Summer is starting to wind down. Your kids are about to go back to school or they already had their first day back. If you were not able to go on a big family vacation this summer, don’t worry! You can plan a weekend getaway right now and hang on to whatever summer is left. Weekend getaways are an amazing alternative to a long vacation. You don’t need lots of time off work, airline tickets or a faraway destination. You can pick a place within driving distance and get a hotel room at Hampton by Hilton for a couple of nights. In fact, we think weekend getaways can be better for families that want to travel. Here are 5 great reasons to take weekend trips instead of long vacations.
Just the Right Amount of Time
If you are traveling with your family, a weekend getaway is the perfect amount of time away from home so that kids can enjoy and learn from the experience of travel without getting burnt out from being out of their routine for too long. Especially if you have a preschooler or younger, a weekend is just long enough to feel like you got away from everyday life without going crazy from kids that are out of sorts. Traveling for a long period of time can be challenging for young kids. Once you get back home from a lengthy trip, you then spend a few days recovering and you don’t feel like you really went on a vacation when it is all said and done.
This is why being a Seekender and seizing the weekend is so ideal! A weekend away, just Friday and Saturday night, will not leave your kids feeling grumpy at all. They will learn to love traveling this way and will be begging for the next weekend getaway. If you and your spouse want to take a weekend away without the kids, a weekend is just enough time to reconnect without missing the kids too much and without worrying that you are too far from home. You can easily get a comfortable hotel room at Hampton by Hilton for your little getaway and everyone will be happy in your home away from home for the weekend.
You don’t have to miss work or school
If you work a Monday through Friday work week, the weekend is free to hit the road and see some sights. Taking off work can be challenging to close to impossible for a lot of people. If this is the case for you, don’t plan long vacations that require leave. Just head out of town when you clock out on Friday and get home Sunday night. You can spontaneously take advantage of the weekend. School age kids don’t have to give up their shot at the perfect attendance award by taking weekend getaways either. No time off work needed and no unexcused absences from school are a great reason to choose the weekend getaway lifestyle.
Learn about your area of the country
As you start planning weekend getaways, you will realize how much there is to learn about where you live. Every part of our country is rich in history and unique in character. Whether you visit a waterpark or a historical site, your family will experience a new area that you might not have experienced otherwise. Yes, you can learn a lot by taking a cruise to some faraway destination but you can learn just as much by taking a road trip to somewhere that is new to you and only a few hours from your home. Seek adventures close to home as a Seekender! Be proud of the region in which you live by experiencing it all firsthand with weekend trips.
Get More Variety Out of Your Getaways
Don’t take one vacation to see one place and use all your time off and travel budget. All your family will experience and learn about is that one destination. If you take multiple weekend getaways throughout the year, your family can experience a variety of places. You can take in different history, different geography, different cuisine, and travel during different seasons. Vacation does not have to mean a week on a tropical island. Vacation can mean a weekend at the beach, a weekend to check out the foliage in the fall, and a weekend sledding in the snow in the winter! Variety really is the spice of life so take in all that you possibly can with lots of weekend getaways.
Save a ton of money
Long vacations are expensive. Many families just can’t afford to take a week or more off work. Then you have to factor in airline tickets and meals away from home the entire time. Airline tickets are ridiculously expensive! You can spend $12 or more per person, per meal when dining out. Do that every meal for a week and you can imagine the damage that will do to your bank account. Don’t run up credit card debt for the sake of a vacation. Take a weekend road trip. The cost of driving with your family is much more manageable than flying. You can pack your own snacks and some food in a cooler in the car.
To save money on your lodging, stay at a family friendly Hampton by Hilton! Hampton by Hilton has over 2,000 locations globally and they are always expanding. You are sure to find a location where you want to travel on your weekend getaway. With Hampton by Hilton, you know what to expect and you know you will get a great deal. Hampton amenities will make traveling easier. For example, breakfast is included and they have waffles. Kids love waffles! If your adventure seeking starts really early in the morning, just grab a breakfast on the go bag instead. The kids are well fed without any extra expense either way. The perfect hotel room is the cornerstone of a trip, so go for the consistent, high quality rooms offered by Hampton by Hilton to keep your whole family comfortable and keep your weekend getaway within your budget.
We hope you’re convinced that you should load up the car, buckle up the kids and hit the road for an end of summer weekend getaway. Your children will develop a love for the world around them and will become more curious and adventurous. We really do live in a beautiful country with a rich history. Take advantage of your location and go exploring on Saturday and Sunday. Be a Seekender and seize the weekend! Book your first getaway here.
Elena, Daily Mom’s managing editor, is part of the Ultimate Seekender team. Elena has a traveler’s soul. She just can’t stay in one place and takes off on adventures every chance she gets. While she does travel on her own, her passion is traveling with her daughter so she can experience as much as possible. As part of the Seekender Team, Elena will be bringing you travel posts to motivate and inspire more family travel. Here you can learn more about the Seekender movement.
Follow the Ultimate Seekender Team with #seekender. What are you waiting for? Go make your own adventures!
Here’s a little inspiration to get you started: 5 Fantastic Family Weekend Getaways.
Photo Credit: everyavenuegirl
