Summer Is Here… Get Ready for Those Family Vacations! How to Depart with Less Drama and More Fun

 

Summer Is Here… Get Ready for Those Family Vacations!

How to Depart with Less Drama and More Fun 

By Laura Rahn, Family Travel Coach

Summer is officially here and family vacations are underway! The excitement is real…and so is the stress that can happen before departure day. As a certified family travel coach with Seldom A Dull Moment, based in Purcellville, I encourage families to remember that the vacation doesn’t start when you arrive at your destination. The vacation starts before you even leave the driveway.

As departure day approaches, the excitement for your family vacation reaches its peak. The lead-up to leaving is just as important as the dreaming and designing stages. Packing suitcases together, double-checking travel documents, and talking through the itinerary helps build anticipation and family unity. It’s also a chance to share expectations, excitement, and even anxieties before the adventure begins.

This pre-departure time sets the tone for the entire vacation and lays the foundation for memorable experiences and meaningful family moments.

Create a Family Countdown

The countdown to a family vacation is often one of the most exciting parts of the experience. Involving the whole family builds anticipation and strengthens togetherness long before the trip begins.

Create a vacation countdown chain or calendar together. Even something simple like “100 Days Until Vacation” can turn an ordinary week into part of the adventure. The shared excitement gives everyone something to look forward to and allows each family member to contribute ideas.

You can also create themed countdown activities:

Start a family playlist on Spotify or Pandora. Let older kids take ownership of building the playlist and encourage everyone to add songs connected to the destination or mood of the trip.

• Design a vacation Bingo card with restaurants, landmarks, activities, or animals you hope to see.
• Watch a movie connected to your destination.
• Cook a meal inspired by where you’re going.

The countdown itself becomes part of the vacation memories.

Make Packing a Family Affair

Packing for a family vacation can either become a stressful last-minute scramble or part of the excitement. Involving everyone in the process creates ownership and builds anticipation.

For younger children, choosing favorite outfits, toys, or travel games helps them feel invested in the trip. Older kids can take more responsibility by pre-packing themselves using a checklist:

• 5 outfits
• Pajamas
• Bathing suits
• One dressy outfit
• Walking shoes
• Toiletries

This gives older kids ownership over what they wear and helps reduce stress on departure day.

Packing cubes are another simple tool that can make a huge difference. They help maximize suitcase space and allow families to organize clothing by destination, activity, or family member.

A few additional packing tips:

• Pack favorite individually wrapped snacks, especially ones that may not be available at your destination.
• Clarify dress codes ahead of time. “Formal dinner” can mean very different things to different family members.
• Discuss footwear needs in advance. Will you need hiking shoes, beach sandals, or comfortable walking shoes?
• Encourage everyone to pack one fun item that makes them smile.

Ultimately, packing becomes more than preparing luggage. It becomes a tangible reminder that the family adventure is almost here.

Reflect on Your WHY

As you get closer to departure day, take time to revisit your family’s “why.”

Why are you taking this vacation in the first place?

In the rush of reservations, packing lists, and logistics, families sometimes forget the deeper purpose behind travel. Gathering together before the trip to revisit your intentions can help everyone feel more connected and emotionally prepared.

Consider asking:

• What are you most excited about?

• How do you hope to feel during this trip?

• What do you hope happens as a family?

• What personal experience are you hoping to have?

These conversations create opportunities for active listening and help family members feel heard before the vacation even begins. They also create space for anxieties or concerns to surface in a safe and supportive way.

Sometimes the most meaningful vacation planning conversation has nothing to do with the itinerary.

Set Expectations Before You Leave

One of the best ways to reduce family vacation conflict is to talk through expectations before departure day.

This is especially important when traveling with older kids or multigenerational groups. Creating shared expectations ahead of time gives everyone a sense of ownership and helps prevent misunderstandings during the trip.

Some important topics to discuss:

• What will screen time look like?

• Will there be alone time built into the vacation?

• Will every meal be together?

