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Great Places for Families to Visit in Southern CaliforniaGreat Places for Fa

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California is one of the most popular states to visit in the entire US. From the mountainous, northern regions, down through the Bay Area and onward to the coastal south, there are countless activities and sites to see that would entertain someone of any age. However, it is Southern California that has stolen the spotlight from the rest of the state. The culture, climate and overall atmosphere in this area have made it very popular with out of state visitors. Here are some great places for families to visit in Southern California.

1. Carlsbad

Located near San Diego, Carlsbad is home to a stunning array of sites and activities for the whole entire family. The Flower Fields is located in the Carlsbad Ranch and is home to nearly 50 acres of beautiful flower blossoms in the springtime. South Carlsbad State Beach is another popular family destination known for the swimming, surfing, camping and outdoor activities that are available. The San Elijo Lagoon is another great outdoor attraction with beautiful hiking trails along the waterside. For those looking to get away from the heat, the SEA Life Aquarium is a great place to see a wide variety of marine life. To learn more about all the fun things to do in Carlsbad, check out the official site for Carlsbad tourism info and travel recommendations.

2. Death Valley National Park

Although the name doesn’t sound welcoming, the iconic Death Valley National Park is a wonderful place to visit in Southern California. This national park is located on the border of Nevada and sees some of the hottest temperatures in the entire United States. The natural rock formations have been an attraction at this park for hundreds of years. The park is also home to famous salt flats and has an abandoned town. Even a short drive through Death Valley National Park is enough to capture the immense beauty that this place has to offer.

3. San Diego

There isn’t a better place to visit on a family trip to California than the San Diego Zoo. This zoo has been rated the top in the United States several different times. The San Diego Zoo boasts over 3,700 animals and 650 different species. The open-air exhibits were actually first designed by this zoo, offering a truly unique experience. The San Diego Zoo is also one of the only places in the world to successfully breed the giant panda. Members of the entire family will enjoy a whole day exploring the vast sites that this zoo has to offer.

4. Santa Monica Pier

Santa Monica Pier is another great attraction for the whole family to visit when in Southern California. The pier features a host of attractions including a Ferris wheel, arcade center, an aquarium, pubs and restaurants, trapeze school and more. During the summer, there are more activities such as concerts and movies taking place along the pier. Although the evening is a popular time to visit the Santa Monica Pier, any family could easily spend the entire day enjoying all that this place has to offer. Santa Monica Pier is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean and is over 100 years old.

Southern California is one of the most popular places for families to visit in the entire United States. The mild climate, laid-back atmosphere and host of fun attractions make this region the perfect family vacation. All of the places listed are great fun for the entire family and should not be missed on a trip to Southern California. More exploration of this region will reveal even more hidden gems.

How To Guarantee A Fun Family Vacation

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There are no guarantees in life, not even when you’re going on vacation. That means it’s up to you to make sure everyone’s set to have an amazing time and minimize the risk of any issues. It’s all about what you do or don’t do prior to leaving and your attitude while you’re onsite.

Make time to arrange, organize and prepare well before your travel dates. Get all of your family members involved, so everyone knows what’s going on. Create a priority list to help you ensure you have the most important items covered first. See how to guarantee a fun family vacation.

Choose the Location Wisely

It’s a good idea to research your destination options and know what you’re getting into ahead of time. Reconsider automatically booking the vacation that’s the cheapest. Get input from the family to hear where each person would like to travel to and why. Weigh a variety of factors before committing to one location. The better fit your selection is for the entire group, the more fun and less friction you’ll encounter once you’re on your trip.

Get the Right Luggage

Secure the right luggage for the destination and each person. Determine if it’s doable to take carry-ons along or if you’ll be needing more space in your suitcase. Pick out designs and patterns that you can easily spot once you’re in the airport gathering your luggage. Having the proper bags will make your travels that much more enjoyable. It’s worth investing in a set that’s going to last you a while and get you to where you’re going in style.

Shop Ahead of Time

The fun part of going on a trip is the new clothes you get to buy for the vacation. Help yourself out by shopping online at a store like Vingino. The Dutch fashion company convinces with creative children’s fashion, which thrills parents and children alike. To give the kids a lot of freedom of movement, the store relies on simple cuts and casual silhouettes. Your children will love the clothing, and it will make them that much more excited to leave for your trip. Shop together and agree to items you both can get behind.

Have A Family Meeting before Departure

It’s important to all be on the same page before you take off. Have a family meeting to go over the trip details and rules for when you’re on vacation. Allow everyone to discuss concerns and ask questions. Share the details you have planned out, so the entire family feels included and knows not to expect any surprises. You can even go as far as to print out an itinerary and review each day as a group. You’re more likely to have fun and experience fewer issues when you take time to lay it all out on the table for everyone.

