Travelling with kids — “planning”

I find research and planning so important, but also very exciting. Once the destination is decided upon, it’s my position as mother to start trawling through websites, reviews, image galleries, reviews and more reviews. Wahoo, I love this part almost as much as the holiday itself. The excitementstarts early for me, dreaming of this amazing and relaxing adventure with perfectly behaved children – well they are in my vision :)

Review websites like trip advisor are great but you need to sit back, and look at overall picture and rating percentages along with the comments. For trip advisor I personally set my base level of between 80 and 85% thumbs up. I also look at both the positives and negatives comments and section scores. I then decide if there are reoccurring issues. Can we put up with them, are they deal breakers for us? Will they effect our enjoyment and are they likely to aversely affect the overall experience. Management feedback is on the comments is also important, do they care? Are they open to criticism and do they deal with it constructively? An open mind and a sense of humour is definitely needed, whilst sometimes I feel a bit of a voyer, prying on others misfortunes and experiences.

Once I’ve had enough of the researching, late nights swotting and reviewing, it’s time to share my findings with the family. I love narrowing down options of activities and letting the boys have some power over the final choices and planning.

Another part of our planning is the kids holiday money. We have a sizeable jar in the pantry which the boys, Wayne, myself, and extended visiting family, pop any loose change. The boys are fantastic at saving any pocket money or change for their holiday fund. It is both a reminder about last years holiday along with excitement for the upcoming trip. Prior to going away we count the money together – it’s amazing how much it amounts to – Then we head off to the bank, the older 2 now understand about savings, exchange rates and international currencies. Neat life skills, a little math knowledge and another way of extending our holiday experience for us all.

Planning is great, sharing the experience with the whole family builds the excitement, and is a fun positive conversation to have around the dinner table. I have, however, learnt to be very realistic, not setting expectations too high, leaving room for the actual experience to exceed my expectations.