For many families, summer vacation is a multi-generational affair, and, careful planning may be in order to accommodate older family members so that everyone is safe and comfortable and able to enjoy themselves.

For those traveling with aging parents, here are a few tips that I have discovered along the way:

Consider going to a familiar city – When my mother was ill, but, still able to travel, I found that going to a familiar city was less stressful for me, since we already knew our way around, and where the grocery stores and restaurants were.

Familiarize yourself with health care in the area – Especially when we traveled with my parents, I always took a few minutes to find out the location of the nearest and best hospitals in the area, and occasionally planned our destination to coincide with the better hospitals in the area when my mother was sick. It’s not something you have to think about through the entire vacation, but just have the information handy.

Find out the exact layout of your accommodations – In addition to considering basic handicapped access issues, we’ve found that a unit or house with one bedroom, preferably with a bathroom, set apart from the others is best for multi-generational housing.

Consider distance from the elevator and steps – if you are staying somewhere with multiple units, and are traveling with an ambulatory older person, it’s beneficial to be as close to the elevator as you can. Also, find out if there are steps to negotiate and how many.

Plan for home health care needs at the same level as at home – If your aging family member has home health services, you can still travel, but you need to consider that vacation is probably not the time to have less help than you are already receiving at home. For example, my mother traveled with oxygen. It took some planning, but we were able to arrange oxygen delivery at the beach right after a hurricane. Sites such as OxygeNation often have travel tips. Whatever your needs, such as large equipment like a wheelchair, the first thing you should do is talk to your home health agency, they may even have branches in your destination city. Or, you might contact a local hospital for home health recommendations.

Check and double check medications – make sure there’s enough to last, and that all medicines are labeled with dosage. Additionally, keep a list of their medications and dosages in your wallet or purse in case of emergency.

Post the address and phone number of your location, and any local emergency numbers by the phone when you arrive at your destination – Better to have it available and not need it, than to have to produce it in an emergency.

Though it may be different from the travel routine you’re used to, with a little planning, everyone can go along for the fun.

Any tips to add? Please do share them.