How To Plan The Ideal Family Getaway

The elderly gets stressed over their numerous medical disorders, adults get stressed over their careers, teenagers get stressed over their ever-changing lives, and kids get stressed over school. Obviously, no matter what age or gender you belong to, you can never escape the draining effects of stress. If one of the traits you and your family have in common is exhaustion and sleepless nights, it’s time to take one step back and provide yourselves with a much needed breathing space.

And the only way to do that is by having a family vacation getaway this weekend!

Tips on How to Plan the Ideal Family Vacation Getaway

Planning Starts on Friday – Inform your supervisor that you intend to take the day off on Friday to have sufficient time to plan for your family vacation getaway on the coming weekend. Make sure that you also finish your work by Thursday night as you’ll be entertaining no calls from the office throughout the weekend.

Although your kids don’t have to skip school on the last day of the week, they also have to make sure that they don’t leave any loose ends once you hit the road on Saturday. As such, remind them to have their assignments done by Friday night.

Location, Location, Location – Since you’ll only be spending a weekend and not a whole week on vacation, it’s best that you choose a destination which won’t take you too long to reach. If it will take you hours to reach your destination by car, consider taking the plane instead.

Accommodation must be carefully chosen as well. They must provide all the luxury that your family needs. Remember that this weekend’s family vacation getaway is all about letting off steam and relaxing, and you won’t be able to do that if you’re stuck in a cheap but sleazy motel. This weekend is all about indulging yourself!

Pampering Yourself – Adults and teenagers should treat themselves with an hour at the spa. They can enjoy the sauna, bathe in rose water, or have their whole bodies massaged. It’s important that each and every one of you find the right therapy to help you lower your stress levels. As for kids, allow them to eat and watch TV more or longer than what’s usual.

Zzzz Time – Sleep is unfortunately a far underrated activity. It’s also one of the things that are severely affected by stress. When you feel stressed, you’re most likely unable to sleep. This however can be easily remedied with a family vacation getaway. You can give you and your kids a room of their own so you can all enjoy your rest separately and more peacefully. Sleep early and wake up late!

Avoid Tiring Activities – Remember that the goal for this weekend’s family vacation getaway is to give you and your family much needed rest. That certainly won’t happen if you’re going to spend it playing exciting but exhausting sports, gambling at the casino all night, and so forth. Instead of these activities, consider spending majority of the day just catching up on your reading, listening to great music, and yes, sleeping.

Eating Together – All of you will also be able to relax more if you and your family spend time together, and the best way to do that is by sharing meals. Whether you order in or eat out doesn’t matter just as long as you and your family rediscover the simple pleasures of spending time in each other’s company!

Stress Relief Techniques – Most hotels offer yoga and meditation classes as well as cooking and writing workshops to their guests. All these are great ways to help you get rid of stress from your body. Find one which appeal to you then ask if your family wishes to join you. Even if they don’t, that shouldn’t mean you shouldn’t join it as well.

Retail Therapy – No family vacation getaway is complete without at least an hour’s worth of

Spiderman the Ride - Universal Studios Islands of Adventure
The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman is located in Universal Islands of Adventure. The ride is based on a state of the art 4-D experience that totally immerses the riders in a visual and physical onslaught from start to finish. If you have not been on this ride before I would seriously recommend it! Having not really been a fan of the 3-D style rides and preferring the roller-coaster style on offer I was a bit dubious of the intention of a 4-D ride. I must admit I was also taken back by the age of some of the riders themselves, some as young as 4 years old. This ride was bound to be not as good as I had imagined. The entrance to the ride itself is set back into the scene of comic book land and as such the only thing that tells you it is the Spiderman Ride is the sign above the entrance door. They have made you think you are entering the daily bugle offices that are set in lower Manhattan, New York. If you hit the ride at peak times or during the summer months the wait can be...
Travelling to Florida for the First Time?
Once you have booked your flights and villa you need to make sure that you will be able to travel and so you will need to sort out your visa. Most holiday makers will probably travel on the visa waiver scheme and will need to apply for an ESTA, however, if you have ever been arrested or refused entry to the USA you will need to apply to the Embassy for a visa. You apply for an ESTA online at https://esta. cbp. dhs. gov/esta/. This will last for 2 years but there is a now a fee. It is wise to apply for this early just to make sure that you will be allowed to travel. The good news is that there is one less form to fill out on the plane before you arrive. Your airline will also require you to fill out their Advanced Passenger Information before travelling. When you have booked your car hire it is worth checking if you can pre-register your car hire to save time when you arrive. This process varies from company to company. The flight is a long one but the entertainment sy...
Self catering doesn?t have to mean cooking!
When you start to plan your villa holiday one thing to remember is that although most Florida villas are a far cry from the caravans, chalets and tents most of us associate with the typical UK self catering holidays that is still essentially what you are booking. Some owners including ourselves do offer a daily maid service or a mid stay clean as an optional extra to our guests but as far as I?m aware it is not possible to book an all-inclusive villa holiday or even a bed and breakfast option. This doesn?t mean that mum or dad have to spend half their holiday stuck in the kitchen cooking. Dining out in Florida is still reasonably priced when compared to dining out in the UK and eating all your meals in restaurants is an option but most people combine eating in and dining out to get the best from their villa experience. When it comes to dining out anyone staying on High Grove; the community we are most familiar with, will not be disappointed. Most days when we are in Florid...

retail therapy. You can shop at the mall and at bazaars that are held in the vicinity. Ask around to find great shopping sites where you can haggle for the price.

Lastly, don’t forget to talk to each other and updating everyone about what’s going on with your life. Whether you’re vacationing in Europe or the Middle East is irrelevant; if you don’t enjoy the people you’re with, your family vacation getaway will amount to nothing. But if you do enjoy your time with your family, focus on strengthening your bonds to each other and you’ll soon see that all of you will return home not only looking better but feeling better overall as well.

Dr Nathalie Fiset is a family doctor and a certified hypnotherapist. For more information go to: http://www.bigfloridavacation.com www.aperfectharmony.com or www.a-1hypnosis.com