Teens and kids can be amazing travel companions but come with their own set of challenges. One minute they are happy and loving this adventure and the next moment you’re confronted with - “I’m bored,” “it’s hot,” Can we leave?” “Is this supposed to be fun?” These are all actual quotes I’ve heard from my own kids.
How do you get started planing the best family adventure? See the 10 ideas below to help get you started.
Want to know why you should travel with your kids? Check out:
Why Travelling with Your Teens is one of the Best Things You’ll Ever Do
100 Incredible Adventures with Kids: Have Amazing Family Travel Experiences
10 Amazing Teenager Adventure Holidays to Plan for Next Year
* You can now find a new section at the end most articles sharing travel deals brought to you through Chasing ADVNTR Travel. Scroll to the end to check it out!
Choose an Amazing Destination
The world is a beautiful place full of adventure. The perfect destination for you and your teen will depend on – well – you and your kids. For some people, you may want to choose a beach vacation where you can take surfing lessons, for others, this might be a hiking and road trip to some national parks. It’s important to get a sense of what everyone wants to do on the trip and plan something fun for everyone. It’s always fun to visit a new place that no one in the family has been to so you can all enjoy the newness of the adventure together. No matter what, always start your planning by choosing an amazing destination to ensure that you plan the best adventure for everyone!
See more about Where to Travel with Kids at Every Age.
Choose a Schedule that Works for Everyone
It’s likely that you and your teen don’t operate on quite the same schedule. When you’re planning a family adventure it’s important to consider what works best for everyone. Does your teen sleep in? It might be hard to have an early morning activity everyday during your vacation. Is your teen trying to keep in shape for sports? Make sure you leave time for exercise. Ignoring these schedules may set you up for a challenging trip.
Get your Teen to Help Plan the Adventure
It’s important to get by-in from your family for anything you do and the best way to do this is getting your family to help plan your trip. This doesn’t mean your kid needs to sit down and decide every detail (some kids might love this and others could care less). We typically get feedback about the destinations where we’re going and we usually let the kids each choose an activity or place to stay. This means they need to do a little research and are more willing to do the activities the rest of us want to do if they know they’ve gotten to choose something they want to do.
Inspire your teen with 60+ Quotes about Adventure for Kids
When my husband and I travelled before having kids, we loved the freedom of keeping an open plan and often flying by the seat of our pants. Once we had kids, that all changed. It’s no fun to arrive at the airport and find out all the rental cars are gone, or start your adventure with no place to stay and all the rooms booked, or even find out at the last minute that there is no space left in that surfing lesson that you promised to do with your kids. It is important that you carefully plan your trip and book your transportation, lodging and large activities in advance. There are so many resources online to help you get started in planning and finding the best deal. I usually start with personal blogs and then do some research on sites like Trip Advisor and booking.com. You can also hop over to Chasing ADVNTR and let me help you plan your trip.
Unplug
So I realize there may be different opinions about this one, so if you don’t agree – that is great and you should always do what is right for you and your family – zero judgement here!
When we travel we have pre-agreed upon guidelines for screen time. This means the parents don’t feel frusterated, kids don’t spend their vacation on their phone and everyone knows what to expect.
Balance Action and Rest
When you’re planning a trip it is easy to over plan fun activities – this is a particular fault of mine, but one that I am fully aware of! Your family will thank you for balancing fun action-filled adventures with time to decompress. This might be a full day hike on one day followed by a casual bike ride and some time at the pool the next day. Kids are at a great age to be kept physically active but also benefit from plenty of sleep.
Consider a One on One Trip with your Kids
We love travelling as a whole family, but sometimes taking a one on one trip with your kids can be a great experience for both you and your teenager. Traveling with just one kid means you can choose activities that you both enjoy without taking everyone into account. We try to do these solo trips with our children for their 10th, 14th, and 18th birthdays and it has become something that they look forward to and talk about in anticipation. Another benefit is that a trip for just 2 people will be less expensive so you can choose some activities you might not want to pay for when you have more people.
Pack Right (food and clothes)
When our kids are young we often feel weighed down by the amount of stuff we have to take when we travel. Babies and toddlers seem to need a crazy amount of gear. As our kids get older they are better able to manage their own stuff and don’t need so many special items. Helping your kids learn to pack and manage themselves is a tremendous lesson that can be learned when you travel. When humans don’t get their basic needs met (like sleep, food, clothing) we all get grumpy. Teaching you kid to take care of themself will help avoid some of these problems. You can also help your teen by making sure you have snacks and plan meals.
Plan for Alone Time to Regroup
Just like you should plan a balance of activities and down time, you should also make sure both you and your teen get some alone time. This can be challenging when you’re road tripping or spending time all together in a small space, but most of the time it’s easy to find a way for some space. Some activities naturally supply this opportunity such as hiking but you can also go for a morning walk or run, give your family membrs the time to listen to music on headphones or make sure your kids has packed a book. This alone time gives a chance for reflection and you and your family will be more likely to be ready to go after recharging.
Set Expectations in Advance
Going on an adventure with your family can be an amazing experience. To make the most of your time, it’s important to set everyone’s expectations, including your own.
This is true anytime you travel – your expectations of your trip are always different than the trip itself. If your family member goes into the adventure thinking they are going to sit by the pool all day and it turns out you’ve planned sunrise hikes all week, someone is going to end up disappointed. On the other hand, you may be excited about a certain hike only to get there and find your teen forgot their raincoat. Remember what is important on this trip – perhaps your goal is to see bison at Yellowstone National Park – this might mean that you will have to skip something else.
Have fun out there,
Gretchen
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