family travel year

12 Unique Ways To Take A Family Gap Year With Kids

It has been nearly 12 months since we returned from our trip around the world with kids. I have been reminiscing a little about the trip lately and thought it would be great to share stories from others who have taken a family gap year with kids.

What amazes me when reading this collection of inspiring family sabbatical ideas is just how many different options there are for taking a break from work to travel the world with kids.

If you are thinking of taking a career break, wondering what to do in a gap year, or just love reading about world travel with kids, you are in for a treat. Here are the stories of 12 families who chose to step out of the everyday for a family trip around the world.

• 1 What Is A Gap Year?
• 2 Family Gap Year Ideas
• 3 Travel The World With Kids
• 4 Family Sabbatical In Africa
• 5 Trip Around The World With Older Kids
• 6 A Family Gap Year with Kids
• 7 World Travel With Kids
• 8 (Half) A Gap Year At Sea
• 9 Living Abroad For A Year With Family
• 10 Gap Year in Asia
• 11 World Travel With Teenagers
• 12 Taking A Career Break With A Toddler
• 13 Travel During Maternity Leave
• 14 A Gap Year In Europe and the Americas
• 15 Family Gap Year Off The Beaten Path

What Is A Gap Year?

Taking a gap year, also known as taking a sabbatical or simply taking a break from work, is at its core, taking time out to do something different.

While it is classified as a year, for many people gap year travel may be 3 months, a six month sabbatical, 12 months or 2 years!

So what is a sabbatical with kids all about? It is about stepping back, taking a break or trying a different path. For many people they take the opportunity to travel, but even this can take many forms, as you will see in the stories below.

As the nature of work continues to evolve and more people find themselves changing careers multiple times in their working life, the opportunity to take a career break and plan a family gap year becomes more possible.

Family Gap Year Ideas

Naturally the first question that pops into your mind once you start thinking about a gap year with kids is what to do during a gap year?

Some families travel around the world, many take a long, slow lap of their home country. Others work overseas for a year, some take a family gap year volunteering or enjoy living abroad for a year with family in a new country.

The family travel options really are endless. Which is why I asked families from all around the world who have taken this special journey to share their family gap year stories with you.

What is so great about these stories is that it quickly becomes clear there is no best age for a family gap year and there is no limit to family gap year destinations.

So grab a cup of tea (or a glass of wine), settle in and enjoy reading these round the world trip ideas.  And let us know your thoughts in the comments below too!

If you are planning your own Gap Year, check out our Family Gap Year Guide for all our latest posts for planning a Gap Year With Kids

Travel The World With Kids

Nicky from Go Live Young Length of Trip: 9 Months Age of Kids: 8, 10 and 12 years old Instagram: @goliveyoung

Nine Months Around the World With Go Live Young

In 2016/17 we undertook a nine month round the world trip with kids as a family of five. Our three boys were 8, 10 and 12 at the time of travel. We spent just three months planning our trip and organising our lives in the UK.

Our route took us from the UK to China, and then on to SE Asia through Singapore, Thailand, Myanmar, Bhutan, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Indonesia. From here we travelled on to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji, before heading home via the USA, South Africa and Mauritius.

It was the most amazing trip: 15 countries visited, 28,000 miles and countless memories made. We stayed in all manor of accommodations, including hostels, guest houses, homestays, boats, and trains..

Transport was varied, including the obvious planes, trains, buses and boats, but also a camper van for a month in New Zealand, a yacht in the Whitsunday Islands in Australia and even camels!

We moved around a lot, spending mostly two or three nights in a place, although we did stay for a week or more, in certain locations around the world. We had a lot to see in our nine months away!

Our trip was all about family time and exploring the world together, building life long memories. We had some of the most amazing experiences, trekking with Komodo Dragons in Indonesia, walking the Great Wall of China, seeing the Big 5 on safari in South Africa and hiking to Tiger’s Nest Monastery in Bhutan.

We have since returned to the UK and are now settled back home in Wales. The children have all gone back to school, and work and “normal activity” has resumed.

We are tremendously lucky to have had this opportunity and look back on our trip as the best time together we’ve had as a family.

Transfer money internationally with ease with Wise .

Wise is an online money transfer service which lets you quickly and easily transfer money much more cheaply than a bank. We use and love Wise!

Click here to find out more

Family Sabbatical In Africa

Jenny from Travelynn Family Length of Trip: 3.5 months Age of Kids: 2 and 4 years old Instagram : @travelynnfamily

With money from a voluntary redundancy, our boys not yet in school, and a random opportunity to rent Land Rover at a discount, the stars had aligned for a true adventure of a lifetime.

