How To Plan a Family Trip That Everyone Will Enjoy?

The Idea That Started It All

A 1,900 mile hike through the newly formed Greater Patagonian Trail! We were instantly intrigued, as Patagonia had been on our list of places to visit for many years! Reading an article about this trek inspired us to set goals that would allow us to take the time off to accomplish this feat. However, 1,900 miles over extremely remote, rugged, and unmarked terrain with 9 and 7 year old boys was likely never going to happen. Let’s be honest, I doubt us adults would have made it in our current state of physical fitness either. Regardless, the goals we laid out to make it possible remained vital to where we find ourselves today and planning for a longer family trip.

Wherever you are at today, just make one small step in the direction towards your goal!

What Do We Enjoy and What’s Possible?

We eventually came to our senses. We realized that our boys would have almost no desire to hike every day for half a year, and that none of us would probably make it anyways. This began a brainstorm about what a better plan may look like. The biggest thing we had to determine was what we all enjoyed doing enough to uproot ourselves from our comfortable life.

Our Results

After brainstorming what we would like to do on this family trip, we came up with the following list of our preferences:

• Beaches
• Wildlife
• Culture
• Mountains
• Beaches
• Cities
• Beaches
• Beaches
• Small towns
• Beaches

Family Discussion Time

Now it’s your turn! Here are some questions to get you started planning that family trip of your dreams.

• What are the times your kids were so into what was happening that they didn’t even think about asking for screen time?
• What experiences have you had as a family that keep coming up well after they’ve happened?
• What do you always feel the need to bring up in conversation despite knowing that the people you’re telling probably don’t care?
• What are memorable experiences that your kids like to bring up to their friends and teachers?
• When was a time that you weren’t worrying about work or getting things done and you were just in the moment?
• Do you love the hustle and bustle of city life, or do you prefer the low key nature of more rural settings?

We Want to Hear From You!

That should get you started. Leave us a comment on some things you discussed! 

One suggestion: it is rare to have everyone agree on everything. Write down all of the ideas that have merit. There are ways to compromise and keep everyone happy, as we’ll discuss in future posts.

Want to read about what else there is to do when planning a long vacation? Read our blog, “How to plan for a long trip abroad with a family?“