1 . The important things to consider when planning a multi-generational holiday trip

Take the whole family to a beach or a mountain, forming holiday memories that will last a lifetime. Whether those memories are pleasant or not will depend on a lot of things, but the one you can control most is how well you plan the trip. Multi-generational travel is different from planning for just yourself or your family.     1    

Perhaps your family is happy to have one person take control. But you may have newer family members who consider vacation planning a more collective experience. If that’s the case, you need to make sure they feel like they had some input in the process, or you won’t get much participation.     2    

Holiday resorts are likely a better choice than a big house or hotels, both because they offer separate condos (公寓式旅馆) where people can operate on their own schedules and because they offer activities, meals, and other entertainment (消遣) you won’t have to plan. Condos also often come with kitchens, if you do feel like having dinner at home a couple of times.     3     You might not want to share a hotel room with your brother and his wife, for example. But sharing a two-bedroom condo--which is usually about the same price — just feels like being roommates.

So finding a resort with activities that fit as many people’s interests as possible is key.     4     Your cousins may prefer doing food tours. Your father-in-law may just want a big pool. Regardless of what your family enjoys, think about everyone’s interest—or at least what you know of them—and find a place that has as many as possible.

    5     Even if you’re leading the trip planning, leave group-activity planning to the people who want to do it as they’ll have the most drive and motivation (动机) to make it happen. Don’t force anyone into doing activities they aren’t interested in doing. So once you’re there, try your best to have a good time with them.