Traveling With Grandparents And Kids - My Family Travels

If you’re planning a multigenerational vacations, follow my tips on pleasing everyone — of all ages — participating in your family vacation, with tips on keeping them safe and healthy, too.

Multigenerational travel tips Pin.
Keep grandparents happy with these helpful multigenerational travel tips.

Look around popular resorts these days and you’re likely to spot a trend: more and more seniors are taking grandchildren on vacation, and many people are sharing vacations with their kids and their parents. You may find three or four generations sitting together in the hotel dining room.

The most important aspect of intergenerational vacation is not so much your destination, but organizing your plans to allow each age group to spend time with their peers.

For example, teenagers might go hoverboarding or on a supervised bike trip with their peers, while grandma settles in with a good book by the hotel pool. Younger kids might participate in a learn-to-swim program while Mom and Dad get in a round of golf. Then everyone meets for dinner.

Allowing each person their own fun time heads off potential conflicts and insures everyone enjoys themselves. Plus, safe and supervised activities for the youngsters ensure your peace of mind.

Many resorts now offer babysitting services and have on-site or medical services nearby, an important consideration for people with chronic conditions such as asthma or angina.

Wherever you choose to go, don’t leave home without separate toilet kits for everyone, containing an adequate supply of all prescription medicines, including things like asthma inhalers and glucose testing kits, first-aid items such as Band-Aids, anti-itch creams, insect repellant, and antihistamines in case of a mild allergic reaction to exotic foods or an insect bite.

Check with your doctors. (If a family member is highly allergic to things like shellfish or bee sting, be sure to get a supply of Epi-Pens or similar injectable epinephrine from your physician.)

Don’t forget a spare pair of reading glasses for menus and bedtime stories. ALL of you need sunglasses and sunscreen, as well as other sun-protective gear like wide-brimmed hats. And, pack a deck of cards, iPad loaded with movies or Travel Scrabble for rainy days.

Keep in mind that while your kids and grandkids like being with you, they also want to go off and just be, well, kids—just as you crave adult conversation after hours of playing “Go Fish.”

So be careful to pick a vacation site that everyone can agree on, which provides separate fun for each generation (with qualified supervision for kids), and you’ll be making some travel memories everyone will treasure.

Dear Reader: This page may contain affiliate links which may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Our independent journalism is not influenced by any advertiser or commercial initiative unless it is clearly marked as sponsored content. As travel products change, please be sure to reconfirm all details and stay up to date with current events to ensure a safe and successful trip.

2 Replies to “Traveling With Grandparents And Kids”

  • Nice and informative post, thank you such a nice sharing, we can hope find more from you on this thank you.

  • This is absolutely first class
    phenomenal

  • Kashmir Tour

    very informative article Travel forums provide first hand experience and advice to travelers and are a great source of information and travel tips.
    for travel permissions in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh in India you can contact palaholidays.com a leading tour operator and travel guide exclusive for Jammu and Kashmir Tourism

  • Tom

    Have you ever actually traveled with kids? It doesn’t seem like it by the tone of this article.

  • todobigo

    Hello Dr Ramesh,
    If both legal guardians or birth parents of the child are traveling with the child, you will not need any other documentation, except everyone’s visas and passports. Check with your employer about medical insurance. If they will not provide medical coverage overseas, you can inquire with your U.S. based insurance company about what they provide. Some travel insurance companies sell one-year policies to cover students studying overseas and that might be another option. Safe Travels!

  • Dr Ramesh

    Sir, we both are going Europe with work visa on base of permit. Taking our 3year old child with us. Any letter or medical form/ paper we need to carry with us?

  • A Great Family Activity and one that will bring the family back together in the future when they all grow up!!
    Take a look at our adventures. https://www.youtube.com/user/00Shaddow00 . We just started doing this to bring the family together and stop wasting our time setting in front of the television. We are filming our trips to document our adventures to remember and to share with family and friends. Maybe to motivate others to get out there with there family.

  • Kavleen Kaur

    good article..

  • Jina

    thanks for sharing the wonderful and informative details. Love this blog post. Next month coming to san francisco and looking for best hotel.

  • Dubai is such a nice place to stay and famous for its wonderful sightseeing’s attractions. The best trip is Dubai sightseeing’s tour and desert safari in Dubai. We had great time couple of years ago.

  • cruisebay

    Everything is very open with a precise clarification of the challenges. It was really informative. Your site is extremely helpful. Many thanks for sharing

  • Let me add http://www.babyquip.com to the list.

    With over 300 locations to serve you in North America, we help tens of thousands of families enjoy more restful and memorable outings near and far.

  • Shira Barnett

    YAY THAT’S MY TWIN! So proud of you Tali!

  • Sunil

    Your blog helped me to plan my family trip to Bangkok and Pattaya. Just made a video blog out if it, https://youtu.be/tok17yOR1W8 please watch ang give feedback.

  • Ranch Vacation with family is a real fun. Here we spent quality time with each other. Truly said, we eat a lot and on-time as well. Riding is also a fun in ranch vacation, Created a perfect picture.

  • Misty

    For great prices on water rafting, cruise, zip line, and horseback riding activities, you can check out: http://www.mauiticketsforless.com

  • Tom

    We have actually done the ATV tour in Cozumel Mexico, and had an amazing time. We booked with Cozumel Cruise Excursions. Net which is a family business and we had an amazing time. Theres nothing better than going to another country and getting great customer service and amazing people as guides. I would highly recommend checking them out next time your in Cozumel http://cozumelcruiseexcursions.net

  • This sounds like so much fun! From the haunted houses to the different drinks offered. I didn’t know HHN was such a major part for Universal Orlando. Good to know! Thanks for the article!

