The first time that your child goes off to college is a memory that will last forever. Why not make it even more special by taking your family’s vacation around the same time? The nice thing about most colleges is that they’re tucked away in locations that have something to offer the whole family. Of course, the city benefits from this because they know that people will want to check out the college before their child actually goes to it. So why not check out things and take a break from everything going on at home?
It’s nice because you’ll be able to let your child explore where they’re going to be spending time away from home, and you can also give yourself the peace of mind of knowing that you’re quietly familiarizing yourself with a place your child will be spending so much of their time at.
Thankfully, building a family vacation isn’t that difficult on top of a college visit. Here’s how to do it.
First and foremost, you need to see how much money you want to spend. We know it’s not a sexy topic, but the truth is that you’re going to need to set up a budget. It’s very easy to spend too much money and regret it later, which can make your young teenager a bit nervous as well. You don’t want them to subconsciously feel like they are forcing you to spend too much money. This is a happy time for them, so let’s not spoil it, right?
Right! So before you even do anything else, you need to set a budget. You need to clearly define where you’re going to stay, how often you’re going toe at out, and what activities you’re going to do. If you’re going to stay for a week or two, you might want to go ahead and look into a vacation rental versus a hotel. This will give you access to a full kitchen where you can cook meals for the whole family. This is far better than having to deal with the standard hotel room, which really doesn’t allow you to have a lot of options in the long run.
Pick up a visitor’s guide from the area’s local chamber of commerce if you really want to sightsee, but for the most part the rest is up to you. If you’re an outdoorsy family, hiking trails and parks are great ways to have a good time without spending too much money. If you’re near a major city, you can bet on a lot of shopping opportunities. You can even set challenges for the whole family to find something interesting, like restricting chains in favor of local businesses. Local business owners love it when people come in interesting about products and services, so why not make sure that you check out what they have to offer? This stimulates the local economy and keeps regular people able to put food on the table for their families.
Overall, there are a lot of details that go into a good family vacation, but it’s worth it! Of course, if you are going to go to the town that houses your teen’s college, why not pick up some college swag? There’s nothing better than to boost your child’s morale by picking up a few things that have the college on them. Why not get started today planning your college-family vacation? You won’t regret it at all!
