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How to Plan a Family Friendly Summer Vacation10:41AM / Monday, July 09, 2007
Before you know it, another school year will be over and it’ll be time to go on that long anticipated family trip. Whether you’ll be going sightseeing, heading to a national park or theme park or visiting friends and family, you want the trip to be enjoyable, and that means taking the time to plan ahead.
A good place to start is by making a list of the things you’ll need to bring, and don’t wait till the last minute to do it either. Start now and by the time your departure day arrives, it will be stress free. Among the things you’ll want to put on that list:
* Clothing.
* Toiletries.
* Driving directions and maps.
* An emergency road kit that includes a flashlight, flares, water, non-perishable food and a cell phone.
* A cooler filled with food and drinks.
* Entertainment for the kids. This will include games, activity books, magazines, movies, music, etc.
If you’ll be driving to your destination, AAA recommends you get your car checked out ahead of time, and that you map out your travel route, taking into consideration where you’ll need to stop for fuel, and places you can stop along the way for bathroom breaks and mini-adventures. “Half the fun of going on a road trip is stopping off at all the neat little out of the way places along the way you’d never visit otherwise,” says Dawn Duffy, public relations manager at AAA Minneapolis.
Duffy points out that AAA offers its members 26 regional Tour Book guides that include detailed listings of attractions and events, as well as hotels and restaurants. If you’re not a AAA member, you can find most of this information on your own by contacting the local tourist bureaus ahead of time and asking for brochures on local points of interest. You may also want to spend some time on the Internet, searching for information.
If you’re traveling with children, tap into their passions and interests along the way. If your son loves dinosaurs, for example, he’s sure to enjoy a stop at a natural history museum along your route. An animal lover would appreciate a trip to a new zoo, and kids of all ages seem mesmerized by those rock shops you can find in just about every tourist town. Another activity that is sure to keep both young and old engaged is to work together to create a scrapbook during the trip. Make a point of picking up brochures and postcards at all the places you stop at along the way. Older kids can write down notes about what the family did at each stop.
And remember, while you’re on the road, it’s important that you get a good night’s sleep so you can set out fresh and rested the next day. That will happen by staying at one of over 200 AmericInn hotels across the country. They all feature AmericInn SoundGuard construction which means they’re built with solid masonry block, thick drywall and sound-deadening foam so you won’t hear what’s going on in the room next door.
In addition to offering quiet rooms, most AmericInn hotels also feature an inviting pool; free high-speed Internet access; meeting rooms; coffee and a free hot breakfast, For a hotel locator, or to make a reservation online, log on to www.americinn.com/ara.
Courtesy of ARA content
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