Why Travel With Kids?
There are so many benefits of getting your kids out into the wider world.
We have a video explaining why travel with kids. We did it for the education. Maybe you just want a holiday, that’s cool too!
What Travel Styles Work With Kids?
Most travel styles work just fine with kids. Our travel style has included backpacking (tips on backpacking with kids here), luxury resorts, camping, glamping, cruise ships, package holidays, hotels, villas, trekking, tours and small group adventure holidays . We do it all! I think parents just have to have reasonable expectations. Once you become a parent life changes. It will also be changed when you travel.
Finding Family Accommodation
Hotels, hostels, guest houses and B & Bs have family rooms. It’s harder to find family rooms than rooms for 2 and if you have 3 kids or more it gets harder again, but family accommodation does exist. Now might be a good time to join AirBnb – you might want to rent an apartment or house, there are heaps on Airbnb. If you join here you get credits to use against your first stay.
Something else you may want to look into is home swapping, house sitting and Couchsurfing, maybe even working or volunteering . See our post on how to travel for free for more information on that.
How Much Does It Cost To Travel The World With A Family
I’m going to give you a ballpark figure of $50 – $100 US per day for a family of 4. Obviously it’s a very rough idea and this is for budget travel or long term travel. A lot depends on the age of your kids. Can you still take up 1 child stays free deals? Are you happy to bed share? How much do you eat and of what? What countries are you travelling in? And so on. In our first year we managed $50 / day in Asia but then by adding the UK, USA and 2 cruises, plus buying a lot of electronics, we came in at roughly $100 per day. We still find $100 per day comfortable in most parts of Asia ( not Singapore obviously) with teenagers. So that’s my guestimate. You may spend more, I’m not you and you’re not me, but know that we don’t scrimp and we like a few beers.
Keeping Kids Happy While Travelling
Maybe you’re worried that your kids won’t enjoy travelling? Well maybe they won’t, but mine did and do. My elder one pushes for adventure, my younger one still wants to visit theme parks. They both love hotels with buffets. Cruise ship buffets are a particular favourite. I think parents just have to make them enjoy it, fit in plenty of playground time, take them to the theme parks ( there are great theme parks all over the world, Malaysia, Singapore, the US, Paris, Germany – we’ve been to them all! ) and splurge on cake and ice cream. Your trip is as much for the kids as it if for you, so do what they enjoy.
My kids hate beaches and swimming pools, they love snorkelling and scuba diving, they enjoy zoos and most museums, they like some art galleries. Mostly they enjoy food, all and every food. You’ll find stuff for kids to enjoy, everywhere. I hereby challenge you to find a travel destination that’s not good to visit with kids, let me know! We’ve not found one yet, although Tibet was challenging.
How Do Families Afford To Travel?
How we saved for our first year of travel is in the posts below along with what that first year of family travel cost. The general rule for travelling families is – you make travel your priority, you cut the unnecessary spending and focus your financial efforts on the travel.
What Travel Gear Will You Need?
Well, this depends on you, your travel style, your destination and how much you want to carry. Most people pack way too much. Check out our travel gear page or our travel essentials page. You’ll find posts on specialised activities like trekking gear on our site too. Just remember that, usually, you can buy what you forgot at your destination.
How is Travel With Kids Different to Adult Travel?
It honestly doesn’t have to be that different at all. A lot depends on age, of course, but travelling with tweens and teens is a walk in the park – other than it’s expensive. Travelling with babies and toddlers can be more taxing, building in naps, feeds, nappies and feed times just as you would at home means travel may not be restful or easy going as it was when you were younger.
A very few hotels and hostels won’t take kids. Most do. If you want to book a group holiday or tour, you may have to find special family tours, but on the whole, there are few restrictions as to where you can take your kids. Ours have been to Everest Base Camp and to luxury resorts, they scuba dive and ski. Family travel really can take you almost anywhere.