Know These 4 Things Before Booking Your Next Family Trip

Nov 21

Save youself (+your budget) from surprises!

You’ve decided you’re ready to take that family trip, but when you start to make the plan, you freeze! Family trip planning can be overwhelming to say the least.

I’ve found that if I start with checking off the four things below, I feel confident (and excited!) to move forward with the rest of my family travel planning.

Let’s get started…

KNOW THIS #1
Is your destination safe for visiting?

Visit state/country travel websites to check for any safety warnings or guidelines. These could be related to Covid, natural disasters, social/civil unrest etc. Another good idea is to google your destination and see any events, protests, demonstrations etc. happening currently in that area. We all know the news generally blows things up to be worse than they are, so take it with a grain of salt, but just being knowledgeable and prepared for events or happenings goes a long way!

When we were in Portugal, we rented a house in a little coastal cliff-side town outside of Nazare. It seemed idyllic on paper, but in reality there was a huge outdoor music festival going on just a block away the first two nights we were there. Our rental was situated between the festival setup and the towns only nightclub, so our entire night was filled with shouting, loud music and people relieving themselves out front, lovely haha. Had we known about the festival, we definitely wouldn’t have booked that location for those nights. We learned this lesson the hard way.

KNOW THIS #2
Find out how touristy the destination is?

There is a time and place of visiting the touristy spots - sometimes they’re worth it! But in general, if the location is touted as a “great destination for families” or “perfect for kids” I usually see that as a red flag. What a strange thing for a family travel blogger to say, right? Places that advertise being great for kids usually include some kind of waterpark or kid’s center. We try to avoid fabricated experiences for kids (like theme parks) and look for authentic ways to experience a new place. Nothing against theme parks here and there, but we can do that at home.

A question we often ask…what activities are popular with the locals in that area and are they things your family will enjoy? Keep in mind - kids benefit from and enjoy learning about and experiencing different cultures just as much as adults. They don’t need waterslides and kids play areas…they need room to wander, explore and experience the new sights, sounds and people of an unfamiliar place and unique culture.

KNOW THIS #3
Research transportation options

Can you get a cheap flight or is it a reasonable driving distance? If you’re flying, how accessible are rental cars or public transportation? Especially for families with more than 3 kids, renting a car can be very expensive (looking at your people mover category!), even more so than lodging! So scope it out early to make sure it won’t be a costly roadblock further on in your planning. Finding ways to travel - like with a family van rental for instance - is not as easy as you would think. Some ways we like to save money are by looking at Turo or any version of personal car renting that exists in that location. Also, websites like Yescapa (in Europe) are a good place to find bigger cars for cheaper prices (though they may not be as nice or new, so keep that in mind if it’s a factor for you:)

KNOW THIS #4
Research lodging options

Are there reasonably priced places to stay? We’ve been tempted by cheap flights before only to check lodging and find out it will more than make up the savings of the flight! Our favorite sites to explore lodging are Airbnb, VRBO and Booking.com. I usually start out on Airbnb but also cross-check the same properties across multiple sites (by googling the name of the property/location/other booking site url) to find the cheapest price because they can vary across platforms. Also, many times we’ve been able to get a better deal by booking directly through the property’s website, if they have one. Property owners like any chance to cut out extra fees, so don’t hesitate to ask if there is a discount for booking directly through them.

DO THIS:
Once you’ve made your choice official, start sharing with your kids all about the location!

We’ve gone the surprise route and the route of telling our kiddos further in advance, and at least in our experience telling them in advance works better! Especially if you have a kid who struggles with change or being away from home, giving them time to anticipate, plan and prepare their minds and hearts to be away from home and in a new place is ideal. Also, research says the anticipation leading up to an event is almost just as impactful as the event itself. So giving your kids a chance to feel that anticipation and get excited about what’s coming is doubling the pleasure for them and you. We also love preparing them to get the most out of the experience and learn as much as they can by teaching them about the destination in advance. Learn together all about the wildlife, the vegetation, landforms, nature, language, culture, history, ways of life, food…there is so much to learn and it only makes the anticipation more exciting! Kids’ lives can be changed for the better by being exposed to other people, places and ways of life and having fun learning as much as they can before arrival makes it all that much better!