Traveling is one of the greatest joys for families, offering the chance to cherish unforgettable memories together.
Planning a trip that caters to the needs and interests of multiple generations can be a unique challenge. From infants to seniors, each age group comes with its own interests and daunting packing lists. Multigenerational bookings have grown at a rate of 35% over the last three years, with more than 20.8 million travelers in the U.S. alone embarking on trips with three or more generations. My family has even traveled with four generations!
Clearly, multigenerational travel is on the rise—more like exploding. It is a precious opportunity to create lifelong memories, strengthen family bonds, and enjoy new experiences together. Grandparents want to travel with their children, and grandchildren want to create memorable experiences with their grandparents. Plus, parents really appreciate the chance for a date night!
In this guide, we’ll explore some top priorities you need to know to plan a successful multigenerational trip. My family has been on several trips with my now 93-year-old grandmother, spanning from her great-grandchildren as infants to adults. Each trip has embedded lasting memories for all of us! Therefore, we have learned tips and developed strategies to help others navigate the complexities of traveling with a range of age groups. Ultimately, we aim to make traveling less stressful so the whole crew is ready to embark on an unforgettable family adventure that everyone will cherish for years to come.
Planning Your Trip
With a group ranging from infants to seniors, it’s essential to choose a family-friendly location. A romantic getaway is not exactly the theme here. Here are some things we look for when choosing the location and accommodation, whether it’s a beach/lake town or the mountains. Keep in mind, these tips apply to almost any destination, making the location more inclusive.
Accessibility of the Rental: Look for homes with two or fewer steps to enter the main level, or zero steps for wheelchair users. A main floor bedroom and bath for grandparents and those unable to take the stairs is crucial, as well as a kitchen and gathering area. Check the type of beds in each room to accommodate couples, singles, and kids. If it’s hard to identify, contact the owner or management company. We do this almost every time before booking to obtain additional specific details. Sometimes, all the amenities are not listed, such as an elevator, high chair, or the type of bed in each room or on each floor. It also helps to know how many steps if any in certain areas.
Walkability / Driveability: Ensure safe and accessible routes if it’s important for the family to have easy access to local amenities without driving or with just a golf cart ride away. Use an aerial view on Google Maps in Satellite view and read all the reviews, as some will share how far or close the home is from amenities. Some listings specify the amount of time it takes to drive or walk to places like grocery stores, shopping centers, beaches, etc. Additionally, it might be important to be close to drug stores for those unexpected illnesses or boo-boos or even toiletries that were left behind.
Duration of the Trip: Factor in the distance to the destination with your travel plans. For instance, an eight-hour drive may not be worth it for a four-day trip with infants and grandparents. Take breaks as needed so everyone is comfortable. If carpooling, have helpers in the car for the babies and if grandma or grandpa need help with transfers. Put your strongest folks in the car with them, especially when equipment is needed to get in/out of the car for breaks. Pack lots of water, snacks, and entertainment for the little ones.
Travel Logistics
As we were packing for one of our recent trips, my mom joked that packing with grandma is like packing for kids. We had strollers and rollators, canes and hiking sticks, and bicycles and wheelchairs. Don’t forget those monitors and CPAP machines. Here are some things to consider to make traveling a little easier.
Transportation: Whether flying or driving, don’t forget those diapers, pull-ups, and Depends! Portable toilets are great for long car rides. You never know when you might get stuck in traffic or have to circle the airport. We like packing sensory kits for the little ones to keep them occupied in case those iPads don’t last long. For longer flights, we recommend compression socks for any adults and utilizing airport wheelchair services for grandparents. Refer to our article for additional tips for infants and toddlers.
Packing: One of our top tips is renting the bulk! Since we learned of baby rental companies when traveling with our first at four months old, we have been big fans of renting all sorts of equipment from cribs and walkers to beach equipment. Less bulk = less stress. Check with your vacation rental to see what they offer. Some offer very basic amenities, while others serve you like VIPs. Most southern beach destinations have baby and beach rental businesses that offer drop-off and pick-up services. Some offer a wide variety of items, from beach wheelchairs to wagons. If going to the beach, check if the beach nearby offers beach services. Some rentals include beach chair/umbrella services. If not, rent all the beach equipment necessary, from wagons and chairs to umbrellas and beach toys. If they do not offer medical equipment such as wheelchairs and shower chairs, contact local medical stores—most offer rentals on a wide variety of equipment from rollators and wheelchairs to shower chairs and even lounge chairs!
Activities and Entertainment
It can be hard to entertain a wide range of ages. Plan activities together and individually. Some things we have done together as a multigenerational family at different destinations are boat rides/tours, shows, card games, and more. To alleviate some of the stress, not everyone has to do everything together. Some grandparents simply like to relax and read or do a little porch sitting, so the views might be important when choosing your vacation rental. When booking excursions, call ahead to ask for special rates and also any special accommodations or the accessibility of the activity/place. We have even gotten our grandmother on the beach using accessible beach mats and pathways. We rented a beach wheelchair on a couple of occasions to get my brother-in-law and grandmother closer to the water. Rotate meal prepping, cooking, and clean-up duties.
Making Memories
There are so many ways to cherish these memories and share them over a lifetime. We love creating memories and crafting them into keepsakes. When I was younger, we collected a lot of sand dollars from the ocean. It was such a cool and memorable experience. My mother took all our sand dollars, bleached them, wrote the vacation year and place, and turned them into ornaments for our tree. We have also taken photos from our trips and made them into ornaments or books from websites like Shutterfly. These are great ways to show the little ones, when they’re older, their family trips.
In summary, multigenerational travel is possible and incredibly rewarding! By factoring the location, duration of the trip, accessbility of vacation rentall and specific travel logistics when planning the needs of each age group, you can create an unforgettable family adventure that everyone will cherish for years to come.
Our partners at Becoming Rentable is a great place to start your search!
Check out some of our multi-generational travel experiences and accessible rental reviews on our blog.
Have you traveled with multiple generations? If so, share your most memorable vacations in the comments!
