Dream, talk, plan, prep: Use the holidays to plan your next family vacation

Tim Viall
·3 min read
Granddaughter Jessica, reveling on her first trip to the California coast.
Granddaughter Jessica, reveling on her first trip to the California coast.

The holidays will bring together friends and family, some in face-to-face gatherings, others by Zoom and Facebook sessions, telephone calls and email. What better time to rekindle past travel plans put on hold due to the pandemic, or future United States or more exotic travel destinations only dreamed about, but dealt a two year COVID-19 set-back?

If planning on new year’s travel to reconnect with family, revisit favorite destinations or explore ultimate adventures, prime your friends and family to engage in thoughtful discussion, with planned follow-up and action. While doing that, get real and plan for contingencies should our pandemic world further devolve into complications and canceled destinations. So, set in motion a “dream, talk, plan and prepare” timeline for action.

Dream

Grandson Jack on his first snowboarding outing at Calaveras Big Trees State Park.
Grandson Jack on his first snowboarding outing at Calaveras Big Trees State Park.

For some, it may be a dream trip to your favorite national parks, for others, a skiing destination in the west. How about a trip to see family and/or old friends long unseen, or, rethink that European, old country destination? How about a trip to see Broadway shows in New York City, a fun long-weekend in Las Vegas; or perhaps a road trip down the California coast?

Bring kids or grandkids into the discussion and you may hear suggestions involving Disneyland, or a camping trip to high mountain lakes. Sports nuts may dream of a March visit to the Phoenix, Arizona area for baseball spring training teams. Ladies may opt for a fashion shopping trip to place like San Francisco or Los Angeles, Chicago or New York. Perhaps it’s a European river cruise to on the Danube, Main and Rhyne Rivers; or a small ship cruise down the Croatian coast.

Bring kids and grandkids into the discussion. Our 10-year-old granddaughter Jessica, a few years ago, opted to see the ocean for the first time, and we took her on a camping trip along the Northern California coast where she reveled in wading in the surf and luxuriated in expansive, windy ocean views. Our 11 year old grandson Jack would likely suggest a couple of days of skiing at Dodge Ridge with a buddy as one of his prime choices.

The historic Chapel Bridge, circa 1333, Luzerne, Switzerland, at beginning of European river cruise.
The historic Chapel Bridge, circa 1333, Luzerne, Switzerland, at beginning of European river cruise.

Talk

Talk over Christmas Eve or Christmas Day gatherings, or via zoom or Facebook calls to the family over the final days of the holidays. Place a long distance call to friends you haven’t seen in several years. Get the ideas on a piece of paper, share them back with family, then select one or two trip targets that seem to be doable and realistic.

Plan

Fishing trawlers, New Brunswick, on our Cross-Canada trip to the Maritime Provinces.
Fishing trawlers, New Brunswick, on our Cross-Canada trip to the Maritime Provinces.

Look at the timing of your favorite trip, does it fit the calendars of those who might join, is transportation and lodging readily available and at reasonable cost? Consider cancellation options, should worldwide COVID-19 viral strains suddenly put a destination out of reach. Be real: while many travel deals are offered by companies and tour operators hoping to rekindle past travel fervor, the COVID-19 can lead to rapid changes on the US or world stage. And, if you were in a foreign country that winds up getting locked down for several weeks, could you handle such a circumstance, or worse, handle a long illness in a foreign country?

Prep

Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia, on our cross-Canada trip to Maritime Provinces.
Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia, on our cross-Canada trip to Maritime Provinces.

Update your vaccinations, boosters and vaccine records; is your passport current if you plan to leave the country? Prepare a first aid kit with medicines at the ready. Make sure you have records of all your credit cards, copies of your passport and the like, in case of loss or theft while traveling. Check the county, state or foreign country of your destination well in advance, and recheck just before departure as to any Covid19 changes.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and the New Year’s holidays are fast upon us. Share the idea in advance with your gathering of family or friends, and have a discussion around the holiday table. Or, call and set up a Zoom conversation or phone call with more distant friends or family. Above all, accept creative ideas, let other family members have a hand in the planning; and, plan on that dream destination while allowing for flexibility.

Contact Tim at tviall@msn.com. Happy travels in 2022!

This article originally appeared on The Record: Tips for using the holidays to plan your next family vacation