Plan Activities in Advance

Don’t be afraid to plan activities before your arrival. This way you know exactly what you’re doing on which days. It also promises you spots or tickets for specific excursions and activities, saving you from disappointment. Once again, ask for input from the family before you start booking reservations. While it’s nice to have plans some of the days, it’s probably best to leave some free time during your trip. Part of having a fun family vacation is getting time to unwind and being granted personal time to yourself outside of the house. It’s all about balancing out your time together and giving each individual a voice.

Unplug

As the parent, it’s a smart idea to be a good example for your kids and unplug the majority of your time on vacation. Work ahead at the office and only bring with you what you must attend to while at your destination. It’s also a good idea that everyone makes it a habit to check phones and computers once a day and not be constantly glued to them. You’ll all have a much more enjoyable and relaxed time when you’re not always staring at your devices. Observe the nature, sights, smells and sounds around you and soak up the beautiful scenery. It’s likely you’ll all regret spending too much time connected and not enough of your trip being in the moment.

Have Meals Together

Use vacation as a chance to have meals together, especially if you’re usually too busy to at home. Make it fun and allow each person to pick a restaurant or food group to try while you’re away. Mix it up and go casual one night and dress up another evening. Come ready with conversation and to discuss what each person believes to be the highlight of the trip so far. Everyone should look forward to a nice meal together after having some alone time during the day. This is also a good chance to discuss any other activities the group wants to participate in or adventures that you’ve become aware of since arriving.

Document your Favorite Memories

One way to have a little fun is to take pictures of your family members enjoying themselves on the trip. Get a mix of action shots and posed pictures and return with a lot of great images to share and keep. Make an album or create a video when you get home and be glad you have these memories that you can cherish forever. Pictures are an excellent way to remember all the fun you had and be able to look back on your trip after you get home and time passes.

Conclusion

Your family vacation won’t be same if you decide not to plan and prepare. Get organized and excited about all of the enjoyment that’s to come. Remind everyone that traveling is about bonding as a family, having new experiences together and allowing yourself to relax. Of course, there may be situations that arise and obstacles to overcome, but don’t let that stop you from having a nice time. This is how to guarantee a fun family vacation.

4 Child-Friendly Asian Cities to Visit

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Family vacations are one of the best things to look forward to. It is the ideal time to relax, bond with one another, and have fun even for a short while. You will surely enjoy this moment and treasure it for a lifetime, for it is not every day you can have this kind of journey with the most important people in your life.

However, planning your family vacation can be frustrating and at the same time exhausting. There are plenty of things you have to consider first before deciding where to spend your vacation. You have to keep in mind that everyone should enjoy during this trip, so choose a destination that you can all have the best time ever.

Listed below are the child-friendly cities you can visit in Asia:

Singapore

Although known as a costly city, Singapore is still one of the best Asian cities to explore with your family, significant other, or alone. It is a multicultural region that makes it easy and hassle-free to roam around, even with your entire family. There are also a lot of attractions you can visit while here, including the Singapore Flyer, Gardens by the Bay, Singapore Botanic Gardens, and Sentosa Island. More so, before traveling to this wonderful country, make sure to have a cheap travel insurance in Singapore first. This will ensure that you are all protected when overseas.

Hong Kong

One of the most popular Asian cities perfect for every family is Hong Kong. This metropolitan city boasts its two main attractions for travelers – Hong Kong Disneyland and Ocean Park. All kids, as well as kids-at-heart, will truly be delighted going here. Aside from these two attractions, you can also visit the Po Lin Monastery and Big Buddha in Lantau Island, Peak Tower, or Hong Kong Ferris Wheel. There are tons of family-friendly tourist spots around Hong Kong, so better plan your trip here properly and ahead of time.

Malaysia

A friendly and relaxing country, Malaysia is a must-visit travel destination, too. There are numerous cities around this beautiful country that you can explore, especially Kuala Lumpur. You can check out Legoland and Hello Kitty Land as well, in order for the kids to enjoy your Malaysia trip. With its outstanding cuisine, amiable local people, and diverse culture, you will truly feel Asia while here.

Japan

Another Asian country you should not miss when traveling with the whole family is Japan. This amazing country has one of the best tourist attractions in the world, especially its capital city, Tokyo. Once you are in Tokyo, make sure to add Tokyo DisneySea and Tokyo Disneyland on your itinerary. These amusement parks will definitely be a hit to you and your children.

Asia is absolutely a family-friendly travel destination. It offers a ton of great cities perfect for family vacations or solo travels. In case you are planning a getaway with your family, then make sure to consider these travel destinations specified above and you will all experience the ultimate Asian tour like no other.

Going on a family holiday? Here are a few saving tips before leaving

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Having a family – even a big one shouldn’t stop you from going on a grand holiday vacation abroad. It may need by one of your household’s biggest expense, but odds are it’s the expense you’re willing to make.

