Traveling with Teens

Surviving Middle School

A blog for middle school students, parents, teachers, coaches,

counselors, staff, administrators, and anyone else interested in coping with life’s challenges

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Traveling with Teens

When I was in middle school, I lived overseas in Saudi Arabia and was able to travel a lot with my family. My dad was a chemical engineer for ARAMCO in Ras Tanura on the Persian Gulf. Expats had to take "mental leave" vacations each year -often for 3-4 weeks. I was able to visit many countries in Europe and Asia, and saw a bit of the United States. I remember learning all the ins and outs of travel including dealing with different currencies, languages, foods, and social customs. I also learned to appreciate other cultures, but all the while appreciating our own American culture. Now that I'm an adult and public school teacher, I haven't had as much opportunity to travel with my family as I'd like, but we're saving up for a family trip next year.

My goal was to post every Monday, but last week my wife and I were in Playa del Carmen, Mexico for our friends' destination wedding. We haven't traveled abroad in five years, and we kept saying "Why didn't we bring that?" or "why didn't we do that?" Also, our kids weren't with us and I kept wondering what it would have been like having them with us at an all-inclusive beach resort. So, I thought a blog about traveling with teens might be interesting and helpful. I hope that you'll share you own experiences and suggestions in the comments section. While we didn't travel with teens, we saw many teens during our trip. What follows are our blunders and suggestions.

Pets & Plants

Even before we started our trip, we had to figure out complicated plans for tending to 2 dogs (one is in diapers, one is HIGH energy), 5 needy cats, 8 or so fish, and the outdoor plants subject to North Carolina summers. There is no way we could afford to board all of them, and our 11.5 year old corgi, Jewel, needs some special care. Ideally, we might have hired someone just to stay in the house. During graduate school, I used to housesit for some professors at Texas A&M, but I don't really know how to set that up here with a trustworthy person. Anyone tried this?

Here's what we did:

- Gus went to the "Canine Run Suite" at his vet.

- Jewel went to my fellow teacher's house who has cats and dogs, including one also in diapers.

- The cats, fish, and plants were tended to by two awesome, teenaged sisters from our neighborhood.

We returned to happy pets and plants, and it really didn't cost much. Plus, we now have reliable teenage house-sitters for short vacations!

Airport Parking

Airports aren't fun, and parking is often the last thing you remember that you have to deal with. The Raleigh Durham airport has many different parking options including: Premier (next to terminal for $18/day), Central (walking distance to terminal for $14/day), and Economy (bus to terminal for $7/day). I've tried all of those and each has their advantages and disadvantages. This year we tried a private parking service near the airport called FastPark. You park and their van picks you up right at your car and drops you off at your terminal. During normal travel hours, FastPark has waiting shuttles at the airport for your return. We actually returned at 3am and had to call them. Their shuttle arrived in only about five minutes to take us directly to our car. Fast, convenient, and it only cost $6.36/day. Plus, FastPark has rewards for frequent parkers, I mean travelers. Any other options you've tried?

Airport Rigamarole

Delta recommended that international travelers arrive at least three hours early. We checked in and printed our boarding passes at home (highly recommended!). Since we didn't have any checked bags, we breezed through security. We actually waited longer in the Starbucks line than we did in security. FYI, Starbucks mobile orders don't work in airport :-(. However, we noticed there were very long, slow lines for those checking their bags. In fact, friends traveling to the same wedding barely made it on time since they were in a bag check line whose attendant decided to just walk off, leaving confused, anxious travelers. Another minor hurdle.... on the way back, I tried to check in early, but the app wouldn't let me. We contacted Delta and they told me I was randomly selected to undergo more intensive screening before boarding the plane. Actually I'm glad we knew before it happened so I wasn't surprised when I got pulled and I made sure that I didn't have the carry on with the carefully packed, breakable souvenirs. The poor woman behind me in line wasn't as lucky.

A couple of warnings/suggestions that we learned:

• Download airline apps, then check-in and print your boarding pass before you even get to the airport - or use the eBoarding pass which can be scanned by the gate agent.
• If you travel a lot, you may wish to sign up for TSA Pre✓ ($85 for 5 years), which allows you to speed through security since you don’t need to remove your shoes, laptops, liquids, belts and light jackets.
• Pack your 3-1-1 liquids bag so that you can quickly retrieve it from your back during security.
• If you have prescriptions that are controlled substances (ex. ADHD meds), leave them in their original prescription bottle.
• You can't bring water bottles through security. They'll make you throw them out.
• Eat something before you board. Airplane snacks are feeble and the trip always takes longer than you realize. Our friends didn't, and they were about to digest themselves by the time we finally arrived at our resort in Mexico.
• If you miss your connection due to weather or other acts of God, YOU WON'T get free dinner, hotels, transportation etc. DON'T believe the ticket agents if they say you do. We were nearly fooled by a Delta agent in Mexico who was either ignorant or lying. Thankfully Amber kept asking Delta for clarification as her friend (the bride) had gone through a similar problem last year on a trip to South Africa.
• Depending on your international location, you may have to pay a checked bag fee. We did for our trip back through the Cancun airport.
• Teen Tip: Internet while traveling is often spotty or expensive. Take a break from music and texting by bring a variety of other distractions that are easy to take in and out of bags such as magazines, an adult coloring book, puzzle book, or even try listening to an audiobook (audible.com, hoopladigital.com). Expect delays, plan accordingly.

