Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
40
Stow Lake or bo wling at Yerba B uena
Gardens.
• Ask your children what they would like
to do during the trip . G ive them
options, make a calendar , and follo w
through on some of their suggestions.
This doesn't mean they are in charge. It
means they get to participate in a bit of
decision-making.
• Give them a camera. E ither buy an
inexpensive digital camera for y our
kids, or let them use y ours (car efully)
once in a while. I t's empo wering and
cheap—since you can just delete all the
pictures with people 's heads cut off—
and provides a new way for your kids to
think about sightseeing.
• Have them keep a journal. E ven before
they could write, we gave our girls note-
books so they could draw pictur es of
things they saw on each trip . Now, on
vacations, they enjo y spending the fe w
minutes befor e dinner arriv es writing
about their day.
• Look at the silv er lining. Taking our
toddler son back to hotels for naps in
the middle of the day is my ex cuse for
me to read a good book . . . or enjo y a
nice nap myself, something that's rare at
home.
• Relax. When y ou slo w do wn, forget
about stresses of home, and all focus on
your ne w surr oundings, y ou and y our
family can build some lasting memories
together.
How to T ake G reat Trips with Y our
Kids (The Harvard Common Press) is full
of good general advice that can apply to
travel anywhere.
You can find good family-oriented vaca-
tion advice on the I nternet from sites like
Family Travel Forum (www .familytravel
forum.com), a compr ehensive site that
offers customiz ed trip planning; Family
Travel Network (www.familytravelnetwork.
com), an awar d-winning site that offers
travel featur es, deals, and tips; Traveling
Internationally with Your K ids (www .
travelwithyourkids.com), a comprehensive
site offering sound advice for long-distance
and international travel with children; and
Family Travel Files (www.thefamilytravel
files.com), which offers an online maga-
zine and a directory of off-the-beaten-path
tours and tour operators for families.
ADVICE FOR SINGLE
PARENTS
Parents trav eling without par tners will
appreciate San Francisco's low-key, friendly
disposition. Chances are hotel staff, restau-
rant emplo yees, and people on the str eet
will be happy to assist y ou in a pinch. I t's
good to keep a relaxed attitude when trav-
eling with kids, but it 's especially impor-
tant when y ou're the one corralling the
offspring. G o slo wly and don 't tr y to do
too much; sav or the br eak from the r ou-
tine and the oppor tunity to be in a ne w
setting together.
Online, the Single Parent Travel Net-
work (www.singleparenttravel.net) offers
excellent advice, trav el specials, a bulletin
board, and a fr ee electr onic ne wsletter.
The Family T ravel Forum (www.fami-
lytravelforum.com) also hosts a single par-
ent trav el bulletin boar d for tips fr
2
om
fellow travelers.
ADVICE FOR
GRANDPARENTS
One reliable agency that targets trav eling
grandparents is Elderhostel ( & 877/
426-8056; www.elderhostel.org), which
arranges study programs for those aged 55
and over in the U.S. and in mor e than 80
countries around the world. O f particular
interest ar e the “I ntergenerational” pr o-
grams. Most courses last 5 to 7 days in the
U.S. (2-4 w
eeks abr oad), and many
include air fare, accommodations in uni-
versity dormitories or modest inns, meals,
and tuition.
Members of AARP (formerly kno wn
as the American Association of R
etired
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