Vacations

I love vacations! I’m picturing a beach chair, a great book and cool beverages being delivered regularly. Ooh, or maybe a sightseeing vacation around Europe. No, wait…the National Parks, soaking in nature and seeing America. OR, what about seeing the Great Barrier Reef. Oh, no. I’ve got it…an African Safari.

Vacations with kids might look ‘slightly’ different.  It depends on your family, but if any of these fantasy vacations seem totally out of reach…you’re not alone.  Traveling with kids is tough. I often feel like I do all the same things on vacation as at home, just in a new location. Then, I get home and feel like I need to rest from my vacation.

Despite my deepest wishes, teenage Mikey is not a fan of vacations.  Change of location, change of climate, change of routine and change of meal options? His view is, ‘why would we do this?’ Change is hard for him. When he was younger, he loved air travel, car trips and hotel rooms.  Now, he’s not a huge fan.

But, we’re a family and sometimes the rest of us just need a change of scenery.  Here are some things I have learned over the years. I haven’t even tried all of these myself, but I think they sound like good ideas.

In no particular order:

• Call ahead to TSA and get clearance to bypass the lines if your child has a diagnosis that makes check-in challenging.
• Build in break times for the kids throughout the day definitely helps
• Book your trip with an agency that specializes in special needs travel. They help you plan and some actually travel with you to help you on the trip if you have a family member with special needs. Google it. 
• Rent a house so you can prepare some of the foods your child normally eats to make things easier on them.
• Check out Autism friendly cruises…how cool would that be?
• Bring familiar items like their pillow or a stuffed animal to make bedtime smell like home.
• Keep to some kind of schedule that is similar to the one at home, even if meals are just served at the same time, this is super helpful.
• Take your special kiddos interests into account. Is there something fun for each member of the family?
• Team up with another family so you have more adults on hand to keep things running smoothly.
• Go to beach towns in the off-season when the beaches are not crowded, or ski resorts in the summer…off-season is your friend.

If you have ideas that have worked for you, please share them in the comments.  Because, really, don’t we all need a good vacation?