Relaxing family vacation with teens?

[klwa]

Sorry, I can't stop laughing at the idea of "relaxing" and "with teens" at the same time; and then adding in "on vacation"! lololol.


ETA: my own 16YO hates the beach. She's not a fan of hot or sand. we live by the beach so it's not a novelty for her. Our last few vacations she could stand have been urban-- lot of activities available. She liked NYC the best bc of broadway shows. we also went to Paris, Chicago, wash DC. She stayed in her room as much as we let her when we rented a condo ON THE BEACH in maui.

I am your 16 year old. All these "Get a house at the beach" posts make me a bit twitchy. My kids & DH are beach people, but they've come to understand that Momma can only stay still so long, so we plan short trips to the beach (2ish hours from home) , where I can get out of the sun easily, and we do other things for at least part of the vacation.

[PunkyBoo]

I am your 16 year old. All these "Get a house at the beach" posts make me a bit twitchy. My kids & DH are beach people, but they've come to understand that Momma can only stay still so long, so we plan short trips to the beach (2ish hours from home) , where I can get out of the sun easily, and we do other things for at least part of the vacation.

That's the best part about a trip somewhere like Kauai. We were walking distance to the beach, but we only sat down in the sand once. We had an awesome blend of adventures and down time. My kids were relaxed and happy even on scheduled tours because it was beautiful and the tours we chose were awesome. Even at the beach, my kids boogie boarded and learned to snorkel, we checked out beached monk seals and sea turtles, watched the sunset, fed the wild chickens (with purchased feed)... We all flowed with what we felt like doing and when.

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[squimp]

Maui if you are on the west coast. Rent a house in Kihei or Lahaina, go kayaking, snorkeling and hiking. Spend a day at Grand Waliea spa if you have girls. A week is just barely enough.

[Kindra178]

House near beach with pool is perfect for us. I love having a kitchen and place to sit outside, away from everyone. They love having a pool for morning or night swims. Swimming in the ocean is one of my fav things in the world. My kids share that.

I dislike hotel rooms family vacations. With three kids, one hotel room is absolutely miserable. Two rooms / suites are better but I don’t like being forced to eat out every meal and no good way to deal with leftovers. And we love going out to eat!

We like city vacations too but not relaxing.


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[squimp]

I'm so glad to see that you are staying in Chania as well as Elounda. We stayed in Elounda for a week and I'll be honest, we ran out of things to do. I hear that the Chania side of the island is more beautiful with more to do.

Ah we are planning a trip to Crete this summer. I am going to start another thread!

[squimp]

One thing about traveling with teens is that you can get them involved in the planning if they are inclined. DD is much more organized than me, and does not like to sit around. So I took a few days and planned a few things ahead of time (snorkeling, spa trip, fishing, boats) and then she plans a number of days. She found a Buddhist festival on Maui which was just amazing, and I would never have thought to look for that.

[Gracemom]

Have you considered a cruise? I took my 16 year old on a cruise last spring break. She loved the freedom, food and things to do. I loved not having to plan anything. We knew where to show up for dinner every night, and we loved exploring the ports.

[Globetrotter]

I too was going to suggest a cruise. The nice thing is the kids can roam around the ship freely, And you can choose low-key activities on port days. I wouldn’t do any majorly busy itineraries if you want to relax. Maybe choose one that has more sea days. I find we get a lot of family time on cruises because the evenings are forced relaxation and we tend to hang out in the buffet and play board games or what not, In addition to the occasional show or trivia contest etc.. Whereas on land we are tempted to sightsee and roam around until late.

[div_0305]

I too was going to suggest a cruise. The nice thing is the kids can roam around the ship freely, And you can choose low-key activities on port days. I wouldn’t do any majorly busy itineraries if you want to relax. Maybe choose one that has more sea days. I find we get a lot of family time on cruises because the evenings are forced relaxation and we tend to hang out in the buffet and play board games or what not, In addition to the occasional show or trivia contest etc.. Whereas on land we are tempted to sightsee and roam around until late.

We also love cruising for these reasons. I do not get nearly as much face time with my kids when we go elsewhere. On a cruise, I have absolutely no work to do--no cooking, cleaning, planning, etc. Before a cruise, I plan out shore excursions and then relax 24/7 during the cruise. Our family time during dinner and after is golden.

[Reader]

I like houses by the beach but for a relaxing vacation for me with my teens and tweens, a cruise is my favorite. No food prep (my kids have allergies) makes it relaxing, and we enjoy the ships' activities like trivia, karaoke, the pool, etc. We don't even have to have a fancy big ship. We don't usually spend much on port excursions, just enjoy walking around whatever town or beach we stop in.