Ratgeber
Planning a holiday with grandparents and grandchildren
On a holiday with grandparents and grandchildren, short distances, enough space and a daily plan with shared and separate times count. Destinations such as Mallorca, Crete or Tyrol are well suited. Swiss Vibes is a Swiss travel agency with video consultations and plans such trips with you.
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Schritt für Schritt
- Discuss the wishes and health of all generations
- Decide on travel period and destination together
- Choose accommodation with space, privacy and accessibility
- Clarify costs and how they are split in advance
- Draw up a daily plan with shared and free times
- Check health and insurance questions
- Agree offers with your adviser
Checkliste
- Wishes of all generations collected
- Grandparents' health taken into account
- Accommodation with a lift or few stairs chosen
- Places of retreat available for each generation
- Cost split discussed in advance
- Programme with free times planned
- Grandparents' medication in hand luggage
- Travel insurance for everyone checked
- Valid ID for everyone
A holiday with grandparents and grandchildren works when each generation keeps its own privacy and pace. Choose a destination with short distances, accommodation with enough space and a programme that leaves time for both shared and separate hours.
What does each generation need?
Children want movement and variety, while grandparents appreciate calm and fixed mealtimes. Both can be combined if you divide the day into shared and separate times. An excursion in the morning, a break at midday and a shared dinner work well in many families. It helps if each generation names one fixed point that matters to them, and everyone else respects it.
Talk openly about wishes and limits before booking. Those who clarify early how much company each person wants avoid tension on site. Children benefit too, as they get to know their grandparents anew in a relaxed setting, without everyday stress.
Take time for an initial conversation. Anyone planning a trip for three generations quickly notices that wishes and habits differ.
Which destinations suit all generations?
Destinations with short distances and few differences in altitude are well suited. Mallorca and Crete offer beaches, promenades and restaurants close together, and the flight from Zurich takes, as a guide, around two to three hours. Both regions are also suitable because they offer accommodation of different sizes and price classes, from hotels to holiday houses.
If you skip the flight, Tyrol has walking trails for every pace, lakes and alpine huts. The weather in summer is usually mild but changeable. Also check whether the journey to the airport is easily doable for everyone involved, so that the trip is not already tiring at the start.
For air travel, also check the grandparents' journey, for example a transfer from the airport and help with luggage.
Which accommodation has space for everyone?
A house or a large apartment offers shared rooms and still privacy. Alternatively, hotels with connecting rooms or two rooms on the same floor work. Look for a lift or few stairs, a short walk to the beach and shade at the pool.
Ask hotels about accessibility if one person has limited mobility. A quiet room without noise from the bar can also be decisive for grandparents. With apartments, take a look at the floor plan, so that not everyone has to walk through the same room to reach the bathroom.
Ask about the position of the grandparents' room. A room on the ground floor or close to the lift makes everyday life much easier.
How do you share costs and responsibility?
Discuss before booking who pays for what. Some families split everything, in others the grandparents take on the flight or accommodation. Prices vary by season and category, so calculate together early. Extra costs such as a hire car or entry fees can also be organised in advance as a shared pot.
Also clarify who looks after the children, and whether the parents would like an evening alone. Such arrangements prevent misunderstandings.
Health and safety of the grandparents
Medication belongs in hand luggage, and a copy of the prescription makes sense. Discuss fitness to travel and health questions with your family doctor. On longer trips it is worth knowing the doctor and pharmacy at the destination from the moment you arrive.
Travel insurance covering all travellers is part of the planning. Check the terms carefully, current status with your insurer.
We advise by video call and, if you wish, also involve the grandparents.
What does a good day for everyone look like?
A good day starts without haste. Have breakfast together and then decide who does what. The children can go to the beach with one parent, the grandparents can go for a walk, and at midday everyone meets for lunch. That leaves time for each other without compulsion.
Plan excursions at the slowest pace. Those who plan too much at once overwhelm the grandparents and the children. Shorter routes, benches for resting and breaks in a café are not a stopgap, but part of the holiday.
Do not forget the evenings. A shared meal, a game or a walk creates memories that everyone likes to look back on. After that, the generations may separate again, each in their own space.
