As fuel prices continued to rise, more families are choosing to fly to their vacation destinations instead. And there are lots of advantages to flying, including relatively short travel times, no hotel costs on the trip, and more time actually spent on vacation. But if your kids are bored and unhappy, your flight can seem to take forever. So here are a few suggestions to help make flying with kids easier.

Of course, booking your flight well in advance, perhaps even six months or so beforehand, is always a good idea. It not only helps you save money, but also gives you plenty of time to plan ahead for the flight to help make it a success. You don’t want to be caught at the last minute trying to prepare for the flight and your vacation. It’s just too stressful, and that stress can often rub off on the kids. So plan things out well enough in advance to avoid last-minute rushing.

When you book the flight be sure to arrange your seating so that the whole family is able to sit together. You can almost guarantee a miserable flight if everybody is split up and not sitting together. And you certainly don’t want to have to beg and plead with your fellow passengers to get the seats you need at the last minute.

If your vacation destination requires a very long flight, it’s often a good idea to arrange a night flight if you have kids along. By flying at night the kids will often be tired and may sleep for a good part of the trip, allowing you to get some rest as well.

The less time spent waiting in line at the airport the better too. So before you leave home print your boarding passes out in advance if possible, or use available kiosks to get your passes as quickly as you can.

Packing is a major consideration for a family trip too. Remember that the more bags you have to take with you, the more possibility that one of them will be lost. So try to combine your kids baggage in with yours as much as possible to avoid having to try to run down a lost bag on the first day of your vacation.

And while we’re on the subject of packing, it’s probably a good idea to let your children take backpacks with them on the flight. Make sure that they have any special toys, or games that they enjoy in their backpacks. And just in case, you may want to take a few extra games with you in your carry-on luggage as backups. Other items that can help kids stay busy and involved on the flight are coloring books if they are very young, or maybe a portable DVD player that can keep them entertained while flying.

Finally, why not take along a few nutritious snacks for the flight just in case your kids get the munchies? Just try to avoid sugary snacks and drinks that can cause too much agitation on the flight.

Hopefully, some of the suggestions can help you plan your vacation flights with your kids so that everybody has a good time while traveling.

Thad Pickering writes on many consumer related topics including vacation travel. You can find out more about how to find consumervacationguide.com/discount-vacation-rentals.html beachfront vacation homes and consumervacationguide.com/index.html kaui vacation homes by visiting our Vacation Guide website.

“I’m coming home. I’ve been away too long. Been away so long. I’m coming home” – Ian Thomas, in Coming Home

I still recall my road warrior days. It seemed like every other week, I was hopping on a plane for Orlando or Vancouver or Palm Springs or Washington or Chicago or Toronto.

It might not be Rome, Paris, and Monte Carlo, but Washington, Toronto and Orlando are pretty classy places. I went to crucial meetings. I was an important person. I was a frequent flyer.

However, after a while, all the towns begin to look the same. One airport hotel looks amazingly like another. Surely the taxi driver in Washington and the taxi in Orlando were twins separated at birth. I was yearning to just stay put. I had had enough of hotels and restaurants

Traveling sounds glamorous until you have to do it over and over and over. Especially when you have a family, you want to spend some time at home between the episodes of jet lag. Comfort becomes a much bigger deal, and you want every place to feel like home.

You just can’t do that in a hotel. Not in a Marriott. Not in a Sheraton. Not in a Hilton.

I wish I knew then about two other options.

Private Vacation Homes (or rental villas)

Private vacation homes, known also as holiday homes or villas are essentially houses that rent on a weekly basis. They are not much help for fly-in meetings. For those, only an airport hotel will do.

But if you plan to be in town for the better part of the week, there is nothing like kicking back in your own private home – a rental home, of course.

“Hotel rooms are cramped; a villa is spacious with room to walk about. Hotel rooms have a TV and desk in the bedroom; a villa has surround sound TV and stereo with comfortable couches and chairs in various parts of the home. A hotel has a public pool; a villa has a private pool,” says Florida villas rental agent Stewart Granville. “It’s private. It’s comfortable. It’s like a home away from home.”

Mr. Granville notes that a vacation home rental also serves as an office away from home, with one room dedicated to the office. “In a villa, you don’t have to sit on your bed when you type those memos. And what a great way to entertain business contacts.”

Mr. Granville specializes in villas in America’s vacation heartland: Orlando, Florida. Business travelers often bring their family along to enjoy Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and other famous theme parks. The family plays while the business traveler works. When the meetings are over, they all head for Disney together, perhaps for another week. With family in tow, a private rental home makes much more sense than a crowded hotel room.

Bed and Breakfasts

Bed and Breakfasts are also an option. Although they do not offer the same privacy and space as villas, they are warmer and more homey than a hotel. And like a hotel, they rent by the night, not by the week.

Is a bed and breakfast for you? If a relaxing atmosphere is more important to you than room service, a bed and breakfast is for you, yes. They are comfortable and relaxing, so the business traveler can walk confidently into his meeting free from stress and worries.

Bed and Breakfasts are growing more popular for weekend getaways in the country, but most major urban centers have bed and breakfasts right in the heart of the city…and these are ideal for road-weary business travelers.

