Ross and Sheila Hodel started with water parks, graduated to ski trips and national parks and this summer upped their muti-generational family trip game with hiking in Switzerland. They say such trips give them quality time with their children and grandchildren.
They are not alone. According to several travel magazines and travel agents, family vacations with three or more generations are on the rise. Some say the COVID-19 pandemic spurred the trend to get together in a secluded environment, while others note some families have been doing it for years with annual reunions, camping trips or destination vacations.
"I have clients who started 40 years ago when the grandchildren were young and they still go on cruises together every year," said Jill Bowen, owner of Springfield Travel Shoppe. She says that once children are financially independent, many parents want to use their money making memories and watching the grandchildren grow up.
"Spending time with kids and grandkids is the most important thing you can do," she added.
The Hodels, longtime Springfield residents, agree. Taking multiple generations on trips starting 18 years ago has allowed them to have crucial time with their grandchildren. "We've tried to give them experiences rather than material things," Ross said, noting the trips they plan involve lots of active endeavors. Most also have an educational component.
Sharing experiences over the years has created a special bond among the six grandchildren. "The neatest thing was that one night on the most recent trip the grandkids were sitting around the table and they started reminiscing about past trips," he said.
Their trips began with water parks when the grandchildren were little, as an opportunity to get away with each other, vacation and catch up. As the youngest generation grew, the Hodels opted for skiing and then on to national parks – "Whether they wanted to or not," she said with a laugh.
Their first international trip, to Switzerland, provided an opportunity for the grandchildren to have their eyes opened to the wider world and continued the emphasis on active vacations. "My family roots are in Switzerland and they got to see a little of it," Ross added.
The Hodels pick the destinations, consult with the younger generations and make most of the arrangements, sometimes starting a year in advance and finalizing the details by the winter holidays before that summer's trip. That early planning is important, to find a rental to house the whole family and to plan activities.
"When we started out, we let them decide what they wanted to do (each day), but that didn't really work out," Sheila said. "It became better to have a plan or otherwise you have 12 people trying to decide what to do. Now we have a daily schedule and if someone doesn't want to participate, they can do something else." For example, some family members like to shop so that also is built into the schedule.
If the destination is in the United States, family members usually fly and rent three cars. They also have breakfasts and dinners together, with different groups responsible for planning meals. The Hodels mostly pay for housing and travel.
For the Switzerland trip, the Hodels relied on a tour company that helped plan various hiking adventures. They were gone 11 days instead of their usual four or five days together.
Planning is key for group discounts
Tom and Carol Kerins of Springfield also have taken three generations on several vacations, starting a dozen years ago. Their trips together include Mexico, Montana, Florida, Hawaii and shorter hops to Chicago and St. Louis during the winter holidays.
One daughter lives in Springfield but the other is in Arizona so multi-generational trips are a way to get everyone together, especially the three grandchildren, Tom said. The tradition began when one son-in-law won a week in a house in Mexico at a fundraiser. It was big enough for the family of nine so they all got to enjoy it. Tom and Carol celebrated their 50th anniversary with a trip to Disney World, where they had always wanted to take the family.
Like the Hodels, the Kerins' family trips are scheduled around the children's and the grandchildren's time off from work and school, which means the summer or holidays. Tom and Carol have their adult children make the arrangements and plan activities. Paying for things varies depending on the trip.
"We talk it through so everyone has a say in it," Tom said, and being willing to listen to any concerns about a possible destination is important. Usually the family members all stick together during the trip and eat out so no one has to cook.
The Kerins also took their granddaughter on a high school graduation trip to London and Rome and plan to take the two grandsons wherever they want to go when they graduate. The grandsons sharing a room during the Florida vacation was a highlight for Carol.
"The family trips were all different but all wonderful," she said.
Bowen said she has clients who prefer cruises or all-inclusive resorts in Hawaii, the Caribbean or Mexico because they provide family members different entertainment options. "It's a way for family members to gather for meals perhaps and still go off and do things on their own."
Some people like to bike or hike while others prefer to relax, Bowen said. All-inclusives give that choice. She said 10 to 12 family members seem to be a workable group for multi-generational travel.
She asks families looking at such vacations to first figure out what various members want to do and how much they want to spend.
Other travel experts agree it is important to plan in advance, look for group discounts on airfare and lodging and be considerate of various family members' interests – something the Hodels and Kerins seem to have mastered.
Mary Bohlen of Springfield writes about travel for ReGen and other publications. Her three-generation family started vacationing together during the COVID-19 pandemic and last summer traveled to Hawaii.
