How to choose a family vacation

Vacations are supposed to be the most fun and exciting time of the year. They absolutely never end up that way, with family members squabbling over the most minor of things, but that’s families. Incidentally, before we begin, if your thoughts are immediately turning to how you’re going to afford your trip, try this calculator from Creditfix to organise your budget.

So, beach resort or city break? Let’s take a closer look at the options.

Consider the age of your children

There’s a reason beach resorts are so popular with young families. Typically, not only does this style of well-provisioned resort deliver ample entertainment for the children, but there is a physical boundary to the hotel surrounds, meaning you have the added security of knowing your child cannot get lost. Also, with so many security cameras on site, you have a certain degree of peace of mind that people with bad intentions won’t wander into the resort.

However, if your children are approaching their teens (or if they are already teenagers), you might want to reconsider your idea to lounge by the pool while the kids take part in the hotel-led kids’ activity programs. Why? Because teenagers are too old to be hanging around with all the smaller children under ten years of age – if you force your children to go to this kind of resort, prepare for a lot of moping around and general poor temperament. Instead, you may wish to consider…

City breaks for families with teens

A city break is the ideal solution to the riddle of where to go on a family vacation that suits everybody. Cities have much to see in the day and plenty to do at night that will help you teen children to feel more grown up and more included in the holiday. See the sights. Take some selfies. See more sights. Take a tour. Visit a restaurant. Take in a show. Many of the world’s cities offer unique experiences that you just can’t do anywhere else, adding to the itinerary.

Visiting Paris, for example? The Eiffel Tower will easily take a day to visit (it has multiple floors, you know, and lots of queuing!). Visiting Houston? Then you’ll be wanting to spend a day at the Space Center. Going all the way down under to see Sydney? No trip is complete without a walk over the Sydney Harbour Bridge to take a selfie with the Opera House in the background. Take the bus tour of celebrity homes in LA, ride the London Eye in, well, London, and visit the Blue Lagoon when in Iceland. Everywhere you go, there’s a story to be found. Older children like to be included in these stories, whereas younger children just like to be told stories. There’s a big difference.

Now, if you have one child in their teens and one child significantly younger, you may have to mix things up between city breaks and beach resorts to keep everyone vaguely happy from year to year. Families, eh?