking device to improve their safety and security while traveling.

Dad Tips: Take Some Me-Time and Study for a Master’s to Boost Your Career

November 11, 2019 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

Photo by Christian Wiediger on Unsplash

When you’re feeling like burning the candle at both ends hasn’t been working and it’s time to take the foot off the gas, then deciding on some me-time is very healthy. Make sure that you’re doing it for the right reasons though.

During your sabbatical, your time is your own again. You can decide how you wish to invest it. Certainly, there are some interesting educational possibilities. Also, there are other things that you can do to rejuvenate your body or broaden your outlook to life. Taking time for yourself is meaningful because it affords you the opportunity to recharge before embarking on the next phase or stage of what life has to offer.

So, let’s look at a few ways that you can spend your me-time, productively or not.

Go on Vacation for a Month or Longer

Depending on how much time you expect to take off, the first thing on most people’s list is to go on vacation. With Americans, we’re usually restricted to just two weeks a year compared to four or more weeks of vacation in Europe or the UK. This restricts how far we can usually go and for how long too.

Instead, you’re now able to choose an inspiring destination based on desire and not a restrictive amount of time off. A country-hopping trip through Asia is now a distinct possibility. Also, a visit to South or Central America, rather than just down to Cancun for a rushed, expensive long weekend, would allow you to sample different cuisine along the way and soak up plenty of local culture.

If the kids don’t have to be in school, why not take them with you to make some cool memories?

Photo by Kelly Russo on Unsplash

Combine a Trip with New Experiences Too

Going away is your chance to unwind and then broaden your mind by trying new experiences you wouldn’t normally do in your everyday life.

Learning a few words and phrases of a new language to make your travel more enjoyable and easier is certainly a possibility. It doesn’t even need to be done in a constructive manner – picking it up intentionally from local people is effective too.

There’s the chance to volunteer in third-world countries if you feel up to it. However, don’t do it because you feel obligated; the point of the trip is to unwind in new surroundings, not to give yourself another job!

Make a List of Things to Do When Back Home

While away, when your mind returns to thoughts of home, use To-Do list app like Any.DO or another one to note ideas down before you forget them.

You might find yourself interested in local history and want to visit a museum. Alternatively, there are plenty of activities just a drive or train ride away that will make life interesting on the home front.

The list shouldn’t be just chores or the equivalent of tasks you never seem to get to that still must be done someday.

Photo by Muhammad Rizwan on Unsplash

Advancing Your Career

When you feel ready for it, studying for an online lean manufacturing degree can really boost your career potential in the manufacturing field.

Not only will you learn about just-in-time production and learn manufacturing to bring new efficiencies to a role but using Six Sigma in manufacturing with defined problem-solving methodologies will improve your ability to plan and troubleshoot too.

The course is also strong on using analytics and critical thinking to develop greater reliability and maintain quality standards within manufacturing. Having an analytical mind doesn’t hurt at all with this kind of study and subsequent work.

This type of degree course will be of particular interest to employers with differing manufacturing plants that keep having quality control issues that threaten long-term supplier contracts.

Addressing Major Projects at Home

Projects at home that will take longer than a weekend to pursue and complete typically get shoved to one-side or semi-permanently put on the back burner due to having a full-time job. When taking time away from work for an extended period and once reenergized, it’s the perfect time to reconsider some of these deferred home projects:

Kitchen Remodeling

A kitchen remodeling project usually puts most of the kitchen out of action for at least a week or more. Whether you choose to have the experts come in to strip out the old kitchen and install a completely new one or you prefer to do the work yourself, it’s certainly going to be highly disruptive.

Backyard Reimagining

The backyard area may be one that you’ve never liked since moving in. However, limited available time has stymied your ability to do anything about it (or even to consider what you wish to change).

A reimagining can include putting in a patio, a deck or landscaping the garden to break it into manageable spaces with some detailed work gone into the garden to bring it back to life. It’s really up to you to decide what you feel can be done with the space. If you’re unsure, see if you can get the interest of a landscape gardener to create some interesting plans. You can pay them for the planning even if you don’t end up going forward with their team.

Installing Hardwood Flooring Throughout the Home

Taking up the existing carpets and other floors to completely replace it is difficult to do when you’re holding down a full-time job. It’s much easier when you have time on your hands either to do the work yourself or let people in and out of the property who are completing the project on your behalf.

Not having to rush out to work means you can supervise from a distance to make sure everything is up to your expected standards too.

Other Projects

It’s important to not mix a complex or time-consuming project with a series of minor ones that can be completed on a weekend in between two workweeks. Focus your energies on what is really going to move the needle, so when you get back to work, they’re not still waiting to be completed.

