I am humming that old Go-Go’s song from the 80’s in which the chorus went “Vacation is all I ever wanted, Vacation, had to get away… because I am really primed for a get away.
When I was growing up, our family took a vacation together every summer. I would like to provide yearly adventures for my family, but as a single parent, I am not always able to budget for the fun getaways that I would like to take with my children.
Instead of taking a week long vacation in a faraway tropical location, I have found that fun day long excursions are wonderful getaways. Sometimes we have an agenda, like going to the museum or beach. At other times we have just gotten into the car with a packed lunch and drinks and just drive and stop where we want to. I ask the children what direction we should go in and they navigate and we decide together where and when we stop. We have found fun things to do like walking down the boardwalk of a river while enjoying the boats, stopping at a playground with a pirate ship and having a pine cone war, stopping in at an ice cream store for a cool treat and finding a large field with hay bales to play on (with the owners permission of course).
I recently read an article titled “Beating the Parent Trap”published in a Canadian newspaper that lists special single parent vacation plans that may be more affordable due to discounts that some resorts are offering. Personally, I think that I will sign up for the Jamaican resort that offers a “free personal vacation nanny” to watch over the children, while I get some much needed R&R. Ahh I can feel the ocean breeze, and the swaying of the hammock now!
About.com http://travelwithkids.about.com/od/singleparenttravel1/ has a page that lists different types of single parent vacation packages and tips when traveling with children. I noticed that other sites offer bulletin boards or personals that have other single parents that would like to travel with another single parent family to split the costs, and potentially make it more enjoyable. If you choose to do this, be cautious because anybody can sign on to a bulletin board. Get to know somebody in person before you decide to vacation with them. If asking someone you do not know to vacation with your family seems too scary or extreme for you, then ask someone you do know. A friend of mine asked us to go camping with her family last year and we had a wonderful time. This took the stress off having to get to know a new family while providing a fun getaway for my family. It was especially nice because they have all the camping equipment that we do not have, and the best part is that they asked us to go with them again this year!
Remember the idea of vacationing, whether it is a day trip, vacationing with friends or with a new family is to make memories that will last a lifetime.
For more great family travel tips and inexpensive vacation options, visit the Families.com Travel Blog.