Going on vacation is one of my favorite things to do, even with my in-laws. I love going to and exploring new places. When my hubby, Eric, and I first got married we would go on vacations at the drop of a hat. Then once we started having kids, those vacations became few and far between because they were replaced by the family vacations. Our girls love to travel as well and staying in hotels.
Now that my girls are a little older, our family vacations have begun to expand as well. Going on vacation with your extended family, especially your in-laws, can be tricky. So I am going to share with you the five tips to taking a vacation with your in-laws that I have learned. Then not only will you all enjoy yourself, but you will want to do it again.
Tip #1 To Taking A Vacation With In-Laws: Plan Ahead
There is so much that goes into planning a vacation, that taking the time to plan ahead together helps to alleviate a lot of the stress and pressure. You want to take the time to plan months in advance things like where you want to go, when you want to go, and what it is going to cost you.
Taking into account everyone’s potential work and school schedules along with everyone’s budgetary constraints. No one wants to be made to feel, especially your in-laws, that they are being pressured to do something or being prevented from being able to do something because they were not given enough time to plan for it. Taking time to plan ahead is not only practical, but also biblical.
Careful planning puts you ahead in the long run; hurry and scurry puts you further behind.
Proverbs 21:5 (MSG)
Tip #2 To Taking A Vacation With In-Laws: Make Sure There’s Enough Space And Things For You All To Do
When going on vacation with your in-laws, you’ll have a lot of people traveling with many different needs and interests. Everyone will need his or her own space and things that they like to do. Space becomes a big factor when you choose to go with a rental property instead of a hotel. Even though you are family, you do not all normally live together.
So making sure everyone has enough space to move around and to have a moment to themselves when needed is important. Let’s face it, at some point someone will get on someone else’s nerves. So having room to go cool off or just have a little space is necessary.
Tip #3 To Taking A Vacation With Extended-Family: Divide Responsibilities
This is a big one because everyone should feel like they have a part in helping your vacation come together. There is a lot that goes into planning a vacation and no one person should be solely responsible. This also alleviates anyone from feeling like they have to do everything.
For example, we went on vacation to the beach with my in-laws. Eric and I rented the beach house and my in-laws took care of the transportation. With these key items of the vacation taken care of, it was easy for us to also divide up all the other things responsibilities, like buying food, cooking, etc.
Tip #4: Do Not Over Schedule Yourselves
Vacations should be relaxing, not stressful. So making sure you do not try to schedule every moment of everyone’s day is important for many reasons. First, that in itself is stressful. Second, because no one wants to be told what to do every minute of the day. Lastly, your idea of fun may not be everyone else’s. Have some planned activities yes, but allow for everyone to have free time to do what they want to do as well. We have to remember that schedules and routines may work well in our homes, but they cannot be forced on everyone else, especially on vacation.
Tip #5 To Vacationing With Your In-Laws: Be Flexible and Enjoy
If I could only give you one key to going on vacation with your in-laws, this would be it. As much as we want everything to go according to plan, that is just not real life. Especially when dealing with a large group of people. So if plan A seems to be going awry, then be open and willing to go with plan B. At the end of the day it is not about your plan or list of scheduled activities. It’s about spending time together and enjoying the time you have no matter where and what you are doing.
Remember going on vacation with your in-laws does not have to stressful or something that you should dread. By using these 5 tips you can have a successful and enjoyable vacation experience that you will talk about for years to come.
I’d love to hear about any tips or vacations you have taken
with your in-laws or extended family in the comments!
Great tips! The more people there are, the more flexible you need to be! And cheerful!
So true, Amy! You want everyone to have a good time and enjoy your time.
I have one rule I like to add to the above when it comes to vacations with my own in-laws, schedule time apart! lol It’s easy to get on each others nerves when together a lot and in close proximity. I like to make sure I get some peace and recoup time from my MIL and that she has the same from me.
That fits right in with tip #4, Bekah. We all need alone time, even on vacation.
I travel a ton with my in laws and you are so correct. It also helps if you make sure that everyone gets some “me” time! I actually purposely schedule a night where my husband takes his mom out to dinner while his dad and I stay home and watch the kids. It gives his mama and him some time and I’m secretly hoping my boys learn that they need to schedule mom time when they’re grown up and have families of their own!
