Tips for Planning a Multigenerational Family Trip to Mexico

Imagine you and your extended family are in Mexico. You’re lounging by the pool, playing on white sands, soaking up the vibrant culture, enjoying unforgettable meals and making lifelong family memories together. On the surface, vacationing with multiple generations sounds like a dream — but anyone who’s tried to coordinate a trip like this knows it can quickly turn into a logistical nightmare.

After all, different age groups have different priorities. While grandparents might prefer relaxing at an all-inclusive resort, younger adults may want adventure. Similarly, toddlers will need lots of entertainment options while teens may just want a reliable Wi-Fi signal.

So, how do you plan a family trip that will please everyone? We recommend you reach out to our Travel Experts — or at the very least, follow this advice from one of our Flighties.

Our Product and Partnerships Leader, Stef Kiely, recently travelled to Mexico along with nine family members to celebrate her parents’ 50^th wedding anniversary. Keep on reading to find out how the trip went and what she recommends everyone do if planning a multigenerational family vacation.

• Be open and honest about your expectations for the trip
• Keep flight times in mind when choosing a destination
• Don’t plan a super-short (or super-long!) family vacation
• Book at least six months in advance of your departure date
• Give your kids a heads up about the food, culture and more
• Treat yourselves to private airport transfers
• Select a resort with a wide variety of amenities
• Plan and book your excursions ahead of time
• Put time for rest and relaxation in your travel itinerary

In order to plan a successful family vacation, everyone needs to be upfront about their expectations. “My family with young kids is different than my sister’s family with her 9- and 13-year-old,” explains Stef. And of course, her parents had different needs and wants too.

From the get-go, they were honest with each other about their non-negotiables (a baby club for Stef, an oceanview room for Natalie) which helped inform every choice they made.

Trust us, this is an essential step if you want to avoid having a family feud on vacation. 

Choosing a destination is arguably one of the most difficult parts of planning a family vacation to Mexico. Between the Baja California Peninsula and the Yucatán Peninsula, there are a lot of amazing destinations!

Stef and her family chose to visit Punta Mita, a small resort area in Riviera Nayarit on Mexico’s Pacific coast. They did this for a few reasons, first and foremost being its proximity to home. The flight from Vancouver to the nearest airport (Puerto Vallarta) is around five hours long — a manageable length of time for both young kids and older folks. Not only that, but the flight schedule worked in their favour: they landed around 2 o’clock in the afternoon. Had they gone to the Riviera Maya, for instance, they would have arrived much later in the evening.

While selecting a Mexico destination ultimately comes down to what you want to see, do and experience, it’s a good idea to keep these other factors in mind as well.

If you need ideas and inspiration for your multigenerational family trip, here are a few top spots:

• Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur
• Cancún, Quintana Roo
• Huatulco, Oaxaca
• Isla Holbox, Quintana Roo
• Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo
• Mexico City
• Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo
• Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco
• Tulum, Quintana Roo
• San José del Cabo, Baja California Sur

Stef and her family stayed in Punta Mita for a total of 10 days, allowing them to balance travel time with downtime and busy time. “If you only go for seven days, you spend the first and last days flying so you really only have five days in your destination,” she says. “A week felt too short and two weeks would have been too long — 10 days was perfect.”

Think about what you want to do, how often your entire family wants to spend time together (or apart… no judgement!) and select your number of nights accordingly.

Given that there was a teacher and four school-age kids going on this family adventure, the Kiely-Tuccori crew ended up visiting Mexico over spring break — an extremely busy time for beach destinations around the world and especially those surrounded by the Caribbean Sea.

Knowing this, Stef and her family decided to book in September (approximately six months in advance of their trip). This obviously helped to eliminate any stress that might have come from booking at the last-minute, but also saved them some money in the end since it’s a time when travel suppliers offer early booking bonuses.

Beware of peak seasons when planning your family trips and contact a Flight Centre Travel Expert to find out when you should book — and to get the inside scoop on the latest deals.

A little prep can go a long way for family vacations! Knowing that her oldest (5-year-old Arlo) is a bit of a picky eater, Stef made sure to give him a pre-trip lesson on Mexican cuisine — and the type of food he could expect at the resort. Yes, there would be chicken strips… and yes, they will taste a little different than the ones at home.

The lesson you can learn from this? Don’t just drop your kids into the deep end if visiting a new destination. Let them know what to expect in regard to Mexican culture, the Spanish language and anything else that may by new to them.

This was an absolute gamechanger for Stef’s family. “I would definitely recommend upgrading to a private transfer, especially when you have that many people,” she says. “Instead of waiting around with a bunch of people and then getting on a bus, we were whisked away to our resort.”

Bonus: Since there were three separate family units on the trip, they could split the cost three ways.

Staying at a hotel with a large variety of activities, entertainment and amenities is crucial — luckily, Mexico is full of all-inclusive resorts that cater to the whole family. Stef’s squad chose the Grand Palladium Vallarta Resort & Spa, where they got to enjoy kids’ clubs, sparkling pools, water sports, live shows, diverse restaurants and more.

This gave everyone the chance to pick and choose how they spent their time each day, and allowed each family member to do what they love most — whether it be lounging poolside, playing games or feasting on fresh tacos.

Stef and her family wanted to spend as much time as possible relaxing on Mexico’s beautiful beaches, so didn’t pre-book any excursions — and unfortunately, it cost them. “We ended up taking a taxi to Sayulita one day and it was quite expensive, even though we shared with another family that was in the lobby at the same time,” she says.

Do yourself a favour (and learn from the Kiely-Tuccori family’s oversight) and book your excursions in advance. Depending on where you stay in Mexico, you can:

• Tour Chichén Itzá, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and other ancient ruins around Cancún
• Soar on ziplines, race down water slides and more at Xcaret, Xel-Há and Xplore
• Wander cobblestone streets during a guided tour around Oaxaca City
• Spot whale sharks and humpback whales in La Paz and Banderas Bay
• Go horseback riding, kayaking or paddleboarding in Los Cabos
• Get up close to sea turtles, flamingos and pelicans on Holbox Island
• Join a walking tour in the colonial city of San Miguel de Allende or Mexico’s capital city
• Take in the natural beauty of the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve

Historic cities, eco parks, hidden waterfalls, public parks — there's something for every family to enjoy in this popular tourist destination.

This is especially important for young kids who are used to having a mid-day snooze, but will also be appreciated by the grandparents on the trip. “Usually, the older folks need a little rest, too, so I would coincide my kids’ naps with when my dad was having a nap,” says Stef, who would use that time to sneak off to the resort’s adults-only pool. “That’s the joy of doing a multigenerational family trip to Mexico.”

Planning Mexico family trips isn't always easy — but your centre for travel makes it simple. Check out our latest deals or chat with a Travel Expert today!