Vehement Solutions for Trivial Problems: Our Ten Year Family Vacation Plan

Ten summers ago, my husband Andy and I had just tucked our kids, aged 8 and 5 at the time, into the hotel beds and we sat on the balcony enjoying the views of the Maine coast, relaxing from a lovely day in Acadia National Park. It was on that evening, while experiencing a wonderful family vacation, that we came up with what we thought at the time was a great idea. We would make a vacation bucket list, a plan of the destinations that we most wanted our kids to see and the travel experiences we most wanted to have as a family before our eldest left for college. We made our list, then had a blast over the next 10 summers, planning and checking trips off it (plus enjoying some great spring break trips as well). We learned a bit about family travel along the way, and in the interest of encouraging other families to pursue vacation experiences, I share a few observations here.

Some family travel recommendations:

Start 'em young. Don't postpone travel because you think your kids are too young. We had a fabulous time traveling around Europe for two weeks when our daughter had just turned 1 year old. We've driven a 2,100 mile road trip with toddlers, and roused sleepy youngsters at 3 in the morning to catch flights. With a little preparation you'll be surprised at how well your kids can travel

Intersperse more adult (art museums) with more kid friendly (parks, zoos) activities
Discuss and set expectations with your kids about activities in advance. We love visiting art museums, so it was important that our kids learned how to behave in museums from the beginning. We started practicing for shorter time periods when they were very young (plus you'll get some funny stories to tell later, like the time our daughter started a major screaming tantrum in the Louvre that forced our hasty retreat to the basement, where she eventually fell asleep in our arms and we lugged her around a few more exhibits while she snored). Praise and reward your kids when they do well "tolerating" more adult focused activities for a period of time
Keep the food and snacks coming. Kids (and adults) are at a bigger risk of meltdowns if they're hungry. Carry plenty of snacks and water with you at all times. I once pulled a jar of peanut butter out of my purse in an hour of need, thus earning the nickname "Mary Poppins" for the rest of the vacation
Break up episodes of sedentary travel with plenty of opportunities to move and play. Book hotels with pools, and throw your kids in the pool in the mornings before you leave and in the early evenings so they sleep well

Put an emphasis on trip planning, and invest time in it. We've taken some amazing trips as a family, and none of them would be possible without hours of advanced planning. This is Andy's specialty. He researches each area we're going to visit to pick the most interesting destinations and sites. His final product is an itinerary of where we will be each day, what we'll do, and where we'll stay that night, all organized in a 3-ring binder with accompanying tickets, maps/directions, hotel information, etc. While this might sound overly rigid to some folks, it has really maximized our time, since we can pre-book admission tickets (no waiting in long lines or sell outs) and avoid showing up at the museum on a day it's closed, etc
I can't say I like packing much, and I find it takes time to do it well, but I have streamlined my process over the years. Here is a link to my packing lists (different versions based on type of trip) that I've refined over the years: packing lists
Just like you'll be managing a pack list, you'll be managing a prep list. Here is mine: Prep checklist
Boost your memory value from your vacations

Take a lot of pictures- routinely ask bystanders to take some photos of the entire family. You can use these pictures in slide shows, scrapbooks and other great projects when you get home (link to travel pillow blog post)
Keep a daily trip journal- this becomes pure gold for reading later (often while on future family trips), and to remember fun family experiences, locations and funny family quotes
Start a family collection of items from your trips- this could be Christmas ornaments, sea shells, or even little bottles of sand from your various destinations

Our family's trips, including the ten year plan:

