Staying at a bed and breakfast is one way to ensure an affordable family vacation, but not all B&Bs are family-friendly.Finding a bed and breakfast that accepts kids, and an innkeeper who welcomes them, requires a little extra work on the part of a traveling mom.
The right accommodations, activities, location, pricing, food, and furnishings are all important in the search for a family-friendly bed and breakfast.
Here are six tips for finding the right bed and breakfast for a family vacation.
• Appropriate accommodations. Choose a bed and breakfast that offers a family suite, cabin or cottage. It will give you the extra space and privacy you need for a relaxing family vacation with less worry the other guests will complain about the noise your kids make.
• Look for built-in fun. Choose an inn that offers free use of games, puzzles, outdoor play equipment, cribs and even special children’s programs and/or babysitters.
• Location, location, location. Choose an inn with plenty of activities for good weather and bad–sand castles to build, boats to row, mountains to climb, farm animals to feed, horses to ride, and museums to visit.
• Be choosy about the food. Find innkeepers who understand that kids prefer teddy bear pancakes to eggs Benedict. A refrigerator for snacks and afternoon refreshments and a bottomless cookie jar are also good indicators the bed and breakfast is family-friendly.
• Go casual. Skip the bed and breakfasts that boast about their museum-quality antiques and select accommodations with sturdy, comfortable, kid-proof furnishings.
• Pay attention to ages. If the Web site does not specifically state the minimum age, call and ask before making a reservation. Some Bed and Breakfasts have an age minimum. For example, Southern Cross Ranch in Madison, Georgia, does not allow children under the age of 4, but 15 Acres Retreat in Quitman, Texas, has a minimum age of 13.
Visit www.BedandBreakfast.com for more information about saving money on B&Bs and to search for family-friendly B&Bs in the town you plan to visit on your next family vacation.
Hilary Thomas is an intern for TravelingMom.com
