The Essential Steps for Creating an Ideal Family Travel Itinerary
Planning your vacation with your family can be one of the most exciting times of year—but it can also be a cause for stress! With countless destinations and activities to fit into a limited time, it can be overwhelming trying to decide what will make for a memorable and enjoyable holiday. Fortunately, following a few essential steps for creating a family travel itinerary can help you organize your travels and make the most of your vacation.
Collect Ideas
The first step to crafting the ideal family travel itinerary involves collecting ideas. Transport yourself in your mind to your destination and think of the places you’d like to explore and activities you’d like to do. It can be helpful to consider everyone’s interests and desires in your planning process. Gather up a collection of ideas you might like to include over the course of your travels. This is also the time to research places of interest and make a shortlist of top-priority destinations.
Set a Budget
It’s essential to fundamentally be aware of the budget you have available for your travels. This will help you narrow down the activities, accommodations and destinations you can realistically commit to. Juggling the interests of everyone in the family with an appropriate budget can be a challenge, so take the time to get it sorted out early on.
Book Accommodation Early
Arranging your accommodation early on expedites the planning process and helps you have peace of mind that you have a place to call home throughout your vacation. If you’re traveling to a popular destination, it can be helpful to book your accommodation well in advance of the trip and research hotels, villas or other lodging in the areas you’re interested in exploring.
Draw Up Your Schedule
Once you have your budget, accommodation and ideas gathered together, now it’s time to draw up a timetable of your holiday. For larger families, it can be useful to create a spreadsheet so everyone can see the breakdown and plan ahead. As you draw up the schedule, factor in how layers of your family will get to each destination, the time each activity will take, the hours of each destination and any other important factors.
Leave Room for Spontaneity
Although having a prescriptive itinerary can be helpful, it’s also important to maintain an element of flexibility in your travel plans. Leaving room for spontaneity can help make room for any unforeseen surprises you may encounter, like the last-minute event you may want to take part in, or the unplanned outing up to a viewing point.
Pack Lighter
Finally, when you’re packing for your holiday, it can be helpful to pack lighter than you usually would. Try to maximize on multi-function items and be as efficient as possible with the space in your suitcases—you never know when you might have to squeeze in a packed lunch or souvenir you buy on the way!
Creating the ideal family travel itinerary demands organization, compromise and a bit of an eye for detail. With a touch of spontaneity and plenty of enthusiasm for travel, there’s no reason why your family holiday won’t be both memorable and enjoyable.