• Are there activities family members can opt out of?

• What balance of together time versus independent time feels right?

Teenagers and young adults may not want to spend every moment together, and that’s okay. Building flexibility into the itinerary often creates a more relaxed and enjoyable experience for everyone.

When families have these conversations before leaving home, they are much less likely to have heated discussions while away. Everyone understands the expectations and feels like their needs matter.

Bring Home the Memories

Don’t forget the souvenirs!

Bringing home ornaments, magnets, stickers, postcards, or small keepsakes gives families tangible reminders of shared experiences. These items often become conversation starters that allow families to relive favorite memories long after the vacation ends.

These simple items become visual reminders of connection, adventure, and time spent together. Reflecting on the vacation after returning home also strengthens family bonds. Looking through photos, sharing favorite moments, and remembering funny mishaps helps extend the joy of the trip well beyond the final day.

When families work together before departure, vacations begin with excitement instead of exhaustion. The memories start long before you reach your destination..

 Remember, the goal isn’t a perfect vacation.
It’s less drama and more fun.

The Best Family Vacations Begin Around the Table

*This blog post was featured in the March, 2026 issue of Purcellville Living magazine as a featured story and is shared in it's entirety below.

Why listening matters more than the itinerary

“I need a vacation from our vacation!”

“We spent all this money, and you’re acting like this?”

“This is so boring, why do I have to do this?”

“I just want to talk to my friends, and check Tik-Tok!”

I think we’ve all been there. Hearing those words, spoken by you or your child, while on a family vacation can bring stress and anxiety to the surface, especially when you’re away from home.

Family vacations are meant to be a break from everyday life, yet they often come with big expectations, strong emotions, and plenty of moving parts. Travel has the power to impact each family member individually, connect generations, and create lasting memories, and only when everyone feels connected and supported along the way.

The good news? It all starts before you even leave the house.

Asking thoughtful questions, practicing active listening, and building in flexibility and compromise are key to planning your next great family vacation. These simple habits can help transform the planning process, and the trip itself, into something everyone feels good about.

As a certified family travel coach and former educator, I help families slow down, talk things through, and design vacations that reflect who they are and what they need. When families understand why they’re traveling, and how they want to feel along the way, they’re far more likely to create experiences everyone enjoys and feels ownership of.

And it all begins with one simple step: asking the right questions.

Asking Questions

Before getting into the thick of planning a family vacation, it’s important to dream about it first. Give each family member the opportunity to share their hopes for the trip. Include all voices, and really listen to what each person is saying.

It begins with intentional communication as a family and bringing all travelers (yes, including kids) to the table to “dream” about the upcoming vacation. Some questions you might ask each person, even young children (I’ve done this with eight-year-olds, and it works!) include:

• Why do you want to go on this vacation?

• What is one thing you hope to do on this trip?

• How do you want to feel when you get home? What do you hope to tell your friends about this vacation?

• If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would you want to go?

Prior to getting into the thick of planning a family vacation, it’s important to dream about it. Let each family member share their hopes and dreams about this vacation. Include all voices and listen to what each person is saying.

When every family member is invited to dream, the vacation begins with connection, long before the bags are packed.

Active Listening

As each adult or child shares their responses, it’s important to practice active listening without judgment. Encourage everyone not to interrupt the speaker and to focus fully on what is being said. When you actively listen, you validate the person speaking, and they feel that their thoughts and ideas matter.

Through sharing and listening, families can begin to create a shared vision of the vacation before it even begins.

Compromise and Flexibility

Now that everyone has shared their hopes and dreams for the upcoming vacation, it’s time to begin designing it together. A family vacation is an opportunity to come together, and when all family members are invited to give input, each person gains a sense of ownership in the experience.

Asking each family member what they want to do allows everyone to hear,  and understand the desires of each traveler. It also introduces the idea of compromise before you ever leave the house.

