How to Survive Travelling with Teenagers

Travel is one of the most important things you can experience with your child. However the teen years can prove quite tricky and travelling with them can be a bit of a challenge.

Make your next trip as teen-friendly as you possibly can with these helpful tips:

  Ø  Get them involved

From the very beginning of your travel adventure, make sure that your teen is involved. Get them to help with choosing a destination, creating itineraries and planning activities. Getting them involved will stir up the excitement and give them a sense of responsibility. Even during the trip, make sure you assign them fun tasks such as taking photographs of the surroundings or navigating with the GPS.

  Ø  Tough love

This one is a challenge, but it needs to be done. Find a way to convince your teens to leave behind their most precious items, like their tablet, laptop, gaming device, etc. They may protest and cause a scene, but these items will only distract them from spending quality family time together. After a day or so, they’ll come around and you’ll see how much more engaged they’ll be.

  Ø  Give them space

Even on holiday, teenagers still need their space. This can be tricky if your whole family is stuck in a small hotel room. If possible, it would be great to book separate or adjoining rooms for your older kids. This will give them some space to breathe after a long day of family bonding.

  Ø  Just chill

There’s always so much to do, but so little time. Make sure when you’re on your vacation that you don’t try and fit too many activities into one day, this will only cause tension and leave everyone feeling frazzled and ready to snap. Rather spread your plans out over a few days and leave time to just chill, like lying by the pool or watching a movie together!

The teen years are an important time to spend time with family and form a life-long bond. Travelling with teenagers can be difficult, but it is worth the challenge!

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How to travel with teens (Age 13+)

Teenagers are often moody, lazy and friend-obsessed, they are also the ones who can make or break a family holiday. Even though they may not show it, teenagers are often up for having a good time with the family – it just takes a group effort. Follow these simple tips for travelling with your teenager:

*Before You Go*

Ask for your teens input – When you’re busy planning your holiday, it’s a good idea to gather everyone together and figure out what kind of holiday each person in the family wants. If you let your teen join in and help plan the trip, they will feel more involved and your holiday will start out on a positive note.

Set a budget – When you are on holiday it’s so easy to blow your budget on all sorts of things you don’t actually need. If you give your teen a specific budget and let them keep leftover money, they’ll feel like they have some sort of responsibility and will be less likely to spend it all on souvenirs.  

Give your teen space – If it is possible try and book adjoining hotel rooms or rooms adjacent to one another. If you rent a holiday home, make sure they have their own room – teenagers love their privacy! And when they have their own private space, it’ll make them feel like the adults they want to be.

*In the Air*

Have plenty of snacks handy – You may think that the little ones will give you trouble when they’re hungry, well your teens are actually the ones that will remain calm if their stomachs are full! Bring along some tasty snacks like trail mix, protein bars, sarmies and a few sweet treats.

Give them responsibilities – Teens may not want to take on responsibilities, but when it comes down to it they are growing adults and they should be ready to help. Ask your teen to do some simple tasks, like take their younger brother or sister to the bathroom, having some kind of responsibility will keep them from getting so bored and it’ll make them feel more grown up.

*On the Ground*

Bend the rules – Obviously teenagers need discipline, but if keeping the peace means having dessert before dinner or going to the movies instead of the museum, then just go along with it! Remember that arguing about silly things like what to eat and where to go won’t make your holiday very enjoyable.

Let your teen choose and activity – If the only thing your teen wants to do is go to the theme park, then let them do it. After days of visiting museums, churches and fancy restaurants it can get a bit boring for a teenager, they’ll remember the night on the bumper cars more than the exhibits they saw at the museum.

No parent wants to leave their teen behind when they go on a family holiday and you don’t have to! Use these easy tips to make sure your holiday with your teenager will run smoothly and successfully.

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Written By: Christine Romans