Believe it or not, a family vacation with teens can be enjoyable for
the entire family. It just needs a bit of planning.
The key to a fun vacation is to involve your children in the planning
process. Choose the vacation spot, activities and hotels by taking
input from all family members. A place that offers a variety of
activities, both for teenagers and adults would be the ideal vacation
spot. And involving your teens in the decision making process not only
helps the family bond, but also helps the teens enjoy themselves,
knowing that their views were important to you.
The first step, then, is to choose what the family would like to do
together. Does your teenager love sports, art or wilderness, try to
include at least a day or two on the trip that is focused around their
interests.
Backpacking and camping is one of the most popular family vacation
ideas. This holiday can help your family learn about nature and teach
your teen some life skills. Eco Tours for families are also available,
especially in Costa Rica. Many 'camping' tours
actually offer different types of 'lighter' camping
experiences for the less experienced families. Treasure hunt
family adventures, beach and activity programs, and you can even pick
tours that donate part of their profits to preserving the environment.
A big issue that stops teenagers from having fun on family vacations is
that they need alone time and privacy. So, it is important to build in
time where a teen can do activities by themselves and if possible, give
the teen his/her own room and doesn't have to share space
with the otherwise omnipresent parents. Several resorts offer
teen activities, where the parents can get some time off as well. You
also need your alone time! Therefore, look for places that offer not
only daytime activities, but also something to keep everyone occupied
in the evenings as well. Club Med has many locations all over
the globe and offers teen nights and activities, as well as activities
for each age group so everyone is covered.
Family beaches or cruises offer wonderful family holiday experiences.
Travel during autumn and you will not only avoid the summer crowds but
also make the most of off-peak prices. Virginia's Assateague Island has
several resorts and its natural beauty is incomparable. On the other
hand, Amelia Island, Florida, offers both nature and adventure. Or
travel to Mexico instead and discover Cancun and the Riviera Maya. And
we can't leave out Hawaii as the all-time favorite beach
destination and its exotic Maui beach.
Cruises through the Caribbean, in Bermuda or Southern Europe could also
prove to be great vacation experiences. There are river cruises
available as well. Cruises offer various activities on board, while
giving the family a whole new experience. If you have younger
children as well, the Disney Cruise has different clubs for toddlers,
5-8 year olds, 8-12 year olds and then teenagers so everyone is happy,
and parents can have some time to themselves.
Camping, as well as adventure sports offer an entire range of
fun-filled vacation time. You could choose from rafting to
mountaineering to trekking to mountain biking. These activities are
known to help build self esteem and could prove to be more than just a
holiday. Wisconsin Dells has one of the largest indoor water resorts
with a myriad of activities. Apart from skiing in Switzerland, Canada
could be an interesting option as well with its Whistler-Blackcomb
mountains or whale watching at Vancouver Island.
If you and your family like music and arts more, the Montreal Jazz
Festival and the Quebec City winter carnival are places that attract a
young crowd and could prove to be ideal family destinations while
traveling with teens. Look for music and movie festivals in
some new destinations and buy tickets for the whole family.
One family I knew had a teen daughter and mother who loved fashion, and
a teen son and father who liked camping. They bought two
tickets to Budapest fashion week (much cheaper than New York or Paris)
and the girls went to shows and the boys were able to hike around the
Budapest area, then they joined up for dinners and some drives in the
area.
If you want to give your kids a cultural and historical experience, you
could even try and get a rail pass for a relatively inexpensive tour of
Europe. The variety of cultures and landscapes such a trip offers is
breathtaking for any age group. Try out new kinds of food together,
learn a language, and in other words BOND.
If your teenager loves animals you can follow animal trails and take an
African Safari. There are multiple nature reserves, national parks and
animal-related vacation spots in the US as well. I am
cautious to suggest taking an RV trip because of the close proximity,
but if your teenager likes nature and you want to show them parts of a
country an RV or camper is a good option. If you are going to
take an RV, be sure to book a few nights in a hotel where a teen can
have his his/her own room.
So what can you do to ensure that you have the best holiday? For
starters, plan ahead to ensure that you and your family get the best
pick of flight seats, hotels and room categories. On the other hand,
being flexible is critical to a vacation with a teenager. The trip will
be much more fun if you allow it to be planned based on the ground
realities, on the spot needs of your loved ones rather than what you
think it should be.
Remember, there is no best resort or best holiday. It is what you make
of it. Nobody needs to sacrifice anything if the place you choose has a
little something to all age groups. At the same time, if you are
turning down options, explain why you are saying
'no' to the family, especially the teenagers.
Invite suggestions for alternatives, explaining the family needs and
constraints.
Most importantly, don't take everything along. You need to
under pack for the trip if you don't want to spend your
vacation looking inside the luggage more than the place
you've been visiting. You and your family members
don't want to be saddled with a bag, looking around for help
all the time.
Last but not the least, make one of the teenagers responsible for
co-ordination among all the family members so that they know that they
are recognized as being responsible and are trusted with important
affairs. The teens may take turns doing this. For example, if
you are visiting three different cities on a trip to Ireland, have your
one family member be in charge of researching on the Internet, or at
bookstores, a restaurant for one of the cities. This will
make them feel included and you never know they might be able to find a
place that you never though of!
Don't forget - this is not the last trip that you are taking
together. Regular family vacations are great stress busters--if you
don't try to control every aspect of the trip. They are
wonderful opportunities to bond and you can learn more about your
children than through the usual hectic schedule at home. Each trip
gives you something to learn so that the next one is even better. And
the family feels closer when they are back home.
About Vanessa
Vanessa is the Creator of RRules.com - an Editing Parenting Guide and
Teen Encyclopedia. Her mission is to improve parent and teen
relationships and their individual lifestyles. Read her Profile or
visit her Blog Page - Vanessa Van Petten
