How To Achieve A Stress Free Family Holiday
Had you dreamed about a stress free family holiday that you’d spent months getting ready for, but it turned out to be traumatic? Did you feel like you needed a break by yourself to recover from this?
You aren’t alone! Murphy’s law of "All that can go wrong, will" can apply on family holidays causing them to become a period of hassle and irritation.
The secret to a stress free family holiday, we certainly believe, is to research and find the right places for that family holiday. As you get closer to your holiday, it's about preparing for the holiday and also understanding things to do on the holiday that will make it perfect.
| Research and Find Your Holiday Destination |
| Prepare for Your Holiday |
| Begin Your Holiday Ready For Eventualities |
Research and Find Your Holiday Destination
The very first thing to achieving the dream for a stress free family holiday, is doing research to find that destination that will be enjoyed by your family.
Some families enjoy the idea of doing nothing other than sunbathing, while the children frolic on the beach. Other families like to explore cities and get children interested in learning about new cultures and destinations. Yet, others love the idea of communing with wild life.
And other families enjoy a theme park visit.
Maybe you tick several of these boxes depending on the mood, so why not check out our Ideas & Inspiration section to see some of the options we have in terms of your destination.
Prepare for your Holiday
Once you've booked your holiday, to enjoy a stress free family holiday, the secret is preparation. Even if you are one of those who is the live in the moment, spontaneous personalities when you've got your family with you, some preparation is in order to prevent hassles,Our section Plan & Prepare equips you for that perfect family holiday.
Here's a quick summary of the things to think about.
6-8 weeks before your travel
| Things to check |
Passports for all family members with validity in place | |
Visas applied & received if required | |
Travel Insurance options researched & shortlisted |
1-2 weeks before you travelling abroad or air travel
| Things to check |
Buy travel insurance & print any documents required | |
Get vaccinations | |
Check-in for flights | |
Book taxi to airport/Reserve long stay car park at airport | |
Hard sweets for children to suck on during take-off & landing | |
Noise cancelling headphones for adults |
1-2 weeks before any mode of travel
| Things to check |
Print itinerary, tickets & keep in a folder to be on your person | |
Use app on phone to put in all reservations, tickets | |
Download any apps required for your holiday destination | |
Confirm bookings and book any advance reservations for rides/experiences if not done already | |
Bring suitcases down, put things to take on top, use/personalise any checklists for packing | |
Organise home arrangements for your holiday |
The Day of Your Journey
| Things to check |
Home arrangements including locking up | |
Getting to the airport/station/car rental | |
The day of your travel, the trick is to be ready in plenty of time and allow for contingency.
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Begin Your Holiday Ready for Eventualities
We have a set of Advice & Tips for specific types of holidays that you might want to look at.
But whatever type of holiday you are on, here are some other things to think about.
Self Catering
| Things to remember |
Easy food options create a stress free holiday | |
Balancing the fact that you are doing this for flexibility and to reduce costs, and that you are on holiday | |
Less is More
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In the process of trying to maximize all of the experiences, some of us tend to overdo it by planning a hectic holiday schedule rushing from one attraction to another. | |
We’ve seen families march around iconic destinations trying to pack as much in and also seen the tears & tantrums for the young as well as the not so young when this gets a bit much. | |
Like art, space and time around things to do will let you savour and enjoy it better. No matter the age, doing less is more, particularly on a holiday so you can stay nice and relaxed. | |
Spontaneity is good
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While we agree that planning & preparing is needed especially on family holidays, leave room and space for spontaneity. | |
For instance, choose to have a picnic for lunch one day or go out for breakfast another or just decide to not go out at all. |
Dealing with tantrums & melt downs
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Whether you have an angelic child or one who is renowned for tantrums, and melt downs, do read this article on how to deal with tantrums and melt downs on holiday so you can enjoy your holiday. |
Factor in “Me“ time
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The adults in the family often end up sacrificing everything to make it a special holiday for the children. | |
However, we would recommend you either look at options to put the children into some form of childcare, or take turns to give yourself a break and do some adult stuff at least once. |
We hope you have a stress free family holiday!