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Writer's pictureDisabled DISventures

13 Tips On How To Choose A Family Vacation Destination

Updated: Jul 25, 2019

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When you are planning a vacation do you get frustrated just choosing a destination? I know it can be very frustrating. There are so many options available! Do you go on a cruise? Or travel to a foreign country? I have joined with 13 travel bloggers to get you the best advice out there! How to choose your destination is our first topic.




My daughter standing at a sign for the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge at Hoover Dam.
Hoover Dam

1. The first tip is one that I have seen from many of these travel bloggers. Here is what Sarah at Dandelion Seeds advises. “I'm pretty practical when I choose a destination, so my advice centers around 'must haves.' They're the filter through which I look at each possible place to visit. With that in mind, I suggest deciding what your 'must haves' are. It's amazing how easy it is to choose a location (or at least a top 10 to investigate further) once you clarify what you need, making sure to consider everyone who's joining you.”


2. Chris and Sarah at State By State say “ First, proximity, meaning how close is it to where we are, can we get there in just a few hours, is it close to the places we want to explore, these are the questions we concern ourselves with.”


3. My advice is “When you have narrowed down your family goals look up your possible destinations on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. This will help you narrow down your possibilities!”


4. Deb at Worldwise Kid likes to say “We focus on the educational value and age-appropriateness of our choices when deciding where to go next. Nature, books and language have had particular influence.”


A man on a canal boat in Venice, Italy.
Destination Venice Courtesy of Worldwise Kid

5. Yamy at Gofamgo travels “As a multi-generation family who travels with seniors, we first bear in mind who is tagging along before we decide where to head next. Knowing each person's interest or limitations is important in choosing the appropriate destination first hand.”


6. Shannon at Grab My Passport says “When we plan our own family vacations at Grab My Passport HQ, pricing is typically our biggest determining factor when deciding on a destination. We do have a never-ending bucket list of places we’d love to visit, and activities we’d like to do one day, so anytime a sale or special promotion pops up that matches something on our list, we try to jump on it.”


7. Kris at Gadsventure “We shortlist our destinations by considering the time of year and the type of activity we want to be doing. This usually boils down to surfing or snowboarding.”



8. Shannan at Captivating Compass also will “Most of the time I build our itineraries around our curriculum. If we’re studying ancient history, the great philosophers or epic poems like The Iliad or The Aeneid, then this is the year to go to Italy and spend as long as possible exploring the countries that border the Mediterranean Sea.”


9. Tiffany at Mommy And Me Travels says “Now that you have a list of activities and locations take the kids and head to your public library. This allows you and your kids to enjoy an afternoon together looking through books of everywhere around your desired locations and activities. Kids love being able to see, feel, and touch the pictures. This helps them start to get excited about learning and planning for upcoming adventures. Family vacations are about building family memories and this starts with the planning phase.”


10. Annette at Tips From A Typical Mom says cost is a big factor in planning. “Can we afford to get there, sleep there, eat there and pay for activities? Most of the destinations we choose are places we can drive to so we don't have to spend a fortune on airfare. I'd rather go someplace close and spend money on activities than spend a fortune on airfare.”


11. Nikki at Yorkshire Wonders advises that she will, “I look at what the rooms are like, whether the hotel has a child friendly pool, kids club or possibly evening entertainment for the children. Does the hotel give off a relaxed family friendly vibe or do they just tolerate families? Finally what is the restaurant like and will we like the food!”


12. Kristy at World For A Girl uses a website called Skyscanner “Eventually, we crack open a bottle of wine and type 'Everywhere' into the Skyscanner search bar and our dates. This amazingly useful Skyscanner function means that you can see all the flights leaving your chosen airport on the date you're interested in. We then filter the results by flight times and cost. And voila, we book a holiday.”


13. Regina at Full Time Field Trip says “Involve the kids. That’s my number one tip for choosing your family vacation destination. I want our kids to be excited about going somewhere and experiencing new things. Sometimes you’re boxed into a season or budget; you can still involve the kids.”


Children looking at a map planning a vacation.
Full Time Field Trip selecting a destination Courtesy of Full Time Field Trip

So figure out your family goals for your vacation. Involve your whole family including the kids in your decision making. Use tools available online and in print to research and find out about your destination. Use this time not only as family fun but as an educational time. Look at cost and what activities are around for your family to do. Make sure you take into account any disabilities or activity levels for everyone who is going.


Using all of these tips will help you plan a fun, educational and memory making adventure for your family.

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psdontreadthis
Mar 14, 2019

Great tips. What I do when I want to choose a holiday is decide what kind of weather I want. For example, last November my boyfriend and I wanted to go somewhere a bit sunnier but we didn't have too many days from our holiday left, so we choose Spain. It was close and definitely sunnier than Scotland.

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