Vacation Planning: Unplug to Connect on Your Next Family Vacation

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Life is full of stress. Everyone working, going to school, meetings, laundry, cleaning, sports, school activities. So much to do and so little time. That’s why families need to vacation together. A family vacation is a great time to reconnect and leave all the hustle, bustle and stress of real life behind – just for a little while.

All the planning. All the packing. All the money needed. Family vacation planning can sometimes be intense when trying to find just the right time that will let everyone join,  a spot that everyone will love and a destination that fits the family budget.

Because of all that it takes to get to a great family vacation experience, why would you get there and not pay attention to your family. Why would you get there and spend hours on your phone and on social media? Why would you get there and continue dealing with all of real life stress?

Sadly I have been on vacations recently and watched parents as they are paying very little attention to the kids because they have their phones in their hands, scrolling through emails, scrolling through social media. Think about all the things they are missing with their children.

Newest data revealed in a 2019 Alamo Family Travel Survey shows that many Americans are switching off from the pressures of work and social media, and going back to basics – with unplugged vacations – to better enjoy the number one benefit cited by vacationing families: The ability to spend quality time together.

Social Media can impact your family vacation in both good and bad ways. The good is easy – lasting photos for extended family and friends to see. The bad – you aren’t really spending time with your family if you are posting on social media. Are you really in the moment, experiencing the excitement of your children if you are taking the time to post to social media? Are you concentrating on making a memorable experience with your family or are you concentrating on things that are at home and at work?

I understand you think it can be hard to unplug. After all, social media is a huge part of my job so no one understands it better than I do. I did, however, recently take a family vacation and made a conscious decision to unplug while there and I told you all about it in a recent post. It was much easier than I thought it would be. It was actually refreshing!

If you think unplugging will be hard, get the family together and use a tool like Alamo’s Unplugged Family Vacation Toolkit to help your family do it together.

Set your phone’s lock screen to help remind you:

Alamo’s Toolkit has 6 different lock screen wallpapers you can use to help you unplug. My favorite is:

Set a message on your Facebook profile with Alamo’s profile frame to let everyone know,  and reminding yourself, that you’re not reachable on social media during your vacation. You can set it to automatically turn off when your vacation is over.

Take the Unplugged Family Vacation Pledge together:

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Alamo isn’t all about car rental. They are also a great resource for vacation planning. Alamo’s Scenic Route is a great resource to use when planning your next family get away. Travel destination guides and travel hacks and tips are just some of the things you’ll find on the Scenic Route.

Are you an Alamo Insider? By signing up for Alamo’s free program, you will enjoy member benefits like 5% off their everyday low prices.

Booking online is super easy and takes some of the stress out of planning. There is also a customer service number for people who like to ask a human a question!

So what are you waiting for – start planning your next family travel adventure and get ready to UNPLUG TO CONNECT!