Why Multi-Generational Travel Works And How To Get The Most Of It

I help moms figure out their passions, their priorities, and their purpose, and it’s interesting to see that even though we all each have different backgrounds and values and travel a different path, we all agree we want good health. That’s like a freebie no-brainer.

After working with thousands of moms, I’ve also noticed that travel is one of the most popular passions that we share, but I also notice is one of the desires we most push down and file on the “someday” box. I get it.

Travel requires a lot of mental and physical energy, time, and money – plus, it can be more stressful than joyful with little kids on tow. And then the magic is gone.

Multi-generational travel is a brilliant option I recommend. Multi-Generational Travel simply means taking a trip with family members that span at least three generations.

Multi-Generational travel sounded counterproductive and overwhelming for me in the beginning because I figured I was already catering to enough people, to begin with, but it turns out that when traveling to a fun destination, “the more the merrier” does make sense.

We recently traveled to Houston and had a great multi-generational mini-vacation that we will never forget. My dad was visiting from the Dominican Republic and I wanted to make sure he enjoyed his time in Texas, so I knew that exploring Houston together would be a fun adventure we’d all appreciate.

Houston is such an interesting city with much to offer for people of all ages!

One of the perks of planning a multi-generational family vacation is that you must specifically have everyone in mind.

This was important for me because when we brainstormed what we wanted to see and do, we got to know each other a little better. For example, I never knew that my dad wanted to see the Astros Stadium or how excited Elisha would be about going to the Museum of Natural Science!

When you’re making sure everyone is included in the planning process and assuring that everyone is going to have a good time, the kids learn that trips don’t revolve around them and it teaches them to be thoughtful and considerate.

This lesson is easier to teach when a third party is in the picture (i.e. their favorite grandparent), especially if you have a teenager who responds “I don’t care” to every question you ask.

It’s my duty to remind you to add what you want to the list, because as a mom, you may have a tendency to leave yourself out or last, but you deserve to experience some fun adventures, too!

Taking the self-centeredness out of the equation will reduce the whining once you get to your destination and it will increase the willingness of the kids to be a part of it because they had ownership in the decision-making process.

We were really blessed that Visit Houston hosted us and developed a custom exclusive multi-generational journey for my dad, my daughters, and I, with an exciting itinerary to keep us all entertained and energized. We were provided with City Passes and additional access to dream attractions in Houston.

After a very long drive, we had a restful night at Le Meridien Houston, located in the heart of Downtown Houston on 1121 Walker St. We had two full beds, so we all stayed in one hotel room. That may sound like too-close-for-comfort, but it teaches the younger ones about respect, consideration, and thoughtfulness.

The first morning, we had a yummy breakfast and headed to the NASA Johnson Space Center, at 2101 E NASA Pkwy, in Houston, where everyone was in awe. It was interesting to see how we each gravitated to different areas and different exhibits.

The bilingual signage and information were perfect so my dad could navigate them at his leisure, while the teens did the interactive, gamey, and experiential space shuttle stuff. The little one was excited to find activities geared to her age group, but also excited to be included along with some of the “big sister” fun. Learning about the vast universe is a humbling experience for me.

In the evening, we drove to The Kemah Boardwalk, located at 215 Kipp Avenue, in Kemah, and we were impressed with the beauty of it all. Eliana and papi rode the carrousel together and papi and I took a train tour with a water view of the Galveston bay. The Kemah Boardwalk has a wide variety of restaurants, carnival rides, games, and retail shopping. We rested our feet enjoying the live entertainment, but soon enough the teenage girls were going on wild rides and dropping 140 feet!

The second morning after breakfast, we enjoyed, Astros Ballpark Tour at Minute Maid Park – stadium, which is within walking distance from Le Meridien at 501 Crawford Street. The tour was in English so the girls and I got some more experience in interpretation, but at a faster speed than usual. My dad was fascinated with it all and my daughters learned a lot about baseball. This was very nostalgic for me because I used to try and sit with my dad to watch the game at every opportunity I had as a little girl. Eliana was in heaven asking questions and getting all the attention! Besides all the learning and fun, we got some card-worthy family photos on the tour!

