SHOULD YOU TAKE ONE BIG FAMILY VACATION OR A FEW SMALLER TRIPS EACH YEAR?

You have a travel budget, a limited number of vacation days, kids' school schedules and a bigger list of places you’d love to visit than the time to actually go.

Should you take one big family vacation or a few smaller trips each year? It's a question many families ask when they're trying to make the most of their travel budget, vacation days and school schedules.

I’ve done travel both ways.

Before kids, I spent almost three months travelling through Southeast Asia, and I absolutely loved having that much time. When you stay somewhere longer, you have time to slow down, explore, change plans and actually experience a destination.

But that doesn’t mean I think every family needs one epic trip each year. In fact, I don’t think there’s a magic number of vacations a family should take.

Some years might be the year for the big trip you’ve been talking about forever. Other years, a week at a family-friendly resort and a shorter getaway later might fit your family much better.

And sometimes? The best answer is both.

The goal isn’t to squeeze the maximum number of vacations into your calendar. It’s to use the travel time and budget you have in a way that feels worthwhile for your family.

ONE BIG FAMILY VACATION VS. A FEW SMALLER TRIPS: IS ONE ACTUALLY BETTER?

Here’s where I think families can get stuck: we tend to compare trips by quantity.

Would you rather have one vacation or three? Three sounds better, right?

Not necessarily.

A two-week trip through Japan and three shorter getaways to closer destinations offer completely different experiences. Neither one is automatically a better use of your travel budget or time.

Instead, I’d ask: What do you want from travel this year?

Maybe you want to finally take the trip you’ve been putting off until the kids are “old enough.”

Maybe everyone is exhausted and the thought of navigating trains, changing hotels and planning two weeks of sightseeing makes you want a vacation from your vacation.

Or maybe you love travel partly because there’s always another trip on the calendar to look forward to.

Those families shouldn’t necessarily plan the same travel year.

AMANDA'S TAKE: I wouldn’t start by deciding how many trips you should take. Start with the experiences you want to have, then figure out how your available time and budget can support them

WHEN ONE BIG FAMILY VACATION MIGHT MAKE MORE SENSE

Have you ever looked at airfare somewhere and thought, If we’re flying all that way, we’d better stay awhile?

This is where a bigger trip can win.

If your family is dreaming about Europe, Japan or another long-haul destination, a longer vacation gives you more time to settle in and actually enjoy being there.

You’ve already invested in the flights. You’ve dealt with the jet lag. You’ve packed what feels like half your house. You probably don’t want to turn around four days later.

And this is something I understand from my own travels. When I travelled through Southeast Asia for almost three months, what I loved most was having time to experience the destinations rather than rushing from highlight to highlight. Longer travel gives you room for the moments that aren’t on an itinerary.

Obviously, three months of travelling isn’t exactly the average family vacation. But the lesson still applies. More time can change how you experience a place.

You might choose fewer destinations. Spend an afternoon doing absolutely nothing. Let the kids go back to the gelato shop they loved yesterday. Stay long enough that every day doesn’t feel like a race to see the next thing. 

AMANDA'S TAKE: Vacation pacing is huge when you’re travelling with children. Having more time doesn’t have to mean adding more activities. It can mean doing less each day and still experiencing the destination. I’d much rather build in time for a slow morning or time at a park near a cultural experience than feel like we have to keep moving because there’s so much left to see.

One bigger trip may make sense if:

• You’re planning a long-haul or international destination.

• There’s one bucket-list experience your family really wants to prioritize.

• Airfare is a significant part of the trip cost.

• You want time to experience a destination beyond its biggest attractions.

• You’d rather plan one major vacation than manage several trips throughout the year.

• You can take a longer stretch of holiday time without adding stress before or after the trip.

But there’s another side to this.

A longer vacation only feels luxurious if you actually want to be travelling that way.

WHEN A FEW SMALLER FAMILY TRIPS MIGHT MAKE MORE SENSE

What if two weeks in Japan sounds incredible, but not this year?

Maybe your kids are still little. Work is intense. You can take time off, but getting two consecutive weeks feels impossible.

Or maybe what you really want right now is to arrive somewhere, unpack once and have somebody bring you a drink while the kids head for the water park.

That matters.

Several shorter trips can work beautifully when your family wants easier breaks throughout the year rather than one major adventure.

A beach vacation at an all-inclusive resort in Mexico, a cruise during another school break, a Disney trip or a getaway closer to home can give you very different things to anticipate.

And with younger kids, shorter vacations can sometimes feel more manageable. Not because young children can’t handle bigger trips, but because parents need to consider their own energy too.

FAMILIES OFTEN OVERLOOK THIS: Your dream destination and your ideal vacation right now don't necessarily have to be the same place.

You can want to take your kids to Japan someday and decide that this year you’d rather spend a week at a resort where nobody has to figure out what’s for dinner. Japan will still be there.

And your family’s needs will keep changing.

6 QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE YOU DECIDE

Rather than asking Google how many vacations your family should take each year, grab a coffee and answer these six questions together.

Your answers will probably tell you far more than any number ever could.

1. How much time can you realistically take off?

Not theoretically. Realistically.

Consider work schedules, school, sports and activities, plus whether taking a longer vacation creates a stressful pile of work waiting for you when you return.

2. How far do you want to travel?

If you’re flying long-haul, spending more time at your destination can make the travel itself feel more worthwhile.

For a shorter flight, or a destination closer to home, a four- or five-night getaway may be exactly enough.

3. What stage are your kids at?

A toddler, an eight-year-old and a teenager have very different definitions of a great vacation.

But I’d also consider the stage you’re in as a parent. Do you have the energy for a big adventure? Would you enjoy it?

