Family reunions give you the opportunity to flip through the scrapbook stored in your memories. The best family reunions allow you to add even more pictures to your mental scrapbook. Certainly, traveling to your family reunion is part of the memory-making process. As such, it benefits you to make the travel aspect as enjoyable as possible. Here are some tips to help you make the most of your family reunion travel.
Caravanning
If most, if not all, of your family members live in the same general vicinity, think about creating a car caravan. This offers you a couple of benefits. First, it gives you access to your car once you reach your destination. If you want to do some individual sightseeing, you can. However, caravanning still allows you the fun of traveling together for most of the trip.
Second, it allows people to leave the reunion on a time frame that works best for them. For example, some people will need to return to work earlier than others. Having access to their own cars allows them to leave when they need to without affecting everyone else’s plans.
Charters
If it’s important for all of you to travel together, then look into chartering either a small plane or doing a bus charter. Charter buses or planes can cost several thousand dollars to book. The benefit of booking together is that you can pool your money as a group. That way no one is stuck holding the financial bag, so to speak. If you have enough people, the cost of chartering a bus may actually cost less than driving in separate vehicles. The same may be true for buying individual plane tickets on commercial airlines that may or may not meet the timing and date requirements for your trip.
Travel Packages
Another option is to book a family reunion travel package. These packages often include not only booking for the destination, but for the travel aspect as well. This means that you may be on a single flight with most if not all of your family members. The advantage to this type of travel is that there is usually a travel leader. This person not only gets you to where you’re going but also plans fun activities along the way.
Planning Considerations
One offline option that you may want to look into is creating an events page on Facebook. This allows you to keep your family informed of travel plans. More importantly, it allows the people in your group to share their vacation memories with everyone else once the reunion is underway. It’s a place to post photos, memories, and travel tips. It could make the process both easier and more fun!
Whether you should fly or drive to your next family reunion depends on a number of factors. These include budget, the destination, and personal preference. The key to creating the most memorable trip is to start planning early and to communicate often with everyone.
