The holiday season is here and it means we get to experience all the joys that are associated with it: warm weather, sunshine, longer days out and travel. Travel can be an enlightening and eye-opening experience for children of all ages too. New sights, new experiences and new sounds. And the main goal of family holidays is to have quality time together – bonding and creating a lifetime of memories. A family travel site, by Audley Travel, ranks South Africa as one of the best destinations for rewarding family holidays. ‘Some of our most enjoyable moments were on the open road.
There’s a sense of freedom driving out of Cape Town, with Table Mountain looming behind you and the rugged coastline ahead. The areas you can drive to offer so much variation, from copper-sand beaches and countryside speckled with rare wildflowers, to malaria free game reserves for safari,’ writes Mark Hanson on the site.
TRAVELLING WITH CHILDREN
In theory, a trip with family should be fun but it can be overwhelming. Before you head off to your destination, there’s a lot of planning that goes into making a vacation a dream one. The destination has to provide fun and an interesting experience for all members of the family, or group of friends. There are specific things you can do to help children have a good time, whether you travel by air, sea or road. Good preparation always helps make things easier.
Here we’ll help you make travelling with your children fun. For most people, the destination is the main priority. But with vacations, your interests should come first. Ask yourself what you or your family want to do when on vacation? Do you want to relax on the beach? Do you want an adventure? Do you want to explore nature and game parks? Or a bit of both? Once you decide how you want to spend your time off, you can decide where to go.
Your idea of a good time may be to hang out by the pool all day while your children want days packed with nonstop activity. And finding a balance means not being too rigid. After all, you and your children should enjoy every moment together and make it a trip to remember. Isn’t that the point of travel in the first place?
PLANNING AN ITINERARY
Studies have shown that planning your vacation can give you a boost of happiness, even before you take off. Some of the essential things for a vacation include the following:
Hotel or house?
The internet has loads of information on B&Bs and private rental accommodation. Most travel agents also offer advice on the various hotel packages. Consider your budget and read online reviews to help you. A rental may be a good idea if you are travelling with a big family, and you can save on the costs of dining out all the time.
Road or air?
Children in the newborn to age two range are the easiest to travel with. They are relatively easy to please and keep happy, as long as you don’t disrupt their routine of eating, sleeping and playing. It’s important to schedule everything in line or as close as possible to their routine.
Toddlers
They engage easily with the different sights around them. But they also need to let out their energy by hitting a playground, park or a swimming pool. The more open space your toddler has to run around in, the happier he or she will be.
Kids from five and older
This age group usually wants to be involved in the planning, even in a small way. To avoid fights that can ruin your holiday, allow them to pick between several activities that appeal to them the most. This could be seeing a cool site or trying a new and fun activity, as long as it’s safe for them.
Teenagers can design one day of the itinerary. Parents may want to consider giving older teens the option to spend an hour or two exploring the destination on their own – maybe they want to do their own shopping or go to a local cinema. They can meet up with friends or make new ones. The key thing here is safety.
Be wary of overloading your day with activities. Take a few hours of the day easy. Hit a park or pool, or enjoy some downtime at your hotel or rental. If your kids want to spend time on their tablets or phones all day or night, it would help to set some rules about screen time on your vacation before you go on your trip.
PACKING
Here are some tips to take the headache out of the packing process:
- Bring along a bar of laundry soap or small bottle of detergent so that you can wash clothes if there’s no easy access to a washing machine
- Pack some nappies, wipes, baby food and other basics for your trip. Order online in advance so that they can be delivered when you arrive at your destination
- Books, toys, electronic gadgets, along with chargers
- Snacks
- One or two sweaters and long pants, and blankets in case the weather changes
- Any prescription medication
- First-aid kit
