Family Vacation Tips – Where to Stay on your Kid-cation

Over the years, we’ve taken our kids to bed and breakfasts, campgrounds, motels, hotels, and rented homes. Your destination predicates your choice of accommodations of course – you can’t enjoy a family beach weekend at Jalama, a pleasantly isolated beach north of Santa Barbara – without camping. And you’re not going to camp in the heart of New York City. But location dictations aside, you need to choose a spot that suits your family.

We loved talking with our hosts and other guests in this Mississippi b&b.

In recent years, it’s become increasingly important to us to have access to a kitchen, at least for part of our stay on extended trips. We like the cost savings involved in preparing our own breakfasts before hitting the road or exploring the sights; we like the convenience of packing a lunch instead of searching out food when we could be enjoying new attractions. Our family also has some special diet needs – with family members who require low sodium foods and others who request vegan and vegetarian dishes, it makes meal time simpler to have your own kitchen at your disposal when necessary. While renting a house, condo, or apartment with a kitchen is often more expensive than opting for a hotel or motel room, dining out is usually a family’s biggest expense.

We’ve crunched the numbers from Tennessee to San Francisco, and having a kitchen is almost always a savings in the end. The other advantage to renting a residence: space. Sometimes it’s just nice to spread out, and sometimes privacy, particularly as your children grow, is deeply important to keeping the peace on family outings. With small children, having room for play time after a long day’s drive is equally important. Another plus: you’re paying one price for a rental residence, not a per person lodging charge. If you’re considering sharing a vacation with another family, or bringing your child’s best friend along, this is the way to go. Lastly, small children can sleep undisturbed and early in a house or condo with a separate bedroom from their parents – and parents can unwind beside a welcoming fire place or watch a movie on the DVD or Blue Ray. Where to find home and condo rentals? We like Vacation Rentals by Owner (VRBO) because the properties listed are usually consistent; we’ve yet to stay at a property listed on this site that didn’t at least look like its photos. And the rentals are guaranteed to be legitimate. Craig’s List often offers better bargains, but be sure to avoid rentals that sound just too good to be true and sometimes are. That said, we found an amazing condo in Honolulu off of Craig’s List – it pays though, to ask questions. Flip Key and Home Away properties often skew high end, so it depends on your family budget as to whether you’ll find these sites have what your family needs.

We’ve also enjoyed our share of Bed and Breakfast properties. If you chose the right b & b, this can be an incredibly rewarding experience. Conversation with the owners and other guests, a lovely breakfast already prepared for you, and often access to a living space and grounds outside your room. We’ve stayed in large rooms with great food and friendly hosts, in properties that welcome families all across the U.S. Many of our hosts have become more like extended family, and we visit them regularly. But there is a caveat – some properties are less than welcome for small children. Be sure to check with them and let them know the ages of your children, and ask about the layout of the property. Just because they offer a crib for your room, it doesn’t mean that the walls are sound proof if the baby cries in the night. Some b & b’s also will insist that you sign a form that means you’ll be responsible for any damaged furnishings, showing that these properties may say children are welcome, but in reality may be less embracing when the kids play a game of hide and seek in the hallway. Advance communication is key when selecting a bed and breakfast. We never book a B & B without talking to the hosts first.

With hotels and motels, you’ll want to look at safety features, food options, and bedding. We’ve often found mid-range chain motels to be best suited to our family’s requirements for just these reasons. Even if it’s available to you at an on-line bargain rate, the most luxurious hotel in the world – with a private sitting area and ocean front view-  will not be the best choice if the room has only one king bed and nowhere to store baby food.

A two bedroom condo with kitchen in Nashville was a bargain with a city sky line view and art on the walls.

Making sure a room has a refrigerator or microwave may be essential. Making sure that a room does not have an unsecured balcony may also be vitally important if your children are small. And, if including breakfast in your room rate is something you value, make sure the breakfast being offered is worth having. Too many chain motel breakfast buffets end up being mostly frozen bagels and waxy apples. Another accommodation choice and a morning run to the local bakery or cafe may be a better way to go.

No matter what accommodation type you select, the essential points to remember for your family are comfort and convenience – which may be different than any other families. We’ve had our share of over and under compensating on both points, so it’s always important to strike a balance, and decide what fulfils your personal comfort and convenience needs. Is it really necessary to stay inside the boundaries of a national park, when a motel outside those boundaries offers a better rate and more room? That depends – do you want to walk out your door and into nature, or is a twenty minute drive perfectly acceptable to your brood? Are you booking a vacation that will find you spending a lot of time in the room? Then the layout and luxuries of a quality hotel will be more important than its location. On the other hand, if you’ll be spending most of your time exploring an area, taking a cruise, or simply need a bed for the night on the way to your next destination, then location will trump the room. Discuss and agree upon your family’s usual travel needs, and stick with them. Base your accommodation options on your personal must-have’s, and – happy kid-cation.

About the Author: Genie Davis is a multi-published fiction author, screen and TV writer, and travel writer. If it was possible, she'd like to spend every day traveling. www.geniedavis.com