Amy Cordle of Kearney travels with other families on mini-vacations to their daughters’ gymnastics competitions. Tanya Cromwell of Leawood travels every June to the beach with her husband’s extended family. Amy Mulkey and Carol Taylor, both of Kearney, like to travel with friends whenever the situation arises to make vacations more enjoyable.
Whatever the reason, traveling with other families can be a rewarding experience, provides travel partners and can help with finances.
Advantages to traveling with another family:
- Other children serve as playmates. “My children tend to fight much less when there are other children around,” Cromwell says. Mulkey agrees and adds, “It’s fun for the kids, too; someone they know to share the experience with together. It could be one of their favorite childhood memories!”
- Parents can share responsibilities. Having another set of parents to help with laundry, dishes or just to keep an eye on the kids is helpful.
- Additional people add company! It’s nice to have friends to hang out with. “There are always fun card games or movies to watch once kids go to bed at night,” Cromwell says. Taylor adds, “It’s easy to group off; guys out on a fishing trip or girls shopping.” There’s always someone to be with, whether that is doing something fun or just hanging out at home.
- Discounts can be shared between families. “We often share hotel rates and discounts we might find that are available for attractions,” Cordle says. Depending on how many people are traveling together, you can rent a condo or even a house, and by splitting the price, make lodging cheaper than purchasing a regular hotel room.
- Date Night! When traveling with other families, you can take turns watching the kids while the other couple goes out.
While traveling with other families can be fun and helpful to the budget and stress, there are some concerns to think about before embarking on an adventure.
- Be accommodating. “Not everyone may be in the mood to do something that others want to do, or may not agree on eating times, types of food, shopping, sight seeing, etc.,” Mulkey says. Traveling with others requires flexibility to keep everyone happy.
- You don’t have to be together all the time. While you do want to spend time with others, too much togetherness can be a bad thing. “The decision not to hang out 24/7 is helpful - it prevents us from getting sick of each other!” Cromwell says. Cordle agrees, saying, “Just because you travel together doesn't mean that you have to do everything together. It is okay to separate for some things.”
- Be cautious about stocking up on groceries. As mentioned before, an advantage of a house or condo is sharing food and groceries. But be cautious by not over-stocking. “Don’t buy more than two days’ worth of food. We tried to save money by eating "at home," but when it was all said and done, we wasted food!” Taylor says.
- Be flexible. Yes, your 2-year-old usually naps at 1 p.m. sharp and likes to go to bed at 7:30, but sometimes on vacations with others you need to be flexible on things like naps, dinner time or bedtime. That nap might not happen right at the normal time, or dinner might be delayed by a couple hours.
- Know your budget. It’s inevitable: on vacation, some people spend more than others on side trips, souvenirs or expensive restaurants. Know your budget and don’t overspend just because the others are. “Just because one set of parents purchased something for their children doesn’t mean the other set(s) has to,” Taylor says.
Jennifer Higgins is a freelance writer, mom and teacher from Kearney.