Vacation Tips for Large Family Gatherings

If you have a large family, you will understand just how much of a chore it can be trying to arrange a shared vacation. Clashing schedules, school, work commitments, or even unexpected injuries can get in the way of planning a vacation that includes every member of the family. It takes a lot of patience and preparation to successfully coordinate so many moving parts. If you have been trying in vain to take your large family on vacation for some time now, here are a few tips that will hopefully give you the advice you need.

Choose the Best Location and Venue

Sadly, some places are simply better than others for large groups of people. This might mean that you have to rule out a particular destination if it doesn’t fit the needs of your large family, even if it was always your dream place. When looking for a destination, consider the travel process from start to finish. How will you get there? Will anyone need to update their documents? Does your destination require specific inoculations? The sooner you can determine these points, the easier it will be to plan ahead for the big trip. Some venues are also better suited to larger groups than others, so make sure your accommodation is sufficient for the number of people intending to go.

Celebrate a Holiday on Vacation

It is often difficult to arrange a family vacation, especially if you have many members of your family who have varying schedules and live in different places. Organizing a trip can sometimes feel like herding cats. However, a great way to overcome this obstacle is to plan your vacation around a holiday. Most holidays involve the family and are ideal excuses for vacations. Different destinations, resorts, hotels, and travel companies sometimes create packages for these holidays to make family vacations easier to plan. For example, some hotels will even offer Sukkot activities for the whole family.

Make Time for Smaller Groups

While the whole point of a large family vacation might at first seem to be spending time with everyone, it can also be worthwhile making time to split into smaller groups so that people can catch up or even spend time on their own. It is easier to communicate meaningfully when there are fewer people trying to be heard, so don’t impose any rules that the whole family must do everything together. Although it makes sense to hang out as an entire unit on occasion, let people do their own activities and break off from the group every now and then.

Compromise

Similar to the last point, compromise is essential when hoping to plan a successful vacation for a large family. The age range, abilities, interests, and willingness will all vary among the individual family members, so if you want to share a fun vacation, then you will all need to compromise in a way that allows you all to make the most of the downtime. The main point is to spend time with your loved ones, after all.