Understanding that the vacation will include “what you want," and  “what your brother wants,” opens the door to meaningful conversations about flexibility and compromise, helping ensure that everyone has something on the trip they’re genuinely excited about.

The most successful family vacations leave room for flexibility, compromise, and something everyone can look forward to.

At the heart of my coaching philosophy is the importance of connection. Whether it’s a family trip or a solo adventure, travel creates bonds that last a lifetime. Traveling with someone you love can redefine family connections, and bring that feeling of home to wherever you are.

Travel has the power to transform lives, foster connections, and create cherished memories. My approach as a family travel coach highlights the importance of understanding the motivations behind travel. As families navigate new stages in life, embracing the adventure of travel can lead to personal growth and lasting bonds. 

Whether you’re planning a family vacation or a solo journey, remember that every trip is an opportunity to explore not just new places, but also develop new connections with  parts of yourself and your family.  It all starts at the table, before even leaving the house.

Let’s connect!

• LDRAHN@comcast.net 
• laurarahn_travelcoach
• seldomadullmoment.etsy.com
• www.seldomadullmoment.com
• Purcellville, VA

Resources referenced:

• Talker Research surveyed 2,000 American parents of school-aged children (aged 6–17); the survey was commissioned by Visit Anaheim and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between April 7–15, 2025.
• https://stories.hilton.com/2026-trends 

Retired Rahns Head West: Returning, Rediscovering, and Learning with my best friend!!

 

It’s always Seldom A Dull Moment with the Rahns, 
and this trip proved it again!

 Between old favorites and unexpected finds, Wyoming still managed to keep us on our toes. We’ve shared plenty of stories about our love for this state, the mountains, the hikes, the views and our favorite stops. 

We were excited for this trip as a "re-do" from our autumn 2022 trip that felt rushed and had some hiccups along the way. This trip was our first big retired trip and the pace was slow. We took time to explore. We were flexible with our plans and we found the new in the familiar!

Every time we return, it feels like seeing an old friend. But this trip reminded us that even in the places you know by heart, there’s always something new to discover. Between our must-do stops and our individual routines, we found new fun tucked into familiar corners, proof that the joy of travel isn’t just in going somewhere new, but in noticing what’s new in the places you already love!

Maybe that’s the real heart of travel, the curiosity that keeps us exploring, even when we think we’ve seen it all. That’s where wanderlust comes in for me. I love finding new places and learning new things on our vacations!!

The Role of Wanderlust

Wanderlust isn’t just about the constant need to move or check new destinations off a list, it’s about the desire to keep learning through travel. It’s a mindset, a spark that reminds us there’s always something new to discover, even in familiar places. True wanderlust is about curiosity...the kind that makes you pause to read a trail sign you’ve passed before, turn down a road that you've passed many times before, or research other must-sees, even though you feel like you've found it all! There's always something new when we travel to Wyoming!

For us, wanderlust has always been about learning—about people, places, and perspectives. Every trip teaches something new if we’re open to it. And that curiosity doesn’t just connect us to the world—it connects us more deeply to each other. We have so much fun find the new in the familiar!

That’s also the heart of my travel coaching philosophy: curiosity leads to connection. When families, couples, or friends travel with open minds and open hearts, they don’t just see more, they feel more. They learn to listen, to notice, and to appreciate the shared adventure unfolding in front of them. Wanderlust isn’t about restlessness...it’s about readiness: to learn, to grow, and to connect wherever your travels take you.

Even after years of returning to Wyoming, I’m reminded that travel is never finished teaching us. Every visit reveals something new—an unexpected trail, a hidden piece of history, or a creative spark waiting just around the bend. This year, our wanderlust led us to four new adventures that deepened our connection to the places we thought we already knew.

New Adventures in Familiar Places

The Moose Pond Trail in Grand Teton National Park

We’ve visited Grand Teton more times than I can count, but somehow, this peaceful loop near the Moose Visitor Center had escaped our radar. The Moose Pond Trail turned out to be one of the most serene walks we’ve ever taken...the reflection of the peaks shimmering in still water, and just enough quiet to hear the breeze move through the aspens. It reminded me that even in the most familiar landscapes, there’s always a new angle, a fresh perspective, and maybe some new wildlife encounters!

