If your family is missing travelling and your kids are knocking around at home due to lockdown or social distancing measures, maybe now is the time to teach them some of the essential skills needed to plan a trip. From research and budgeting to time management and some basic knowledge of the local language, preparing for a trip involves brainpower, and children from ages eight and up can start to apply theirs to create their dream city break.
To help them (and you) along the way check out our ideas below. Depending on everyone’s levels of enthusiasm you can create a simple fact file with some of the key things you need to know, or you can go all the way to a fully-fledged scrapbook with every aspect covered, pictures and annotations to accompany the plans and a career as a travel agent in the offing.
You can, of course, apply this approach to a bigger trip than a city break – but a shorter trip to a recognisable and geographically limited area is a good starting point. From there, the world’s your oyster when it comes to ‘Project: Plan Your Trip!’
Where to go?
As any experienced traveller will know, deciding where to go in the first place can be the hardest job. Under normal circumstances you might get the children to scan the offers from airlines for a good deal, but for now start with brainstorming a list of cities the children have heard of and get them to write down why they would like to visit.
A good place to start could be Lonely Planet Kids’ Cities Book, which gives a double-page guide to 86 different cities or simply use a map to see which cities are relatively near your home. Develop their decision-making and prioritisation skills by getting them to create a shortlist with pros and cons for each destination.
Book the basics
Once your new travel agents have decided on where to go, they need to think about some of the basics for the trip: when to visit, how to get there and where to stay. When to go will be largely determined by the weather so a quick google of ‘average weather in xx city’ will give them a good starting point. Tourist board sites for destinations will also provide a useful steer in terms of big events, depending on whether the kids want to avoid them or attend them!
When it comes to travelling, if you are lucky enough to have more than one transport option to your destination, this again necessitates the creation of a list of options with pros and cons – and the chance to have a discussion about sustainable alternatives to air travel.
Also Read: 9 kids podcasts for curious explorers
Also Read: 9 travel movies the whole family will love
Finding a place to stay
from
via Lonely Planet India
No comments:
Post a Comment