Family trips with teenagers?

[gatorsmom]

There was just recently a thread about where to take teens on vacation that had some great ideas about keeping them busy and happy. It made me push Greece closer to the top of my family vacation list.

That thread also mentioned how important it is to allow teenagers some input in the travel plans. They are less likely to complain and pick at each other if they have some input into the itinerary. That has certainly been our experience too. I have 4 teenagers now and they all get along if they are going to do or see something they enjoy and agreed on. We don’t bring friends along because they get along with each other for the most part. I’ve noticed that when they do fight and argue it’s mainly when they are hungry, tired or bored so I always have snacks and entertainment along to prevent those moments. Whether it’s a pack of cards or electronics, you always need something to protect against boredom.

eta- on the days that not everyone agrees where we are going to go, I can bribe them with something to behave. It might be to take one of them somehwhere they really want to go, or out for a special meal or treat, or maybe just some quiet downtime with their favorite electronic device. But special, targeted bribery works well to keep everyone humming along on vacations.

[smilequeen]

Well, I only have one teenager and one almost teen. They've always done great on vacation. I mean, yeah, they argue a bit, but they get along better than at home usually. We've included them on the choices as well. Since my oldest turned 13, we've gone to Greece, Hawaii, and Africa as big trips. They loved all of them... Africa being the absolute favorite. They all loved it so much, they woke up early for safari, hung out with the other kids at the lodge, got along really well. They are all excited for this year too (Ecuador and Galapagos). Key is to make sure we have enough space wherever we stay that they have some space. Either 2 hotel rooms or a big enough house/condo to spread out a bit. That along with involving them in activity choices to some degree (we do force a few things for our own sake too). We go skiing every year and they get along even better there, probably because my oldest is so much better than the rest of us that we kind of have to send him off on his own or with an instructor for part of the time

[jgenie]

Well, I only have one teenager and one almost teen. They've always done great on vacation. I mean, yeah, they argue a bit, but they get along better than at home usually. We've included them on the choices as well. Since my oldest turned 13, we've gone to Greece, Hawaii, and Africa as big trips. They loved all of them... Africa being the absolute favorite. They all loved it so much, they woke up early for safari, hung out with the other kids at the lodge, got along really well. They are all excited for this year too (Ecuador and Galapagos). Key is to make sure we have enough space wherever we stay that they have some space. Either 2 hotel rooms or a big enough house/condo to spread out a bit. That along with involving them in activity choices to some degree (we do force a few things for our own sake too). We go skiing every year and they get along even better there, probably because my oldest is so much better than the rest of us that we kind of have to send him off on his own or with an instructor for part of the time

I would love to hear about your Africa trip and Ecuador / Galapagos if you don’t mind sharing. DH and I have done Africa on our own but not with kids. The lodges we visited did not have children at all. Ecuador / Galapagos is on my short list. When are you planning to travel - spring or summer?

[StantonHyde]

Looking at the other responses--our vacations are not beach vacations. They are learn and do vacations. We are all big history nerds so we love museums and castles and churches. We have toured a sea turtle hospital--totally cool. We usually do physical things like kayaking or hiking and once we went zip lining. So we do a variety of activities. We also pay more and stay at VRBOs so everybody has space and can go to their own corners with electronics and tune everybody else out at the end of the day. There are days when we over do it but I try not to.

[SASM]

Looking at the other responses--our vacations are not beach vacations. They are learn and do vacations. We are all big history nerds so we love museums and castles and churches. We have toured a sea turtle hospital--totally cool. We usually do physical things like kayaking or hiking and once we went zip lining. So we do a variety of activities. We also pay more and stay at VRBOs so everybody has space and can go to their own corners with electronics and tune everybody else out at the end of the day. There are days when we over do it but I try not to.

When we aren’t at WDW (all three of mine are still huge fans), this is exactly what we do. Much to my kids’ dismay, we live at the beach so generally no beach vacations for us. When we “non WDW” travel, we really squeeze things in - lots of history, interesting local things, and Airbnb/VRBO. We ALWAYS get our kids’ input - it keeps them all interested & vested in the trip. I so love traveling and LOVE that my kids look forward to it as well.

