A lot of holiday stress comes from expecting everything to go exactly as planned, but the reality is that travel doesn’t really work like that because all kinds of things can happen and change at any point.
And if you think about it, that’s true even when you’re at home, and the difference is that when you’re on holiday, people can sometimes react as though a change of plan has ruined the entire trip. Of course, most of the time it hasn’t – it’s just a change of plan, and once everyone accepts that, it’s much easier to move on and enjoy the rest of the day.
Sometimes people accidentally turn family holidays into endurance events because there’s a temptation to squeeze as much as possible into every day because you’ve spent money getting there and you don’t want to miss anything – makes sense, doesn’t it? Well… not really because everyone’s just going to get stressed out and tired.
Plus, being busy isn’t necessarily the same thing as having fun, and in a lot of cases, families enjoy themselves a lot more when they don’t fill the schedule to bursting. The other thing to remember is that people need downtime, even when they’re somewhere exciting – children need a chance to switch off, adults need a chance to sit down for a bit, and not every hour has to be filled with activities.
One thing that sometimes happens on family holidays is that everyone ends up attached at the hip from the moment they wake up until the moment they go to bed. Now that sounds lovely in theory, but the reality is that most people don’t spend that much time together at home – children have their own interests, teenagers often want a bit of independence, and adults usually appreciate a little space every now and then as well.
That doesn’t mean anyone is having a bad time, and in fact, it can sometimes make the holiday more enjoyable. For example, one person might want to browse a few shops, someone else might want to sit with a coffee for half an hour, and another family member might decide they want to spend some time by the pool, and the point is that allowing people a bit of freedom can sometimes make everyone happier when they come back together later on.
One thing that can make family travel stressful is having one person responsible for absolutely everything – they’re booking flights, researching accommodation, sorting travel documents, making reservations, planning activities, and trying to remember all the little details in between. That’s a lot, so if possible, spread some of that responsibility around because it stops one person feeling like they’re managing the entire holiday from start to finish.
Remember the person doing all the organising deserves a holiday as well, so try to help them out.
Not every family likes to travel in the same way, and that’s completely fine, but you’ll need to work out what you want before you go. For example, you could organise a private tour because it gives you a little bit more flexibility and means you can focus on the things you want to see the most.
In the end, the important thing is finding what works for your family rather than trying to copy someone else’s holiday.
Years later, most people don’t sit around talking about how perfectly organised a holiday was – they talk about the things that made them laugh, the places they loved, and even the things that went wrong and somehow became funny afterwards.
In fact, some of the stories that become family favourites start out as the bits that seemed annoying at the time, and that’s why it’s worth worrying a little less about creating the perfect trip and focusing a little more on enjoying the one you’re actually having.
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