Getting kids excited for an international travel experience
Building a family’s excitement for an international travel experience
Planning a huge family international travel experience can be daunting. In reality planning any family vacation can be overwhelming. Adding a foreign country to the mix, parents could suffer from additional burdens. From finding a perfect place to stay, applying for passports and packing the suitcases, stress can negate the excitement. No one wants to have the international travel experience to be ruined before the fun begins.
Recently our family traveled to Costa Rica. After the passports were in hand, the flights booked and the hotel confirmed the excitement and possible trepidation set in. For a couple of months prior to the trip, our family sought to learn more about the country we would visit. While the idea of reading travel books and studying could be boring for kids, there are a few ways to make the learning experience fun.
Watch a movie:
Did you know that some family favorite movies have been filmed in popular vacation destinations? Our family searched for Costa Rica movies and found quite a few. Another fun idea is to watch travel programs on television. The kids absorb a lot of information just by enjoying a show. For example, your family was able to learn about some of the monkeys, iguanas and mondi that would be around our hotel.
Play a game:
Several board games incorporate education into the fun. For example, Around the World Games makes learning about different cultures, countries and languages fun. Kids and parents can both show off their knowledge and learn a new fact. Our kids were able to at least say please, thank you and my name is in Spanish thanks to our game playing.
Make a meal:
Different cuisines can be intimating to even the most experienced palate. Once a month try to introduce some of the country’s native flavors. In our house, we tried several Latin inspired dishes. When we arrived at our resort, the dinner rule was to try one new food every night (dessert didn’t count). Our kids were open to trying ceviche, which was surprisingly a hit.
These ideas are just a few thoughts that helped our family with our trip. Has your family traveled aboard? What are your tips for a successful international travel experience?