It’s pretty special when you get the opportunity to travel the world with your family. I was very lucky to have my mom, two sisters, and grandparents fly over to Germany to begin our journey to Italy for the ultimate family vacation. It’s a trip we have been talking about for almost two years now and it was finally happening! Let’s be real though, family vacations can sometimes be stressful and hard. They don’t have to be though. Here’s how we survived our family vacay and how we left with some pretty amazing memories (and photos).
Plan out your transportation ahead of time
In total, we had 6 of us traveling around together. So not a very large group, but large enough to make car transportation a bit difficult. In fact, we had trouble even finding an automatic car in Germany that would fit all 6 of us, including baggage, to get us from the airport, back to my home in Amberg, and back to the airport for our first flight to Rome. We booked early and I recommend doing the same! We also booked our train travel early and were able to get some good prices and reserved seats all next to each other.
Book tours
Whenever my husband and I travel together we kind of mix it up. Sometimes we book guided tours and other times we wing it and do it all ourselves. There are pros and cons to both. However, when you have a semi-large group, I recommend booking a tour or two. Not only does this take pressure off of you, but it can also save you some time especially if you want to see the main sights. We were able to book a great private tour that allowed us to see everything in almost one day and we even skipped many lines. It’s also a great way to meet other people and to get other recommendations. Tours can be long and exhausting, but in our case, it was so worth it! I recommend booking tours for one of your first days to give you the lay of the land.
Have some down time scheduled out
It’s so easy to book up every hour of your trip because you don’t want to miss out on a single thing! I totally am guilty of that. It’s important though to have a few hours or even a day or two where you don’t have a single thing planned. You can then use that time to rest up or casually go to different sights you didn’t get to see on your own time. We did schedule down time, but I’ve got to say, sometimes we still were super busy because we wanted to see and do so much! Traveling is exhausting, so don’t overdo it!
Take everyone into consideration
Everyone travels differently. For example, some people love going to museums and reading about the history of each place while some enjoy hitting the local hot spots and eat their way through their vacation. (I do a little of both!) It’s important to make sure you figure out if their is something specific that each person wants to do and try to make that happen. It makes everyone happy and shows them that you care. It’s not just YOUR vacation after all. Our group was pretty easy going, but we did try to do a little something for each person. Or if no one wants to do what you want to do, go off on your own! There is no rule that says you have to stay together the entire trip.
Eat
This one seems silly, but it’s so important! Nothing is worse than having a hangry family roaming around an unknown city. It’s usually where most arguments start in my opinion. Everyone is happier with a fully belly, trust me! Plus, you’ll need the rest and it’ll give you energy for the rest of the trip.
Be flexible
This may be the most important tip! You can plan and plan all you want, but things are set to go awry at some point. Hopefully not, but it happens. Be flexible, be prepared, take a deep breath, and laugh through it. When we were in Venice, we showed up for our reserved tour only to find out that it was an Italian holiday and our tour was cancelled. This threw a kink into our plans, but we made adjustments and worked around it.
Enjoy It
Not everyone has the opportunity to travel with their families around the world. I know how lucky I am and I made sure to savor every moment. Even through the tough moments. Take the pictures, laugh through the craziness and just ENJOY every last minute. Your exhausted mind and body will thank you later!
