Our family vacations are exhausting – we fast travel. Not the video game world of teleporting, rather, being on-the-go during vacations, soaking in and seeing as many things as you can. Slow travel is quite the opposite – taking time in one destination and digging deep. I totally get people who are into slow travel or landing in one location for a week or longer, but it’s just not us, at least not now. Vacation time is limited especially as the kids get older with more activities, summer school and other commitments.
I always have the best intentions when planning trips with our kids. We find a destination on our bucket list and then I always think, “We need to keep a day or two open to just relax and take our time.” Of course, this rarely happens. Three European cities in nine days; a road trip covering the Canadian Maritimes; full itineraries with as many sites and cool experiences as we can muster when visiting Copenhagen, London, New York City, Boston, Toronto – it’s just what we do.
I can only remember two times where we scrapped plans because we were tired and not feeling the joy of the journey – once in Tokyo when we were feeling a delayed jet lag two days into the trip. We napped for an entire afternoon and canceled a visit to a robot museum. And on day four of a trip to DC to explore the monuments, memorials and museums, we decided to forgo the US Bureau of Engraving and instead opted for some pool time and eating dinner in our hotel room. And as much as we are on the go, we do take time for a nap or restful hours when we need it.
Luckily, my kids and husband are similarly geared – we are early risers, up with the sun, so we’re ready to take on whatever plans we’ve (I’ve) plotted out for the day. We revel in the adrenaline of being somewhere new with different things to see and experience, people to meet, foods to try and seeing what new and remarkable things may be around the corner.
I strive to see and absorb as much of a place as possible. If we’re taking the time and spending the money to journey to Greece, you bet I want to see as much as possible. Plus, I’m not sure that there are many places that we’ll actually visit more than once, so we want to absorb as much of a destination as we can into our minds and souls. These trips become part of us.
Some tips for fast travel family vacations:
- Pad some down time on the end of your trip: As a result of these jam-packed journeys, I usually try to take a day or so between our return date and going back to school and/or work, so that we can recuperate at home. Actually, after returning from a fantastic, but jam-packed trip to South Dakota, I was energized. I dove right back into work and sought out some plans for a 4-day weekend before school started up again in August.
- Be flexible. As fun as it is for our family to fast travel, I am also realistic that vacationing with kids means that you have to be flexible, adapt and take your time when needed. Nap time, sleeping in (I have a teenager now), and stopping for snacks to stave the hangries, are all important considerations.
- An itinerary is essential for fast travel to ensure you make the most of your trip. Knowing where you are going, when, and how you are going to get there helps you stay on track.
Fast travel family vacations may exhaust me, but I have never regretted being pooped at the end of one of our adventures. I revel in the memories and experiences that we had; the inside jokes that we laughed at (how many times in one day can we say “underwear”?); and the smiles on my kids faces at seeing a mountain goat block traffic on the Needles Highway or their utter delight when they bite into a Nutella and banana crepe straight from the streets of Paris while walking to the Arc de Triumphe, and that breathes life into my tired, but wanderlusting soul.
