How to Create an Easy, 5-Minute Summer Vacation Survey
If you’ve ever tried to plan big family vacations, you know how logistical it gets when many people are involved. Planning around various people’s interests and goals makes vacation planning more stressful than you want it to be.
Last month, in our quick four-step guide (which you can view here), we discussed how to start the vacation conversation.
Below are some tips and questions to help you create a quick survey that will guide your family in an awesome vacation experience together.
Example Survey Questions:
What are you most looking forward to?
What COTW activity are you most looking forward to?
Is there a special occasion you’d like to celebrate while there?
What was your favorite experience last time you were there?
When will you be arriving and leaving?
What form of transportation are you using?
Which meals will you be at?
Which off-camp excursions do you plan to sign up for?
Quick Tips to Help You Develop your Survey
Note: Using a free survey form like Google Forms allows you to make survey questions that are short answer, long answer, multiple choice, and more.
Prioritize Favorite Activities
Everyone has their preferences, whether that be tennis or pickleball, beach reading day, or kayaking excursion. Knowing your family members’ favorite vacation ways allows you to pair up if you’re planning on signing up for activities without the last-minute hassle of asking everyone what they’re doing.
2. Determine the Special Occasions
Are there special occasions you will be celebrating as a family - a grandparents’ anniversary, a family member’s birthday milestone, or another special occasion? Special events like these enhance vacation time in a meaningful way that extends past fun activities. For that reason, it’s worth asking who in your family should be celebrated while you’re all together.
3. Incorporate Family Values
Every once in a while, it’s a smart move to change things up a little. That will look different for every family, especially if you value some things over others. Examples of this may be one big family dinner where you’re all together during the week. When a lot is going on, it’s easy to miss certain meals or go out to eat one of the nights. If quality time is an important value for you to develop during vacation, arranging for one, two, or more meals where everyone needs to be present is a helpful way to accomplish this.
4. Preserve the Fun in a Set Time
Knowing when everyone is arriving and departing allows you to strategically plan a fun time for everyone without anyone missing out. Once everyone fills out the survey, you can use the data to create activity or excursion days mixed with beach relaxation days to break up the week’s events. This will create a seamlessly enjoyable experience that balances fun and rest.
Share the Results:
Once everyone completes the survey, make sure you share the results! A good time to do this is while you’re home together for the holidays. This enables everyone to start talking with those who gave similar answers and makes them even more excited about the vacation time they’ll spend together!