As my kids have been in the school system, I have discovered that spring break is one of my favorite times of the year to travel with the kids. One week is just enough to go someplace and decompress or explore before going back to school. The weather is better, and you are getting close to the end of the year and summer excitement. But how do you plan the perfect spring break for your school-aged kids? How do you make sure trips work for the whole family? We’ve been doing spring break travel for 11 years, so check out our guide to make it one of the best spring breaks for you and your family.
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Selecting the Right Destination
The first step of planning spring break is choosing the destination. Do you want to go near? Far? Easy vacation? Or history and adventure? What you choose depends on your own unique circumstances. But a few things to think about when planning spring break, especially when thinking about the age of your children.
Elementary School
This is the golden age of travel. At this age your kids don’t need naps, they love to spend time with you, they are still engaged, and they still think you are cool! Take advantage of that. If you want a relaxing vacation, you want to prioritize “low friction” travel. Think a drivable beach town, or an all-inclusive resort with a kids’ club, or a city with lots of museums and public transit. Elementary School age kids still have a lot of energy, so you want to be sure there are activities for them, but that don’t take too much effort. If you want more history and culture, consider a city with lots of highly interactive museums. We loved San Diego and Cabo San Lucas for this age. Cabo San Lucas was a short flight from San Francisco and had a plethora of all-inclusive resorts. San Diego has the beach as well as several museums in Balboa Park, the San Diego Zoo, and the USS Midway!
Middle Schoolers
Welcome to the Middle School years. Bring your patience and bring them into the decision-making process. Middle Schoolers are becoming more independent, and they want to have more adventure. They still need to get the energy out of their bodies. This was the age when I started making my kids choose the activities for the trip and asking them to help with picking our destinations. Here you want locations that have adventure. Think hiking, snorkeling, and themed immersive experiences. We have done Hawaii a few times where we usually go on a snorkeling trip or visit Pearl Harbor.
High Schoolers
You have a short time left with these guys; you need to make use of it. Make sure to talk with them, have their buy in, and that they want to come along. Focus on places that provide a lot of activities but also freedom. Teenagers want to not only see places, but show people they were there, so make sure the “aesthetic” matches their wants and needs. This is a good time to visit urban places with great public transit and lots of options. It lets them have some independence and growth, with lots for everyone to do. New York City or Tokyo is a great destination for this age range.
Mixed Age Group
Have kids that span the age gaps? Work to find a middle ground. Here you want to think of something like an all-inclusive resort or a cruise. There you can get a pool or quiet place for the parents, kids club for the young ones, and excursions, adventures or a teen club for the teenagers.
Pre-Trip Planning & Prep
Next steps on planning your spring break are the logistics:
- The School Calendar Audit: Check what weeks the school spring break is. Kids in two different schools? Double check to make sure that they overlap, that’s not always the case, especially if your kids go to two different charter schools or schools in different districts. Make sure that it doesn’t overlap with any work events or work trips.
- Budget for the Spring Peak: While Spring Break is more spread out than Winter break timing, destinations still know that there is a 4–6-week range for spring break and they raise the prices accordingly. Try booking 4–6 months out or hunting for “shoulder season” deals in locations where the weather is not quite where you want it.
- Prep before you go: Make sure the kids are packing appropriate clothing. (You can use my blog post on Teaching Kids How to Pack to help kids get more independent). Clear out the fridge of anything that will expire and most importantly, make sure the school backpacks are actually empty before you leave (We’ve learned this one the hard way…). We usually also make sure there is some school appropriate clean clothing ready for when we get back in case there is a delay.
During the Break
Once you are on your vacation, here are a few tips to make sure that your spring break is a fun vacation and not a stressful situation for all involved.
- The 1-to-1 Rule: For every educational or parent-chosen activity, balance it with one that the kids choose or is something that is more kid-friendly activity. Having your kids’ buy-in is what makes everyone enjoy the trip. And sometimes the little ones just need a playground to run off their pent-up energy. That makes everyone happy.
- Match Your Schedule to Your Kids Circadian Rhythm: When my oldest was a toddler and preschooler, they were up at 6am every morning, prying our eyes open and saying the sun was up. By 8pm they were ready for bed. We had to plan the days accordingly. Now, my oldest is still a morning person, but my teenage daughter refuses to leave bed before 10am unless forced. And both want to stay up later. It’s important to take this into account. I try not to have too many days with early starts for my daughter, and I make sure there is downtime in the middle of the day for my oldest who needs it after an early start.
- Technology Boundaries: When the kids were little, electronics were only for traveling and usually didn’t even come out when we were out and about for the day. However, now the teenagers’ phones are glued to their hands, and it’s become a necessity to provide independence while staying safe. We have a few sacred “phone-free” times. We will often all put our cell phones in the center of the table face down, mealtime is for socializing. Phones are allowed for audio tours and taking photos when in a museum or site, but not for watching videos. And when in a foreign country, I do not allow them to have data. It was too expensive and by doing this we would keep them off the phones.
- Give Everyone a Job: Giving everyone a job keeps everyone engaged and invested in the trip. Sometimes it’s searching Google to find a restaurant. Sometimes it’s as the official photographer or videographer. We like to plan out and do transition videos. Little ones can be in charge of carrying the water bottle. You would be surprised how even that can help keep them happy to be with the family.
Re-Entry with Grace
The most overlooked part of spring break is the blues on returning. After having such a fun time, no one wants to go back to school and work. That is, if you did spring break right. But as we adults know, it has to happen. Here are a few things that help get you through the transition.
- Plan a Buffer Day: Coming home a day early lets you get laundry done, gives everyone a day at home to rest and reset before going back. To be honest, this is not one I do often, but when I do do it, it helps with the transition. (Do not fly a red-eye home and then immediately send your kids to school. They will hate it and sleep in class…)
- Last Night Recap: At the end of the trip, at our last meal we all talk about the best and favorite part of the trip. It’s a way to remember all we did and highlight what made it special.
- Preserving the Magic: We have a system where we have a shared drive and all our phone pictures are uploaded to that drive. This way everyone has access to the pictures. We also use our family group chat to share special pictures. I’m a blogger so obviously I immediately start writing lists of posts I want to write. Before all this technology, I used to make scrap books and photo albums. If that is part of your process, pick a time shortly after the trip, to put it together as a family. You want to do it when you are fresh and ready.
As my daughter looks to transition to a different high school than their sibling, and we enter the college tour era with my oldest, I realize I have few spring breaks left with my kids. I’m glad we have made this a priority and travel when we can with the kids. Soon they will be on their own. But the spring breaks we have created will leave them with memories they will carry into adulthood, and hopefully into their own families.
Edited by SKS
* Starred Photos taken by Atma Photography