Vacations For Teens

With three vocal teenagers in our family, we can be a family divided on everything from food to entertainment and even where we go on our vacations for teens. Every year my family has looked forward to our vacation - not only because of the break from school but because of the opportunity for the entire family to go on vacation together. This year, we decided to do something a little differently and allow our 13, 15 and 16 year old teens to plan our vacation.

They were given a budget and were in charge of everything from planning the travel to the activities and even the food. My husband I decided to be as hands off (as we possibly could). We decided that since the kids were planning their own teen vacation that this would alleviate the whining that we went through each year. And mom and dad could take a break from all the planning as our kids chose a vacation that we all could enjoy.

Of course, in choosing a vacation specifically geared toward a certain age, especially vacations for teens, it's important to first determine the type of vacation that your kids would be interested in. There are so many different options that the possibilities need to be narrowed down. Our first priority in creating teen vacation was what activities we wanted to participate in.

Our 13 year old son wanted to do nothing but play video games while the 15 year old decided he wanted to try his hand at windsurfing. Our 16 year old daughter wanted nothing more than to work on her tan. My husband did put in a request that he could go fishing and I was open to almost anything that allowed me to not have to spend my time cooking and cleaning.

We did give our teens a budget and mapped out some priorities including costs of tours, food and souvenirs, the time it would take to get to our destination and the safety factor. Despite the maturity that my teens were showing, I'm not about to allow them to run wild unsupervised. Surprisingly enough the kids decided to work together to research the vacation and three days later presented us with their choice for the family: A houseboat vacation. I was surprised about what a great idea they'd come up with.

They decided to put together the menus (with mom's help) and, since it was a 5 day excursion, each of us would be in charge of one breakfast, one lunch and one dinner which was broken up over the course of the five days. Our teen vacation planners even planned the meals and helped with the shopping and preparations. They made lists for food, clothes and entertainment. They reminded my husband that he needed to get his fishing license and even suggested, (in the interest of keeping on budget) that I pick up some some books at the used bookstore ("...just in case they get all wet, mom...").

Well I wish I could say that everything went perfectly smoothly. It didn't. We had a flat tire on the way - which we turned into a game, timing how long it took to change the tire. We took a wrong turn and got lost. But those were just minor inconveniences.

Our teen vacation planners did a fantastic job and created memories that will last for the rest of our lives. I'd never have thought vacations for teens could be so much fun for their parents as well. And the best thing is that they've already started to plan for the next year.