How to Actually Enjoy a Vacation With Your Family

Family vacations aren't always too exciting.

Sure, you're stoked to go somewhere new, but the thought of spending multiple days with your clan with no chance to escape is a recipe for disaster.

Rather than opt out of your vacay (as if you had a choice?), we rounded up a few things you can do to make the most of your trip with your fam bam.

1. Bring Things to Distract Yourself

Whether you're driving, flying or using some other mode of transportation to get to your destination, keep things handy that you can use to distract yourself. Your phone is an obvious choice, as you can do virtually anything with it. Make sure your phone is fully charged before you head out and be sure to have a portable charger with you at all times. Nothing is worse than having your phone die on you before you get where you're going.

Bringing a book is always a good idea because you can say you need to read it for school, even if you're reading for pleasure. This way your siblings or parentals won't distract you when they see you skimming the pages. You could even bring homework, which is a warning for them to stay away when you're working on it.

(Hey Arnold via Nickelodeon)

 

2. Do Your Own Planning

Obviously, your parents are going to have plotted out a lot of what you guys will be doing while you're on vacation, but that doesn't mean you can't do a little planning of your own. If there's something you really want to do while you're there, tell them. Chances are they'll add whatever it is to their list, because they ultimately want you to have a great time. Start looking up a bunch of cool things you can do on your vacation that your parents would be happy to accommodate.

 

3. Set Boundaries

While your parents may hope to spend every waking moment with you and/or your siblings while on vacation, we know that's probably not your idea of fun. Be sure to tell your parents that. They might not be happy to hear it, but they'll understand. They were once your age, so they get it.

The same goes for your siblings. If you don't really want to spend every second doing something with them, let them know. They will more than likely take offense, especially depending on your age difference, but they'll get over it.

Doing this will only help your entire family partake in a vacay that doesn't result in all of you getting annoyed with one another minutes into your trip.

(Blended via Warner Bros. Pictures)

 

4. See If You Bestie Can Tag Along

When in doubt, ask your fam if one of your besties can come with you. Depending on where you're going, your parents are more than likely to say yes—especially if you bring a friend they already adore and treat as part of the family.

If you have siblings, this may be a little bit difficult to do, because then they'll want to also bring someone. Offer the compromise that they can bring a friend to your next family vacay.

 

5. Keep Things Positive

You may be onboard with your family vacay, or you might not want to even think about spending a few days with your fam. At the end of the day, it's all about keeping things positive. You are going on vacation, after all. If the situation or your family starts to annoy you, take some time to yourself. But don't dwell on your negative feelings for too long. Your vacation is too short to spend the majority of it being upset about hanging out with your family.

(Vacation via Warner Bros. Pictures)

 

One of the best parts about going on vacation is snapping plenty of pics to share on Instagram. For every post you share, HERE are the perfect captions for your travels.