By taking a balanced approach to time off work, it’s possible to pace yourself. Spreading out what you wish to change and making new advancements based on career goals is all possible when giving yourself time to recover from possible burnout first.

Enjoying a family vacation to the United Kingdom: top tips

August 30, 2019 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

If you consider your family to be the adventurous-type or those who love soaking up the history of an old town, then the United Kingdom is the ideal vacation destination for you. With a temperate climate, countless historical sites and endless hiking and walking trails, you won’t be stuck for activities. So, if you’re not keen on spending your summer vacation lazing on the beach in Ibiza, but would prefer to spend some time in historical Europe, here are some top tips.

Find a balance between history and activities

Kids will love finding out about medieval villains and ancient kings and queens, but they only have a finite attention span. After all, kids need to be entertained as well as distracted. While adults could spend all day walking through the Natural History Museum, children might get a little bored after the dinosaurs. Be sure to find a theme park or adventure playground nearby to break up your educational endeavors.

In Sussex, for example, you will find a happy balance between both history and activity. You can visit Battle for walks around the sites of the Battle of Hastings, as well as views of the English countryside. Not too far from that, you will also find Blue Reef Aquarium Hastings – complete with lizard and underwater tunnel exhibits.

Bring the wetsuits

Just because the United Kingdom doesn’t enjoy a Mediterranean climate doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the outdoors. In fact, if you find yourself based along the coast, you should absolutely make the most of potential activities such as swimming, surfing, and paddle-boarding. Truth be told, however, the British sea isn’t exactly balmy in temperature. If you have little ones who are more acclimatized to warmer temperatures, then ensure you either bring or rent wetsuits.

Rent when possible

Family schedules never run according to the time they were originally destined. Children refusing to go to bed, too much time in the bathroom and hectic breakfast times mean that we often find ourselves rushing out of the door at the last minute. It’s for this reason that renting a cottage to stay in will make your trip to the UK much easier. After all, Britain is renowned for its quirky and quaint cottages, which are ideal for basing yourself when you have small children. If you were planning a trip to Sussex and the South Downs, for example, Amberley House Cottage Holidays would be able to find you a place to stay. You can hunt through tons of images and features until you find the place that is right for you and your family.

Don’t be afraid to be spontaneous

Thanks to its dramatic scenery, but mostly tame wildlife, the UK is a cozy country to go exploring in. For example, if you were driving through Scotland’s glens, you would find plenty of brown road markers detailing nearby hikes and monuments. While your children might not be down for climbing a cliff face, you will still find plenty of easy-to-moderate walks to explore – and you might find these by pure accident.

Family vacations are all about balance. It’s about getting up when you want to, exploring, discovering, but providing plenty of downtime to enjoy your well-earned time off. When visiting the United Kingdom, you will quickly learn that you can happily strike a balance between fun and education, as well as adventure and relaxation.

4 Smart Ways to Finance Your Travel Plans

August 25, 2019 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

Is your wallet restricting your wanderlust? You certainly aren’t alone. Most of us end up setting travel plans aside because we haven’t saved enough. And while saving for travel should definitely be your priority, there are times when sudden or unexpected trips are simply unavoidable.

So what can you do when you have to travel, but don’t have the money for it? Should you take a travel loan or personal line of credit for travel? Are there any other options available, and which is the best one? We’ll answer all these questions for you!

Here are four instant funding options you should explore:

Personal Loan for Travel – Smart travelers often choose this option when they have to travel unexpectedly. Rather than taking money out of your emergency savings or high-yield investment portfolio, using a holiday loan, personal loan or personal line of credit to fund travel expenses helps you keep your finances on track. Of course, you need to make sure you can repay the loan on time, so make room for the EMIs in your monthly budget!
Travel Credit Cards – You could opt for a travel credit card, or use a credit card with an option for converting expenses into EMIs for travel funding. Credit cards allow you anywhere from 20 days to almost two months for repayments, interest-free. If you can convert spends to EMIs, you get even more time for repayment. Travel credit cards, on the other hand, are set up specifically for travel-related expenses, so they may be more competitive than regular credit cards.
Payday Loans – A payday loan is very similar to a personal loan, except that the interest rate is higher, with a shorter repayment period. Payday loans may be approved faster than travel loans and personal loans, so these can be a good option when you need funds urgently. However, you need to make sure you can repay the loan amount quickly, since the tenure for these short-term loans is generally between 3 months to a year.
Travel Operator Financing – Many travel operators partner with banks and NBFCs to offer financing schemes, where you can pay for tickets, stay, meals, sightseeing and other planned or unplanned travel expenses after your trip. Interest rates for these schemes are comparable to rates for personal loans, and repayment may be spread out over 1-5 years. There is typically an upper limit for how much these schemes will cover, though, so keep that in mind.

