10 Ways Guarantee a Great Family Vacation

I am a firm believer that breaks and time off is a necessary part of health. For individuals time away from work or just moments for yourself, but for the family I’m a firm believer in the good old family vacation. There is just something powerful about connecting with each away from home. Whether it’s as fancy as a cruise with Royal Caribbean, as simple as a short weekend road trip, or awesome like staying at Loews Royal Pacific Resort and visiting The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando, which I’m so excited to be doing soon with Family Forward, I’m all about time away together making memories. So here are 20 ways to guarantee a great family vacation. #TravelforReal #FamilyForward

Pick a destination that your family will be excited about. Part of the fun of a trip is the anticipation. Get excited together and have fun dreaming and planning.
Work within your budget. As great as a vacation is, you want to make sure it doesn’t become a future burden for your family. There is something great about saving up and knowing you won’t be coming home to credit card bills.
Do some planning in advance (or have your sister do it). Whether it’s looking up the local dive restaurants or seeing what the best route from the airport to the hotel is a lot of time and stress can be saved by planning things before you leave home.
When you’re traveling with kids take the time to sort out all the transportation logistics ahead of time.
Don’t be afraid to utilize new technology like uber and lyft apps which usually give you your first ride free. But keep in mind they are typically barred from airports so you’ll want to check before leaving home.
Make the most of your hotel and see what’s provided and what extra perks they have available for guests. For example we learned that Loews Royal Pacific Resorts has a Kid’s Closet with all kinds of gear you can check out to make the kids more comfortable like DVD players, strollers, car seats, potty seats and more. Since our flight gets in really early we can check in early and leave our bags at the desk giving us access to the pool area while we wait for our room to be ready. Just learning a bit more about where you’re staying (and maybe considering this kind of stuff when selecting a hotel) can make the stay even better!
Be flexible. Whether it rains on the day you were planning to go to the theme park or your schedule shuttle doesn’t pan out expect that something will go wrong and be prepared to roll with the punches.
Build in some down time. When investing so much money lots of us try to cram too much into the schedule. Make sure that there is breathing room and time to veg. If you have small kids you might want to think about going back to your hotel or home base midday for a nap or some quiet time. While it might seem like a waste of precious vacation time this step away to recharge will help your crew to go longer later and actually enjoy more of the day’s activities.
Remember to take pictures. You don’t need to miss out on everything by living behind your camera, in fact make sure not to do that. But take some time to snap a few pictures of the people you’re with where you are a couple times during the trip. I am surprised at how just the shots of the beach town without any people I know in it make me from our last big trip. It’s a fun way to relieve the goodness when you get home.
Have fun!

Eepp I seriously cannot wait for our trip. As soon as I hit publish on this post I’m going to make like 5 Harry Potter shirts for everyone in the family. AHHHH you guys I’m so excited! Do you have any great tips before I leave?

Want more traveling fun? Check out my peek into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I cannot wait to go back and to stay at Loews Royal Resort and give a look at the new Diagon Alley and all the other goodness that they have added since I went back last!!!

Going to Harry Potter world too? Might as well be prepared. Every year I do a huge Harry Potter blog series and this year between all the bloggers we shared over 50 awesome Potter related DIY projects, recipes, book lists, and so much more!

Let’s connect! You can also find me hanging out here.