These are great tips! I think the flexibility tip is key. I’m going to Canada with my in-laws in September and I definitely needed that reminder 🙂 Thanks for sharing! xo
Thanks, Brittany! And being flexible is something that you will definitely have to remind yourself of a few times. Vacationing with your in-laws can definitely be fun and you’ll have a blast.
We are actually taking a vacation with my parents next year. Love your ideas!
Thanks, Amy! I hope your family vacation is awesome. ?
Planning ahead and dividing responsibilities are definitely musts! Shaping expectations makes such a huge difference.
These are great tips! I’d also add make sure that any unfinished business or unspoken elephants in the room are addressed before the trip. The last thing you want is to have this come up & ruin the trip. And, make sure you enjoy their company.
This is so timely. We are in the early planning stages of taking a trip with my in laws this fall. Thanks for the tips!
I’m blessed enough to
Absolutely love having vacations with my inlaws. We all get along and just have a blast.
I feel like this is great advice whenever travelling with another family or a group. Ive never done an in-law trip, but we do travel with my friends and all of these apply!
These are great tips to keep in mind when vacationing with anyone. Thanks for sharing!
YES to making sure there’s enough space 🙂
This is such a tricky situation to navigate – thank you for taking it on! It’s so true that scheduling just the right amount of activities for everyone to enjoy can help you avoid family dynamics getting in the way of everyone relaxing and having fun. More than anything else, I’ve learned that letting people split up and do their own thing for part of the day is more than okay – it’s vital!
Making time for people to do their own thing is so important, Robin. Everyone needs space and time, even when vacationing with a large group, to have some personal time. ?
Great tips! We once took a trip with 11 extended family members. Oy! Luckily, we had a very large 4-bedroom condo. Our biggest issue was our sleep schedules–my kids were up by 6 a.m., but my in-laws wouldn’t get moving until 10 a.m.
I think planning ahead is most definitely key! It’s so easy for problems to arise when there’s no clear plan.
So true, Bailey. Not having a plan is definitely a recipe for disaster.
This is great advice for our trip to Disney next year! It will be me and 8 of my husbands family members!!!
Awesome, Jordyn. We are thinking of going to Disney with my in-laws next too and I will be revisiting this post myself. ?
Oh my gosh. We have a family vacation in 2 weeks and we are already planning on how we are going to avoid everyone. Lol ?
That’s too funny, Amber, and I totally understand. When we have family vacations, we make it a point to schedule alone time too because we are going to need it. ?
These are helpful tips for sure! Especially dividing responsibilities and having enough space!
When navigating our relationship with our in-law, we can definitely use all the tips we can get, Jehava. ?
I could not agree more to tip #2. Make sure that you get your own room or space so that you can get away for a few minutes when they are getting on your nerves. This has saved me a few times..
Great tips! I would also add, make sure to have conversations ahead of time about expectations of how much $$ will be spent, and how much relaxing by the pool v. getting up and going everyone is interested in, so that you can minimize some of the possible stressors 😉
I totally agree, Marie. Taking the time to plan ahead and continue to communicate throughout the entire planning process is so important. ?
I hope the day never comes when I have to travel with in-laws. That would not be relaxing at all! But I need to be more open minded in case we do ever travel together.
Traveling with your in-laws can definitely be tricky, Brittany, but it can also be fun. Especially if you have kids. My girls love spending time with their grandparents and the memories we have created are priceless. So I would definitely encourage you to keep an open mind because you never know what adventures lie ahead for you. ?
Agree with all your tips. I just took a few weekend getaway with my in laws and these were my mantras too.
That’s great, Tanvi. Weekend getaways are perfect for trips with the in-laws. ?
I will be using these tips on our holiday soon! We definitely planned for enough space for everyone! That was a necessity!
I love these tips! My hubby and I are going on vacay with his parents in August and these will surely come in handy. One thing that I learned from going on vacay with them last year is to just take it easy, relax, go with the flow, and it’s okay if we’re not ALL together ALL the time. This year, I’m going to make it a point to do something with my hubby alone for at least one night–maybe a date night or just take a walk on the boardwalk together.