The month of January is coming to a close and it’s the first time I’m posting about family travel on the blog. What is this craziness? In fact, one of the things we have decided to prioritize as a family in 2018 is quality family time. Usually, for us, that looks like going out on a wild adventure, but it really doesn’t have to be all that complicated. I’ve posted tons of family travel trips right here on the blog, but I also keep going back to Alamo Rent A Car’s Scenic Route – a travel resource online that I’ve shared about before. They actually have a Vacation Planning Toolkit which can help you get ready for National #PlanforVacation Day coming up on January 30th. Wait, you didn’t know that was a thing? Well, it is, so get to work planning something fun for you and your family for 2018!
There are so many things to consider when planning for family travel. Honestly, it can be a little bit overwhelming trying to figure out where to begin. I found some really great tips from an article on the Scenic Route. It’s titled Things to Consider When Booking a Family Vacation. Boom, literally the perfect article to get you started! It was written by a mama who has plenty of experience traveling with her kiddos so you know you can trust her. She mentions using word of mouth to get tips or suggestions before you start planning and I LOVE that idea! What better way to get honest information about kid-friendly places and activities than from people who have traveled there with kids already? That’s for sure going to save you from some mama headaches and kiddo meltdowns. I think my favorite was her tip about planning to do laundry to avoid overpacking. She always double checks about the laundry options where they’ll be staying. Game changer! I’m not afraid to admit it, I am serial over packer. I am always afraid we will run out of clothes because you know how destructive tiny humans can be. Being able to do laundry while we travel would totally be worth booking an Airbnb or paying a laundry fee at a hotel.
Also, the earlier you begin the vacation planning process more likely you will find affordable travel deals. For example, Alamo currently has a limited time offer of 10 percent off weekly base rates for rentals reserved January 23 through February 6 and rented between March 1 and August 31, 2018.
Before any of that planning starts there are a couple of things you need to think about, especially when there are kids involved. Kids aren’t always the go with the flow type when on vacations. Situations that might be exciting when you’re traveling sans children turn into worst case scenarios. Imagine getting caught in a spontaneous rainstorm while walking back to your hotel after dinner. True story, this happened to my husband and me during our trip to Italy and we giggled and consider it one of the best moments of the trip. My kiddos, on the other hand, would be complaining and insisting on being carried and somehow shielded from the water. All that to say, you’ll want to consider the weather, crowds, etc. Check out this article all about the best places and times to travel with your family!
Really, from my experience, no time is a bad time to travel with your family. There are for sure ways to make travel easier and times to travel that might makes things more enjoyable though. All that to say, don’t let the worry or stress of family travel hold you back from making some amazing family memories. Do your research, check out some amazing resource whether its some of the articles on The Scenic Route from Alamo or your friends on Facebook. Then, get out and have some family fun!
