What type of family vacation is best for you?
Hit the beach
Beach vacations are a slam-dunk option for families with a wide age range. At the beach, grandma can enjoy watching her 3-year-old grandson play in the sand while an older child or teen tries standup paddle boarding with mom or dad. Some water sports are age-specific — teens gravitate toward Jet-Skiing and surfing while parents may prefer kayaking. But others are compatible for all ages, like snorkeling or heading out on the open water in a rented fishing boat or houseboat. Can't-miss family beach destinations include L.A., San Diego, Honolulu, Tampa and Fort Lauderdale, but don't rule out cities on the Great Lakes, like Chicago, which boasts 27 beaches.
Head for the hills
Trips to the mountains are ideal for high-energy school-age kids who like outdoor activities such as hiking, backpacking, river rafting and fishing — as long as their parents do too. As documented in the 2005 bestseller Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder, kids are spending less and less time in nature, so a vacation is the perfect time to reconnect to the outdoors Cities that are close to a multitude of mountain trails include Denver and Colorado Springs (near the Rockies), Reno (near Lake Tahoe and the Sierras), Knoxville, Tennessee (near the Great Smoky Mountains), Burlington, Vermont (near the Green Mountains), and Seattle and Portland (near the Cascade Range).
Sightsee in the city
The main advantage of visiting a big city as a family is the abundance of options — there are so many places to go and things to do, all within a few miles. Far from being "only for adults," large cities are terrific destinations for kids too. In almost every major city, parents can choose from a kid-friendly science or natural history museum (usually including a planetarium), a big zoo, a spacious city park with outdoor activities, an aquarium, a theme park or water park, and often a choice of beaches and boat rides. Which city is best? It depends. For museum lovers, it's Washington, D.C. For Hollywood lovers, it's L.A. For history lovers, it's Boston.
Focus on family
Infants, toddlers and preschoolers can make travel extra difficult, but parents can minimize the stress by accepting that invitation from out-of-state relatives to "come visit any time!" Even if there's no guest room, visitors can stay at a nearby hotel, motel or vacation-rental cottage. They can then enjoy the hospitality of their hosts, who will probably insist on some home-cooked meals together — knowing that restaurants and 2-year-olds don't usually mix — and visits to the family-friendly local spots. The relatives may even offer to babysit the little ones so their parents can enjoy a rare date night.
Venturing abroad
Traveling abroad can be adventurous, broadening and even life-changing—and that's equally true for kids. Parents who take their kids along to a foreign country are giving them a precious gift—an experience they will grow from, learn from and remember far more than a domestic trip. Older kids, especially if they're curious about the world, are best suited for such trips because they'll appreciate cultural differences more than young kids and the trip will leave more of an impression. Some of the safest and most family-friendly countries and regions worth considering are Costa Rica, Japan and Western Europe.
If you go
Visit united.com or use the United app to plan your family vacation destination on United Airlines.
Hit the beach
Beach vacations are a slam-dunk option for families with a wide age range. At the beach, grandma can enjoy watching her 3-year-old grandson play in the sand while an older child or teen tries standup paddle boarding with mom or dad. Some water sports are age-specific — teens gravitate toward Jet-Skiing and surfing while parents may prefer kayaking. But others are compatible for all ages, like snorkeling or heading out on the open water in a rented fishing boat or houseboat. Can't-miss family beach destinations include L.A., San Diego, Honolulu, Tampa and Fort Lauderdale, but don't rule out cities on the Great Lakes, like Chicago, which boasts 27 beaches.
Head for the hills
Trips to the mountains are ideal for high-energy school-age kids who like outdoor activities such as hiking, backpacking, river rafting and fishing — as long as their parents do too. As documented in the 2005 bestseller Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder, kids are spending less and less time in nature, so a vacation is the perfect time to reconnect to the outdoors Cities that are close to a multitude of mountain trails include Denver and Colorado Springs (near the Rockies), Reno (near Lake Tahoe and the Sierras), Knoxville, Tennessee (near the Great Smoky Mountains), Burlington, Vermont (near the Green Mountains), and Seattle and Portland (near the Cascade Range).
Sightsee in the city
The main advantage of visiting a big city as a family is the abundance of options — there are so many places to go and things to do, all within a few miles. Far from being "only for adults," large cities are terrific destinations for kids too. In almost every major city, parents can choose from a kid-friendly science or natural history museum (usually including a planetarium), a big zoo, a spacious city park with outdoor activities, an aquarium, a theme park or water park, and often a choice of beaches and boat rides. Which city is best? It depends. For museum lovers, it's Washington, D.C. For Hollywood lovers, it's L.A. For history lovers, it's Boston.
