Why a family holiday is the best way to spend some family time together

While many of us are at the age where we are able to and happy to go travelling with friends, we often continue to go on family holidays. Family holidays are a nice way to spend time with your family and make memories, away from our  busy daily lives. Now that many of us are living away from home for the majority of the year, it’s difficult to spend much time with family. Even when you’re back at home, you may be meeting up with old friends, so it’s nice to exclusively spend time with family.

One benefit of travelling with family is that your parents are likely to have more travel experience, and therefore be more prepared and able to adapt to the unexpected events that always seem to crop up, no matter where you go. In addition, travelling with family usually means a variety of activities being organised to suit different ages and interests. In contrast, with friends, you may tend to stick to typical hangouts for young people and miss out on places that you might also enjoy, but never considered visiting.

It can be challenging, but done ‘correctly,’ a family holiday can be rewarding and create lasting memories and stories to recount in the future

On the flip side, going on holiday with different generations, especially grandparents, can be challenging. They may enjoy a long, scenic and peaceful walk, whilst you might want to get those Instagram-worthy pics in the hustle and bustle of the city. Older people may also want to get an early start that doesn’t quite suit the body clock of younger family members.

At the other end of the scale, young kids often need to let off steam during the day and are unable to sit still for more than five minutes, meaning a lot of attractions and activities are unsuitable for them. They also need to sleep earlier, which can cut short a day’s outing. They might physically not be able to participate in some activities too, because of their size (for example, you need to be a certain weight to ride a Segway), or for health and safety reasons.

However, personally, I really enjoy going on holiday with my family and I believe it is possible to have a family holiday that accommodates everyone’s different tastes. As long as the travellers compromise, as is needed when travelling with friends, then it is possible to keep everyone happy. To make things easier, an itinerary should be organised beforehand, to make sure there are a range of activities to suit everyone, and no time is wasted once you’re there. Make sure that everyone is satisfied with the itinerary so that it accommodates as many different opinions as possible.

The key to making it a happy trip is to plan ahead, yet at the same time, knowing to let the plan go when necessary, and trying your best to compromise and be understanding towards one another

Another thing to consider is that it may be a family holiday, but this does not mean that the family must spend every waking minute of the day with one another. It’s fine to break off into smaller groups, as long as everyone knows when they are supposed to meet up again, and everyone is able to get around safely. Splitting into smaller groups means that time is not wasted in doing things you don’t enjoy, and can reduce the chance of friction between people – which can build up when too much time is spent together. It also makes finding a place to eat easier, if there’s a really big group of you on holiday.

However, mealtimes can also be the time to come together again, and, to avoid the lack of seating in a restaurant, you could visit the local supermarket the day before and make a picnic to take out instead. Alternatively, if you’re staying in a villa, everyone can get involved and cook together.

Holidays are supposed to be an opportunity to relax and have some fun whilst you can, but they are undoubtedly stressful at times. Therefore, whether you’re going with family or friends, it’s easy for people to get frustrated at one another. The key to making it a happy trip is to plan ahead, yet at the same time, knowing to let the plan go when necessary, and trying your best to compromise and be understanding towards one another. It can be challenging, but done ‘correctly,’ a family holiday can be rewarding and create lasting memories and stories to recount in the future.