(To read Part I of this Travel Tips series, click on this link; to read Part II, click here)

Okay – you and your fur buddy have arrived at your family vacation spot! Hurrah! Now is when the real fun (with pet in tow!) begins… as long as you keep these reminders in the back of your mind at all times.

1. You Must Take Your Pet Along Most of the Time

You didn’t take Fido on vacation to sit in your Canadian lodging place while you toured solo. This means that practically whatever you choose to do during your family vacation will need to be pet-friendly.

Now, obviously you can go out for dinner, lunch, touring alone. But only if you’ve spent a good amount of time entertaining your pet. Remember that this family vacation getaway should be as thrilling for your kitty or pooch as it is for you.

2. Not Everyone Loves [...]

If you’re a packrat, you know it. You’ve come to terms with it. But that doesn’t mean your traveling companions will like it when you lug everything under the sun to… and from… your family vacation spot.

Here are some ways that you, as a card-carrying member of the sometimes-irritating (but ultimately lovable) packrat community, can curb your appetite for clutter while at some of the best family vacation spots on the planet.

1. Have someone else pack for you

Now, don’t freak out. Seriously consider this as a viable travel tip. After all, you know very well that if you’re packing your duds for a week at one of those wonderful Delaware condominiums, you’re likely to throw too much together. So why not allow someone else to pack on your behalf?

Just make sure that you let him or her know of things that you absolutely need, like medications. But don’t dictate how many [...]

1. Don’t spend the week complaining

Yeah, it’s tough when your family beach vacations get rained out, but griping about it ad nauseum does nothing for your collective morale.

Instead of yipping and yapping about what you can’t do, focus on what you can.

2. Don’t stop disciplining your kids

You’ve seen them – the parents who virtually allow their kids to get away with murder on a trip.

To maintain the structure of your best family vacations, don’t get too lax about your expectations. Sure, your eight-year-old might not need to go to bed at nine, but that doesn’t give him or her the right to back-talk just because you’re not at home.

3. Don’t spend money you don’t have

“Hey! That looks good! Let’s put it on the credit card!”
“Why bother to worry about money? We’re on our family vacation getaway!”
“Dinner tonight? We’ll head to the fanciest restaurant we [...]

1. Over-packing

Do you really need five pairs of jeans? Does your trip to one of the most beautiful Alabama resorts truly require you to bring along fifteen necklaces and a dozen bracelets?

We’re all guilty of overpacking from time to time; don’t let a too-heavy suitcase weigh down your family vacation getaway. Instead, pack mix-and-match apparel that will be versatile, but not in the way.

2. Over-planning

It’s easy to want to see everything at the best family vacation spots around the country; however, it’s not possible and will only exhaust you if you try.

Choose a maximum of two places to go each day of your family vacation getaway. And if you have kids, you may want to just stick with one tourist attraction; they tend to become restless and cranky otherwise.

3. Over-exerting

You never go to the gym, but you’re dying to scuba dive, parasail, water ski and snorkel during your [...]

1. Business Cards

You might think you’ll never need a business card while enjoying one of those best family vacation spots. This is limited thinking, though!

Bring a few business cards to exchange wherever you go during your next family vacation getaway. Hey, you never know who will be sitting next to you in that fancy restaurant… or lying beside you at the beach!

2. Your Resume and/or CV (Curriculum Vitae)

Like business cards, you might assume that a family vacation getaway could never be a place to drop your resume or CV… but you might want to guess again. Plenty of people have traveled to a spot, fallen in love with it, and then decided to move there permanently.

Make sure your credentials are updated and polished. Oh, and keep them in a manila envelope or folder so they aren’t crunched up between bottles of shampoo and baby wipes!

3. A List of Friends’ [...]

When people go on family vacation getaways, they tend to let their guards down. And for many adults, that can result in an unexpected “souvenir”: a baby!

Of course, if you’re going to a Tennessee log cabin or South Carolina resort or this purpose, it isn’t a problem. (Many people actually take trips to become “with child”!) But if you are already satisfied with the size of your brood, remember these two travel tips:

1. Bring your medications with you. If you get to your North Carolina lodging and realize you’ve forgotten them, you can often get an emergency prescription called [...]

For far too many people, coming back from their fun family vacations means having a rude awakening with The Scale.

In fact, plenty of individuals find themselves bringing home extra “souvenirs” from their (otherwise) best family vacations – pounds of unwanted fat.

If you tend to add girth to your middle or inches to your thighs during your family vacation getaway experiences, take heart. There are absolutely plenty of ways to lose weight during your trip without feeling like you’re “working out”. Here’s how!

1. Choose An Efficiency or Rental Home

Heading to one of those fine Alabama hotels? See if the one you have in mind offers efficiency suites.

When you’re given a place to store and prepare food, it makes it easier to cook healthy, nutritious meals. And shopping in a different grocery store can actually be kind of fun – you’ll find out where all those residents of your fave family vacation [...]

The price of gas may be sky-high, but that doesn’t have to mean your 2008 family vacation getaway is relegated to walking down the block and having a barbeque with the neighbors. Here, we’ll look at some ways to save moolah on your next holiday trip by being wise about gasoline.

1. Curb your appetite for speed

Have a “Lead Foot Larry” at the wheel? Ask him or her to slow down as you’re driving to your family vacation destination. The closer to the speed limit you get, the more efficiently your automobile will run.

2. Rent or borrow a car

Do you own a truck or an SUV? If you’re traveling to Georgia lodging from your home in Virginia or driving to one of those gorgeous Kentucky resorts from the northwest, consider renting or borrowing a fuel-efficient car. Sure, you’ll have to pack a little lighter… but who needs seventeen pairs of shorts, anyway?