DREAMS & WISHES TRAVEL

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The Family Vacation Everyone Actually Wants to Take

Practical advice from Ronna Larsen

Because the best family vacation is not about everyone wanting the same thing. It is about creating a trip where everyone gets something they love.

EVERYONE HAS A DIFFERENT IDEA OF VACATION

Planning a family vacation sounds simple until you start asking everyone what they actually want to do.

One person pictures a beach chair and a good book. Someone else wants to be up early exploring. The kids want pools, rides and activities. Teenagers want enough freedom that they do not feel like they are being dragged around with the family all day. And grandparents may be perfectly happy joining the fun, just perhaps at a slightly different pace. Suddenly, finding one vacation everyone is excited about can feel almost impossible.

But after years of planning family and multigenerational vacations, I have learned something important: The best family trip is not the one where everyone wants to do the same thing. It is the one that gives everyone something to look forward to.

TOGETHER DOES NOT HAVE TO MEAN TOGETHER EVERY MINUTE.

Giving people permission to occasionally do their own thing can create a better family vacation.

Start with the People Not the Destination

Maybe Grandma and Grandpa want time with the grandchildren without feeling exhausted at the end of every day. Mom would love a week where someone else handles the cooking. Dad wants a little adventure. The kids are lobbying heavily for a great pool. And everyone wants those special experiences they will still be talking about years from now.

It is tempting to begin vacation planning by asking, “Where should we go?” I actually think there is a better question: “What does everyone want this vacation to feel like?”

Once you understand what matters most to the people traveling, the right destination becomes much easier to identify.

Choose a Vacation That Give Everyone Options

Some destinations naturally make multigenerational travel easier because they give families choices.
A cruise can let grandparents relax on deck while the kids head to the youth clubs and someone else explores a port. Everyone can come back together for dinner.

An all-inclusive resort can mean a quiet morning on the beach for one person while someone else goes snorkeling, kayaking or ziplining.

Walt Disney World or Universal Orlando can give the thrill seekers their big attractions while other family members enjoy a leisurely breakfast, explore the resort or spend an afternoon by the pool.
Destinations like Hawaii, Alaska or Europe can combine sightseeing and adventure with slower days that give everyone time to recharge.

Where You Stay Matters More Than You Think

Accommodations are one of the most overlooked pieces of a successful family vacation. A beautiful destination will not solve the problem if everyone is squeezed into rooms that simply do not work for them.Connecting rooms, family suites, villas, thoughtfully located cruise staterooms and resorts with easy transportation can make an enormous difference, especially when several generations are traveling together.

Sometimes spending a little more for extra space, a better location or easier logistics creates far more value than adding another activity to the itinerary. And after several days together, even families who adore one another can appreciate having a door they can close!Leave Room For the Vacation to Happen

One of the biggest mistakes families make is trying to fill every minute because they do not want to waste their vacation. I would argue the opposite.Some of the best vacation moments happen in the spaces you did not plan. It is the afternoon everyone unexpectedly spends together at the pool. The grandparents taking the kids for ice cream. The long dinner where nobody needs to rush anywhere afterward. Or the evening when everyone starts laughing about something that happened earlier in the day.Those moments rarely appear on an itinerary, but they are often the stories families tell when they get home.

A LITTLE ADVICEThe family vacation everyone actually wants to take is not necessarily the one where everyone agrees on the destination, activities or schedule. It is the one that has been thoughtfully designed around the people taking it.And that is one of my favorite parts of what I do. I help families sort through all those different personalities, priorities, ages and travel styles and turn them into a vacation that works.

THIS IS WHERE I WOULD STARTBefore choosing a destination, I would have everyone answer three simple questions:•  What is the one thing you really want from this vacation?•  What is something you do not want to spend your vacation doing?•  How much downtime do you realistically need to enjoy yourself?The answers can be surprisingly different, and that is exactly the point. Those differences do not make planning the vacation harder. They give you the information you need to plan it better.

RONNA'S TAKE

I do not believe a successful family vacation means keeping everyone together from breakfast until bedtime. In fact, trying to do that can sometimes create more stress than memories.

I would rather design a trip where everyone gets enough of what matters to them, with thoughtfully chosen moments that bring the whole family together. Maybe that is a special dinner, a private excursion, a day at the beach, a character breakfast, an evening show or simply an afternoon around the pool.

It is not about how much you do together. It is about making the time you are together count.

When the accommodations, pacing, experiences and logistics are right, everyone gets to focus on the reason you planned the trip in the first place: being together.

START PLANNING WITH RONNA      

Dreams & Wishes TravelFROM CASTLES TO COASTLINES

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