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Holidays Bring Family Together

Holidays bring family together.  For some, it is the one time a year everyone comes together for a grand celebration, while for others it is a small intimate dinner sharing games and great conversation.    Regardless of the reason you come together, it is a very special time that brings special memories.

More and more families are choosing to celebrate this time at a destination other than the family homestead.  They want to be together, but want a little something different and why not travel! It provides an opportunity to relax, try new things, have someone else cook for you and most important be together in a more stress-free environment.  

So what is the perfect destination and how does someone go about planning?  There are a lot of great destinations and it does take some planning. Here are just a few starter tips to get you thinking.

Tip #1.  Plan ahead!!  I like to see families planning a year in advance so that everyone has the opportunity to budget, get the time off and explore together the ideas.

Tip#2:    Have an expert help!  Ask your professional travel planner to start working with you and your family to explore ideas, communicate with family members and put together a perfect choice!

Tip#3:   Think of your budget and what you can afford to spend on a holiday getaway – this way you won’t be put in an uncomfortable position when the planning begins.  Get the whole family involved too, even the kids, they love to plan and anticipate exciting new opportunities.

Tip #4:  Agree to not have everything your way only!  Be patient and enjoy the process. Let’s face it, when there are a lot of people involved or even just another family traveling with you there can be differences.  Let your travel planner help with this. We have great ideas that will offer everyone the opportunity to meet their desired vacation expectations.

As you gathering some of this information, your travel planner will be able to point you in a direction that can get you started.  Great destinations like All – Inclusive resorts in Mexico, Turks and Caicos, for example, can hit a lot of budgets and offers many different activities for the whole family.  Of course, an all-time family favorite is Walt Disney World or Disneyland. These too can satisfy a variety of budgets, keep the kids entertained and well, frankly the adults too!  One of my favorite holiday vacations is a cruise. Entertainment, great ports, great food, and a variety of staterooms to fit the budgets and best of all relaxing! It is fun to try something different.

 

This year when you gather around the family homestead for your holiday celebrations, suggest something different for next year and start planning your next holiday gathering at an exciting destination!

 

1-2 -3 Travel with Me!

Have you ever been on vacation and thought, wow I think so and so would love this place! Or you have spent all your vacation time traveling to family and friends and just wish you could for once go somewhere other than the homestead? Not that you don’t like home, just that you might want to see some more of the world. Well, you can. Next time you are together with family or with a group of friends, suggest you take a trip together. Multi- family travel has become more and more popular as it gives everyone a chance to get away, but still enjoy being together.

Here are some tips that will help you and your travel professional pull it all together.

  1. Have an idea of everyone’s budget. The budgets can vary on location, however, there are many locations that will allow families to stay in different room types, or have different package ad ons that will fit their budget. Be willing to give a little. You may prefer the Cadilac when others are good with the Chevy. Your travel professional can work on finding a location that will work for everyone but you may have to compromise a little to get everyone there.
  2. Plan ahead. Working on plans for next year’s vacation is best. Even though your travel professional can put together travel close in to your travel date, when working with multiple families, it is better to plan ahead to explore the best deals, give families on different budgets to pay for the trip and plan the details of the trip.
  3. Designate a point person. This person will be the main person speaking to the travel professional, however, it is always important that the travel professional touch base with each family. This will allow that family to convey some of their particular needs making it a smoother process. Let’s face it – the telephone game is often reality.
  4. Plan time for your family. Even though you travel as a group – planning time apart from the whole group will be important to keep the peace! I often suggest not staying in one accommodation, like a large house where everyone fits! It is not always cheaper, and if there are any little differences it can make for a long vacation. Having several accommodations can help get you the alone time needed.
  5. Have realistic expectations. This may go without saying, but have the frank conversations before you travel. Discuss, things like the number of activities you would like to do together, dining likes and dislikes, bedtime and wake time. Don’t catch yourself at 7PM with a group of 20 people saying where should we eat?

Traveling together can be so much fun! There is always something to do something with – guys don’t have to shop against their will and girls don’t have to watch a sports game on the big jumbo tron if they don’t want! There are so many places to go and see – why not do it together!

Why Choose a Guided Vacation?

Year after year, travelers are getting more and more savvy with their choice of locations and how to visit those locations. Gone are the days when you loaded up the station wagon and backed out of the driveway all loaded up with snacks, picnic lunch, the family and yes your atlas just to go visit the relatives! Now families are choosing from traveling across the country to traveling across the globe!

When I think of traveling, I want it to be as hassle free and safe as possible. Even though I am a professional travel planner, I don’t want to have to piece together every detail when traveling to a destination I have not visited before. This would take days and days of research and quite frankly you are still left with a little bit of thought, “Am I staying at the right hotel?, Am I taking the right transportation? Will I be able to get to everything I think I want to see?” Too many questions going unanswered. If I haven’t been to a location, especially international, I opt to travel on a guided tour and have loved every minute of it and felt I had the best well rounded vacation!

Guided Tours offer so much to a vacation that you will want to think twice before dismissing this option. There are several wonderful companies that we have worked with that offer some of the best itineraries and guides in the business. Here are a few reasons you will want to explore when deciding if you want a guided tour.

  • Expertise! Your tour operators have invested a lot of time, money and effort in exploring the perfect itineraries for their guests. They employ the experts who are knowledgeable in the area you are traveling as well as problem solving and making the trip extra special. The hotels are ready for you and have been tested. They work with locals to enhance the cultural experiences.
  • Budget! You may be stretching your dollars a lot further when on a guided tour because you are taking advantage of the savings your tour operator is getting by having a group travel. Hot spots tourist sites work with groups to ensure guaranteed access. Traveling alone you might just be shut out and not be able to experience the one thing you really wanted to do. Your trip is pretty much pre paid and you don’t have unexpected expenses racking up an already expensive trip.
  • Safety! Tour operators know the area! Traveling in groups is safer in general, haven’t we heard that all of our lives? It eliminates the language barriers and allows tourists opportunity to see and do much more! You can travel even as a single and not feel like this is just a vacation for one!
  • Carefree! You don’t have to worry about anything! You have peace of mind that you are going to the places you want to go, the way you should get there and everything is taken care of for you. You have time to do as much or as little as you want on most tours and someone is always available for questions and to problem solve if necessary.
  • Social! Although you are traveling with a group – most tour companies have very small groups. Small enough to get to know others and not miss anything. You do have customized tours and ones that you just join in on. You are still on YOUR vacation, but you have the benefits of experiencing it with others as well. That in and of itself is a great way to see the world. My family has met some wonderful people we now call friends!

Don’t miss it! Explore the idea of a guided tour with your travel planner and I can assure you you won’t be disappointed. You will be able to see more and do more when everything is taken care of for you. #MustLoveTravelMoments

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