5 Tips for a Fun Family Resort Vacation

I started my career in travel about a year before I brought home an unintentional souvenir from Jamaica. 41 weeks later, my son was born, and we have been traveling as a family ever since. His first vacation was at the ripe age of seven-months-old when we stayed at the former Azul Beach Hotel (now Margaritaville Island Reserve Riviera Cancun). When his little sister was born two years later, we didn’t wait quite as long and at three months old, my daughter had her first vacation at Beaches Negril. We were not totally insane though—we took grandma and grandpa this time as back-up. My kids turn 10 and eight next month, and over the years we’ve been fortunate enough to experience many resort vacations in Los Cabos, Puerto Vallarta, Cancun, Jamaica and Punta Cana. My husband and I have learned a few things while spoiling our kids on tropical getaways, and here are a few of my top tips for families who are going on resort vacations.

Make a List & Check It Twice

Take a tip from Santa Claus! You’ll probably be packing a lot when you take your kids away and it can be stressful. Make packing lists in advance so you can ensure you don’t forget any essentials. If you do this a week or so before leaving, you’ll give yourself time to shop for anything you don’t already have or locate it in your house instead of scrambling at the last minute to find your kid’s sun hat that they haven’t worn since last summer.

A few items that come to mind:

• First aid kit with a variety of child & adult medicines and a thermometer because it can be difficult and expensive to find these if you really need them on vacation.
• Extra sippy cups for your toddler since the resort might just have regular cups.
• Re-usable straws because many resorts do not offer them for environmental reasons. If your family loves straws, take a re-usable pack.
• Travel booster seats are great! If you have one that easily fits in a suitcase, it’s typically more affordable and convenient to take your own instead of relying on the transfer company.
• Swim diapers are better from home because that they will likely cost $40+ a pack at the resort gift shop.
• Pool & beach toys can keep my kids entertained for hours. Instead of taking them home and having a sandy mess in our suitcase, sometimes we will make vacation friends to leave them with.
• White t-shirts can be useful if your resort offers poolside tie-dying.
• Laundry detergent or stain remover because you might just use that gorgeous soaking tub to soak your kids’ stained clothes instead of relaxing in it.

The Sweet Spot

A longer vacation isn’t necessarily better in my experience, especially if you’re traveling with kids. I didn’t know this when my kids were babies, but we quickly realized you can have too much of a good thing. Seven nights was definitely too much time away from home and routines when my kids were babies and toddlers, and we found that five nights was our family’s sweet spot. Shorter than five nights doesn’t always feel worth the effort for us. Now that my kids are a little older, we travel for varying lengths of time but always hope to head back home before we are totally desperate to do so.

Time You Enjoy Wasting is Not Wasted Time

Don’t overschedule your family. Our family enjoys a combination of relaxation and activities but sometimes we are working in opposition because my husband and son love to chill out, whereas my daughter and I like to go, go, go! Two full or half day tours in one seven-night vacation is plenty for us and seems to keep everyone happy. We have also discovered that for us, choosing a resort with plenty of on-site options for fun is key since we don’t have to leave every time we want to do something besides hang at the pool or beach.

EAT, Drink & Be Merry!

How many family arguments have occurred because someone was hangry? I personally love resorts that offer a variety of dining outlets including 24/7 room service, grab & go options or quick poolside snacks. We also often pack our own snacks for the room even when the resort is all-inclusive since my kids are bottomless pits—sometimes they just don’t have the patience to wait on room service.

Don’t Worry, Be Happy

Keeping a positive attitude is so important. Some of our best family vacation memories have been at resorts/hotels that were far from luxurious. We chose not to focus on what we didn’t have but appreciated what made the vacation unique and fun. If one of us started going down the path of negativity, complaining about food or service or whatever too much, it would bring everyone down. Choosing happiness is how we choose to spend our precious vacation time together.

What would you add to this list? We’d love to know! Comment below to share your thoughts on family travel.