b'thebenefitofbetter room assignments.KELLER WILLIAMS inBesuretocheck directlywiththe MID-TOWN DIRECT CELEBRATES hotel as soon as you make the reservation pride month if you need a cot or anattachedroom, andwhileyoureon the phone check on freebreakfastsand earlycheck-intoo. Rubashkinwarns, Make sure there are nottwohotelswith the same name in the same city if you dont wantyourfamily waiting in two differ-ent places!And while family trips are supposed to Proudly Cultivating an Inclusive & Supportive Environmentbeanexperience, Offices in Maplewood,Maplewood resident Chris Coreschi enjoys some solitary timenoexperienceis Springfield & Newarkon Lake Placid. without its challeng-973.762.5400es. There will be lots kwmtdr.comWorld and Italy, go ahead and cheatof travel time and waiting in lines, so Team Leader: Nekita@KellerWilliamsMTDR.comit may be the one place that look- be sure to bring a deck of cards, mag-Each office is independently owned and operated. Octavio Mendes, Broker of Record.ing at someone elses answers will benetic travel games, a family book, and celebrated. a mental roster of fun games like I Spy. But even if working with an expert,Bringingachild-friendlyguidebook you need to know the answer to someand/or maps may help your children basicquestions:Whatarethemainfeel more a part of the trip. And dont sights you want to see? Do you wantunderestimatethevalueofanaudio to go off the beaten path? How muchtour, especially for those young non-can your family tolerate in one day?readers.Do you want some down time? HowWhile the trip may not be a con-often do you like to eat a meal? stant roller coaster of fun and action, Remember, with kids you may haveallowing boredom to rear its ugly head todothemoretouristythingslikedoes not benefit anyone. Video games the Eiffel Tower. Big cities often offerand iPads can provide a good distrac-packages that include the hottest tour- tion, but a family vacation also means ist sites. Rubashkin suggests, Buy tick- puttingawaytheelectronicsanden-ets ahead of time, consider paying thejoyingtimeinteractingwithonean-fee for skipping the line, and go earlyother. Whether its Cancun for some or late in the day to avoid long waits.surf and sun, or the top of the Eiffel Considergoingoff-season,althoughTower, making lifelong family memo-the weather may not be ideal, for lowerries might just be worth the pain of prices. And, of course, prices are usu- planning the perfect vacation.ally hiked up during school breaks. So go ahead and buy a world map Oneofthemostimportantdeci- for your wall and put a pin in all the sions is where to stay, in terms of priceplacesyoullvisitbecause,asFerris point and location. While a prime lo- Buellersowiselyremindsus,Life cation will be pricier, you may save onmovesprettyfast.Ifyoudontstop transportationcostsandtime.Also,and look around for a while, you could moreexpensivehotelshaveconciergemiss it. Dont miss it.servicesthatcouldbehelpful.AndTamara Steckler is an enthusiastic plan-while some of the travel sites appear toner with high executivefunctioning and offer less costly hotel bills, often the ho- a super low tolerance for being 30,000 tel websites offer the same prices withfeetin the air.22/ matters magazine / summer 2022'