Family vacations will always be my fondest memories. We lived in a very cold climate but my father was a total desert rat and needed the sun so every year, sometimes twice a year we would travel to a near by place, chasing the sun. We always had such a great time, bonding as a family. My siblings and I regularly reminisce about our family vacations and laugh at all the same jokes we did back then.
Family vacations are worth every penny spent, in my opinion. There’s nothing like being ‘just the family’ and enjoying each other’s company and getting away from the pressures and stress that life can lay at our feet on a daily basis. There are many places to take families on vacation but one fantastic way to get your family together is on a camping trip. Camping may sound tedious and boring and dirty but there are actually a lot of different ways you can camp and a lot of different things you can do from visiting a water park or theme park to the standard building camp fires and roasting s’mores. Whether you are staying in rental cabins or the actual campgrounds, it’s bound to be fun. Let’s go over a few of the things you can do.
Biking
If you can fit your bikes among your travel accessories it can be really fun to pack up food for the day and spend time biking among the trails of nearby regions. If your family is a nature kind of family this is the activity for you. There are all kinds of things to do while you are biking:
- You can bird watch or animal watch if you stay very still.
- Collect fireflies in a jar and use them to illuminate your camp site that night.
- Search for wild berries, nuts and edible plants to add to your lunch. Just make sure they aren’t poisonous!
- Sometimes, camp sites will offer a safari where you can take pictures of the animals and plants you see. You’ll have to leave the bikes behind for that though.
Water play
If there is a water park near by, this can be a great all day venture, slip and sliding in tubes down waterslides or chilling in the pool. I knew of a water park that had a wave pool and it felt like the beach.
However, even if there is no water park near by, if there is a lake or some sort of body of water, there are plenty of things to do still.
- Water volleyball
- Tubing
- Water skiing
- Canoeing or kayaking
There are a ton more ideas for water play but it just depends on what you bring or what your campsite offers.
Campside Fun
If you choose to stay at the camp site one day there’s still plenty to keep everyone entertained.
- Board games or cards
- Reading aloud
- Watching a movie together
- Nap
Night time shenanigans
Activities don’t have to just be for day time. There are plenty of ways to enjoy the cooler nights of camping as well.
- Flashlight tag
- Hide and seek in the dark
- Go for a midnight swim
- Shoot off fireworks
Making up your own games can be just as fun as well. Whatever your family likes to do, go with that. There’s nothing better than sitting back and watching your family have a great time together. Sometimes it feels like the family is growing distant because everyone has their schedules, activities and responsibilities, especially as the children get older. Vacations are a great time to reconnect and find out what is going on in everyone’s life. Make sure there is plenty of time for talking and sharing while on your vacation. Not everyone may want to share at first, especially any teenagers, but after a few days of really enjoying each other’s company, they are bound to open up. Overall, just ensure everyone comes back home with great memories, feeling refreshed and ready to tackle life once again.
