If you’re lucky, you may have time for one more family vacation weekend before the kids have to hit the books. Ease into fall with these back-to-school family travel ideas, and if you can’t travel, use our Little Passports promo code to keep the love of travel alive all year! Kids will begin learning before school is in session, whether or not they can enjoy one last summer trip.
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Visit a local historical park or monument:
Families don’t have to travel far to find local history. Find a national historical park or monument near your home, and pack a picnic. Find a pit stop en route, so the kids can swim or hike before or after touring the park. Many historical or state parks host living history days in August, during which kids can experience a taste of life in a different era. If you can’t find a destination of historical significance, opt for your local state park!
Plan a literary weekend:
If your kids have a favorite book series, plan a short trip to the location in which the series is set, or to the author’s hometown. Some of our favorites: Lexington, Massachusetts to visit the homes of Louisa May Alcott and Nathaniel Hawthorne, New York City to take a Percy Jackson city tour, or DeSmet, South Dakota to see the land of the Ingalls family from Little House on the Prairie.
Go geocaching:
No need to go further than your own neighborhood while geocaching, one of my kids’ new favorite activities. Armed with a simple smart phone geocaching app and a pencil, kids can cruise through familiar neighborhoods on bicycle or in new parts of the city or country with parents seeking treasure. Kids learn mapping and navigational skills, get exercise, and see new things.
Don’t have time for a last-minute trip?
Stay home and keep the family travel tradition alive with educational travel materials. Encourage kids to journal about their summer travel memories (you know, the traditional ‘What I did last summer’ essay), or get them started in the hobby of scrapbooking. Better yet, treat them to a subscription to Little Passports, which will feed their inner travel bug all year long:
