Is your family itching to pack their suitcases and beeline to the airport? If so, you’re certainly not alone. Family travel is taking off globally and this trend is only expected to increase.
According to GlobalData, family travel is expected to rise by nearly 25% to 376 million trips annually by 2022. This rapid growth includes a rise in multi-generational family vacations, which presents an important question to consider – What’s the best way for my entire family to travel?
Countless options are available, but organized tours may offer the best opportunity for your family to share a more meaningful overall experience. Here’s 5 reasons organized tours are perfect for multi-generational family vacations:
1. Carefully selected safe and comfortable environments
Safety first! It’s a simple and timeless phrase, but your family’s vacation should begin and end with this principle. When traveling abroad to a new country, it’s extremely important to have a feel for what to expect in your new environment. Tapping into the knowledge of an experienced travel company can make all the difference. Traveling this way ensures your vacation is full of welcoming locals and locales.
Extra Note: Selecting a family-friendly company for your tour is also crucial to remember. It’s difficult to create itineraries with the right amount of free time, activities, and variety that a multi-generational vacation needs, and unfortunately, this isn’t something all tour companies have made a priority. In fact, it’s easy to fall into the 20-something backpacking crowd if you’re not careful when booking organized travel (request a catalog from Discover Corps to learn more about how we prioritize comfort and safety for the multi-generational family vacation).
2. Stress-reducing plans
Oftentimes half the battle while on vacation is deciding what to do. Getting a half dozen or so family members on the same page can leave anyone exhausted. Fortunately, your multi-generational family vacation can bypass this common pitfall by choosing to vacation with an organized tour.
Having your family activities pre-planned months before your flight may not sound like a big perk, but leaving the plans to someone else frees you up to relax, connect and make memories together. Let a seasoned travel company take care of logistics, transportation and finding the best local cuisine.
3. Flexible options for every family member (of any age)
Today, more than ever, travelers have unique needs. As any parent will attest, finding activities the whole family will enjoy is no easy task. Conveniently, organized tours offer the great benefit of thoroughly vetted, yet still authentic experiences. Whether it’s rafting in Costa Rica or being on safari in Kenya these vacations offer something for everyone. Having this flexibility is key.
A perfect example is this Family Volunteer Adventure in Costa Rica. Here, families have the option of an exciting morning on the rapids of the Rio Savegre or exploring the world-famous Manuel Antonio National Park to encounter monkeys, sloths and more. This means mom can take on the white-knuckle river ride with the kids, while dad joins the grandparents on the tropical tour!
Discover Corps guide Esther “Mama” Simba on our Tanzania: Safari & Service adventure.
4. Expert local guides
How great is the feeling of immediately belonging to a community? With the right organized tour, a guide is your ticket to people and sights that could never be experienced if traveling otherwise. Esther Simba “Mama Simba”, a local guide for Discover Corps in Tanzania, says it best when sharing about the experience you’ll have on her tour. ”…some of the travelers that joined [the tour] have never been in a village setting. You’ll find the most kind, loving and caring people in Tanzania.” You can check out her full video here.
Many times it takes a few days to feel connected in a new location, but with a guide from the community, you’re instantly immersed in a rich new culture. Suddenly, your family goes from talking about the activities they witnessed to describing the adventure the entire group experienced.
5. Connect with like-minded families
In one form or the other, we all seek connection while traveling. This can mean connecting with a place, a people group, or even a certain delicious food. One frequently overlooked benefit of organized tours, however, are the connections made with other families on your same tour. These relationships are formed through exciting shared experiences and last far beyond the end of your family vacation.
Organized tours present an excellent chance for families to come together. It’s a special sight when your 10-year-old is playing at the beach with other kids their age, your teenager is sharing her love of dolphins with new friends, and you and your parents can enjoy a nice drink with a couple that sees the world in much the same way as you.
Discover Corps fosters this type of environment with small family-friendly groups. A 16-person maximum means you can enjoy your trip in the company of others, but also sneak away for some alone time when needed. Along with several exotic souvenirs, you may head home with some new family friends.