US National Park
Service -- www.nps.gov
Smoky Mountains
National Park -- www.nps.gov/grsm
NC State Parks --
http://ils.unc.edu/parkproject/ncparks.html
NC Zoological Park
-- www.nczoo.org
NC Aquariums --
www.aquariums.state.nc.us
National Forests in
NC -- www.cs.unca.edu/nfsnc
Official NC State
Website --
www.sips.state.nc.us
Blue Ridge Parkway
Virtual Visitor Center --
www.nps.gov/blri/home.htm
Cape Lookout
National Seashore --
www.nps.gov/calo
NC Paddlesports
Association --
www.paddlenorthcarolina.org
NC Tourism --
www.visitnc.com
NC's Brunswick
Islands -- www.ncbrunswick.com
Cape Fear Coast --
www.cape-fear.nc.us
NC's Crystal Coast
-- www.sunnync.com
Outer Banks of NC
--
www.outer-banks.com/visitor-info
Oregon Inlet
Fishing Center, Inc. --
www.oregon-inlet.com
McDowell County --
www.McDowellNC.org
Grandfather
Mountain -- www.grandfather.com
Burke County --
www.hci.net/~bcttc
Nantahala Outdoor
Center --
www.nocweb.com/outrec
Asheville Area
Chamber of Commerce --
www.ashevillechamber.org
North Carolina
Ferry System --
www.ncferry.org
LocalHikes ---
www.localhikes.com -- list
hiking trails near major US cities.
If you’ve never
done the vacation planning before (perhaps that was your former
spouse’s task) or if it’s just been a long while since you took a
vacation with your kids, the vast array of vacation destinations and
choices can be overwhelming.
What single parent has time to get the oil changed in her
car, much less wade through all of the vacation offers, special
packages, etc. to find which ones might be suitable for her family?
The Internet is your friend, and will
simplify the research. However, before you can search the internet, the newspaper,
travel agencies, or anywhere else, you need to know what you’re
searching for. Here are
a few tips that might help get you started and save you some time:
I find it helpful to approach
vacation planning as if I were writing an English term paper.
Remember the five W’s?
Who, What, Where, When, Why and How.
Ask yourself these questions –
Who?: Who will be going
on this vacation?
If it’s just you (a single adult) and a child or children, what
are the ages of the children and what are their interests and
stamina level? Does anyone in your party have special health
considerations? If it’s just one adult and children, be prepared
in a lot of situations to pay based on double adult occupancy.
On the other hand, you can find situations where children
sleep or eat free, so if you have more than one child, those
kinds of specials could balance the budget out.
What?: Well, we know
it’s a vacation, but what kind of a vacation?
Are you looking for a children’s theme park, a
sightseeing vacation with museums and shopping, a more outdoorsy
adventure vacation, a cruise to an exotic location, or just a
relaxing stay at the beach?
Do you require being pampered with every luxury known to
man, or are you willing to rough it a bit?
You need to decide if your vacation style, at least for
this particular vacation, is to pack every minute full of
activities and adventures, or to become so relaxed that your
bones melt.
Where?: Your vacation
destination is dependant on a lot of factors, not the least of
which could be budget concerns.
You might think, “I’d really love to go to Peru, but it
would be too expensive.”
Even so, don’t put any automatic constraints on your
imagination when you first start planning – just write down all
locations that sound interesting. You never know what deals might be out there until you start
looking for them.
In particular, I’ve found that tropical destinations are a lot
less expensive in the summertime.
So if you don’t mind the heat, a summer vacation or
cruise to a tropical location could cost you a lot less in June
than it would in the winter months.
Another consideration might be travel
time: the further away
from home your destination is, the longer it will take to get there.
Extended travel time will really cut into your vacation if
you only have a few days.
Also, if you have very small children (especially those that
get motion sickness in cars and planes) it might be more pleasant
all around to choose a location that is three hours or less away
from home.
Once you get to the
destination, you’ll need to have accommodations.
If you have decided to camp or are going to an all-inclusive
resort, you’ve got it covered.
If not, you need to make some decisions about where you stay.
If the family pet is along, your options are limited, and
you’ll need to specify “pets allowed” when you do your hotel search.
Otherwise, your choice will be based on what amenities are
most important to you:
is a swimming pool required?
Non-smoking room?
Do you need a restaurant on the premises?
Laundry facilities or in-room cooking facilities?
Don’t overlook how much time, effort and money something as
simple as an in-room refrigerator can save you:
instead of paying for lunch and breakfast every day, you can
buy a few simple items to keep in your room.
This strategy (combined with the cartoon channel) saves time
and helps keep the peace while everyone files in and out of the
bathroom getting ready for the day’s activities.
When?:
If you’re traveling with children, unless they’re very
young, your time-frame is probably based on when they are on
school breaks. My
daughter goes to year-round school, so we have four major
opportunities each year for a vacation.
Traditional school schedules would usually allow for a
summer vacation, Winter Break and Spring Break.
It’s usually best to avoid traditional family vacation
destinations during traditional school vacation times because
vacation spots tend to be both overpriced and overbooked at
those times. Figure
out what everyone else is doing and when, and if you can, do the
opposite. You’ll
find less expensive, less crowded vacations that way.
Why?: What is the main
purpose of this vacation? Is it to get some rest, or experience something new?
Is it to visit relatives?
Is it to pursue a particular hobby or interest?
Is it to bond with your kids or would you rather have a
vacation with separate adult and child activities available?
There are many resorts, tours and cruises that will cater
to any combination of the above.
There are also adventure vacations offered now that are
tailored to your fitness level and the level of activity you
want; some even have specific itineraries for families or will
customize to suit your specific group.
(For instance, one adventure tour company I spoke with
offered to take the least-scary white water rafting route if my
eight year old was going to be on the trip.)
How?:
Once you narrow down everything else, the “how” is fairly
simple. The main
questions are “How do I get there?”, “How long do I want to
stay?” and (the biggie)
“How much am I willing to spend on this?”
Start the Search:
Now that you have a
rough outline of what you want, you can begin to search for what’s
available and what’s possible within your stated parameters.
Internet is my tool of choice, although other people have
luck with newspaper ads, or don’t feel comfortable unless they are
working with a travel agent.
I have done a combination of both – narrow my search using
the Internet, and then end up working with a Travel Agent to
finalize the details.
I do a search by entering in a vacation type, such as “active
vacations” or location “costa rica resorts” or “mexico cruises”.
Usually the cheap flight and cheap cruises and top resort
websites will also cross over to other types of vacations – even all
inclusive, air, hotel, car options.
And of course, there’s the Big Mouse for all of your
zippity-doo-da type resorts, cruises, and vacations.
Whatever your
approach, keep in mind something that single parents tend to forget:
this is your vacation too.
Don’t give up all of your wants and needs in favor of kid
activities. We all want
to give our children the best vacations and memories we can, but a
rested and happy parent is one of the most important things a child
can have.
Good luck and happy
vacation planning.
