Family travel truly brings together the best of two worlds. Most people would agree – time spent with family and loved ones is the most valuable time there is. Whether it’s spent gathered around a holiday feast or simply meeting up for a shopping day, the opportunity to talk, laugh and experience things with the people who are most important to you is priceless. Imagine combining the pleasure of spending time with loved ones with the rewarding experience of travel. Everything you can do, learn and see while on a trip is enriched when it’s family travel.
Family travel doesn’t necessarily mean just mom, dad and the kids. It can include grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and more. The benefits of multi-generational travel are manifold: kids can bond with older generations, everyone can share their unique perspectives on what you’re seeing and doing, and you’ll all end up creating memories that can be shared with each other for years to come.
Of course, there are some special considerations to take into account for family travel. Start by considering these tips when you’re ready to begin planning your trip.
* Activity levels. Traveling with people of different ages means that you’ll have to accommodate a number of different energy levels. While the kids might be ready to run wild, grandparents might rather take a leisurely stroll — but it’s all about finding a happy medium. Travel specialists at companies like Tauck are experts at planning family vacations that every generation is sure to enjoy.
* Coordination. Managing an itinerary for numerous people can be a challenge, no matter where you’re traveling, but if you’re going overseas, the task can be even more daunting. Consider traveling with a tour company to make the process easier – it might even be a better value. Tauck Bridges tours — which are designed by family travel specialists and go to destinations as varied as Italy, the Galapagos Islands, Tanzania and the Canadian Rockies — take care of all the details. You can sit back and enjoy while they manage hotels, luggage handling, sightseeing, on-tour transportation, special entertainment, dining and even gratuities. When all of those services are packaged together, it can save you as much as 40 percent off the cost of doing it all yourself – not to mention how much stress is saved.
* Trip duration. Much of how long you’ll stay depends on where you’re going. Since some plane trips to overseas destinations can take as much as a full day of transit time, you’ll want to budget enough days to do everything on your list. If you’re traveling with a tour company like Tauck, the details about the length of the trip will already be precisely worked out – you just need to choose the trip length that is best for your family and all your travelers’ schedules. Plus, they can help you book pre- and post-tour stays, if you want to have a little extra time to explore your destination.
* Interests. All travelers are individuals with diverse interests – your schedules should try to have a bit of something for everyone. That way, you can please the art buff and the nature lover alike, and provide some unforgettable thinking-outside-of-the-box experiences. Again, compromise and respect are key – everyone will get a chance to do what they want. Check tour company schedules to see which itineraries fit best with all of your travelers’ interests.
Taking a trip with family members might be a once-in-a-lifetime experience during which you’ll experience the wonders of the world together. But then again, it might just be such a great time that you’ll want to make it a tradition that you enjoy over and over.
To learn more about family travel and to explore itineraries, visit Tauck Bridges at www.tauckbridges.com.