We never plan anything. Totally go with the flow. I don’t understand the desire to keep a rigid schedule on vacation or have something you have to do everyday.

I would take things with you that you can do together. Card games etc.

Sometimes I plan certain things on the first few days of the trip but leave a day free at the end to fit in anything we missed or only learned about while there.

Yeah, it really hard not to plan sometime. I'm a planner but I'm also ok with spontaneous decisions. But, you can do it be not having your phone with you, not looking at any other person's screen, ipad, phone, tv. unless you are watching a movie together as a family.

And don't sweat about the meals. Hand that task over to the dh and kids. I don't know about you but if they are happy, I am happy so I don't really care what we eat as long as it's not the same thing every day. If there are allergies involve, than it requires a bit of planning. I usually have a list of ok restaurants because there is a allergy issue with one kid. But, I've been known all I think about is eating but it's important!! If everyone is hungry and we have 1 more hour of driving, it's not going to be a happy drive!

I always find that the first few days of a trip are stressful because I want to fit everything in. The last several days are the most relaxing because I have checked everything off my list, and can chill/go with the flow. Kind of like when I go to Disney. I’m stressed when I first get there, but slowly relax and enjoy.

Anonymous wrote:That's a vacation I wouldn't want to be on. Beach AI with no wifi. Have fun if and when it rains.

I don't know why people have to be so uppity when it comes to phones/connectivity on vacation. Like you're so much better and 'in the moment than someone with a phone. Who cares?

I totally agree. I didn’t start having fun on vacations until around 2008. Everything before that was just meh.

Anonymous wrote:You want to plan ahead how you're going to be "in the moment"?

Just go and have fun. Take your kids' phones if they need a little help being present and without them. I find that taking random unposed pictures help me appreciate what is happening, and they later remind me of forgotten things.

Reminds me of how I wrote my senior thesis on Life Experience

I am a planner, so I would want to know one activity at the resort (per day, per person?) that your family wants to do so you do not miss a class or opportunity. For me once I know when our "must do's" are, I can relax be more spur of the moment

Sounds amazing - agree on leaving all phones in the rooms sometimes, pick out some books you want to read, and ask the kids some things they want to do and do them.

Is there any chance that you have anxiety? If you’re always thinking about the next upcoming thing and worried about it, then you sound like me, and I have anxiety. I think once I realized and labeled what I had it helped me be more in the moment.

Anonymous wrote:Just don't have electronic devices

+1, putting phones away or even just leaving them in the room (or going places where phones don't work or your hands are not free to look at them) does wonders.

When we travel outside the US, we sometimes don't bother paying for cell service. You can download maps to your phone and use the GPS without having to be online to get around, use WiFi when you stop in places to check email and iMessage/WhatsApp. But this means that most of the time when we are sightseeing or going out to eat, we don't have internet and it is glorious. We talk to each other, relax, read books, just enjoy the present moment.

That's a vacation I wouldn't want to be on. Beach AI with no wifi. Have fun if and when it rains.

I don't know why people have to be so uppity when it comes to phones/connectivity on vacation. Like you're so much better and 'in the moment than someone with a phone. Who cares?

Just don't have electronic devices

You want to plan ahead how you're going to be "in the moment"?

Just go and have fun. Take your kids' phones if they need a little help being present and without them. I find that taking random unposed pictures help me appreciate what is happening, and they later remind me of forgotten things.

DH, our kids and I are *finally* taking a vacation alone and won’t be with any family or friends. Our kids are 11 and 13 and good travelers. We will be at a beachy all-inclusive and don’t plan on leaving, so maximum relaxation is on the books. Thankfully, we won’t have phone service and I’ve heard the Wi-Fi at the resort isn’t the greatest, so everyone will be unplugged. We don’t have to think about food or activity either.


Even on relaxing vacations in the past I still feel like I’m always thinking of the next thing and I really want to make it a point this trip to really, truly be in the moment and present. What are your off the wall, out in left field ways to be in the moment, or ways to create lasting memories?