Some of the most memorable Christmas and birthday presents of all time have been when there has been that special surprise gift that you put in a Christmas card or birthday present. Stacy and I have surprised our kids on many occasions with a trip. 

Last year for Christmas we gave our kids several Disney themed gifts that were very random. Each kid received a different Disney item and we finished the presents off with a special Christmas card at the end. The card gave them several clues that led them to look at a calendar that had a special sticker in February with a cruise on the calendar telling them they would be going on a 7 day Disney cruise. It made the morning super fun and gave everyone something to look forward to for over a month after Christmas. 

Instead of having the January post Christmas blues, the kids were super excited about heading on our trip. 

When we headed into the cold grey, cold January, we were able to have something as a family to look forward to and be excited about. Having a trip planned for February was one of the best things we’ve ever done because even on the coldest of days, you could have something to get super excited about. 

We worried a bit about the kids missing school and with Tyler in 9th grade we were a bit worried about how he would do with his grades when he missed nearly a full week of school. Luckily we were mid quarter so he had plenty of time to prepare to be gone for the week and he had several weeks after we returned to be able to work on making sure all the assignments were made up so he could keep his grades in a good place. 

It’s so much fun surprising your kids with a cruise or a Disney trip or even a family trip to Costa Rica. I took my two oldest kids to Costa Rica this past summer and we joined up with several other families for over a week. I have to be honest telling you that I was a bit nervous about how the trip would go with a 4 year old in Costa Rica on a vacation. Our group actually had a 4 year old, an 8 year old, a ten, 12, 13 and two 15 year olds. It actually worked out great to have the kids on the trip. Having more kids actually made it so much easier to do the Costa Rica trip because they were able to play games together and hang out during the day and night. Yes there is WIFI in the hotels in Costa Rica, but we actually were able to get everyone to unplug from the phone and have human interactions with each other. My kids are still talking about their trip to Costa Rica and asking when they can go back. My 13 year old tells me that she wants to have the exact same trip again, without changing anything. 

I think one of the hardest things to decide about a family trip to Costa Rica is how active you want to be. Depending on the group, there are so many different activities to do in Costa Rica, like whitewater rafting, SUP Stand Up Paddle Board, Rappeling, hiking, cooking classes, humanitarian projects, beach, surfing, wildlife watching, mountain biking, kayaking, zip lines and much more. 

The key to planning a successful Costa Rica trip really is deciding on what your budget is, how many days you can stay and then letting the local experts plan something out that will maximize your “fun” time and minimize your “drive” time. The biggest mistake we see people make when trying to plan their own trip to Costa Rica is when they think it will only take 30 minutes to drive somewhere and it ends up taking 5-6 hours. People underestimate drive times all the time when planning trips in Costa Rica. Also, its so much more convenient to hire a driver and skip trying to rent a car when you are on vacation in Costa Rica. 

If you are wanting to plan a trip that your family will remember for the rest of their lives and talk about months and years after its over, we definitely can help make some suggestions and help you plan. 

Our team is here to help when the time is right and once you’ve worked with a travel agent who can take care of all the details for your trip, you’ll realize that its so much better than trying to plan your own trip and hoping that it will all work out. 

It you are looking for a way to have a lasting memory as a family, there is no better way than to book a special vacation for the coming months or even summer!

I used to think that working with a travel agent would be more expensive than trying to book a trip on my own through the cruise line or hotel website. Once I started the travel business I quickly realized that I was actually paying higher prices by going direct to the cruise line than had I booked with a travel agent who had access to the deals that are offered only to the largest travel agent groups in the industry. 

Once I learned this lesson, we made sure we were linked in with one of the largest travel agencies groups in the world, which gave us access to more perks and discounts for our clients than most large travel agencies get. It’s very rare that we can’t get at least a $50 perk of some kind for a cruise vacation and we’ve actually been able to save guests as much as $600 per person on some trips that we’ve helped on. 

Give us a chance to show you why booking with a travel agent is smart when it comes to both price and value. 

 If you’d like to pre-pay or buy a gift certificate for a future vacation, just let us know and we can help you come up with ideas to make the announcement even more Amazing and memorable for your family or loved one this Christmas!