Family Holidays When You are Used to Solo Travel

If you are used to travelling solo, you have become accustomed to having things your own way. Not in a spoilt-child kind of way, but in the way that you have been able to create your daily plan and list of things you want to see and do on any given trip.

With family, it’s a little bit different. You have to accommodate what everyone else wants to do and, at first, it can be difficult. However, while we are not for one second saying that either type of travel is better than the other, by giving it a little bit of time you can learn to appreciate once more the benefits of travelling with loved ones.

You just need to acclimatise yourself to it, which is why we have drawn together some helpful pieces of advice for solo travellers that aren’t travelling solo.

Talk to Your Travelling Party

If you are holidaying with family, then it is likely that you have all come to a collective decision as to where you are going. Everyone should be pretty much on, if not the exact same page, within the same chapter from the beginning.

The first things to consider are how long you are going away for (therefore giving you an idea as to how much you can fit in, as well as how much you should budget for meals etc…) and what everyone’s main goals are. Make a list of what everyone wants to do and work out if it will at all be feasible to fit it all in.

We recommend keeping a gap in your schedule because you will no doubt find something that you want to experience when you get there. That means even if you believe you can just about fit everything in, you should note activities you and your family would be most willing to sacrifice.

Family Fun

On holiday, you will be spending a lot of time together in your hotel, caravan or whatever accommodation you have. This means that you will want to consider some family-friendly activities that you can plan during these periods. After all, with little ones in tow, you cannot expect to hit the bars and stumble back home at 5am like you used to do.

Pack some board and card games for the trip that can be played almost anywhere, as well as limiting the amount of space taken in your bags and/or suitcases. In the case of dark and dreary weather conditions where you may not want to head outside, you will be thankful for a game of Monopoly or Uno to pass the time.

For when the weather is looking bright, though, no doubt you will want to have a list of family-appropriate places to go. Do your research on the local area or, better yet, elect to travel somewhere that has all the facilities onsite. Resorts and parks can be expensive during the school holidays but, if you are prepared to wait until the last couple of weeks of summer or travel before the peak periods, you can save a pretty penny.

When You Have Time to Yourself

When you do have time to yourself, make sure that you have your own essentials to call upon. We are talking useful apps on your phone, especially those that may assist in finding the best go-to spots in the events you do get to explore solo for a few hours. Load your device with streaming apps to play your favourite tunes, television series and films (because you can never find anything worth watching on the small televisions you’re provided).

Travelling as part of any part can be stressful, no matter how much you like and/or love each other. A holiday means that you are spending more time together than usual, so it is only natural that sometimes something that you would barely notice will begin to grate on you over time. Make sure that you do have time for yourself and that you are not living in each other’s pockets 24/7. If you are used to solo travel, this advice should be heeded to avoid the risks of any potentially holiday-ruining arguments in camp.