3 Tips for planning a destination family reunion
Over the past 15 years, I have taken a yearly summer vacation with multiple generations in my family which we have dubbed “girls weekend”. It started because my grandma was one of five sisters growing up and they all talked about doing a yearly vacation together. We made it happen in the sisters’ honor and it’s been a wonderful family tradition.
With so many years of arranging travel for our yearly family reunion, I have learned what can make or break a great weekend with a large group. Travelling with a group doesn’t have to be expensive and can easily be managed on a tight budget if needed. Here are three tips to get you started on the planning process:
Plan activities ahead of time.
A loose daily itinerary is key with a group. While you can try to wing it, I’ve found that having an idea of what is going to be done each day helps with keeping everyone on schedule to make any planned activities. Even if your itinerary is as simple as shopping in town and dinner at the hotel, this can really help with the potential headache you would be in store for if you tried to plan the daily activities each morning with so many opinions. Stick to 2-3 items on your daily itinerary as to still have flexibility.
2. Create a meal schedule
For our girls weekend trips, we learned early on that assigning each person a meal to make really helped on food costs and not having to worry about figuring out what we were going to do each mealtime. For example, one person plans breakfast on Thursday, another group makes dinner on Thursday, Breakfast at a restaurant on Friday etc. The first few years, we often would end the weekend with so much left over food because everyone was bringing snacks, wine, and desserts, and making a plan really helped minimize the extras.
3. Book a VRBO
Trust me, no one likes to sleep on the floor with hotel couch cushions and if you are doing a destination family reunion with multiple generations- a VRBO is just a superior experience. You get a private area to enjoy everyone’s company and there are so many options in the market where everyone can be comfortable. Hotels can definitely work, but for a family reunion, I have found, having a kitchen and a large area where everyone can be together made for a really enjoyable time. Here is a great VRBO option that would be perfect for a family reunion.
A cruise can also be a really great option for a destination family reunion because there are so many large, open areas available for everyone to gather, and it takes the activities and meal planning out of the equation. Not to mention, groups traveling together on a cruise often receive bigger discounts with the cruise lines. For a family reunion, I’d recommend Carnival, Norwegian, Disney or Royal Caribbean which can accommodate all generations very well.
I hope you find these tips helpful in your future family reunion planning. Let us help you plan your perfect family reunion!
