Planning a Memorable Family Vacation: Spring Break and Beyond

With the holidays over, many families turn their attention to planning a spring break trip. We chatted with a number of our travel consultants in the Andrew Harper Travel Office to get some of their expert advice about how to plan the best spring break vacation for all members of the family.

Over and over again, our travel consultants emphasized the importance of planning as far in advance as possible. Several predicted that January might already be too late to find space at some of the most popular beach resorts, but certainly some will still have availability.

Get creative when choosing a destination. A Caribbean beach resort is lovely in the springtime, but that’s exactly where everyone else is trying to go. Two travel consultants recommended considering Southern California as a warm-weather alternative; it has the famous San Diego Zoo, SeaWorld, Legoland and, of course, Disneyland. The Florida Keys and Phoenix also came up more than once.

Be sure to involve your children in the planning process. Having them help research the destination will help build excitement, and they will get more out of the trip itself.

For something especially memorable, get out of the country. One of our travel consultants is planning on taking her 11-year-old son to Venice, Florence and Rome this spring, for example. She notes this is a great time to visit because top sights will be less crowded, and kids hate lines. Some of our travel partners also offer family-oriented small-group tours to places like China and even Africa. Depending on where you live, it can be surprisingly easy to reach magical cities in Spain and France, unspoiled ruins in Central America and even cherry blossoms in Japan.

Wherever you go, especially outside the country, to have the most stress-free experience, we recommend enlisting the help of one of our travel partners. That way you don’t have to worry about navigating a foreign country on your own, with kids in tow. With our travel partners’ help, we ensure that Andrew Harper families don’t have to worry about anything once the trip starts.

And even more important, we ensure your trip crackles with special experiences. Your kids may want the latest videogame system or cell phone, but taking them on a trip gives them memories you’ll share for a lifetime.

If you’re not able to travel until the summer, consider taking one of our family Signature Tours to the Galapagos or Costa Rica. Last year’s family Signature Tour to Costa Rica was a huge success. One Andrew Harper member wrote to us afterwards, saying, “This was really the trip of a lifetime for our family and we are so appreciative of all the work you and [the tour guide] put into it. If you do another family trip next year, there is a good chance we’ll participate.”