[smilequeen]

I would love to hear about your Africa trip and Ecuador / Galapagos if you don’t mind sharing. DH and I have done Africa on our own but not with kids. The lodges we visited did not have children at all. Ecuador / Galapagos is on my short list. When are you planning to travel - spring or summer?

Anytime. We are going in July so I’ll have better feedback on Ecuador then.

[smilequeen]

I would love to hear about your Africa trip and Ecuador / Galapagos if you don’t mind sharing. DH and I have done Africa on our own but not with kids. The lodges we visited did not have children at all. Ecuador / Galapagos is on my short list. When are you planning to travel - spring or summer?

Anytime. We are going in July so I’ll have better feedback on Ecuador then.

[marinkitty]

Two teens and one almost teen here and for sure we let them have more input now than when they were little. As as result, we have done a mix of trips - family only but of a shorter duration than we used to (they are good for about a week of only the five of us together 24x7 and after that, we need to break things up a bit), with another family who has kids of similar age they like (even if not everyone pairs off with a buddy), one-on-one or two-on-one trips where only a portion of us go and the trip can be more focused on what those people enjoy vs. crowd pleasing and finally, bringing a friend for one or more of them without that friend's parents along (e.g., we have two boys and one girl so DD has had a friend with us in Portugal before). But they are all still very happy to travel with us (even when it is just our family) as long as we take their feelings into account. We have also let them opt out of certain activities on trips too now that they are older and can be left at the hotel or house - when we were in Patagonia last Christmas DD skipped a day of hiking because she felt like relaxing so we left her at the lodge with a book and DS2 isn't a fan of heights so he opted out of a hike with lots of exposure. On trips that we are pretty busy, we find they are totally fine - e.g. the Galapagos Islands - they were so entranced and learning and doing so much no one got cranky or bored or wished for a friend.

[HannaAddict]

We travel quite a bit. Especially over the last couple of years. High schooler, middle schooler, and elementary schooler. We do let the kids have input, some have lots, some not as much. There is some squabbling and the oldest is in the sullen teen phase, but they are all really good travelers and like travel. Our key is having enough space to spread out, and downtime built in too. We are fortunate to have the luxury of being able to afford enough space as it gets expensive for a family of five to have suites or multiple hotel rooms. We don’t do the pile into one regular room or two. If we did, there would be way more arguing I’m sure. For far away travel, we don’t bring friends. For trips locally or nearby like Canada or our vacation house, we do sometimes have the kids’ friends along. We do ski trips, NYC, and beach trips to Maui annually, and over the last few years have done family trips to various places in Europe, Africa, Galapagos, and Ecuador mainland. They love Italy and want to go back - not right now with Covid19! We also travel one on one with our kids (one parent, one kid) and that is a great experience and I highly recommend it. Even if you do a shorter more local trip. My husband has done Japan, Kenya, Antarctica, Iceland, and the Arctic Circle with individual kids and is planning a trip with the youngest for this summer. I’m less adventurous and have stuck to Paris, England, Boston, DC (and as a family), and California for my one on ones! It is so easy to travel with one it is shocking after the planning for a family of five to travel.


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[HannaAddict]

I would love to hear about your Africa trip and Ecuador / Galapagos if you don’t mind sharing. DH and I have done Africa on our own but not with kids. The lodges we visited did not have children at all. Ecuador / Galapagos is on my short list. When are you planning to travel - spring or summer?

Galapagos are amazing and if you can, I would definitely spend some time in Quito, Ecuador. We wish we had more time there as called an audible and rerouted to spend a couple of days there (Casa Gangotena) and then at Mashpi Lodge in the Cloud Forest. That was an amazing place and we had truly one of a kind experiences including an isolated waterfall like out of a movie. It’s a National Geographic unique lodge and someday we will go back.


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