Lessons Learned – Family vacations!

Family vacations – lessons learned!

We LOVE to travel (who doesn’t?!)   My family and I have been lucky enough to take a nice, long vacation every year since 2011.  We have visited Portland Maine, Savannah Georgia, the Grand Canyon and many, many awesome places in between!  It can be a little intimidating to load up the family and take off on a two week road trip, but I guarantee it’s worth the effort!  Sure, there’s gonna be some arguing and complaining, but the reward makes up for the pain!  We’ve learned A LOT from our mistakes over the years and would do it all over again.  Here are some “lessons learned” 🙂

Our Destinations:

• Western Caribbean/Tampa Florida
• Colorado/Grand Canyon/Arches National Park
• Lake of the Ozarks Missouri
• New Durham NH/Salem MA/Portland ME/Niagara Falls/Toronto
• New Durham NH/Boston MA
• Savannah GA/Hilton Head GA/New Durham NH
• New Durham NH/Boston MA/Portland ME

Lessons Leaned

• Toll roads – Have plenty of cash and coins for toll roads or purchase an EZ Pass in advance. This may seem obvious to a lot of people, but we don’t have toll roads in Iowa. We typically spent $50 in tolls when traveling to New England, and many of them are in small increments.
• Parking fees – Most tourist attractions and large cities charge a fee for parking, sometimes over $20. Sometimes you can avoid it by using public transportation or walking, but other times it is unavoidable!  Typically the fee is posted on their web page.
• Public transportation – Visiting new cities is exciting, but can be overwhelming to drive and park your vehicle when you are unfamiliar with the area. We’ve had good luck using public transportation in various cities in the US and Europe, but it definitely takes planning. Find the bus and train schedules online and download the app, if possible.… You’ll thank yourself later!
• Don’t be afraid to ask questions! I’ve found the staff at hotels, train stations, bus stations, and restaurants are generally happy to help – just be polite and thankful 🙂
• Get familiar with the area – Take a little time when arriving in a new place to get acquainted with the neighborhood. It will help you navigate as you go from place to place but also give you a good appreciation of the area!
• Plan ahead! Look up the days and hours of operation for the attractions you want to visit ahead of time.  It seems like things are open nonstop these days, but we’ve found ourselves disappointed that museums or excursions were not available on Sundays or evening hours.
• Be flexible! I am sooooo guilty of over planning.  I suggest that you pick one or two big things and just wing it for the rest 🙂  Some of our best memories were made when we went to a random restaurant or pulled over on a whim to explore!
• Travel can be boring! Driving, flying, and sitting in train stations and airports can be very boring.  Our kids are teenagers now and can entertain themselves for hours with just their phones and a set of earbuds.  But, I remember the days of packing them special bags with new books, games, fresh crayons, and movies to pass the time.  I recommend having some new toys and snacks hidden away for desperate moments 🙂
• Prepare a packing list ahead of time! Here’s the basic list of things we almost always take with us!
• Know what you enjoy! – Make plans that will be successful with for your family.  The key is to read about museums and attractions ahead of time and decide if it’s a good fit – you know your family’s interests best 🙂  I’ve made the mistake of dragging the whole family to a museum or event that only excited a couple of us.  Dealing with the whining and pouting certainly sucked the fun right out of it!  Hopefully they will look back and appreciate the experiences – someday!

I could go on and on about this all day!  If you have a question or comment, please feel free to message me below!