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| This guy has already used his passport in Italy and Turks and Caicos |
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| Three Generations of our Family on Safari in Tanzania, in a Maasai Village |
A winning recipe for successful family vacations: Plan, communicate, relax and enjoy
Posted: Monday, August 17, 2015 8:17 pm
By Nancy Kirsch | 0 comments
It might seem counterintuitive to leave Rhode Island for vacation. After all, millions of tourists visit South County and Newport County every year to enjoy our sparkling shorelines, great restaurants, wineries, music venues, museums and more.
Sooner or later, most of us do leave “little Rhody” for a vacation or two — whether a high-end African safari or a more modest weeklong camping trip. Thanks to some tips and techniques our travel experts shared, traveling for a family wedding or a reunion or vacationing with a group of relatives of different generations will all be easier, thanks to their wisdom.
With families living further apart and Baby Boomers having more disposable income, multigenerational travel is becoming more popular, says Robin Paul, a travel professional with Donovan Travel in East Greenwich. Donovan Travel also has offices in Cranston and Woonsocket.
Traveling together, says Kathy Creaney, owner of Creaney Cruise & Travel in Middletown, “is a good way to keep the family together … on vacation, people forget about (childhood disputes or old resentments).”
Americans travel more than any other citizens in the world, Peter Greenberg, “The Travel Detective,” reports on his website, which quotes Dave Austin, AARP’s vice president of marketing services: “One of the most significant trends is multi-gen family travel.”
Keep all ages and energy levels happy
At an all-inclusive resort or an ocean cruise, Paul says, “Put the kids in Kids’ Club and go to a lecture or the gym, spa … (or) classes. You can also hit the casino or just sit by the pool.”
At an all-inclusive, appealing resort in Jamaica, for example, grandparents can relax and enjoy onsite low-key activities, while more energetic individuals might hike, kayak or select other high-energy pleasures, says Creaney, who asks, “You’ve paid a lot of money for the spot, so why leave?”
Barbara Schoenfeld, a part-time Newport resident who has three adult sons and one young grandson, knows travel: She’s visited 64 countries, often with her mother and other family members, and has a travel blog at worldgrazer.blogspot.com.
Although cruises aren’t her preferred method of travel, she says they do offer plenty of options for meals and activities. “If you want to see the world… cruising is not the way to go; you travel in a bubble,” she says. “But, for a multigenerational group, it’s a great solution.”
Schoenfeld laughs as she recalls the trip the family planned around 2005 to visit the middle son, then studying in Japan on a semester abroad college program. Before they left, Schoenfeld’s mother, Virginia Sand, then 82, asked, “Why can’t I come, too?” Spoiler alert: Sand, who has also taken the family on many adventures, including a Tanzanian safari, went to Japan!
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| Junior Year Abroad was a great excuse for the whole family to travel to Japan |
Energetic as she may be, Sand remained at the hotel when Schoenfeld and other family members “snowboarded” down sand dunes and rode camels in the Dubai Mall, a 13-million-square foot venue that includes the Middle East’s first indoor ski resort.
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| Doing Dubai (with the Burj al Arab Jumeirah in the background) |
Neither too much nor too little togetherness
Family members should talk about their expectations and plan some separate activities every day, whether they are cruising, touring or traveling independently. By gathering together each day — for a meal, drinks or dessert — family members can compare the day’s highlights and reconnect, Creaney says.
Paul concurs, acknowledging that not everyone has the same interests, so balance time together with private time. “Shared memories are wonderful, but we all need space.”
Finding the right tour company
If you opt for a tour, seek out companies experienced in working with multigenerational groups.
For tours in Ireland, Creaney recommends CIE Tours (cietours.com) and Celtic Tours (celtictours.com), which both tour in additional European countries; both Globus Tours (globusvacation.com) and Trafalgar Tours (trafalgar.com) offer family focused tours in the United States and around the world. Tour companies may create a customized tour for large family groups, says Creaney, who notes that Pawtucket-based Collette (gocollette.com) is a great resource for multigenerational family trips.
Want to combine traveling the world and volunteering? Paul recommends Globe Aware (globeaware.com) for philanthropic families. A fan of many river cruise programs, which offer kid-friendly menus, special on-board activities, cultural experiences geared to younger travelers and workshops, Paul especially likes Uniworld (uniworld.com), named the “best river cruise line for families” award from by several travel entities.
“For some people, (Disney World) truly is the happiest place on earth,” says Creaney, who adds that she believes Disney’s marketing is the best in the world. Like many other cruise lines, Disney cruises have something for everybody. As Disney’s tours are pricier than competitors’ tours, Creaney says she believes other family oriented tour companies are a better deal financially.
To plan her trips, Schoenfeld reads and researches voraciously. “I look at tour companies that I respect and (evaluate) how they map out their itineraries. Where do they think are the best spots? How long do they allocate for each spot? Where do they stay? I rely informally on that (information).”
Learn from others’ mistakes
Good travel agents are knowledgeable, and frequently possess contacts and resources not available through online travel companies, so value their wisdom.
A “let’s wing it” attitude is, Paul says, is a recipe for trouble; if families traveling independently haven’t made concrete plans, disagreements and disappointments may arise. “Imagine wanting to go to the Vatican and (learning) you cannot because it’s sold out that particular day,” Paul says, warning that such a dilemma happens too often.
Some clients simply don’t take Creaney’s advice, including one she’d warned about pickpockets in Rome. Upon returning home, the client told Creaney, “Oh, I guess we should have listened to you!”
Before you pack up your passports or track down Grand Canyon hiking trail maps, plan and plan some more. For a big vacation, Paul encourages people to begin planning at least a year in advance, and consider budgets, determine who pays for what, diverse vacation styles, different ages and varied abilities and skills. At a travel planning meeting, get input from each family to identify interests, activities, favorite sports and preferred destinations, Paul says. “Look over your lists and then come up with options …”
Be careful about booking reservations online, as companies don’t always disclose upfront all tour or cruise costs, Creaney says, adding: Don’t leave home without travel insurance. It offers worldwide coverage for trip and flight delays or cancellations, accident protection, medical and evacuation coverage.
This article originally appeared in the special
"Family" section in The Newport Daily News and the Independent Newspapers in August 2015.
Link to the Newport Daily News story: http://www.newportri.com/newportdailynews/special_sections/a-winning-recipe-for-successful-family-vacations-plan-communicate-relax/article_16ebbbd4-b1a9-51e5-97f2-964aa3bba63a.html