Tidy Up Your Travel Itinerary

A Broadway-Inspired Blueprint for Saner Family Travel

We plan our travel days like Broadway shows. Act One kicks off in the morning with one major, high-energy activity. Intermission hits midday with snacks, rest, and a solid playground runaround. Act Two finishes things off with something low-key—a ferry ride, a scenic walk, or a museum visit that won’t end in tears. (From us. Or the museum docents.)

It’s structured enough to keep things flowing, flexible enough to survive meltdowns, and repeatable enough to work on day trips, long weekends, or full-blown vacations. We’ve used it everywhere from local outings to our new favorite—cruises. (Yes, we took our girls on their first cruise last spring break. And yes, we’ve already booked the next one. $1,500 for the week? Get on it.)