Anda
Getting the whole family under one roof is harder than it used to be.
Cousins live across the country, grandparents are busy with hobbies, and parents have hectic work lives. Still, there is nothing like taking an extended family vacation to reboot.
The good news? Family travel is HUGE right now. In fact, almost 46% of family trips include three generations traveling together: parents, kids, and grandparents.
Here is how to plan a group trip everyone will actually enjoy…
Here’s what’s inside:
Why Extended Family Trips Are Booming Again
Multigenerational travel is not a small trend anymore.
Life gets hectic. School runs, work meetings, and busy weekends fill up our schedules. Spending quality time with grandparents and cousins keeps getting pushed back. When everyone vacations together, it forces you to slow down and be in one place at the same time.
There are also some serious perks:
- Shared costs: Multiple families taking a vacation can split the cost of one large rental instead of each renting individual hotel rooms.
- Built-in babysitters: Grandparents get bonding time, and parents get a night off.
- Memories that stick: Big birthdays, anniversaries, and reunions become the backdrop of the trip.
Funny enough, about 77% of multigenerational trips are actually centered around a life event (say that five times fast) like a milestone birthday or family reunion. Meaning, you probably already have a reason to throw one together with family.
Pick A Destination That Works For Everyone
Here’s the problem with planning a group trip:
Grandma wants peace and quiet by the beach. Teens are searching for theme parks. Toddlers require nap-friendly itineraries. The uncles just want to golf.
Trying to please everyone can drive you a little crazy…
But it is doable if you follow one simple rule:
Pick a base with lots of options nearby.
A destination that ticks the right boxes usually has:
- A mix of quiet and active zones
- Easy access to a pool, lake, or beach
- Restaurants for all ages
- Short travel times between activities
Common winners are beach communities, national parks with cabin rentals, and lake houses. Really, any of these can please multiple generations.
Match The Crew With Custom Group Shirts
This one sounds silly at first…
If you aren’t trying to keep track of 14 people in an airport terminal or amusement park, it doesn’t seem like that much. Once you are there, trying to keep track, it makes perfect sense.
Nothing says vacation organisation like matching t-shirts. Ordering blank tees in bulk sizes is far less expensive than buying pre-printed shirts individually — plus you design them however you want! Classic gildan t-shirts are perfect for large orders because they’re available in nearly every size and colour imaginable. Get shirts that fit grandma and the toddlers all the way up to 5XL without spending too much money on each shirt.
Some fun ways to use them:
- Custom design with the family name and vacation year
- Numbered shirts (great for hikes and busy airports)
- Team colours for a group scavenger hunt
- Souvenir keepsakes worn long after the trip
Pretty simple, right?
The gift? Years later, everyone still has their vacation shirt hanging in their closet.
Group Activity Ideas That Bridge Generations
Ok, now for the fun stuff. You want activities that include everyone — not just adults or just children.
The trick is picking things that let each generation participate at their own pace.
Here are some crowd-pleasers:
- Family cook-off: Divide into teams and have each team make a dish. Have grandparents handle the recipes, let the kids stir, and teens plate the dish.
- Photo scavenger hunt: Print a list of things for scouts to photograph near your destination. Have a prize for the winners at dinner.
- Movie night under the stars: Grab a portable projector, blankets, and popcorn.
- Old Timer’s tale: One person tells a favourite or funny story from the past each night at dinner.
Emphasize low-pressure activities. You don’t want a schedule that’s too full for guests to keep up with.
Split The Group For Sanity’s Sake
Being together 24/7 for a week is a lot…
Even among the tightest-knit families. That’s why savvy group travel plans incorporate “split time” – blocks of time when smaller groups branch off to do their own thing.
This works because everyone gets a break. Children nap, teens chill with cousins, grandparents sleep, and parents sneak a quiet coffee. Then re-group at dinner time, refreshed.
A few easy ways to split:
- Give each family one “off morning” to do their own activity
- Book a group dinner reservation only, and leave lunch open
- Pair up cousins by age for their own little outings
- Set one no-plan day
Even just an afternoon apart can save the whole trip from feeling too crowded.
Handling Money, Meals & The Boring Stuff
Discussing finances is uncomfortable. Discussing finances on vacation is even more uncomfortable.
Sort this stuff out before you go:
- Shared expense app: Splitwise lets everyone track what they contributed and square everything away at the end.
- Meal rotation: Assign each family one night to cook (or pay for) dinner.
- Grocery shopping: One big shop on day one for things like toilet roll, then restock when needed.
- Chore list: Rotate dishes, cleaning, and coffee-making duty each morning.
No one wants to be left holding the entire bill. No one wants to be left doing all the dishes. That’s the objective.
Budgets also differ widely within a family group. Fixed-income grandparents and new families just starting out have varying price thresholds. Discuss budget expectations freely in the planning stages so no one feels pressured to buy an extravagant dinner in the middle of vacation.
Bringing It All Together
Extended family vacations can be simple. Choose an appropriate destination, plan a few inclusive activities, and take care of the mundane details beforehand, and your vacation will pretty much take care of itself.
Quickly recap:
- Multigen travel is more popular than ever right now
- Pick a base with options for every age group
- Use matching shirts to keep the whole group organised
- Plan low-pressure group activities that bridge generations
- Split up when the group needs breathing room
- Sort out money and meals ahead of time
The coolest part is that when you get the formula down, the group vacation becomes a tradition. And there is no better present you can give your family than time together.