Travelling with family and without stress too!
A Draft Correspondent | Goa
It's so much easier to travel alone and, free of stress too. Not only doesn’t one have to shoulder the responsibility of looking after children, tackling partners, dealing with parents or an elderly aunt, travelling alone lends you the flexibility to change plans last minute, adapt easily to last-minute-changes or contingencies and generally have more freedom to 'go with the flow'.
This, however, does not mean that travelling with family particularly children and the elderly has to be boring or force you to compromise on your personal comfort and expectations from a vacation, or land up being more expensive.
When you go to a new place with people you love, the joy of sharing those special memories is multifold be it with your parents, in-laws or with your children. While there is a huge section of travellers who like to go solo as backpackers, there is an equally significant section which would rather spend time with their families at a place of their choice. In case of the latter, what comes to mind is whether you will yourself be able to enjoy or not; Will you have to sacrifice on doing things you cannot do with a family; Will it make a big hole in your pocket, etc.
Here go tips on how you can enjoy a family vacation while meeting your personal desires at the same time:
- Make sure travel and lodging arrangements are booked in advance. Most travel agencies offer discounts on group bookings and you MUST avail those to save money. One must confirm the booking a few days in advance, double check the pick-up services; reiterate special requests made; check lodging arrangements, discounts, type of meals and preferences, etc. Advance Bookings and Group Bookings usually save money.
- Make sure travel documents along with copies of identification cards are kept secure at one place. Copies should be made well in advance.
- Make sure to keep general medicines and specific medications as the case may be and other important things like knee-pads, sugar strips if someone is predisposed to such a condition. This way, you will not have to wander and buy something at a higher price, which is usually the case at tourist spots.
- Some people like to buy travel insurance for emergencies. It is always a good idea to do so as this will save huge expense should there be a contingency. Most insurance plans also provide compensation against booking cancellations, theft and damages to luggage, etc.
- After a long day of travel, one wants to have a good night’s sleep. Make sure your lodging arrangements are proper with beds for everyone and separate sleeping areas to ensure good rest and privacy at the same time.
- In either case of travelling with children or elderly, one must be prepared for a medical emergency. Make sure you search for and note down contact details of hospitals, clinics, pharmacies near your place of stay and better to call in advance to confirm their existence and timings, etc.
- It is often tricky to find a destination that suits everyone’s demands. You may have to compromise on your place of choice to suit requirements of children and elderly. However, one can always find places and things to do in a tourist destination. You just have to look harder.
- If you want to do something specific, alone, such as hiking or surfing and your family comes in the way, then plan your itinerary in such a way that you can engage your family in a movie show, rest in a park, in your own hotel or resort and then you may take off on your own. This way you won’t have to extend your stay for your activities and everyone will be happy.
Travelling with family can be great fun and leave you with life-long memories if you get meticulous and smart in your planning. Just do it!
Support The Draft by sharing this story.
It's so much easier to travel alone and, free of stress too. Not only doesn’t one have to shoulder the responsibility of looking after children, tackling partners, dealing with parents or an elderly aunt, travelling alone lends you the flexibility to change plans last minute, adapt easily to last-minute-changes or contingencies and generally have more freedom to 'go with the flow'.
This, however, does not mean that travelling with family particularly children and the elderly has to be boring or force you to compromise on your personal comfort and expectations from a vacation, or land up being more expensive.
When you go to a new place with people you love, the joy of sharing those special memories is multifold be it with your parents, in-laws or with your children. While there is a huge section of travellers who like to go solo as backpackers, there is an equally significant section which would rather spend time with their families at a place of their choice. In case of the latter, what comes to mind is whether you will yourself be able to enjoy or not; Will you have to sacrifice on doing things you cannot do with a family; Will it make a big hole in your pocket, etc.
Here go tips on how you can enjoy a family vacation while meeting your personal desires at the same time:
- Make sure travel documents along with copies of identification cards are kept secure at one place. Copies should be made well in advance.
- Make sure to keep general medicines and specific medications as the case may be and other important things like knee-pads, sugar strips if someone is predisposed to such a condition. This way, you will not have to wander and buy something at a higher price, which is usually the case at tourist spots.
- Some people like to buy travel insurance for emergencies. It is always a good idea to do so as this will save huge expense should there be a contingency. Most insurance plans also provide compensation against booking cancellations, theft and damages to luggage, etc.
- After a long day of travel, one wants to have a good night’s sleep. Make sure your lodging arrangements are proper with beds for everyone and separate sleeping areas to ensure good rest and privacy at the same time.
- In either case of travelling with children or elderly, one must be prepared for a medical emergency. Make sure you search for and note down contact details of hospitals, clinics, pharmacies near your place of stay and better to call in advance to confirm their existence and timings, etc.
- It is often tricky to find a destination that suits everyone’s demands. You may have to compromise on your place of choice to suit requirements of children and elderly. However, one can always find places and things to do in a tourist destination. You just have to look harder.
- If you want to do something specific, alone, such as hiking or surfing and your family comes in the way, then plan your itinerary in such a way that you can engage your family in a movie show, rest in a park, in your own hotel or resort and then you may take off on your own. This way you won’t have to extend your stay for your activities and everyone will be happy.
Travelling with family can be great fun and leave you with life-long memories if you get meticulous and smart in your planning. Just do it!
Support The Draft by sharing this story.
