Not diamonds, pearls or fancy clothes,
A million bucks or fancy boats,
My wants, they’re meager
For which I’m eager
Some food in my belly,
A good book in my hand,
And if the Gods oblige
Time to travel this great big land!
There’s a beautiful big world out there to see and yet how many of us really make the time to fulfill our travel dreams? Granted, it may not be quite as straightforward as that. Time happens to be one of our most precious commodities and despite all the modern conveniences to make our lives easier it is the one thing that we simply never seem to have enough of. We are busy living our lives getting an education, working, finding love, getting married, having kids and managing everything that comes with having a family.
This is especially true of families with kids. We have a few weeks to work with every year, add to that everyone’s schedules, Thanksgiving and Christmas with extended families and it’s all whittled down to a measly few days. Even if we have the desire there are other limitations to think about such as budget, weather, flight and hotel prices. Daunting isn’t it?
And so our travel dreams and plans take a backseat. I am a big believer in planning ahead. We forget sometimes that our life is finite and if seeing the world is up there on your dream list you need to put together a stellar plan that takes into consideration your money, time, energy and travel goals and helps you achieve this dream strategically.
Want to get started? Here are a few pointers for families to layout the groundwork.
- Destinations
- Cities and countries
- National sites such as Mount Rushmore etc.
- National parks, the Rockies, Appalachians etc
- Man-made and nature’s wonders around the world
- All-inclusive resorts
- Experience vacations – Cooking in Italy, Yoga in Bali or Biking in France
- Voluntourism – Enriching others’ lives while learning about new cultures
- Adventure travel
- Sports/event-centric travel like the Aspen food festival, Soccer world cup or the Montreal Jazzfest
- For travel with kids categorize places over a lifetime according to
- Age groups
- Think local mini U.S trips with toddlers and graduate to international as they’re growing and remember more.
- Don’t worry about showing the kids everything as they will have their opportunities as adults.
- Consider other types of companions
- Extended family
- Family friends
- Couples only
- Girls and guys getaways
- Solo adventures
- Visiting someone for an event such as a wedding
- Consider the different modes of travel
- Cruises: Endless options such as around the world, European, Eastern med, Alaska, Caribbean, Baltic, Baltic Sea, Antartica, Southeast Asia, Greek Isles, Eastern Europe, Galapagos etc
- Drive by car: Local or International
- Flying
- Tours companies like Trafalgar and Tauck for places like South America, New Zealand, China, Japan, Ireland, Scotland, Africa , India
The possibilities are endless and the anticipation is half the fun. Plan for it and begin your fantastic journey!
Websites referred Huffingtonpost.com, Smartertravel.com
4 comments
Makes me want to get on the road and go somewhere.
Love it. Want to travel now.
Such a positive take on the otherwise, like you mention, daunting thoughts to fulfill travel dreams. I have come to realize any destination is an adventure if taken positively, and that’s led us to travel so much more and planning ahead definitely helps! Now, I’m thinking about the “experience vacation” and “voluntourism” for our next adventure, thank you! 🙂
Thank you so much for reading 🙂 Good luck with your vacation adventures!