Family Travel Mistakes. Family travel creates some of the most memorable activities and events that many people experience. Unfortunately, some of those memories may not be the most positive! There are a few common family-travel mistakes that parents make that can cause a great trip to be remembered for all of the wrong reasons! What are some travel mistakes to avoid on your next family vacation?


Over scheduling the trip. Over scheduled vacations seem to just happen. If you are shelling out big bucks for an extravagant family trip, you want to make sure that you experience the locale to the fullest, right? While it’s important to hit the highlights of a location, trying to do everything the local travel and tourism group recommends puts you on a path to disaster. The kids become overtired, parents become overstressed to stay on pace with a hectic itinerary and everyone finds themselves irritable ready to go home to rest! Leave a little room for downtime—even if it means that a tourist stop has to wait until a later trip.

Under scheduling the trip. The only thing worse than a hectic, manic vacation is a boring vacation! While exhausted, travel weary parents may be satisfied with a relaxing evening by the fireplace—the rest of the family may need a little more action. Try to be sure that you have taken the individual needs of the family and planned accordingly to avoid some less than soothing “Mom, we’re bored!” afternoons.

Not planning for childproofing. In a perfect world, every hotel or lodge would only offer childproof, safe rooms and be free of safety recalls. Do not forget that it’s not a perfect world, and it’s your responsibility to be sure that you take necessary precautions to keep everyone safe on your trip. Plan ahead, ask questions of the hotel staff and prepare to do some last minute, do-it-yourself childproofing upon arrival.

Taking unnecessary risks. It’s easy, while traveling and venturing out on various excursions; to try to skip some of the usual safety precautions that are common place at home. Resist the temptation to skip the helmets or the life jackets. Take time to pay attention to posted safety rules and recommendations. A trip to the local hospital emergency room does not create cherished family vacation memories for the scrapbook.

Failing to see the forest for the trees. Family vacations offer grown ups the perfect opportunity to view the world through a child’s eyes. Instead of running at full steam for the major tourist attractions and the ultra popular must-see sites, remember to stop to look at an unusual plant, or a quirky gift shop. Travel with an open mind and a child’s patience level—you never know what memories you will make!

Source:bellaonline