Focus on family
Infants, toddlers and preschoolers can make travel extra difficult, but parents can minimize the stress by accepting that invitation from out-of-state relatives to "come visit any time!" Even if there's no guest room, visitors can stay at a nearby hotel, motel or vacation-rental cottage. They can then enjoy the hospitality of their hosts, who will probably insist on some home-cooked meals together — knowing that restaurants and 2-year-olds don't usually mix — and visits to the family-friendly local spots. The relatives may even offer to babysit the little ones so their parents can enjoy a rare date night.
Venturing abroad
Traveling abroad can be adventurous, broadening and even life-changing—and that's equally true for kids. Parents who take their kids along to a foreign country are giving them a precious gift—an experience they will grow from, learn from and remember far more than a domestic trip. Older kids, especially if they're curious about the world, are best suited for such trips because they'll appreciate cultural differences more than young kids and the trip will leave more of an impression. Some of the safest and most family-friendly countries and regions worth considering are Costa Rica, Japan and Western Europe.
If you go
Visit united.com or use the United app to plan your family vacation destination on United Airlines.
From Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, the U.S. celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month, a chance to pay tribute to the history, culture and contributions that generations of Latinxs have paved to enrich U.S. history. It is also a reminder to celebrate our differences and spark difficult, yet important, conversations.
To kick off the month, UNITE, our multicultural business resource group for employees, did just that by hosting a panel discussion about the immigrant experience and what it means to be an immigrant in the U.S.
United Litigation and Managing Counsel Elizabeth Lopez, who is a pro bono immigration attorney, moderated the panel, and was joined by Ashley Huebner, Associate Director of Legal Services at the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) and Magdalena Gonzalez, Program Manager, Leadership Development Programs at Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement. The three women shared their insights and personal stories, while addressing some misconceptions and highlighting the contributions of immigrants to our company and country.
"I started to notice that there were things I was scared of doing, that I needed to be cautious," said Magdalena while sharing her personal experience as a DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipient. "My friends, who a majority of them are citizens, did not need to worry about that. As I was able to see that, I realized that, 'oh, there's so many things that revolve around not just being a DACA recipient but revolve around being a person with an undocumented status here in the United States.'"
United maintains a close relationship with the NIJC. In May of 2019, United co-hosted an asylum clinic put on by the legal services organization, where several attorneys and legal professionals were trained on representing asylum-seeking applicants. At the end of the clinic, members of our legal department were assigned an asylum case through the NIJC.
Litigation Managing Counsel Elizabeth Lopez, Commercial Transactions Counsel Tiffany Jaspers, Global Compliance and Ethics Counsel Nancy Jacobson and Employment Litigation Senior Manager Dorothy Karpierz were partnered with attorneys from the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery to take on an immigration case of a mother of three from Honduras. Recently, after a years-long court battle, the legal team was victorious, changing the life of the woman and her family.
United is committed to connecting people and uniting the world. Whether you're an immigrant, a child of immigrants or simply want to learn more about the immigrant experience in the U.S., discussions like these, related to this hot-button issue, are important to have in order to understand the human lives behind it.
Since its launch 20 years ago, Year Up, one of our critical needs grant recipients, has helped more than 10,000 young adults gain access to corporate business and technical experience at large companies like United while offering the invaluable perspectives they bring with them.
On Wednesday, the nonprofit inducted United into its Opportunity Hall of Fame – a selection that occurs once every five years.
Year Up's mission is to help close the opportunity divide by providing urban young adults with the skills, experience and support that will empower them to reach their potential through professional careers and higher education. Since 2018, our partnership has allowed talented student learners the opportunity to gain corporate business experience and technical skill training at the airline while bringing their unique perspectives to our United family and culture. One of those students is Emily Lopez, who graduated from the Year Up program in January 2019 and was hired to be part of the United family as an analyst in Revenue Management.
"I moved from Venezuela to the United States in July 2016 and being a young immigrant with no resources can be difficult to pursue a career in a new country," said Emily.
After learning about Year Up and ultimately being accepted into the program, Emily landed an internship with United, an opportunity she is very grateful for.
"Feedback from my mentors, coaches and managers was key during my internship phase and helped me convert my internship at United to a full-time position. I am grateful for the opportunity United has provided me and my Year Up Alumni colleagues to keep building a professional career within the company. I am so excited to continue building a professional career with the company and to see United being inducted to Year Up's Hall of Fame. Let's continue closing the opportunity divide!" said Emily.
Although the coronavirus pandemic has made this year's partnership a bit more difficult, we continue to do our part to support the Year Up student learners. Last month, we surprised 145 graduates of this year's Year Up Chicago program with roundtrip tickets to pursue career and networking opportunities within the United States.
"I've been personally honored and inspired to be an advocate for Year Up since I joined United," said CEO Scott Kirby. "This program gives young people from challenged backgrounds an opportunity to get their foot in the door as interns at United. This year's graduates are entering a challenging job landscape, but we have one thing that can help: a route network that provides easy access to major business markets across the United States."