Remember, dipping into your savings or investments should be your last resort, unless you have set aside a separate fund just for travel. Even if you have saved enough, learn how to travel on a budget. And when you need to make last-minute plans, such as attending a wedding in the family or traveling for medical treatment, take some time to compare prices and select a loan option that really works for you!

Summer Getaways

June 20, 2019 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

The summer getaway, the time of the year when you can pursue leisure without guilt. It’s your opportunity to go to new places, experience new things, and escape the stresses and strains of the everyday.

Have you booked your summer getaway yet? Or are you more organized and looking for next year’s summer vacation? Here is a selection of fabulous summer getaways that may not have caught your attention before.

San Diego – USA

San Diego is a city in California, south of Los Angeles and just north of the Mexican border. It manages to combine relaxed beach surfer vibes with its Mexican influences to create a welcoming and diverse city. With year-round sunshine and stunning mountain, beach, lake and desert landscapes, San Diego has it all.

San Diego takes its food and wine very seriously. There are over 80 breweries and several vineyards. It’s best to go on an organized San Diego winery tour to sample the local delights and get the most from the experience.

Porto – Portugal

Porto is often overlooked by holiday goers who head to the Algarve or Lisbon for their Portugal retreats; however, Porto is usually a more wallet-friendly option. The historic architecture of Porto is evident at every corner, and you will be blown away by post-card quality scenes that greet you.

Be warned though that Porto is hilly, and while you may enjoy a ramble down to the Cais da Ribeira to catch a view of the iconic Luís I Bridge, you will have to walk back up to your accommodation. Porto is the gateway to the Doura Valley, and it is well worth a boat trip to it – if you can drag yourself away from the beach.

Tallinn – Estonia

Be honest, do you even know where Estonia is? Estonia is a country that is on the coast of the Baltic Sea, nestled between Latvia and Russia – over the sea from Finland. It has more than 1,500 islands and is home to many beaches, forests, and lakes. Tallinn is the capital city of Estonia and has the most stunning preserved Old Town that showcases its rich history – think castles, churches and fortresses, and the remnants of its Soviet Union past.

Not only is Tallinn a stunning historic city to visit, but it also has several beaches that you can visit, although the best beaches will require a car for you to access them. There is currently a foodie revolution taking place in Estonia, with local chefs combining the Nordic influences with the traditional Estonian flavors. Estonia may not be your first idea for a holiday, but it is one place where your budget will not be tested.

Your summer getaway does not have to be with the bucket and spade brigade. It can be your time to explore new places and experiences beyond the average destinations. From the summer vibes of San Diego, the eclectic energy and architecture of Porto and the preserved Old Town of Tallinn, you have plenty to choose from.

Learn While Having Fun: How to Make Your Family Vacation Educational

April 26, 2019 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

Family vacation time is sacred because it does not only help improve your family’s physical and mental health due to stress relief. It’s also a perfect opportunity for bonding as people connect better when they have to rely on each other in a foreign land. However, you can add more benefits to your family trip by including some educational elements into it. This will be very important for your kids because traveling provides them with experience that will help them succeed in studies and life (Journal of Travel Research). But you’ll need to plan how you can interest them in studying during the vacation.

Get children involved in the planning

The first learning opportunity comes at the planning stage. Get children involved in creating the itinerary as well as budget for your vacation. This will not only be a chance to learn how to do those things but also a help in motivating your children for the trip. They will need to research the country’s main attractions in order to work on an itinerary, so you can easily slip in some lessons on history and culture.

Working on the budget with you is even more important. According to Chris Ceballos from Bright Star Credit Union, learning money management from a young age can help prevent impulse spending in the future. It’s also an essential life skill that one should master as early as possible. Learning through creating vacation budgets will definitely be more fun than creating a grocery budget at home.

Take walking tours through the cities you visit

A walking tour is one of the best methods of learning about a new city and its history. They are even more useful for families with kids because walking through the streets will provide enough of visual input to keep them from getting bored. Anthony Jones from Strawberry Tours also points out that “The best way of learning a city is to walk its streets, breathe its air, and meet its people.” This allows you to immerse yourself into the foreign life around you and observe it from an outsider’s position.

For kids, such observations will be an important lesson. All of us are the same, yet all of our cultures and traditions are different. Therefore, one must always learn where the person comes from and what their culture and traditions are before passing judgment on their behavior. Observing details is another handy skill that can help one in life. You should turn this into a game. For example, observe your tour group and share details over ice cream afterward. Whoever noticed most details about the other tourists wins.

