We love to travel and we usually plan out a fun week long fall trip. However, this year our children’s school fall break and my husband’s fall break (he is a teacher), fell on different weeks so we decided to just take a quick family weekend getaway. From Nashville, there are lots of great options for fun family weekend getaways. We have been meaning to bring our kids to the Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama for a little while now. We decided it was the perfect opportunity since it is under two hours of drive time- just right for a family weekend getaway. Then because we were going to be in Alabama, we decided we would drive over to Birmingham to see our old college friends since that is just under 3 hours to get back to Nashville. We had a great family weekend getaway. Let me tell you all about it and share a few tips for planning your fun family weekend getaways!
This post is brought to you by Holiday Inn Brand as part of their Bring Joy To The Journey Program
Tips For Planning Fun Family Weekend Getaways
The “Joy of Travel” is all about seeing new sights, trying new food, learning new things, and slowing down to appreciate the beauty of things you see. Some people let themselves be intimidated by traveling with kids but I can tell you that we love to travel as a family. You just have to be prepared. Here are a few thing to consider when planning your next fun family weekend getaways.
1. Road Trip Tips
If you only have time for a weekend getaway, then plan a short road trip! Try to keep the drive time under 3 hours each way because you will want to spend most of your time having fun sightseeing, and enjoying the hotel’s amenities. Make sure to pack a few snacks and bring a be prepared with few road trip games to keep the kids entertained.
2. Attraction Tips
Make sure you scope out the area you want to go to. Impromptu travel is way more fun when you are single but for family travel, it is important to have a detailed plan so that everything flows smoothly. You need to check attraction hours and prices so that you don’t show up to a closed attraction or pay twice as much as you were expecting. Don’t plan too many attractions into one day because you don’t want to feel hurried.
3. Hotel Tips
When it comes time to make hotel reservations, chose a hotel that has the amenities you want and that is conveniently located near the chosen attractions. I found the perfect Holiday Inn hotels near both attractions I planned to visit and they had the most important amenity to my kids- an indoor heated pool- that’s what makes it feel like a vacation to them! Holiday Inn hotels are great for family getaways because they have free high-speed internet access (great for my husband to access work while away) and family-friendly amenities like on-site restaurants, pools and exercise facilities. Plus, kids stay and eat free at Holiday Inn Hotels- sweet!
4. Packing Tips
The great thing is you are just going for a weekend so packing shouldn’t be too hard. Packing for the adults is usually not very challenging- a couple of outfits, jammies, a swimsuit, toiletries, cute shoes, and comfortable shoes. Packing for kids is all of that plus a few extra outfits for when they spill their drink, jackets for when they are cold, books to read, and stuffed animals to cuddle. If you are the kind of person that wants to be 110 % prepared, you may enjoy these 25 packing tips for traveling with kids.
That is it. With these tips you are now ready to hit the road and enjoy fun family weekend getaways! Here is how our family weekend getaway shaped up.
Our Family Weekend Getaway To U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama
Dinner at Rosie’s Mexican Cantina
When the kids got off of school on Friday, I had everything packed and ready to go. We drove from Nashville to Hunstville in under 2 hours and checked into our hotel- Holiday Inn Huntsville- Research Park. It was very welcoming and inviting. We went out for Mexican at Rosie’s Mexican Cantina and I loved the atmosphere and the food was good. It was pretty late by the time we got back to the hotel so we just hit the sack after watching a bit of TV.
Breakfast At Blue Plate CafeThat evening we headed out and met our friends at their house so I don't have any huge report for the evening except that it is so much fun to see old friends again! Add that to your to do list for sometime soon.
Sleeping beauty! Enjoying a good night and morning's rest @holidayinn #Birmingham #joyoftravel #ad A photo posted by Family Focus (@familyfocusblog) on
Another Broken Egg Birmingham
Sleeping beauty! Enjoying a good night and morning's rest @holidayinn #Birmingham #joyoftravel #ad A photo posted by Family Focus (@familyfocusblog) on