  • MFT Admin

    Hello Annetta,
    Yes, one Permission to Travel or Consent Letter can list more than one child on it, if the contact information for the legal guardians/birth parents is the same.
    Safe travels!

  • Annetta greaves

    Can I use one concept form to apply for two sibling from the same father

  • Hey, very nice site. I came across this on Google, and I am stoked that I did. I will definitely be coming back here more often. Wish I could add to the conversation and bring a bit more to the table,but am just taking in as much info as I can at the moment. Thanks for sharing.

  • Thanks for all of these suggestions.
    Chicago is a wonderful place to visit.

  • Excellent very nice! No doubt Dubai is very famous for more activities but desert safari is very unique activity.i love this one…

  • jennifer S

    This is important topic for travel insurance for family and luggage on holiday and if you want to explore more destination you can visit here:- http://www.yourvitalventures.com

  • Thanks, recommendation cheap hotels is very useful for the preparation of our vacation that will not be soon. Really nice!

  • It’s amazing. I hope i can visit it soon T.T

  • Aladeyelu oluwaseun

    Our family of 3 adults booked a tour with Kalka Travels in April 2018. Our tour included transportation and accommodation in Delhi, Pushkar, Udaipur, Bundi, Jaipur and Agra. We then caught an overnight train to Varanasi where we met up with a third party contracted by Kalka Travel. Overall we were very happy with the tour company as they delivered on what we had pre-arranged with them. We upgraded our vehicle to a SUV rather than just a sedan, and added an elephant ride to Agra Fort, tickets to traditional dance show in Udaipur, a movie at the Raj Mandir theatre in Jaipur as well as water was supplied each day to us. All breakfasts were included. Our driver Ravinder was exceptional in that he was always on time and patient with us sometimes being late; the vehicle was always cleaned that morning and comfortable. He was highly attentive to our needs, very reliable, polite, and humorous, and told us what to expect at each stop. We always felt very safe with him as he was an excellent driver. His English was good in that we were able to ask many questions of him. Kalka Travels was flexible with our itinerary and our driver stopped at a few places that were not on our list of stops, unlike the other company we had considered booking who told us the drivers could not be flexible.Our wonderful driver, Ravinder, made our trip very special. Kalka Travels also only asked for a $100 deposit in advance and the remainder when we arrived in India, which put us at ease. Bobby Thakur was very quick to respond to any concerns we had. All in all, a wonderful vacation and experience with Kalka Travels.

  • Ted Jones

    Nice article! Wanted to point out another license plate app that has a map view showing all your plates, calculates points based on current location and includes US, Canada, Mexico and Australia plates.

    For iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/plates-family-travel-game/id1335335602?mt=8
    For Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ebrydobby.app.plates.free

  • Great article & very practical. Thanks for all the tips – I’ll be thinking about them for a while as we work on our website redesign.

  • There are many famous forts and palaces along with wildlife sanctuaries and other monuments which has attracted thousands of visitors and some of them have become a part of UNESCO World Heritage Site as well.

  • We are completely in accord with these ‘not to miss 5 experiences in Dubai.’ We experienced them on a family trip last year. The one thing we missed out was the charter yacht. Now we have taken it as a priority for our next trip after reading your post.

  • Look like you had a great adventure trip. The ship looks awesome.

  • Dubai is amazing. I really enjoyed reading your article! 🙂

  • anonymous

    I just found a website that lists apple festivals all over the country! So you can find something in your area. They all seem a little bit different, which is fun. http://pickyourown.org/applefestivals.php

  • St john is more quite than other Caribbean islands. St John accessible only by ferry from the other U.S. Virgin Islands, St. John is a true gem in the Caribbean with crystal clear waters, lush green mountains and gorgeous white sand beaches. Though it is the smallest of the three U.S. Virgin Islands, St. John’s unspoiled beauty is perhaps the greatest found anywhere in the Caribbean.

  • Rajasthan is one of the most vibrant and colorful states in India with its rich culture and traditions since ancient times. It is known as the land of warriors and beautiful princess who even chose to die for saving their chastity and had a great affinity with their motherland. Whether it is the cuisine or the dress sense everything is unique about Rajasthan’s culture. There are many famous forts and palaces along with wildlife sanctuaries and other monuments which has attracted thousands of visitors and some of them have become a part of UNESCO World Heritage Site as well. The famous sites are described in this blog which is good for the history lovers and for those people who want to explore more about the diversity of Rajasthan.

  • Being in the city of Royal Tents in Jaisalmer of moving sand ridges, you can’t get away from the seat travel. A rough ride on a camel in the Thar Desert is one of the energizing things to do in Jaisalmer Royal Camps. It enables you to investigate the remote and segregated spots tucked amidst the abandon. Absolutely, the additional time you give on your safari, the more remote spots you are probably going to see and the more you may acclimate to and appreciate the abandon serenity.

  • I am going to Dubai next month thanks for sharing this information will come in handy

  • Thank you so much for sharing a great information. I appreciate your time and effort in your work. Keep posting.

  • Thanks, for posting such and Informatic blog. I had been to Amer Fort in Jaipur and it was an amazing experience.

  • I have read your full post and I want to say that this is a very nice blog. Thanks for viewing up such great information. I like this post, keep writing and give the useful post.

  • Every family Should explore the Australia see most attractive ACTIVITIES IN SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA.

  • A rough ride on a camel in the Thar Desert is one of the energizing things to do in Jaisalmer Royal Camps. It enables you to investigate the remote and segregated spots tucked amidst the abandon.

  • I think that is a wonderful experience at Dubai. I’ve been to Dubai and it’s pretty