⃝⃝⃝

 Murie Ranch and the Legacy of Mardy Murie

Right inside GTNP is a road that we've passed many times, and this trip we ventured down it to find the aspens. Little did I know that the road leads to a historical site dating back to the 1950s. The Murie Ranch feels like stepping into the heart of conservation history. Mardy and Olaus Murie once welcomed writers, scientists, and dreamers who shaped the very idea of protecting our wild spaces. Walking around their cabin and seeing that wide, weathered porch, I felt like I was learning directly from Mardy herself—the grandmother of the modern environmental movement—about the power of passion and purpose. It was a reminder that travel isn’t only about seeing new things; it’s about honoring the people who made it possible for us to experience them.

Meeting Mama Mimi in Jackson

Just when we thought we’d seen everything in Jackson, we met Mama Mimi...Thomas Dambo’s towering wooden troll in Rendezvous Park, on the road to Jackson from Teton Village. Crafted from reclaimed wood, she’s both whimsical and wise, watching over the landscape with gentle strength. Standing beneath her, I couldn’t help but think how perfectly she embodies the spirit of wanderlust, rooted, creative, and full of stories. She made us pause, look up, and remember that adventure can be found in the most unexpected places.

An Overnight at Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel

Spending the night at the historic Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel felt like stepping back in time...in the very best way. We had driven through Mammoth Hot Springs before, and even walked inside the hotel, and this adventure gave us the opportunity to explore Mammoth and not have it be a view on our way to another destination. 

Our deluxe king room had a clawfoot bathtub, tall windows framing the golden hillside, and not a TV in sight. After dinner, we wandered down to the lounge, where soft light and live piano music created an atmosphere straight out of another era. We sipped our drinks, listened to the music, and felt completely immersed in the nostalgia of Yellowstone’s early days. It was a gentle reminder that sometimes the simplest moments, a cozy room, good music, and great company are the ones that make travel feel timeless.

We even got to see and hear the local male elk bugling to his counterparts in the area. What an incredible time in this little pocket of Yellowstone!

Each of these experiences was new, yet they were layered with the comfort of familiarity. That’s the magic of returning to a beloved destination: you don’t just revisit...it revisits you. You see it through the lens of who you’ve become, and in that reflection, you realize that both you and the place have grown.

The Lifelong Learner’s Passport

Every journey leaves a mark, not just on a map, but on who we are. The more I travel, the more I’ve come to see my travels not just as a record of places visited, but as a collection of lessons learned. Some represent courage, others curiosity, and some simply remind me that slowing down is its own kind of progress. The more I travel, the more I realize the value of slowing down!

Returning to familiar destinations like Wyoming, year after year, I’ve realized that travel doesn’t always have to mean going farther, it can mean going deeper. Each trip offers a new layer of understanding, a chance to reconnect with nature, with others, and with ourselves. Whether it’s the wisdom of Mardy Murie echoing through the ranch, the stillness of Moose Pond, the creative wonder of Mama Mimi, or the timeless charm of our night at Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, every experience adds another page to our story.

That’s what wanderlust really gives us—the chance to keep learning, keep growing, and keep finding joy in the journey. When we travel with intention, curiosity becomes connection, and every trip...whether across the world or just across town, becomes a chapter in a lifelong education of our connection. 

So the next time you return to a familiar favorite, look a little closer. The beauty of travel isn’t just in where you go, but in what you continue to discover along the way.

So pack your curiosity along with your suitcase. Revisit the places you love. See them again, and see what new parts of you they reveal. 

Because in the end, the best travelers aren’t just collectors of destinations—they’re collectors of discoveries.

Coming Soon:
The Retired Rahns are trading moose and mountains for lions and landscapes—next up, a ten-day safari through the Serengeti and Tanzania!