Family Vacation Central

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Taking a family cruise can be a wonderful, enjoyable experience for family members of all ages. If you’re planning on taking the little ones out to sea with you, there are a few things you should make sure to bring along to make the trip much less stressful for you and more fun for them. A little preplanning can avoid any problems along the way and ensure everyone stays safe and comfortable.

First of all, it’s a good idea to bring a selection of over the counter medication for your child. Smaller kids can develop a cough overnight, and it will save a lot of sleep and discomfort if you have medication to give them. Children’s aspirin, chewable vitamins, and perhaps a heating pad can also help along the way. Cruise ships will have a selection of baby supplies, like diapers and baby food, available on board, but don’t count on a wide selection or cheap pricing. Try to bring a small selection of various things so you’ll be prepared for whatever crops up. Read the rest of this entry »

In celebration of spring, WestJet today announced a
one-day $29 springtime airfare sale for guests travelling within the western triangle. Guests
travelling between Calgary, Edmonton and Abbotsford can take advantage of the $29 fare
by booking on April 30, 2008, for travel until June 24, 2008. As part of this sale, the airline
is also offering $129 airfare for guests travelling between Abbotsford and Toronto before
June 24, 2008.

Check it out at WestJet

I kept hearing from people how dangerous sharks are in Hawaii but was not really sure how true this was. So I went looking around the internet and found my answer. There is an about.com article that says that on average there are between 1 and 6 shark attacks per year in Hawaii. As you can imagine if you are a seasoned traveler to Hawaii there are more and more people going and going into the ocean in Hawaii and there is no real increase in the number of people being attacked by sharks.

How to avoid a shark attack

One thing is for certain, sharks like to stay away from people so it is important to travel in packs with other swimmers. Another thing that is important to be aware of is that in areas where there are seals sharks will eat seals. From under the water a person on a surfboard will resemble a seal so that is one of the real reasons why surfers get attacked by sharks.

There are a few other things that you can do to avoid being bitten by sharks. Don’t wear shiny jewelery that makes you look like bait, or go in the water at night. Also it is important to be careful of where you are swimming, if you swim alone in an area where there are a lot of small fish that are food for the sharks.

Really, it is very rare in most places to be attacked by sharks. As long as you are careful and aware of your surroundings you should be safe in the water.

I am in the market for a new digital camera and instead of the classic point and shoot I am getting ready to buy a Digital SLR or DSLR for short.

There are a few reasons that a Digital SLR is better than a regular point and shoot:

• More control over fstop, iso, shutter speed
• Bigger Image sensor
• Interchangeable lenses
• Faster Focus

Now that I have that out of the way lets look at these individually.

More control over pictures

A DSLR is made just as an old serious 35 mm camera was with a lot of the settings on the lense itself. Also there is more control overthe picture output becasue the camera is made for professionals and as such there is a lot of software control built right into the camera that most point and shoot cameras are not going to bother with. Read the rest of this entry »

I ran into this suntan enhancer when we were in Hawaii last month. Maui Babe. Maui babe we should was just some sort of suntan oil and of course it is insane not to be wearing sunscreen while in the strong hawaiian sun.

We were wrong. Maui babe just goes on top of your suntan lotion and enhances your tan, making it darker. I am not sure if it is a dye but it seemed to work well on my wife for the day that she used it. It may be a bit greasy when you put it on but it smooths in and smells OK, actually it smells kind of like coffee so the smell would really depend on whether you like coffee or not.

Maui Babe is sold in all of the ABC stores as well as the WalMart and I would have to bet in all of the other corner stores in Hawaii. It comes in two sizes so you can but the small size and try it out. It is pretty greasy by the way. If you do like the lotion then you can always buy the bigger one.

If you are looking for a suntan enhancer i really have to encourage you to try out Maui Babe.

Our last two family vacations have really taught me the value of having a kitchenette. Kitchettes are small kitchens in a hotel room usually comprised of a stovetop, microwave, toaster, fridge, sink and pots and dishes.

In Disneyland in Anaheim we stayed at a hotel that had a microwave and free breakfast. The free breakfast is always a plus when we are booking a hotel and I know that when I go away for business I always try to make sure that I have a free continental breakfast in the hotel to save time.

In Disneyland this strategy did not work out so well. We found that the breakfast was offered across the complex from our hotel room and there was no seating so we would have to bring back our toast and cereal. Second the food was not very good there was no jam, the butter was some kind of squeezable butter and the cereal was just the crappy stuff the kids always want to grab. To make things worse there was always a lineup in the morning for the poor breakfast.

After the first day of our Disney vacation we went to WalMart for Jam, bagels, cereal and milk and all the snacks that we would need for the week. Read the rest of this entry »

When going on a family vacation it is important for most families, especially mine, to save as much money as possible. This list put together by the people at Arizona Republic newspaper is a great list of things that you can do to save money on vacation. Some of the best ways to save money is by setting priorities before the year even starts, like booking in the off season for your destination and leaving mid week if you are taking a flight.

I also really like the idea of getting a kitchenette.

Almost half of all Americans surveyed in a recent study by AIG Travel Guard said they intend to change vacation plans to save money. That means taking shorter vacations, choosing modestly priced hotels and restaurants, and looking for cheaper ways to get to a destination.

Although summer airfare deals seem to have taken a vacation, finding bargains is still possible, travel experts say.

Successful travelers will be those who keep their summer plans flexible, said Anne Banas, editor at SmarterTravel.com. Read the rest of this entry »

I am just getting this blog and site in general going and would like to do a bit of a descriptor of why I am starting to give this infomration and why I should be doing it.

I have been married for 10 years and have two kids. My daughter is eight and my son is four. Over the last few years I have been working for a big Canadian airline (not in reservation or marketing or customer service, IT is for me) and in looking around the internet I find that there is a lot of disjointed information about family travel.

Families have much different priorities then singles or newly married couples or seniors and other retirees. The last few times that we went on vacations I had a really hard time finding any good information that is focussed on family vacations. I would like to change that by organizing all information that I can find for us families, this will be great for me and my family as well as you and yours I sure hope. Read the rest of this entry »

Well as a parent and husband with two young kids I thought that it would be high time to start documenting all of the fun, sun, laughter and great deals that can be had for family vacations.

Are you looking to travel soon? Are you going on a first or tenth family vacation? Well I hope you can get some travel tips here not just from me but from all of the other visitors to theis site. We can be a big family. So lets get started and get ready for that next great trip!