If your family is anything like mine, you love the start of winter. That first snowfall is magical, and the thrill of warm soup and hot chocolate has not yet worn off.

Fast forward to January.

You’re all freezing, your kids have lost one mitten out of each of three sets and your front yard snowman is looking kind of gray. Even worse, you have at least a couple more months to go.

But you don’t have to take the cold lying down. January’s a great time to travel. Fares are low because kids are back in school, and everyone’s back at work after the holidays. The airports aren’t crowded, and parts of the country (believe it or not) are sunny and bright.

Make a new year’s resolution to get the family together and take off for warmer climates like these.

Read More >

If there’s one thing I can tell you with no fear of contradiction, it’s that children really do grow up fast. Your time traveling together will dwindle over the years, and that’s why it’s so important to make every trip count.

Whether you’re planning a traditional, yearly theme park trip or an overseas adventure, here are a few goals you could set for the coming year.

Read More >

It’s no secret that Christmas is an incredibly popular season for travel, both in the U.S. and beyond. After all, kids are on a break from school and most people get time off from work; even the Scroogiest of bosses understands the value of a good holiday.

While there’s something to be said for remote vacation destinations – places where we can unplug, unwind and take a break from our workaday lives – the popular Christmas travel destinations in the U.S. are popular for good reasons. When considering where to go for your Christmas holiday vacation, consider the fun winter activities these popular destinations have to offer.

Read More >

When our kids were younger, we used to pull them out of school to travel a couple of times a year. Theme parks and ski resorts were nicer on weekdays, and airline award travel was easier when we could borrow a school day here and there. Now that they’re older, we almost never do it. School is harder, of course, and our family calendar is a slow-motion relay race of play rehearsals, music lessons and sports practices.

As far as long trips go, that leaves us with summer vacation, spring break and Christmas. This year, for the first time ever, we’re traveling over Christmas. In fact, we’ll be flying home from Ecuador on Christmas Day. We carefully weighed the pros and cons and decided that Galapagos was worth it.

If you’re skipping Christmas like we are (or technically just rescheduling it by a few days), here are a few tips to make it a success.

Read More >