Family vacations are an investment to emotion as much as money, and they should be since us parents only have a short time to create meaningful vacation memories for our kids.

If you’re looking for the best destination or the perfect travel money card to use for your spending abroad, it’s important to do a lot of research. There’s a plethora of information online for your disposal, in fact, a single hour of research on a good resource can prepare you for almost any mishap you might encounter when travelling with your entire family abroad.

With that in mind, here are a couple of tips to help you maximise your spending dollar.

Plan your trip’s timing. Timing plays a huge role in travel. Try to fly during less desirable season or times, such as midweek or late at night for instance. Take advantage of flexible-travel-date search option when booking online. This lets you compare fares for dates a few days on either side of your chosen date.

Take advantage of shoulder season. This is the time between peak and off-peak. This differs depending on your chosen travel location For Walt Disney World, for instance, the shoulders are May and September where crowds are thinner.

Rent a house instead of a hotel. Consider vacationing with friends or relatives for even bigger bang for your house-rental buck. The per-family cost of allotting a larger rental house is normally lower and you often get more house for your money. You can save even more by sharing the cost of groceries, and had a lot of fun making meals together.

Find deals. Use group-buying websites like Living Social or Groupon to located discounts and deals for the city you want to visit. Likewise, check out the website of your destination’s local magazine/newspaper and look for deals and discounts, often grouped in a special area of the site. Local maps and fliers also often have discount coupons for famous tourist activities and attractions.

Utilise technology. Before travelling, download apps such as GasBuddy to locate nearby gas, Roadtrippers to see sites along a route, Yelp for local restaurants, and hotels.com to get last minute rooms. Also, using Facebook, you can swiftly gather suggestions from friends or other people about favourite/famous hotels, restaurants, or attractions in the area you want to visit, thus growing your odds that what you decide to spend money on will be worth it.

Make use of travel money card. If you want to secure your spending, then a travel money card is your perfect companion. It allows you to lock in exchange rates, save on fees and charges, plus it can be used in over 36 million locations worldwide. You can also withdraw cash at an ATM, use in-store, online or over the phone. You can use

End Note

It’s amazing how much you can save just by applying a couple of tips without sacrificing fun. Keep searching online or try your destination’s local website to find cool activities and even deals. Have fun travelling with the family in tow!

Travelling with Kids? Here’s how you survive!

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Hundreds of thousands of people went on holiday last year, and the bulk of them travelled with children. Parents had a wide range of problems: complicated travel arrangements, grumpy spouses and bored kids! It doesn’t have to be this way. Here are some tips on what to do when arranging a holiday with the whole family. Travelling with kids? Here’s how you survive!

1. Choose the Right Destination

You can’t please everyone. Always wanted to travel to a particular destination? It doesn’t mean your spouse does. Or your children. Why not do things differently next time and consult with the whole family? Brainstorm a list of destinations that everyone wants to visit and come to a compromise. Not only will everyone will be happy but children are less likely to get restless if they’re travelling to a destination that they want to go to. So, start planning and choose a place that everyone will love!

2. Brings Lots of Entertainment With You on Your Trip

Long car journeys and flights can be a chore for you and your little ones. Make the process more tolerable by bringing lots of things to keep them entertainedduring your trip. This might include books, games, toys and other activities which will interest them for a few hours. You might even want to create games that you can play as a whole family to make your journeys feel much quicker than they really are. If you’re bringing board games,keep them in a separate bag to your suitcase if you’re travelling by plane. This way, you can access them quickly if you need to.

3. Choose a Family-Friendly Hotel

Choosing a family-friendly hotel can make all the difference when travelling with the whole family, especially if you have young children. This type of accommodation will provide you with all the services you need when on your travels, including baby cots and even toys to keep your little ones entertained when you’re in your room. You can search the Internet and find family-friendly accommodation quickly. Once you’ve whittled down your list to two or three hotels that you might be interested in, contact the establishment directly and ask them what services they provide for children. This might include a children’s dining area, a children’s swimming pool or a kids club. Don’t forget to check out third-party review websites, too. These provide you with all the information you need about your hotel from guests who have stayed there in the past, so you know exactly what to expect before you hit that “book” button.

4. Arrange Activities Before You Travel

Finding something to do for the whole family can be difficult when you get to your destination. Why not arrange day trips at home before you travel instead? This way, you’ll be well-prepared for your trip and know exactly what you’re doing when you get there. There are loads of websites that offer excursions for the whole family and if you book early, you might be able to get a discount. Don’t forget to use a promotion code, too, which could entitle you to money off your trip!

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We left our home in Sydney, Australia many moons ago in May 2012 and, other than a brief stint back in Perth for Christmas and a wedding in early 2014, we have been travelling the world nomadically ever since, running a business from our laptops and we’re here to show you how to do it!