As a mom of 2 teens, finding time for a family vacation can be challenging. Between school, extracurricular activities, summer jobs, internships, and social lives, it can feel like there’s never a good time to get away. Sometimes the school year is hectic, but pulling your teens out of school for vacation during the school year has many benefits you should consider. Check out my reasons why you should pull your teens (and younger kids) out of school for vacation!
Save Money on School Year / Off-Peak Vacations
One of the biggest benefits of planning a family vacation during the school year is the cost. During peak travel seasons, prices for flights, hotels, and activities tend to be at their highest. By planning a vacation during the school year, you can often find better deals and save money on your trip. Additionally, many destinations during the shoulder season are less crowded, so you and your teenagers can enjoy your vacation without the hustle and bustle of peak season. For instance, I recently read that a trip to Estes Park in the Rocky Mountains has only 10,000 visitors a month in January compared to a million in July! You’ll have a better experience with fewer people in the way!
You Can Take Mulitple Mini Vacations
Take advantage of school breaks and holidays so your not missing school but still getting away to relax and recharge while saving money over peak seasons. With prices lower during the school year, you may be able to afford multiple mini-vacations instead of one in-season vacation in the summer. I’ve seen incredible airline prices for mini vacations from the Cleveland airport! For instance, this weekend, you could be riding rollercoasters in Orlando for just $57 roundtrip airline tickets, snowshoeing through the Rocky Mountains in Denver for $68 roundtrip, touring art museums in Atlanta for $38 roundtrip or even riding the cable cars in San Francisco for $159 round trip. You’ll find that you can afford giving your family more experiences throughout the year when you pull your kids out of school for vacation than just relying on one peak-season vacation. There are many 3 or even 4-day weekends throughout the school year that you can use for mini vacations without your child missing even a single day of classwork.
Family Time on School Year Vacations
Family time is hard to come by during the busy school year. As a mom of 2 teenagers, I treasure family time as it is becoming less often with heavier homework loads, after-school jobs, after-school sports, and their very active social lives. I’m not saying that the only way you can have family time is by traveling, but the memories created when you are away from home, and experiencing new things together are what memories are made of. Planning a vacation during the school year can provide a much-needed break from the daily routine and a chance for your teenagers to experience new things and make lasting memories, deepening your bond with each other. Planning a family vacation during the school year is that it can be a great opportunity to bond with your teenagers. Vacations are often filled with laughter, fun, and shared experiences, and by planning a vacation during the school year, you can create memories that will last a lifetime.
Combine College Visits with Vacation
Combining a family vacation with a college visit can be a great way to make the most of your time and money while also getting a sense of what it’s like to attend school in a particular area. To make this happen, start by researching colleges in the area you plan to visit that have the major your teen is interested in. This will help you identify which schools are worth visiting and what kind of information sessions or tours they offer. Once you have a list of colleges to visit, you can begin planning the rest of your trip around those visits. For example, you could plan to visit a college in the morning and then spend the afternoon sightseeing or engaging in other family-friendly activities. It’s also a good idea to make sure that your travel and accommodation plans are flexible so that you can adjust your schedule as needed. This will also allow your high school students to have excused absences from school; check with your attendance office for details.
Plan Your Family Vacation with Teens Now
Pulling your teens and kids out of school for a vacation is a great way to save money, take advantage of school breaks and holidays, break up the monotony of the school routine, find a college for your teen to attend, and bond with your teenagers. Don’t let the school year hold you back from planning an unforgettable vacation for your family! Need ideas? Check out all our family travel posts, including travel ideas to Florida, California, South Carolina, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Virginia, Michigan, and Ohio.