Read together about your destination

Reading to your child, or better yet with your child, is essential for their mental health and intelligence. According to data from the University of Melbourne, reading to children from age 4 provides significant benefits to their cognitive development and helps them develop necessary academic skills.

Reading interesting stories about your destination will do that as well as get the child more excited about the trip. But most importantly, visiting the places you’ve read about can help make children more interested in reading itself.

If your kid looks at a book as if it will bite them any moment, creating positive associations with the activity is a must. To achieve this goal, you should focus on fiction because it’s more exciting and easier to understand for kids. For example, read Harry Potter books before your vacation in London where you will take one of the Harry Potter tours.

The main goal of any vacation is to relax and enjoy yourself. However, traveling presents such a fantastic learning opportunity, you can’t afford to miss it if you want to help your children grow up the best and happiest they can be.

Walt Disney Memories Between Grandparents and Grandkids

January 23, 2019 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

The below article was written by the grandmother to my kids about her special experiences bringing her granddaughters to Walt Disney World.

I had established a tradition of taking my family to Walt Disney World for many years. Once the granddaughters were born, I told them I would take each of them to Walt Disney World when they were 10. This would be a special trip for my grandchild and me, their Nonna. So the oldest granddaughter traveled with me 4 years ago. This past week the youngest granddaughter had her 11th birthday at Walt Disney World with me.

Walt Disney World Wilderness Lodge Boulder Ridge

We chose the Wilderness Lodge, Boulder Ridge Villas, as our home base. I like to this location because we could experience taking the boat to the Magic Kingdom. The boat ride was fun for both of us. The “captains” interacted with us and gave us some insights into experiencing the Magic Kingdom. One special cast member, Ron, provided a very “magical memory experience” for my granddaughter.

We took advantage of the Magical Express as our transportation from the airport to our Resort. We used it on our return to the airport as well. I felt since I was not leasing a car it would be our best option as they took care of your luggage from the airport to the resort and made sure the luggage was deposited at the correct air line for the trip home. I encourage anyone using a Disney Resort to ask about the Magical Express bus transportation.

Using the magic bands where another great way to expedite charging for food, beverages, or gifts. We use the band to enter our room and to enter the parks. They were also used for the fast passes be acquired at the two parks we attended. It was nice not to have to carry extra credit cards or a room key. Plus, they are waterproof, so as my granddaughter swam we did not need to be concerned about taking the band off.

Another advantage to staying at a Disney Resort are the magical early and late hours at the parks. The early hours enabled us to ride at the Magic Kingdom Splash Mountain and The Barnstormer which are popular rides. In fact, my granddaughter was able to ride Splash Mountain three times and The Barnstormer twice due to our early entry.

All of our experiences with cast members were excellent. They were genuinely helpful and always asked about our days in the Parks. Since it was my granddaughter’s birthday they went out of their way to wish her a great day too.

We also had a park hopper thanks to our friends at Disney so that we could experience a few different parks. We ended up going and experiencing both Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom and I will tell you that the park hopper is definitely a benefit for families that want to see multiple parks on the same day. You do need to make sure that you plan out your time because Parks can be busy and it takes a little bit of time to take transportation between the parks as well. A park hopper can definitely help though if there are early hours or late hours or if you want to see a firework show at night at 1 Park and spend more time at another Park.

Whether you are going to Walt Disney World as an individual, a couple, a family, or with friends oh, I feel you will leave with a huge smile and many happy memories. It is truly the happiest place on earth. I know I will return in the near future.

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‘Must Have’ Gear to Pack for Recording Impressive Travel Videos

January 3, 2019 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

Are you thinking of going all out and recording an impressive travel video on your next trip? If you are then it is important that you pack everything you need – and there are some pieces of gear that you simply can’t do without.

The most essential pieces of gear that you must have if you want to record impressive travel videos are:

Video camera

While essential, the type of video camera that you use is honestly up to you – and you should use what you already have rather than investing in a new camera initially. That being said if you are looking to buy a new camera anyway, you should focus on one that can capture high quality videos and is light – such as some of the mirrorless cameras.

Portable tripod stand

Tripod stands are arguably the best way to keep your camera steady while recording, which will make your travel videos look much more professional. Nowadays there are numerous portable travel options, and your focus should be on making sure it has the right type of head.

External microphone

Technically this is optional – but if you intend to record audio alongside your travel video, you really can’t do without it. In general a portable shotgun microphone is a good choice, though if you intend to record audio commentary then a lavalier or handheld microphone may be better.

