Have you ever opened a bag of potato chips intending to just eat a handful but then a half-hour later you’ve eaten the whole bag? By the end of that you feel overstuffed and perhaps a little guilty or regretful. If you had just stuck to the original portion size you intended, you might have enjoyed the experience more.
The same guidance works for family travel planning. As much as it may seem like you’ll never be able to get back to this destination again, you’re not going to enjoy it if you stress yourself out or overstimulate you and your kids by over-programming your days! NO ONE enjoys 5 art museums in a day, especially if they’re spread apart and you practically run through them before they close.
For trips that tend to be more sightseeing focused, our rule of thumb at The Singing Suitcase is to plan one event for every 6-8 hours of your day. This is especially true when traveling with kids, but really, these tips are helpful for an adults-only adventure as well. You just might be able to plan 4-6 hour windows instead.
Here are some simple ideas for pacing your family, keeping a reasonable portion size, and maximizing your enjoyment of each travel day!
- Plan a leisurely pace for traveling to your destination. If possible, try to be a passenger instead of a driver so you can look around and enjoy your surroundings. Give yourself an extra half-hour for unexpected stops, bathroom breaks or slow walkers.
- Make meals their own “events”. Try not to do too much walking and eating, as that can detract from both enjoyable activities.
- Try to keep yourself present in the moment. For a few minutes at least, try not to think of the next stop or how you’re going to get there.
- Take a moment at the beginning of your activity to assess yourself and how you feel. What are you bringing with you to this experience? What do you think the experience has in store for you? These are fun questions to ask the whole family as well and bring some meaning and intention to your activity.
- At the end of your experience, take a brief moment to reflect on how your emotions and mindset have changed since the beginning. Depending on your personality, perhaps share your experience with your travel partners or center yourself with a journal entry of some kind.
If you keep your portion size reasonable, you’ll have time for this extra intentionality. Consider a travel journal for kids (even young ones) that helps process experiences from basic senses to deeper meaning. Even if kids don’t remember everything during each activity, the time together and pacing will help them to soak in the feelings and get the most out of the experience.
We’ve found from our trips to Italy (parents-only) and several trips to New York with the kids that this pacing of your day makes or breaks the experience. We’ve been able to say that we truly enjoyed the experience rather than trying to experience everything!
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