Ideas to Make Travel Memorable

How to make travel Memorable

We have been traveling as a family for 20 plus years, what started as a yearly travel journal has evolved into this wonderful space.  We live a simple life inside the ‘burbs so we can splurge a little on our travels when we go Outside Suburbia.  While we like our nice hotels and comfy sheets, we don’t splurge on fancy restaurants or Michelin star menus but spend the money on activities that make travel memorable.  Because that one memory will be what you remember most about the trip.  It can be as simple as a picnic you put together and take to a park or watching the sunset at the beach, a bike ride to get ice cream after dinner, or a more elaborate and organized activity outside your comfort zone.

A sunset in South Walton - Outside Suburbia
Sunset in South Walton

Memories over Materials

Always opt for memories over materials, the little souvenirs and meaningless mass-produced trinkets you buy from touristy shops will sit on a shelf collecting dust.  If you choose to take home gifts, spend the money on locally made products that are unique to the destination. See here for some ideas.

Make time to talk and interact with locals and get tips and ideas from them – they would be happy to share their favorite places to eat or off-beat locations they love. Things that you can’t find in a guidebook!

A picnic in Vail, Colorado - Outside Suburbia
A picnic in Vail, Colorado

Resist the urge to hop from one place to the other just to check it off some self-imposed bucket list. Even if you have only one or two weeks of vacation/holiday time, get intimate with a place, spending more time in a location.

Respect and embrace the local culture when you travel.  Visit museums, temples and religious sites.  Have an open mind and make an effort to always learn.  These are truly some of the best lessons kids will remember.

Don’t pack your days, learn to slow down even if only for a day.  Allow for one or two slow days where there is nothing planned, so you can be spontaneous or just chill by the pool.  I’m guilty of this I tend to over-pack our days when traveling, luckily Mr. Suburbia keeps me straight.  The best memory of France for me is ditching our itinerary to go look for lavender fields near Sault.

Put that phone away and be present.  In a media-saturated world, the need to document and share the experience is real but in doing so we lose track of the point of traveling.  Be present, wherever you are – smell the pine-scented the mountain air, commit to memory the sounds of the waves, observe the moves of the Spanish dancer, the painted face of the Geisha, the taste of local delicacies – these are the things you will remember the most about your trip.  Otherwise, you will end up more photos and selfies than meaningful memories.

A beach picnic in Bora Bora - Outside Suburbia
A beach picnic in Bora Bora

I can help make your Trip Memorable

With 20 plus years of Luxury Family Travel, I have some intel I can share that goes beyond tours and cookie-cutter itineraries. Email me! For a small fee (depending on the length of the trip) I can help plan a memorable trip. I will NOT make the bookings for you, but I can design a one of a kind custom vacation/holiday Itinerary for you and your family! We can schedule an online call or talk travel over a cappuccino or cocktail 🙂

Some Ideas to make your Travel Memorable

We like to do at least one activity per trip that will be memorable like a private beach picnic in a remote island in Bora Bora, a Ninja lesson in Japan, people watching and lunching with a Mediterranean view at the famous Hotel Eden Roc, a snowmobile ride on a volcano or a hot air balloon safari in the Serengeti…  You will find more ideas on the site along with our jam-packed and custom-crafted two week itineraries.  Peppered in are some destination hotels we loved, hot air balloon rides, soft adventures and other ideas to make your holidays memorable. 

Memorable things to do in Chennai

Above the Acacia Trees in Serengeti, Africa

Transported to another time at Park Hyatt Zanzibar

Two week Itinerary to see the best of Japan

A Familymoon to Bora Bora, the Jewel of the South Seas

Desert Magic in Adobe Style Casita at Four Seasons Scottsdale 

Snowy Photos from Shirakawa Go Japan

Two week Itinerary to see Amazing Andalucia

Ten best things to do in Dallas

Vacation like Royalty at Badrutt’s Palace, Switzerland

Why Northern Italy in November is a great idea

Summer in Vail, an epic adventure

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