Adventure Time! How To Plan A Proper Family Adventure Vacation

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Planning the perfect family adventure is a gargantuan task, because not only do you have to
keep your kids happy, but you've got to keep your partner happy, and you've got to keep yourself  
happy. You might consider that your needs are low on the pecking order, but if you're not happy, 
why should you bother having a good quality vacation that everybody else can enjoy but you? This 
goes doubly when it comes to planning the perfect adventure vacation. What are the best pieces 
of advice you can get to ensure that your adventure vacation doesn't just please you, but pleases 
everybody else in the family unit?

Get The Kids Involved In The Planning Stage

Surely this is going to make your kids happier? By getting them involved in the planning stage, this 
gives them invaluable input into where they want to go. But also once you have whittled it down to a
 few possible ideas, if you can help the children to make the final decision, this will help them look 
forward to the trip for more than if you were to pick a destination that you think is good for them. If you 
were to make a few choices on a broad scale, from South Africa safari, to Florida theme park or epic
road trip, no doubt they would feel more inclined to go for one option rather than the other (no
guesses which one!). But this is where the act of compromise comes into play. If they opted for the 
theme park, which most kids would no doubt go for, the idea of making it a lifelong experience with
happy memories is something that you need to communicate as a parent to them. Besides, if you're 
looking for a once in a lifetime experience, you're better off to go on an adventure than to a theme 
park!

What's Your Goal For The Experience?

When you're going on an adventure trip, what do you want to get out of it, not just for you, but for the 
whole family? Do you want your children to get outside and have some more exercise, or do you
want them to come away from the experience with a renewed interest in nature? An adventure
vacation like a safari is one of those experiences that feels like it's once in a lifetime but gets you
out in the open, is educational without it being overtly so, but also, it's something you can all do as 
a family.

Consider Shoehorning In Some Education

As with safari (as mentioned earlier), you can sneakily put in educational tidbits into the experience. It 
doesn't have to be a safari, you could go to an aquarium as part of a two week holiday around the 
coast of America. Or, places like the Children's Museum Of Indianapolis may scream “educational” 
but there are so many different interactive facilities that your children wouldn't even think that they
were being educated! And, while the name does suggest that it's for kids only, there's plenty for the 
adults to do as well! On the other hand, if you're going for the educational experience that's up 
close and personal, you can't go amiss with diving holidays. You can venture to Australia or Hawaii 
and book snorkeling trips off the coast so your children can get a personal glimpse of sea life. 
This is the way you just need to slip education in. When you're a kid, nobody wants to feel that they 
learning stuff; do you remember wanting to learn things? If so, you were a rare breed!

The Better The Experience = The More Money To Save

Unfortunately, this is true. The bigger and better the experiences, the more money you have to save. 
So if you're looking for a once in a lifetime experience, you need to make sure it delivers the goods.
Creating a saving fund in a high-interest savings account is going to be the first port of call so you can
accrue more money quicker. There are various family vacation packages you can purchase that will 
save you a bit of money, but if you are looking for that experience that you will talk about with your
family for years to come, you will have to stump up the cash!

Look For The Unique Experiences

These are going to be the memories that stand out, so start to think about the ideal location. If you've
got a place in mind, are there any other little trips you can make while you are there? The more unique
the experiences, the more they will shape the vacation. Remember, it's not just about the big draw 
that every tourist goes to, have a look at some of the places that only locals know of. This will give 
you a far more all-encompassing experience of the place. For example, if you like your food, are 
there some restaurants that only locals know about? It's these that will throw up the jewels in your
vacation experience.

Plan An Itinerary

You've planned a location, you've got the money, now how do you make the most out of your time
there? Planning an itinerary is the most common sense approach to take. Because you are setting 
out exactly what to do, it means you can make the most of your time there. Not a minute is wasted. 
On the other hand, some people don't like their vacations mapped out day by day. It's handy to
have an itinerary in the back of your mind, so at least you can reap the benefits of the experience, 
but if you end up going off the beaten track, then don't stress. It's best to go with the flow and about
the sense of freedom that you don't normally get in your day-to-day life. Just go with it!

Yes, a family vacation is something that everybody can enjoy, but it requires a lot of compromises, 
a lot of planning, and, ultimately, a lot of saving. But while these tasks may seem difficult at the outset,
once you've got off the plane in your desired location, all the stress will be worth it, and you will have
a lifetime of memories to look back on.