Kids’ Summer Camp vs. Family Vacation

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I know it’s just the beginning of 2020. But, since I have my trips all laid out for the year, I’m in full-on planning mode for 2021 travel. And I’ve hit a snag.

My kids are interested in going to summer camp. Not the day camps near our house, but a legitimate sleepaway camp with lakes, cabins, etc. And if we decide to send them to summer camp, we need to forget about a big European vacation next summer.

Why Summer Camp?

My kids have always expressed an interest in going to summer camp. Our school district offers a 2-night camp for 5^thgraders, and both of my boys had a blast. My daughter can’t wait for her school camping trip in a few years.

But more recently, my oldest son went to an overnight tennis camp at a ranch over winter break. He would love to return over the summer, and my other two kids want to be included in the fun. The ranch has a non-tennis adventure camp that my younger son could do, and right next door there is a Christian camp for younger kids that offers a dance/gymnastics focus that my daughter would love.

I know that many families in our town send their kids to summer camp every year. Since neither my husband nor I never went to summer camp as kids, we’ve never thought about it for our kids. I’ve always been more focused on family travel.

An Idea Is Born

While we were discussing this, my husband had a brilliant idea. He thinks that we should go on a trip by ourselves while our kids are at camp. Since the camps we are considering are in Texas Hill Country, we could explore the area by ourselves. We’ve never visited many of the small, scenic towns in that area.

Maybe we start our week with a one-night stay at the adults-only Miraval Austin. I’ve been wanting to try this place!

Then, we could spend the night in some B&Bs in Marble Falls and Fredericksburg (one of CNN Travel’s Most Romantic Towns). The entire week, we’d be closer to our kids than if we drove back home for the week.

As most long-time readers of this blog know, none of our extended family members are willing to enjoy our kids for a week so that we can have a couples-only trip. This could be our chance to have that experience.

Balancing Summer Camp with Summer Travel

If we signed our kids up for summer camp next year, we would forego a big summer trip. Sure, we could use miles to fly to Europe, but we’d still have a lot of expenses with a condo rental, excursions, etc. I don’t think we could swing both in the same summer.

But, don’t feel too bad for our kids. We are going on a cruise next year for spring break, and we’d likely still go on a smaller trip later in the summer.

Do your kids go to summer camp? I’d love to hear your thoughts. What do you think they get out of summer camp? Are those memories just as precious as summer travel? What do you do while they’re away at camp?

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