3 Tips For Planning A Summer Vacation With Your Family

With summer just around the corner, it’s time to start planning how you’ll spend your family’s summer vacation. When the kids are out of school, it’s the perfect time to get out of town and experience something new and exciting together. However, having everyone out of their normal routines can be stressful, especially if you’ve slacked on the planning and preparing for your trip. So to help ensure that everyone has a great time this year, here are three tips for planning a summer vacation with your family.

Spend Some Time Outside

Summer is the perfect time to get outside and enjoy some fresh air and sunshine. But for many families, traveling for summer vacation often means spending a lot of time stuck in the car or waiting in an airport terminal. One thing you can do that will be sure to get your family out in nature a bit more now that summer’s here is to intentionally plan for outdoor time during your vacation. According to Suzanne Rowan Kelleher and Erin Huffstetler, contributors to Trip Savvy, this could including planning to spend a few days exploring around a national park or participating in some other outdoor adventure, like a hiking trip or extended bike ride. Not only are these great ways to get your family outside, but they are also relatively inexpensive ways to spend a summer vacation and build stronger bonds within your family unit.

Make Plans That Will Reduce Family Stress

Although taking a family vacation during the summer can be fun, it can also be filled with a lot of stress. But since many people feel that the point of taking a vacation in the first place is giving yourself a chance to unwind, you should try to do everything in your power to plan a summer vacation that will reduce stress rather than cause it. As a part of this, Janeen Christoff, a contributor to Travel Pulse, recommends that you don’t fill too many things into each day of your trip. Especially during travel days, make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get to your destination and then spend some time relaxing so you don’t find yourself rushing to get somewhere in a hurry and putting your family in danger of getting into a car accident or a family squabble.

Create A Vacation “Bucket List” Together

Depending on the size of your family, along with the personality and ages of everyone coming, the ideas for what will make a great family summer vacation will vary. So to help minimize fighting about what to do during your travels, Laureen Miles Brunelli, a contributor to Very Well Family, suggests getting everyone together and creating a vacation “bucket list” that you can all accomplish together. Your “bucket list” might include things like trying a new food, getting a photo at a particular place, or doing an activity together. By creating this list together, you’ll be able to find more unity within your family when completing the items on your list.

If you’re wanting to take a vacation during your family’s summer break, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you plan for this event.