So forget about room service and the mint on the pillow. For a stay of several days, the business traveler can rent a spacious, private vacation villa. And for just a night or two, it’s a warm and comfortable bed and breakfast.

About The Author

David Leonhardt is a freelance writer, and an online and offline publicity specialist. Contact him at: mailto:info@thehappyguy.com” target=”_new mailto:info@thehappyguy.com

or visit his website at: thehappyguy.com” target=”_new thehappyguy.com

For Florida vacation villa rentals: lastminutevillas.net” target=”_new lastminutevillas.net

For Orlando vacation home rentals: orlandovillaowners.com” target=”_new orlandovillaowners.com

You can’t just tell people to take vacations and own the vacations, so they can always have them ,and take more vacations, more often. It’s just not enough. The most successful vacation ownership and timeshare sales professionals take time out to be authentic and fill their own scrapbooks with photos from their travels with family and loved ones. Successful people take vacations.

People can feel your excitement as you take them through your scrapbook. Just show them the trip you just came back from to Maui, Hawaii. As they look at your check-in photos and pictures from around the pool, and then you point out the direction you took around the island in your rental car, and then you talk about the real Luau, they want to take the next flight out to the islands.

As you continue to show the various beaches in Maui, your trip becomes more real and more exciting. Top off your explanation with the views from an oceanfront restaurant , overlooking the water, with the clear light air, enjoying the freshest of fresh “catches of the day” which was swimming in the Pacific waters just a few hours earlier, and finally the time has arrived for the sunset.

It takes a little time for the sun to set and as the sun lowers her head for the evening, the sky is painted the most beautiful of hues. It’s golden and orange light glimmers and makes you look even more beautiful. You could watch this site for hours, but unfortunately, it won’t last that long. So, get a half a dozen beautiful shots of the progression of this sunset. The memory will last a lifetime and the excitement and love you share with others about your wonderful vacation will increase your income for many months if not years. Sell the opportunity to make memories and make your own along the way.

Lori Wilk, MBA, is a Las Vegas Strip Performer, not a stripper. She makes daily humourous vacation ownership presentations on the Las Vegas Strip. She’s is an author of business and self-help books and host of the internet talk show “Successipes” at success-talk.com success-talk.com

If you enjoyed this article, syndicate me, add me to your web site, send me an e-mail, or go to loriwilkarticles.com loriwilkarticles.com

c.2007 Lori Wilk. All rights reserved Worldwide. Reprint rights: You may reprint this article if you do not alter it in any way, give author name recognition, keep all links active, and follow ezine articles guidelines for publishers.

A visit to Salisbury can be enjoyable at any time of the year. A city with a real sense of history, its Medieval and Tudor buildings have changed little over hundreds of years.

There is much you can enjoy in a relaxing fashion whilst wandering around the City.

View the City from the Cathedral Spire

This 13th century Cathedral with the tallest spire in Britain, at 123 metres, is just one of the historic delights you can enjoy. Take a tour of the tower, and enjoy views of the city and surrounding water meadows that so inspired the painter Constable.

Lovers of embroidery and textiles will enjoy the “Close Threads” exhibition in the nearby Cathedral Close.

The Oldest Hotel in Britain

Unwind with a relaxing afternoon tea, refreshing drink or light lunch in the enclosed garden of the Red Lion Hotel. Once a 17th Century Coaching Inn, this was originally built as a hotel for the draughtsmen creating drawings of the Cathedral over 750 years ago.

Follow in the footsteps of Kings

Visit Malmesbury House in the Cathedral House, a 13th century home within the walls of the Cathedral Close. This is where King Charles II hid in 1765 to escape the plague and the composer Handel gave his first English concert in the chapel above the St Anne gate. As this remains a family home, you can only view the interior by appointment.

Enjoy lunch in a medieval home

Perhaps you prefer eating in a modern restaurant, surrounded by history. Try the fresh linguini at Prezzos Italian restaurant, housed in one of the oldest Tudor beamed houses in the city. Step out of the door and walk across the cobbled street to the National Trust shop for some typically English gifts and mementos.

Cream tea by the River

Just off the market place and within 5 minutes of the Cathedral you can enjoy a traditional English cream tea. Freshly baked homemade plain scones with clotted cream and a choice of jam are served for morning coffee, lunch or afternoon tea at the Polly tearooms. Walking along the banks of the Avon river towards the central car park, you’re likely to see some of the swans that make their home here.

Visit the Ancient Site of Stonehenge

A bus or taxi will take you from the train station to nearby Stonehenge (less than 10 miles away). A World Heritage Site, this is a must-see for any visitor to the area.

Short Term Rental Properties in Salisbury

You can find holiday cottage rentals in Salisbury or one of the delightful surrounding villages by contacting the Tourism Office, or you can find several pretty village properties at www.holiday-rentals.co.uk

However long you decide to stay, you’ll find there’s much to do, both in the city and surrounding towns and villages.

Jen is also writer for the toujours-provence.com/villas-in-provence.html Toujours Provence website, offering villa rentals in Provence.