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Choosing a location for your vacation becomes slightly more complex once you have a child. Suddenly, your priorities go from finding a luxury villa that is near white, sandy beaches to selecting a destination that has plenty of twisty swimming pool slides.

There are other factors that you will need to keep in mind when you are planning a vacation with little ones in tow. Go over this checklist for Costa Rica Villa Rentals when planning your next family vacation so it will be a memorable and fun time for the entire family.

Should You Travel Abroad or Stay Local?

Gone are the days where you could simply throw a dart at a map and choose where you would go for your next vacation. Now that you have a child, your vacation destination will be dependent on how far can you go away from home while maintaining child/parent sanity.

Fortunately, with the wonders of modern aviation, the amount of time where you could possibly ‘lose it’ during your vacation can be maximized so you may be able to travel abroad. However, before you pull out the passports, make sure the stars will be aligned for your trip.

The Weather

As much as you may want to enjoy your vacation on a sunny beach with your skin glistening in the sunshine, a sunny vacation locale is not the best choice for children. Children tend to dehydrate and burn faster than adults because their skin is more delicate.

If you still want to visit a tropical or hot location, be sure that you bring plenty of sun protection for you and your children, like sunscreen, hats and sunglasses. Also, make sure that you can recognize the signs of heat stroke in children. Keep cool water on hand for your children to drink to prevent dehydration.

What Will Be the Mode of Transportation?

There is nothing more exciting than leaving a dreary location, climbing aboard a plane and exiting hours later in a warm and sunny vacation spot. That is unless, of course, you spent those hours on the plane trying to keep control of your child and fellow passengers at ease during the trip.

A general rule is that the younger and smaller your child is, the less excited you should be about the traveling time. For many moms, hitting the skies with a child under the age of three is just too much for them to handle. However, a short flight may be bearable. Keep this in mind when choosing a vacation destination for your family.

The Food

All of the interesting things that persuades adults to visit different locations is not going be that impressive to a child. This is something you really want to remember if you ever try to justify a family vacation to a quaint, tropical island. Just telling your child it will be ‘educational’ is enough to scare them away.

You can, however, prepare your child for the trip by preparing some of the native dishes at home before leaving for the trip. Try to get their picky palates ready to try some new foreign foods.

Activities, accommodations and childcare availability are also factors that should be considered in your final decision. We recommend creating a radius map for the activities you and your family would like to do. Get the kids involved in the selection process, and settle on a happy medium for everyone.

Published: 2017-03-17 07:28:09