Thursday afternoon, we visited the Museum of Natural Science, located at 5555 Hermann Park Dr in Houston. What a great place for children of all ages (and adults of all ages, too!). Eliana loved the Butterfly Center and Elisha was fascinated with the Morian Hall of Paleontology. Elyssa was mesmerized with the photography exhibit and my dad really enjoyed the Sherlock Holmes memorabilia. My favorite part was seeing all the tropical trees and flowers in the Butterfly Garden that reminded me of my childhood home!

We were quite hungry after a full day of tours, so we headed to the Downtown Aquarium on 410 Bagby St. in Houston.

In multi-generational travel, you want to dine where everyone will find wonderful options and the Downtown Aquarium full-service restaurant had options for every taste and wonderful options for my vegan family. The Downtown Aquarium have over 200 species of aquatic life and we had some fun with their stingrays!

On Friday, it was time for ComicPalooza at the George R. Brown Convention Center on 1001 Avenida de las Americas in Houston.

In preparation for this event, we watched every Marvel Cinematic Universe movie in Spanish with my dad, as well as Episode IV of Star Wars, so my dad was familiar with some of the characters we love and would understand why we wanted pictures with the cosplayers. He was in shock – a good kind of shock – and excited to be in “our world.”

ComicPalooza was mind-blowing and there was so much to do and see. It was the first time my daughters have been to this kind of convention and now they are hooked, but it wasn’t just fun, but also stimulating and educational. The panels were compelling and engaging, the costumes were memorable and impressive, and the family bonding was priceless to each of us.

Visiting Houston as a family was definitely a great choice. It was a beautiful journey of discovery, togetherness, and wonder. We will forever treasure the joy we created together: the meals, the laughs, the silly photos, and the memory of everyone enjoying themselves.

There is always something to do in Houston! Houston is an eclectic city that has fun activities and experiences for moms, dads, little ones, teens and young adults, as well as grandparents – even travelers from lands far far away.

Choosing the right destination for multi-generational travel will impact your ability to plan a vacation that suits everyone’s needs, interests, goals, maturity, energy level, and physical abilities.

One piece of advice I can give about planning your multi-generational trip is to schedule downtime and become willing to have unexpected breaks to recharge, relax, and regroup.

Have you tried multi-generational travel with your family? I recommend you get out of the usual routine so kids will never associate having family over with boring dinners – or worse yet, quarrels and drama – and instead, they learn to appreciate and desire to spend quality time with their family.

Multi-generational family travel works because in the end, beyond a vacation, it’s an educational adventure that allows the possibility of experiential learning as a family.

It makes my soul happy to know that we invested these days together and that everyone was free to share an authentic part of themselves.

There is something almost sacred about the way we engaged with one another and handled unexpected things that came up – they always do, especially when you have a 4-year-old.

We learned from one another and even with our great diversity of interests, in the end, we end up discovering we’re not so different, and we just may have more in common than we think.

I have so much more to share about my visit to Houston, so stay connected through social and stay in the conversation with the hashtags #CPX2018 #Comicpalooza and #HolaHouston and #Houston #Texas. See you in Houston!

Founder of the Positive MOM® and creator of the S.T.O.R.Y. System: a blueprint to craft and share powerful stories that will transform your results and help others do the same. Dr. Elayna Fernández is a single mom of 4, an award-winning Storyteller, Story Strategist, and Student of Pain. She’s a bestselling author, internationally acclaimed keynote speaker, and 5x TEDx speaker. She has spoken at the United Nations, received the President’s Volunteer Lifetime Achievement Award, and was selected as one of the Top Impactful Leaders and a Woman of Influence by SUCCESS Magazine. Connect with Elayna at thepositivemom.com/ef and follow @thepositivemom. To receive a gift from Elayna, click HERE.

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