Mexican All Inclusive Resort

Don't drink the water. DON'T drink the water. DON'T DRINK THE WATER... and that includes NOT brushing your teeth with tap water. You might have heard that many Mexican resorts filter their water, but I wouldn't trust it. We stayed at Sandos Playacar Resort and they provided an office-sized jug of filtered water. One person in our group was a bit sick after he only brushed his teeth using tap water. It's not worth it. One person in our group even put a post-in note on the mirror so he wouldn't forget.

While we're on the subject of drinks, be wary of the free flowing beverages. 1) It's all inclusive so you often don't notice that you are downing those margaritas a bit fast. Playa del Carmen is very hot and humid in July and it's very easy to overdo it with alcohol. 2) My wife is a recovering alcoholic and being at an all inclusive resort for a wedding really tested her sobriety. They have nonalcoholic drink menus, but I was occasionally ridiculed for ordering the nonalcoholic drinks. I even caught two bartenders trying to add alcohol. It is something to be wary of, especially if you have people in your group who don't drink - babies, teens, and recovering alcoholics. I tried to watch drinks being made, and sniffed and tasted each drink before giving them to Amber.

That being said, there was a LOT to do for the whole family. Teens especially would have really enjoyed the Sandos resort as it had two "teens only" venues with games, loud music, food, and teens from all over the world! In fact, one venue with cool video games are for TEENS only, no adults allowed. They also had mini golf, tennis, pools, and of course the beach. Most of the stuff was near the adult type venues so that you could give your teens space to roam, meet tons of others, but still be close enough to keep an "eye" on them. There were many options for food from buffet style to gourmet French and Mexican al a carte restaurants to a cupcake cafe. Breakfast alone was nearly overwhelming with a plethora of fresh fruit, meats, tacos, pancakes, muffins, and 4 different kids of juice. It wasn't too far to walk, but like I said it's very hot and humid. They did have a stretch golf cart shuttle, but it broke down on us twice in the five days we were there. Probably best to walk off dinner and drinks and just accept that you'll be sweating the whole time like everyone else.

A couple more tips:

• Bring travel coffee cups or some other travel containers that can hold both cold and warm drinks. They retail for $30 in the resort store so best to bring your own. The bartenders at the resort will fill these up for you instead of using smaller resort cups that need to be refilled more often.
• The TSA liquid restrictions make it difficult to bring your own sunscreen, but it is worth it to bring several travel sized containers (3.4 oz or less) of sunscreen. Sunscreen was $24/7 oz in the resort store. If you can find one that is a combination sunscreen + insect repellent in a travel size, that would be ideal.
• Bring Pepto-Bismol and Immodium in case you accidentally get sick from something you consume.
• Use WhatsApp as a handy way to coordinate with others in your group. It's easier than trying to do group texting and you can also add pictures and video.
• Don't store your room key next to your phone. It will demagnetize the card, and you'll be locked out of your room like our unfortunate bride and groom were after the wedding.
• Bring plenty of small dollar amounts such as $1s, $5s, and $10s. In the last two trips we've taken, to Costa Rica and Mexico, we were better off just using dollars. However, many might take dollars, but not have change in dollars. We ended up losing $4 because we took a cab ride into town, but didn't have anything less than a $20 for the ride back. I had to convert to Mexican pesos at the resort, and their exchange rate was terrible.
• Before you go, find out which of your credit cards DON'T charge the 3% foreign transaction fee and contact them to let them know you that you are traveling. For us, we used a Capital One VISA travel rewards card. Discovercard is another that doesn't charge the fee, but they aren't widely accepted.
• If possible, book airfare and lodging using that same credit card as they often give you deals on travel insurance, airline/resort disputes (both happened to us!), and foreign concierge services. Those services are only covered if you used that card to pay for the trip.
• Teen tip: have an "oh crap, I can't find my parents" plan. I met a 14 year old panicked teen named Angel, who was locked out of his room (where his phone was) and couldn't find his family. I steered him to guest services at the main meeting place.

Hopefully, I haven't scared you away from traveling with your teens and instead given you some helpful tips. We had a nice time, and the beach wedding was beautiful. I am looking forward to taking our kids on our next trip.

Share your (mis)adventures and suggestions from your summer travels in the comments section!