Last summer, we embarked on our first road trip. It was a 12-hour drive that should’ve taken 10, except we couldn’t manage to get four bladders synced up. Still, at the end of our drive, we were in the Blue Ridge Mountains, ready for our memory-making adventure. I took one last glance at Facebook as I prepared to put my phone away and noticed two other families had just made the same trip and saw all the sights my family had planned to see. So much for originality!
Some families go on the same vacations year after year. Others go to the locale everyone’s talking about, i.e. the Blue Ridge Mountains. Both are good problems to have; I mean, vacation is vacation! But if you’re looking for something fresh, inspiring, or outside-the-box, try one of these 4 family vacation ideas for your next trip.
1. Family Camp
I thought once you hit 15, your camp years were over. Then I watched the movie Family Camp and changed my mind. It’s about a family with a dad who needs to get his priorities in check, so the mom suggests they attend a church camp together. He reluctantly complies. After all, he’s gotta stay within the cell signal in case the call for his job promotion comes in.
At the camp, they sleep in a yurt, compete in tournament-style games, and meet another family who brings out the worst and then the best in them. While Family Camp isn’t a true story (it was actually created by YouTube stars “The Skit Guys”), the lighthearted fun made me wish I were there. There’s something special about experiencing something as carefree as camp with your kids. I think it’s worth a search to find one near you—and to see the movie, because it’s really cute.
2. Theme Time
The year my friend’s youngest child read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, the family took a vacation to Missouri and saw Mark Twain’s childhood home, the Mississippi River, and a museum called Becky Thatcher’s House. This unique family vacation idea brought the book to life and gave them a reason to visit a different part of the country.
You could also theme a vacation around civil rights, your own family history, or even a food competition. I mean, how fun would it be to hunt for the best bar-b-que in the Southeast? A theme vacation is a great way to add education, culture, and history to family time.
3. All Aboard
Growing up, I loved watching the Amtrak zoom by on the train tracks. I always wondered what kind of people were on the train and where they were going. Maybe the next one that speeds by could have your family on it.
The train’s a great option for parents who want to see the sights and not have to worry about checking a map. And everyone knows how exhausting a road trip is when you have to drive long hours. Give yourself a break from driving and ride the rails with your kids on your next family vacation.
4. Parkless Theme Park
I have a friend whose kids are five and seven years old and they still think that all the things around Disney World are Disney World. I’m not saying you should fly to a city with a theme park and not actually go in, but if you live near a tourist attraction that has resorts and special activities, try planning a trip without the park one time.
We live near Orlando, and on one rainy day, we enjoyed a kid-friendly monorail crawl. As we rode, we stopped at every hotel and used the penny press. It was an activity that cost us exactly $4.08 for hours of fun and special memories.
What’s another outside-the-box family vacation idea?
