Article by Chris Miles
I recently read an article in the Guardian entitled, ‘The best family holidays ever … and the worst’, and I started to reminisce. I have been on many holidays over the years and enjoy every type of vacation, whether it’s a beach trip or a weekend spent in the United Kingdom. I love every single holiday type there is. So what makes a holiday good or bad and is it subjective? My parents would never go on an adventure holiday and would consider that to be the worst type of holiday in the world. On the other hand, I enjoy going with friends to take on the perils of an extreme adventure. So while my parents enjoyed going to the Greek islands I yearned to climb some of the rocks in Tenerife, so was that a bad holiday? I didn’t enjoy the holiday as much as my parents did and it certainly wasn’t the best holiday I have ever been on.
The tales from the Guardian usually involved either bad management or holidays in Britain. Their best involved everything from travelling around Wales to driving across America. There are so many different types of holiday and in the end and one person’s holiday is another’s nightmare. So when you are in a family unit you have to be sympathetic to your children’s and partner’s needs, especially if you have teenagers. Then you can get some way to the perfect holiday.
So when planning a holiday with your children how do you create that balance? Inevitably there will be glitches and as a parent you are never right. But by listening to your children and what they enjoyed about their last holiday, you can learn what works and what doesn’t. Generally children want to be able to interact with other children on holiday; they also want to be kept busy.
You should also take into account their age. If they are very young you should make sure that they will be comfortable. One of the stories in the article described a baby and intense heat, which is never a good idea. Make sure you investigate the destination, a babysitter may be needed or a children’s pool. Many new parents underestimate the changes that you have to make once you have a baby. You can no longer take off with a backpack and a toothbrush.
If you have a teenager you should try to go to a destination where there are likely to be other teenagers. It may sound simple but young people might get bored otherwise. Although, as I said earlier, the perfect holiday is subjective one person’s dream holiday will be the others nightmare. To get the right balance try to listen to all of the members of your family. To have a look at some of the family holidays out there click here.
About the Author
Chris Miles is an accomplished travel blogger. He enjoys all types of holidays, especially those which take him to the beach.
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