How to have family vacations without the stress

Planning family vacations is not always easy. It is a delicate balance trying to fit the likes and dislikes of your entire family into the perfect vacation. Here are some helpful hints:

1) When taking a cruise, look at the age groups involved. If you have little kids, no one does it better than Disney. Almost all cruise lines have a children’s area but not all of them have kiddie pools, despite what they claim. On our last cruise the “kiddie pool” was at least six feet deep. Disney cruise line is one of the few that really knows how to keep your kid entertained. They have kiddie pools, a supervised kid center, kids movies and Disney themed shows. In fact you will probably have more alone time than you have had in years and your kids will be begging you to remain with the other kids to play.

2) Do not schedule excursions for every port of call. Doing this will leave you feeling like you are racing from place to place, not exactly relaxing. It will also leave you with really cranky children. If the kids are old enough, let them have one meal to themselves. There is always food available so they can grab a pizza or some other yummy kid friendly food in between swimming in the pool or playing in the activities area.

3) If you are planning a more traditional vacation that includes airfare and hotels then definitely see if you can get direct flights. The last thing you want to do is to add races through additional airports when you are traveling with kids. If possible bring only carry on luggage. Most airlines allow one bag per person. Join one of the rental car memberships so that you can call ahead and have a car waiting for you or contact your hotel and see if they have a shuttle service. You want to make this transition as easy as possible.

4) Bring snacks on the plane to save money and to keep the kids distracted during takeoff. If possible take an airline like Jetblue, which has constant television entertainment. This is a free service and you can bring your own headset to cut costs.

5) If you are planning a cross country trip make sure to have the games and snacks ready. Dole them out slowly so that there is continually something interesting to play with. Otherwise, you risk cranky fights from the back seat. Also plan out rest stops. You know that they will have to go so you might as well hand out the drinks at appropriate intervals.

Caterina Christakos is travel reviewer for http://www.cruiseandtraveldeals.com