5 Proven Tips for Surviving Travel with Teens

Hold the sighing and the eye rolling! We’ve got some effective tips to help make that summer travel with teens not only bearable, but a great trip filled with happy memories. And no, it does not entail giving them a fully loaded electronic device so that they can be on social media all day.

1. Research, research, research.

Start planning early! Get the kids involved in the process by trying out this game. We typically start planning our summer vacation in January. It not only helps fight winter blues but it gives the kids a chance to get involved and excited. We start by spending a few Sunday afternoons combing through information.  Try the  travel section of your local bookstore, a travel show or magazine, or just searching out places on the internet.  Look at maps together to see where each of these places are located and what makes the most geographic sense for your family.

Once the continent, country and city (or cities) are chosen, grab one or two of those travel books to keep laying around as a reference. With a general format and a good travel book, you can spend the next few months continuing research on the internet.  Assign one category to each member of the family to research.  For example, let Dad research restaurants and let one child research museums while another researches other activities. 

Watch movies set in your destination of choice and read as a family at least one book set in the city. Living in NYC, we usually have access to at least one restaurant featuring the flavor of the region we are planning to visit. Whether it be southern food or Bosnian food. If restaurant choices are more limited, plan a fun family dinner at home trying out some of the flavors of the region in your own kitchen. Armed with a little information and expectation, your teen will be excited about travel.  Engaging in family activities beforehand will help your teen feel like it is their trip as much as it is yours.

2. Schedule downtime 

Once on the road, remember that what you view as valuable family time, your teen may view as a complete invasion of space and privacy. We try to break the day into chunks of organized activity and “free time”. Think, “if you do this for me, I will do this for you”. Giving your teens some scheduled downtime will help them be more engaged when you want to hit that ‘boring” art museum. Make sure the schedule is communicated at the start of the day.  Let them know when they will have their private time.  If teens know you are trying to work with them they will be more likely to cooperate (and maybe even participate!).  

Downtime for a teenager could include time on a device or even a fun activity. We love to give our teens screen time to get on social media or chat with friends in a cafe that has free wifi.  It allows us to soak up the atmosphere with a cocktail or a coffee.

For fun activities, we have managed to find someplace to swim in just about every city we have ever visited. Either a public pool, a hotel pool, or a swimming hole is almost always an option in the summer months. If you are traveling in winter, consider a hotel with an indoor pool. It’s remarkable what 2 hours in a pool or swimming hole can do to a teens attitude.

3. Makeshift scavenger hunts

Nothing gets a teen interested more than a little competition. Here’s their chance to finally show how smart they are – sometimes smarter than their parents! Scavenger hunts can be played (or invented) just about anywhere.Here are a few ideas:

• Upon arrival, find the nearest newspaper kiosk and purchase a bunch of post cards of local attractions. Younger teens can be rewarded for pointing out the place on the postcard as you wander a city. Older teens can be rewarded for reading a map and leading the family to the attraction on the post card.

• Or Google the place you are visiting and ‘scavenger hunt’. It is surprising how many cities have objects that are specific to that city that can be fun to search for. For example, Zagreb, Croatia paints designs on their local water fountains.  Siena, Italy has 16 distinct neighborhoods with a unique marking.  And Barcelona marks its oldest historical shops with a plaque.
• Finally, Geocaching is a worldwide phenomenon that exists in so many cities. It’s super entertaining for teens to spend an afternoon searching for little gadgets or clues left by others from all over the world.

All of these hunts can be rewarded either with souvenirs or financially. Financial rewards are perfect for the next point.

4. Give them some financial independence.

The key word here is independence. Because, let’s face it, that is all they really want. When teens are responsible enough to manage some money at home, they can manage it on the road as well. Give your teen some walking around money or have them earn it – see above. This allows them to buy that trinket or that snack that caught their eye without having to come and ask you for it. It doesn’t have to be a lot of money, just enough so there is a feeling of independence. Financial independence abroad has the added benefit of forcing your teen to learn a little about currency exchange as well as how to communicate in another language.  When we travel, I put my teens in charge of figuring out the cost of food, items, and activities in our own currency.  

5. Relax and be patient!

While you may be ready to slip into vacation mode as soon as you lock your front door and head for that plane, train, or automobile. Give your teen some time to mourn the separation from their friends. Your teen may take a little while to come around but if you follow these tips, before long, he/she will surrender to the experience and might even have a few good memories to bring home!

Happy travels!  Now use our reviews to explore these other cities with your teens!  Copenhagen, Portland (Oregon), Nashville, Munich, The Tour Du Mont Blanc, Paris, NYC

See our post about packing tips for teens here!