Your Teen Hates Family Vacay? Here’s Your Solution

Does your teen glare, pout, whine, or offer up nothing more than an eye-roll and bored “whatever” when you discuss your family vacation?

Fret no more.

First, we’ve compiled a downloadable list of the Best All Inclusive Resorts with Teens Clubs (PDF – 85kb)…when your teens discover the amazing clubs designed just for them at many all-inclusive resorts they’ll be begging you to take them along.

Second, we’ve curated a list of the best Tips for Traveling with Teens from a variety of great sources (and linked to those resources below this post under “Additional Resources”), to help ensure a perfect family vacation.

No time to read them all? Here’s the gist:

• Involve your teens in the vacation-planning process – when they have some input (that is actually taken seriously) they’re less likely to complain about the decisions that are made.
• Find out what they want to do – some teens like to stay busy, others prefer to just chill. Not sure? Send them a text and ask! And be sure to let them choose some of the activities.
• Consider separate rooms if your budget allows, or choose a resort that offers ‘family suites’. If you go with separate rooms, take a tip from one of our community members:
  “When I travel with my teens I take a piece of painter’s tape and put it at the top of their door at night on the outside, that way I can check if my kids left the room. They know I do this, but since there’s no way for them to reseal the tape once they’re back inside, they know to not even bother risking my wrath.”
• Don’t expect them to spend every moment with you – few teens want to hang with the ‘rents, most would prefer the company of other teens or even to just be alone. Schedule some time when they don’t have to be with the family.
• DO plan some family activities – it’s good for them to spend some time having fun with you, to remind them that you’re not all that bad.
• Discuss the use of smartphones – everything from the potential cost when traveling out of the US (although many all-inclusive resorts offer free wifi) to how much time they get to spend ignoring you, but be reasonable – teens today maintain social connections digitally and won’t appreciate being totally cut off from their friends, let them ‘share’ some of their vacation.
• Don’t expect them to get up early for activities…..teens just naturally need more sleep, and a vacation is the perfect time for them to just snooze and recharge. Use that morning time for your favorite ‘me’ activities, such as a Spa visit, or whatever that may be.

BUT WAIT!

Check out OUR exclusive “3 Tips for Traveling with Teens” just below, to help you choose the best all-inclusive resort for for your family vacation, based on criteria beyond just their teens clubs…..

3 Tips for Traveling with Teens

Tip #1: Check out the Teens Club Amenities

Investigate what the resort’s Teens Club offers (if their website doesn’t give specifics, a travel advisor can help you find out)….do they offer more than just a room with a few video games or pinball machines and some sofas?

Many all-inclusive resorts with teens clubs have really upped their game, and now offer much more – for example some have actual nightclubs for teens with the hottest music and dance lessons…such as Club Liquid at Check PricesBeaches Resorts, a hip dance club with a South Beach atmosphere and VIP cabanas. Or consider Check PricesDreams Resorts, whose CoreZone Teen Club features super-cool activities like a batting cage, billiards, climbing walls, foosball, a mechanical bull, ocean trampolines, along with social events (including disco mixers), and more. A great teens club means peace of mind for you knowing that your teens are somewhere fun AND safe.

Tip #2: Check out the other ON-site Activities

Pretty much every all-inclusive resort offers a variety of on-site activities and entertainment such as beach volleyball, snorkeling, paddle-boarding, kayaking and the like, and many employ activities staff who coordinate all sorts of pool games involving competitions and prizes.

Some go above-and-beyond, such as Check PricesHard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya, which has a ‘foam party’ that’s very popular with kids of all ages, as well as an amazing “Music Lab” available to 12-and-over guests, with programs like “Jam Band” (full rock-star experience including instruction, coaching, and performing in front of a live audience), “Mix” (join the EDM movement and learn to be a DJ) , and “RockTube” (star in your very own professional music video!).

And don’t forget the Check PricesBarcelo Maya Tropical (part of a large 5-resort complex in Mexico’s Riviera Maya) which also offers a cool shopping mall (don’t all teens like to hang out at the mall?), a 24-hour sports bar (with a giant-screen TV), a bowling alley, and a water park that includes a surf rider!

Tip # 3: Check out the OFF-site Activities

While the cost of few — if any — off-site activities are included in an all-inclusive vacation, there are still some that are well worth the extra money…..especially if snorkeling or beach-volleyball just doesn’t thrill your teen. Generally speaking, wherever you find all-inclusive resorts, you’ll find off-site activities like zip-lining, horseback riding, swimming with dolphins or pigs (yes, pigs!), and if you’re in the Riviera Maya region of Mexico, a stay at Check PricesHotel Xcaret includes access to their theme parks, such as Xplor Park and Xcaret Ecological Park (among others), all of which are amazing places to spend the day (and yes food, drinks, and snacks at the parks are still included) …. parents will love the cultural shows and wine tour, kids and teens will love the water activities and underground rivers. And everyone loves the mind-boggling Xenses, where almost nothing is what it seems, LOL.

SO after you’ve:

• Checked out the resorts’ Teens’ Clubs, and
• Checked out the other on-site activities, and
• Checked out the off-site activities, and
• Checked with your teens on what THEY want to do……

You should be able to choose the perfect resort from this downloadable list of All Inclusive Resorts with Teens Clubs……and never have to listen to your teens whine again about being bored on vacation!

You’re welcome.