Camera light

Another somewhat optional yet important piece of gear is a camera light. Relying on the built-in flash on most cameras is impractical, and so you will want to have a camera light of some kind with you in case the lighting conditions are poor. The exact type of light that you choose is up to you, but you should base it on what you feel the conditions will be like.

Spare batteries

Always bring spare batteries with you as you’ll go through them quickly on your trip. On top of that you may not always have the luxury of charging the batteries as soon as they run dry, so having spares is crucial.

Additional storage

Just as with batteries, having extra storage is always a good thing when recording travel videos. Ideally you should bring a few extra SD or microSD cards that you can swap in when needed, and an external hard drive that you can transfer the videos to whenever is convenient.

While these are the most important pieces of gear, there are others that you should pack as well – such as the lenses you want to use, a cleaning kit, and possibly a laptop or tablet. If you do pack a laptop or tablet, you will be able to convert your videos to the format that you want to store them in and for example could use Online Video Converter (www.videoconverter.com) for that.

All said and done if you pack the gear listed above you should have a much easier time recording impressive travel videos. As a final item you should try to pack it all in a sturdy and waterproof bag – so that it doesn’t get damaged while you’re on your trip.

The Best Holiday Destinations When Traveling With Teenagers

November 17, 2018 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

Family holidays can become tricky to organize when your kids become teenagers because they may no longer want to do everything that you do and you will, of course, want to avoid having a grumpy teen while away! This is why you need to carefully pick a destination that has great variety and preferably somewhere where they can explore while you get some peace and quiet. Where this place will be will depend on the type of family that you are and what your budget is, but read on for a few places which are particularly well-suited to parents traveling with teens.

Greece

Greece is somewhere that has it all which makes it perfect for families with teenagers. It has many astonishing ancient ruins, cool culture, friendly locals, stunning countryside and gorgeous beaches to go along with an incredible climate. Greece villa holidays are particularly good for adolescents because it gives you somewhere they can relax and make their home if they do not fancy a trip out and many are well-positioned to take in the highlights that this great country has to offer.

Barcelona

Destinations do not come as glamorous as Barcelona, and even the grumpiest of teens will find it hard to disprove of this fabulous city! One of the best aspects of this destination is the fact that it has something for everyone, meaning there are sure to be activities and highlights that you can all enjoy. The architecture and art scene is world-famous, the shopping opportunities are excellent, the food and drink scene is unlike anywhere else in the world, and it is home to Barcelona F.C and the iconic Camp Nou stadium which is a must-visit for sports fans.

Costa Rica

It is impossible not to be dazzled by Costa Rica’s incredible natural beauty, making it a great place to take active teens because of the opportunities for hiking through the thick rainforest where there are all kinds of amazing creatures. It is also a good spot for surfing or simply relaxing on the beach, while the intriguing capital city of San Jose has a lot to offer for families.

Canada

America’s neighbors to the North have a number of top destinations for a fun family holiday. One excellent idea is to check into a ski resort. Winter sports can be fantastic and exciting to try, and the range of activities and facilities that are available in these resorts means that there is always something to do. Additionally, you do not have to spend every waking moment together as the resorts are friendly, welcoming and safe. Alternatively, head to one of the major cities to soak up the atmosphere and the multiple attractions that you find in places like Toronto and Vancouver.

Slovenia

Slovenia is a real hidden gem and one of the prettiest countries in all of Europe. Here you will find incredible scenery including dramatic snow-capped mountain ranges, thick forests, picturesque cities, and the breathtaking glacial fed Lake Bled. It is a beautiful and fun place to explore whether you are cycling through the countryside, skiing in the mountains, boating on the turquoises lake waters or discovering the many attractions in the capital city of Ljubljana.

USA

The United States which are well-suited to those traveling with teens. One good idea is to embark on a road trip as this can show you the great beauty of this country and allows you to experience a handful of different places on one trip. Plus, there are many classic road trips to choose from too. The USA offers plenty of options, with beaches, forests, ski resorts and deserts, so no matter what kind of holiday you want to have with your teenager you’re bound to find the perfect fit. You can visit the iconic New York City, which will be particularly enjoyable over the Christmas period, and will be a shorter flight than heading to the West Coast and opting for California, for example. No matter whether you fancy a road trip, skiing holiday, or bustling city vibe, you’re bound to find the right choice for you in USA.

Picking a destination for a family vacation gets a lot harder when you have teenagers as you will need to pick somewhere that you can all enjoy, but it should also be somewhere that you do not have to spend every minute together. The above are all great options which should make your next getaway a special one that you will all remember fondly and bond over.