By Lorraine Ell

The joy of travelling with your adult children and their families is a growing trend among retirees. Most of us live scattered across the globe and multi-generational family holidays are increasingly seen as the best way to gather together. Whether you include parents and adult children only or entire families including the grandchildren vacations can add to building a bank of memories. Of course, this all sounds great but what are the realities of multi-generational travel and what do you need to know before embarking on your adventure?

1. The key to any successful travel is planning. At least a year in advance, discuss the type of trip that will appeal to all. You may love a Crystal Cruise in the Caribbean but your children may prefer a ski trip to Aspen. Wherever you go there should be a variety of activities for all involved. For the least amount of planning, cruises and family resorts such as Hilton’s Fiji Beach Resort and Spa that are designed for family groups, may be the way to go.
2. Plan but do not over schedule. Leave time for individual family units to reconnect or to choose activities that they want to do that others don’t. One child may choose to take windsurfing lessons while the other goes snorkeling during a trip to Maui. After all, the purpose of any vacation is to relax and our levels of activity differ.
3. Develop a budget. As the parents, you may be the one picking up the tab for transportation and accommodations, but should your children decide to take a special tour or lessons, who will pay? Discuss the budget with your family before you go. Talk about what is available at the destination and choose in advance some activities that are fun for the entire group.
4. Decide on accommodations. Reserving adjacent rooms in a hotel or renting a beach house where you all stay together will appeal to different families depending on privacy concerns. It may seem fair to assign a family to one room each but also consider the number of people. In the same way, a single adult should not be relegated to the couch.
5. Agree on the length of the trip. For comfortable overseas travel 10 days is about right giving everyone time to adapt to the time change and climate and cultural differences. Local or stateside trips can be shorter. Togetherness has an expiration date and even the closest families can tire of each other on extended trips.
6. Have realistic expectations. Cranky children, testy moods, and hurt feelings are part of life and occur on vacations as well. Fortunately our brains are wired to remember the good so wait out the storm. Years later, the discovery of sea glass with your grandchildren on the beach or the awe expressed by your adult son at the Pantheon in Rome will be the events you remember.
7. Mix it up. Free up time to spend with your adult children without grandchildren and time for your adult children to re-bond with each other. On a family reunion trip, my husband and I had our two granddaughters stay in our hotel room giving our adult children time to go out together at night and giving us the joy of bedtime stories including tales about their parents when they were children! Most destinations have babysitters available so that the adults can spend at least one evening at dinner together without interruption. After all, the purpose of multi-generational travel is to reconnect and build lasting memories. Provide these opportunities for everyone.

Lorraine Ell is Director of Client Relations for Portfolio, LLC. She is an international entrepreneur who has lived abroad and traveled throughout the world. Lorraine can be reached at lorraine@portfoliollc.com.

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