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When it comes to travel in Europe, you don’t need to pay first class prices for a first class vacation. The best family holidays start well, continue even better and end with everyone in the family agreeing they have had a great time.
The perfect holiday has to be just that --the ideal R&R (rest and recreation) time for every member of the family no matter how old or how young.
It's all very well choosing the ideal break for the children but wise mums and dads remember they need and deserve their vacation every bit as much.
To ensure that first-class vacation, discuss all possible options with the whole family. Involve them in the decisions. Teenagers may not seem keen to be involved at first and there may be more than a touch of the “whatevers.” Persist. Everyone will have a better time for having a say in the project.
Draw up your list of ideas. Ask everyone in the family to do the same.
See how you can combine and adapt them.
Give everyone a hand to research website options that would appeal to each
individually.
Try orienteering in National Parks. Get some ideas from visiting the
Travel
Quest Directory of Orienteering, which even includes links to activities
like walking with llamas or camels. Always ensure anything you would like to do
will not be too arduous for the children –or yourself.
Just looking at their index list is exhausting but bound to produce a result when it comes to something different to do when you get to your destination.
Try sailing. Take a narrowboat holiday along the canals of France or the Norfolk
Broads. You’ll notice that the warmer the weather, the higher the price but it
ticks all the boxes for family involvement, learning a new skill and deep
relaxation. You can’t rush a good boat. Plenty of ideas
here to show
the range of canal boats on offer on European canals in the UK, Ireland, France,
Holland, Italy, Belgium and Germany. River cruising suggestions also cover
Portugal and the Danube through to Budapest and the Black Sea.
For fun have a look at the ideas in the
Adventure Center
Dragons and Mountains in Poland or Dracula’s Mountains Family Adventure in
Romania could tempt you to join the tour or promote ideas for your own family
quest.
If you want to get away from the kids don't take it for granted they are going to enjoy the local children’s activity club—try to check it out first through comments from people who have used it. They might enjoy horse riding sessions or sailing lessons instead. Look for clubs, which give them a chance to make new friends their own age. You’re only a mobile phone call away if they really hate what they’re doing.
If you like museums, don't tag along grumpily if the other half wants to play golf. Museums nowadays work hard to find interactive activities to entrance the most reluctant child. Do your homework first and find out what they would really like to know about. Enter "museum" plus the name of the country or town you will be visiting and see what's on offer.
Find a cinema, a dance class--you don't need a partner if you want to take flamenco classes in Spain. Or just read this article from someone brave enough to learn to dance the sevillanas in Andalusia and make up your mind afresh.
If funds run to it you can also learn to fly or take a holiday plane ride. It is a more expensive hobby in Europe than in the States.
Do one thing you would never dare to do at home. Don't take your hobby with you.
It'll feel like work. Take a class in something you have always wanted to do. Go
for something different on the menu each day and collect a new recipe or two
that the children can make at home to remind you of that perfect holiday.
Chill out
Find something for the children to do where they’ll be effectively supervised.
Allow yourself to flop about on the beach (remembering the sun tan lotion.) Read
that bestseller no matter how rubbishy your intellectual friends think it is.
Snooze under the pages of a foreign newspaper rather than let people prey on you
as a tourist.
When you all get together as a family later, there will be loads of experiences
to share and lots to talk about.
Collect memories
Ask everyone in the family to collect small souvenirs: admission tickets,
postcards, labels, even wrappers from the chocolates that come with your coffee.
Write small diary entries you can photocopy when you arrive back home. Create
scrapbooks or a collage when you return and keep your holiday alive until it’s
time for the next one.
So get the lists out today. You may find yourself going on the holiday you never
dreamed you could afford
Make sure everyone in the family really feels they have had the best holiday
ever and returns relaxed and refreshed, ready to boast to everyone at home
they've had a first class vacation and the best holiday ever.
Join me on the
European Travel Forum and share your ideas and suggestions. More ideas, the
better a chance we have of making your next holiday the best one ever.
~Anne Duguid
Anne Duguid, a Scottish freelance lecturer and writer, loves traveling in Europe. A true believer in budget travel as the best way to learn about a country, its people and its culture, she's looking forward to finding you that dream holiday in Europe. Join her on the European Travel Forum.