Those questions count too.

4. What do you want travel to feel like this year?

Adventure?

Rest?

Connection?

Something new?

Easy?

There’s no prize for choosing the most impressive itinerary. If everyone needs a break, plan the vacation that actually gives you one.

5. How much planning do you want to manage?

One big international trip may involve flights, accommodations, transportation, activities and a lot of moving pieces.

Multiple trips involve planning multiple times.

Neither one is easier; it depends on what you’re booking and how much of that planning you want to handle yourself.

This is also one of the reasons families work with a travel advisor. You don’t have to spend every evening comparing resorts, cruise cabins and flight options just because you want to travel more.

6. Is there one trip you don’t want to keep postponing? This might be the most important question.

If there’s a destination your family keeps saying “someday” about, is there a reason it can’t be this year?

You don’t need to take a bucket-list trip simply because you feel like you should.

But if it genuinely matters to you, it may be worth prioritizing over taking several smaller vacations just to travel more often.

And before you decide it has to be either/or, there’s another option.

THE MIDDLE GROUND: ONE BIG VACATION PLUS SMALLER GETAWAYS

This might be my favourite way to think about family vacation planning.

Your travel year doesn’t have to be one $20,000 vacation OR three separate trips.

It could be one larger international trip plus a long weekend getaway closer to home.

It could be a week at an all-inclusive in Mexico and a cruise later in the year.

Maybe Disney is the main event, with a few days somewhere closer to home during another school break.

There are countless combinations.

QUICK TIP: Think about your annual travel budget and vacation time as two separate resources. You might have the budget for another trip but not the time off, or lots of holidays, but decide you’d rather spend that money elsewhere.

This is why I like planning travel as a year, instead of looking at each vacation on their own. Your trips can complement each other.

If your big trip is busy and adventurous, perhaps the smaller one is intentionally easy and stress-free.

If you know you want a relaxing resort week every winter, maybe the bigger adventure happens during summer.

You’re not trying to make every trip accomplish everything.

HOW I HELP FAMILIES DECIDE WHAT KIND OF VACATION MAKES SENSE

When I’m helping a family plan their travel, I’m not looking for a magic number of vacations to fit into the year.

I’m looking at the bigger picture: the time they realistically have, where they want to go, how they like to travel and what feels worth prioritizing right now.

Because sometimes the trip that looks best on paper isn’t the trip that makes the most sense for your family.

One thing I always consider is whether the vacation fits the season of life you’re in. A big international adventure might be exactly what you’re excited for, or a week where you unpack once, slow down and let someone else handle dinner might sound way better.

That’s why I think planning the right vacation starts before choosing the destination.

If you’re still figuring out what that looks like, my Ultimate Guide to Planning a Stress-Free Family Vacation with Kids can help you work through those bigger decisions before getting lost in destinations, resorts and itineraries.

SO, HOW MANY FAMILY VACATIONS SHOULD YOU TAKE EACH YEAR?

There isn’t a magic number.  And I’d be suspicious of anyone who tells you there is.

One incredible trip might be exactly what your family wants this year. Another year, three shorter vacations might fit your schedule, budget and energy much better.

You might do both.

Your kids will grow. Work schedules will change. Budgets change. The destinations you’re excited about will change too.

Your travel plans are allowed to change with them.

Instead of asking, “How many vacations should we take?”

Try asking:

“What experiences do we want to prioritize this year?”

That’s a much better place to start.

Not sure what that experience might be? Take a look at my Top Family Travel Experiences to Book in 2026 for ideas, from cruises and Disney to bigger family adventures.

FAQs ABOUT LONG VS. SHORT FAMILY VACATIONS

Is it better to take one long vacation or a few short ones?

Neither is automatically better. If several shorter trips mean postponing the big trip your family really wants to take, I’d prioritize the bigger experience. But if one vacation would use most of your available time and travel budget, spreading your trips throughout the year may make more sense.

How often should families go on vacation?

There’s no magic number. The Family Travel Association’s 2025 survey found that 92% of parents surveyed planned to travel with their children in the coming year, with trips happening across summer, school breaks and holidays. The goal isn’t to hit a certain number, it’s to plan trips that fit comfortably into your family’s time, budget and priorities.

How long should a family vacation be?

Start with the destination, then work backwards. Seven nights might be plenty for an all-inclusive in Mexico, while a long-haul trip to Europe or Asia would feel rushed in the same amount of time. I like to look at usable vacation time: how many days will you actually have at the destination once you account for travel days and jet lag?

Is a two-week vacation too long with kids?

Not necessarily. Two weeks at a comfortable pace can actually feel easier than a shorter trip packed with activities. I’d pay more attention to how often you’re changing hotels, how full your days are and whether there’s room for downtime. Two weeks with kids isn’t necessarily too long, but two weeks at the wrong pace can feel very long.

WHAT SHOULD YOUR FAMILY’S TRAVEL YEAR LOOK LIKE?

If you’re reading this with three browser tabs open, one for a cruise, one for Mexico and one for the big international trip you’ve been dreaming about, you don’t need to choose based on what other families are doing.

Start with yours.

What do you want to experience? How much time do you have? What fits your budget? And, maybe most importantly, what kind of family getaway would you actually enjoy right now?

READY TO PLAN YOUR FAMILY’S TRAVEL YEAR?

If you’re not sure how to turn those answers into a travel plan, that’s exactly what I help families figure out.

Book a free consultation and we can talk through the destinations, timing and vacation styles you’re considering and build a travel year around what makes sense for your family.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK A FREE CONSULTATION CALL

And if you're still in the planning stages, come join my Facebook group, where we talk family travel, resorts, cruises, Disney and the decisions that come up before you ever pack a suitcase.

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