Year	Family Trip Destinations and Highlights
1998	Chicago (Meg 10 weeks old) Philadelphia
1999	4-months in Europe for work, traveled on weekends and 2 weeks at the end
2000	Maine, Providence, Cape Cod, Boston
2001	Chicago (Will about 10 weeks old)
2002	Driving loop: Cleveland, Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Toronto, Detroit, Chicago
2003	Montreal, Vermont, New Hampshire, Acadia, Maine, Quebec
2004	Chicago, Milwaukee, WI Dells
2005	Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
	Chicago, WI Dells
*The start of the “10-year plan”*
2006	Driving loop trip through Badlands, Rapid City, Custer State Park, Hotsprings, Wind Cave NM, Jewel Cave NM, Estes Park, Rocky Mountain Natl Park, Colorado Springs, Red Rock State Park, Denver, Lincoln, Omaha (Henry Doorly Zoo)
2007	Cozumel, Mexico
	California- Rented a car in San Francisco and drove down Route 1 to San Diego. Sights include San Francisco Maritime Natl Park, Alcatraz, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Disneyland, Universal Studios, Sea World, San Diego Zoo (SoCal City Pass)
2008	Carnival cruise-Grand Cayman, Belize, Roatan Island (Honduras), Cozumel, Tampa (Busch Gardens)
	Flight into Seattle. Took ferries to San Juan Island, Victoria Island (Canada). Olympic NP, white water rafting in the Columbia river gorge, Portland, Seattle. Took the Amtrak back home from Seattle with sleeper car. Highlights included Butchart Gardens, and a sturgeon stocking area outside of Portland
2009	7 days in Disney World, Orlando
	Took the Amtrak to Whitefish, Montana (sleeper car) and picked up a rental car which we drove back home. Glacier NP, Yellowstone NP, Grand Tetons NP, Cody (saw a great rodeo), Devil's Tower NM, Rapid City
2010	Montego Bay, Jamaica
	Zion NP, Bryce NP, Lake Powell, Antelope Canyon, Monument Valley, Flagstaff, Wupatki NM, Sedona (Pink Jeep tour), Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, Glen Canyon NP, Hoover Dam, Las Vegas
2011	Maya Riviera, Mexico
	Atlanta, Great Smokey Mountains NP, white water rafting on the Pigeon River, Gatlinburg, Myrtle Beach, Charleston (Fort Sumter), Hilton Head, Savannah (Fort Pulaski NM), Macon
2012	Disney Cruise (4 day, Bahamas, Castaway Cay), plus 3 days for Universal Studios (Harry Potter), Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios
	New York City, Philadelphia
	San Diego
2013	Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
	Northern Minnesota- Hibbing, Virginia, Chisholm, Ely, International Falls, Voyageur's, Big Bog, Bemidji, Itasca, Charles Lindberg State Park
	Washington DC, Mount Vernon, Hershey PA (Hershey World), Gettysburg, Shenandoah NP, Williamsburg, Virginia Beach
2014	Cozumel, Mexico
	Flew into Dublin. Dublin, Trim, Kilkenny, Rock of Cashel, Bunratty, flew from Shannon to London, Oxford, Bath, Stonehenge, Salisbury, Winchester, Cardiff (Wales), Cotswolds, Stratford-upon- Avon, Warwick. Flew from Birmingham to Dublin and from Dublin home
2015	Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
	California- Lake Tahoe, Mammoth Lakes (Devil's Postpile), Yosemite NP, gold country state parks, Santa Cruz (family wedding), Hearst Castle, Paso Robles (wineries), Solvang, Santa Barbara, Las Angeles (Paramount Studios, UCLA, Disney Land). Flew into Reno and rented car, flew out of LA
2016	Playa Del Carmen, Mexico
	Meg picked France in honor of her graduation Brussels, Leuven, Bruges, Ghent, Paris (including Disneyland Paris), Bayeux, Omaha Beach, Mont St Michel, Loire Valley (Tours), Orange, Arles, Avignon, Cassis, St Tropez, Nice, Monaco. Flew into Brussels, rented a car in Paris, flew out of Nice
2017	Guanacaste, Costa Rica, day trip to Nicaragua
	Alaska- Anchorage, Seward, Celebrity Cruise (Hubbard Glacier, Skagway, Icy Point, Ketchikan, Vancouver)
2018	Huatulco, Mexico
	Durango, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Los Alamos, Roswell, Carlsbad, Fredericksburg, San Antonio including 7 National Parks: Mesa Verde, Aztec, Pecos, Petroglyph, White Sands, Carlsbad Caverns, and the San Antonio Missions
2019	Montego Bay, Jamaica
	Will picked Switzerland in honor of his graduation, and we threw in Italy Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan, Lugano, Como, Lucerne, Interlaken, Grindelwald, Zurich
2020	Covid pandemic This was going to be a great travel year. Our daughter had a capstone internship lined up in Ireland just before graduating from college, and we were going to travel there in the Spring to see her. Her internship was cancelled, and we had to cancel the trip, as well. We also had to cancel a trip (including a cruise) to Norway and Sweden we had planned with Andy's parents. We did some camping, including a first-time visit to Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota