Planning A Family Trip

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Years ago, if you were to have asked me what kind of traveler I thought I was, I wouldn't have hesitated in bragging that all I needed was my passport, some cash and a smile. Now that my trips can only span weeks instead of months, I still believe all you need is a passport, some cash and a smile... oh and an incredible amount of planning.

I envy those that have the time to take a year or more off to indulge the travel bug but for Candace and I, with kids, mortgage and careers we don't yet hate, we can only disappear for three or four weeks at a time. And during those few weeks, we want a variety of opportunities to try and get the most out of an area in the short time that we are there.

I've read countless posts in travel forums by supposed "long term travelers" denouncing "vacationers" that rush around and don't take the time to soak up the local atmosphere. I might have even agreed with them at one point in my journeys but now, I'm going to be one of those people rushing around following a plan.

In addition to our kids, Candace's brother Duane and his partner Dave are travelling with us. Candace and I realized early on that we needed to work out a plan to ensure we keep everyone on track and happy. Not strict marching orders but a loose plan so we know where we want go, how to get there and what we can do while there.

With tickets already booked to leave on January 20th, we needed to put together an itinerary in the next 17 days. I'm glad we didn't leave it until the last minute.

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Comments

[cabochick]

Have you left yet???
ah ya there are always going to be those out there that play that game of 'my life is better than your life'. Kids are fantastic to take traveling, you just have to adjust your game a little. I know as a previous canadian kid who had parents drag me around the world, I benefitted so much from that upbringing. How's the planning going, or did you get going?

[Chocolatemonkee]

I've been so lazy
I hope the title sums up how my blogging has been going and thankfully not my trip planning. We ended up taking the kids to S.E.A. as we planned and they had a blast. We actually just got back from Thailand after a 2nd jaunt there. I wanted to get some diving in. I have not logged into travelblog for quite some time as life kinda took over. But I think I'll be back with a bit of a vengeance. I've only got 4 more years before we finalize our year long (maybe longer) trip but in the meantime we need to plan for next year.