Taking the Kids: Ten wishes for happy travel in 2016
5. TRY SOMETHING NEW WITH THE KIDS. Have you always wanted to learn to scuba dive? The Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) has courses where you can complete a course before you leave home and get certified on your next trip and Family Dive Adventures has special. Kids Sea Camp trips designed to help families learn to dive. Kids as young as 10 can enroll in the PADI Open Water Diver Course. Maybe you've always wanted to take an RV trip. The company Tracks and Trails can arrange it all, from the RV rental to campground reservations and activities. Trade houses with another family in another part of the country or the world through a company like Home Exchange.
6. GIVE BACK ON VACATION. Sure you can sign on for a week-long cruise on Carnival's new Fathom, dedicated to help families experience "social impact travel" volunteering in the Dominican Republic and share immersive experiences in Cuba. But just packing five pounds of needed supplies in your luggage can make a big difference too, according to Pack For a Purpose.
7. VISIT A NATIONAL PARK. The National Park Service turns 100 in 2016 and the centennial will be celebrated with special events and a new Every Kid in a Park initiative that invites all fourth-graders and their families to visit free. Plan a multigenerational trip: Seniors 62 and older who are citizens or permanent residents can get a lifetime pass for $10 at any federal recreation site. Your senior pass gets you and all those traveling with you in the car in free.
8. EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY. The kids won't give up their devices (many teens think, an expert told me, that no experience is real until they've shared it on social media) so use them to find suitable apps, whether you want to identify birds or flowers, tour a new museum exhibit, navigate an unfamiliar city or find a restaurant everyone can agree on.
9. TAKE YOUR EARNED VACATION TIME! According to Project: Time Off, Americans are leaving 429 million vacation days on the table, taking the least amount of vacation in nearly 40 years. That's not good for anyone's health or productivity!
Happy travels in 2016.
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(Visit www.takingthekids.com or follow @takingthekids on Instagram, twitter or facebook. Check out Eileen's Kid's Guides to major American cities.)
(c) 2015 DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.
