Shhh… there’s a huge secret that entrepreneurs have known for quite some time: Business trips and family holidays can mix!

However, it’s important to know where to draw the line during your trip so you can experience the best family vacation possible without jeopardizing yourself from a career standpoint.

First, understand that if you’re commingling business and pleasure, it’s critical to delineate which is which.

This means if you’re heading to a nice beach to have drinks with a potential client, your loved ones should probably be sightseeing or hanging out at your Florida vacation condo, not tagging along. Likewise, if your Michigan family vacation has business overtones, make sure you aren’t crossing any boundaries. (In other words, keep the kids far from the customers unless and until they invite them to join you!)

Next, make sure that your travel companions understand that you won’t be [...]

You spend tons of time racking up those frequent flyer miles, but are they really doing you any good just sitting there, figuratively collecting dust?

If you have plenty of such miles, and you doubt you’ll be able to use them before their expiration dates, why not give them to a loved one so he or she can have the best family vacation imaginable?

Transferring frequent flyer miles isn’t unheard of; in fact, people do it all the time. However, it’s always best to contact the miles provider to figure out the easiest way for you to give some (or all) of yours away.

Often, you’ll have to purchase the tickets yourself, which will require you to talk with your gift recipient (rather than simply surprising him or her) to make sure you know where he or she wants to go.

Grease the wheels by casually handing [...]

Homework… ugggh, right?

Most people recoil at the thought of researching anything, but when it comes to planning your best family vacations, it’s an essential element.

And, best of all, it can honestly be enjoyable!

You see, what most people forget is that half (at least) of the excitement of a family vacation is in working through all the details. Sure, it can be time-consuming, but as long as you’re doing it together, it can also be a wonderful time spent as a family.

Here are some great ways to get you started to making your family vacation homework a blast!

1. Give Everyone Something to Do!

Even little ones can help plan the next family vacation getaway by looking through vacation guides and travel magazines. If they can’t read yet, they can at least point to pictures of beaches, forests, snow-capped mountains, anything that catches [...]

The Internet has made it possible for workaholics to experience their dreams of being on vacation and working at the same time.

But is it really a good idea to take your career with you on your next family vacation to North Carolina in the Outer Banks?

If you’re an American, it’s probably not.

Recent headlines (fueled by a variety of independent polls) suggest that most United States workers take far too few vacations and are regularly stressed out.

Even when they decide to “get away”, they take their cubbies with them. Phone calls, emails, and faxes dominate their trips… and their personal relationships suffer.

Many so-called “Type A” personalities (and “Type B” personalities who are driven by “Type A” bosses) find it nearly impossible to relax, even while at a New Jersey beach or at one of the many Vermont resorts. Ironically, for those men and women, taking time off feels more [...]