So in March this year, we left our home in Bangalore (where we had been living as expats) and set off for 101 days to overland Africa in a Land Rover Defender. Our boys were just 2 and 4 years old at the time and we had no 4×4 experience whatsoever.

Our journey started in South Africa, and took us through Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, Namibia, and back to South Africa again.

We were all up to date on travel vaccinations from living in India, and took anti-malarials for the entire trip.

We slept in roof tents on the Land Rover, self-catered, and always camped in secure campsites. There were some seriously challenging moments with corrupt officials wanting bribes and deteriorated roads from a severe wet season.

But the incredible experiences we shared as a family along the way – wildlife encounters, epic landscapes, meetings locals, and camping under the African stars each night – made for the best experience of our lives.

Check out our post – FAQ: Self drive Africa overland with kids – to get the full low down about this trip.

After our African adventures we returned to the UK, but moved to a new area and set up a new life in the Peak District. We’re currently enjoying lots of shorter trips throughout Europe, but already plotting the next big adventure…

If you would like to explore Africa on a budget, find out how in this post on our self drive safari budge t in Botswana.

Trip Around The World With Older Kids

Kellie from 4 Worn Passports Length of Trip:  5 months Age of Kids:  12 and 14 years old Instagram: @4wornpassports

We took a family gap (half) year when our girls were in middle school. We knew we wanted to take them to every continent except Antarctica before they finished high school.

Once we really got to looking at all the places we wanted to go and the optimal times to visit (Australia and New Zealand in the North American winter months), we knew two-week vacations just weren’t going to cut it.

So we withdrew our girls for half of their 7th and 8th grade years for a whirlwind trip around the world.

Our destinations spanned 10 countries across three continents–Europe, Asia, and Australia. We stayed in 44 different places over 131 nights. That averages 3 nights per location. We were on the move!

Although our girls normally attend public school, they “world-schooled” during our big trip whenever we had free WI-FI. We met our state homeschooling requirements by doing the following:

• Math & Science—online curriculum
• English & Social Studies—they read historical fiction and biographies based on the countries we were visiting, and wrote & published articles on our blog about all the things they were learning.

Middle school is the perfect time for a family gap year. The kids are old enough to engage, appreciate, and REMEMBER the adventure, yet young enough to manage being away from friends.

Although, our 14 year old was convinced we were “ruining her life” at the time, she is now a freshman in college and will be the first to say it was the greatest gift we ever gave her.

Our younger daughter is now a senior in high school, and we’ve decided to do it once again. She will miss seven weeks of school in January and February for one last epic family trip. To see where this adventure takes us, be sure to follow our blog, 4WornPassports.com

But most importantly, don’t miss the opportunity to explore the world with your children while you can!

Read Next: Best travel gifts for kids

A Family Gap Year with Kids

Rachel from Adventure and Sunshine Length of Trip: One year Age of Kids: 8 and 10 years old Instagram:  @adventuresandsunshine

Our family gap year was a reaction to the endless loop of work and not enough play. After many years of short trips slotted in around work we were desperate to set off with a backpack and plenty of time.

So last year we packed up our lives, left our jobs, rented our house, sold the car and set off on a trip around the world with our kids who were 10 and 8 years old.

In 12 months we visited 30 countries on 4 continents in a RTW trip. Our major stops were Japan, India, Botswana, South Africa, Europe, USA and Vietnam. We worked out that on average we moved every 2.5 days! You can read more about our family gap year itinerary here .

We travelled by campervan in Europe , 4wd in Africa, RV in the USA and tuk tuk in Asia. We stayed in all kinds of places, watched sunrise at the Taj Mahal, admired Paris from the top of the Eiffel Tower and stared in awe at the Grand Canyon.

On returning home we took time to explore the amazing Australian Outback and can’t wait to return. The gap year changed us all in different ways but one thing that hasn’t change is our desire to explore more and travel whenever we can.

If you are considering an RV Trip compare prices worldwide with Motorhome Republic.

World Travel With Kids

Melissa from The Family Voyage Length of Trip:  13 Months Age of Kids:  3.5 and 6 years old Instagram: @thefamilyvoyage

Our family left our home in Los Angeles in September 2017 and we’ve been (mostly) traveling every since! At the time of our departure, our kids were 3.5 and almost 6.

Our travel speed varied as we went but generally got slower the longer we traveled – there’s only so much you can compress into a few days when you’re going for a whole year, there’s a ton to plan and we got a little tired of re-packing our backpacks every few days.

While we stayed in hotels now and then, we mostly stayed in GuesttoGuest home exchange properties – all the comforts of home with none of the costs.

We planned out the first half of our family gap year itinerary before our departure, but left the second half open to give ourselves flexibility as we went.

We kicked off our travels by driving cross-country to visit my family in Washington DC, with plenty of stops to visit family and friends along the way.

When we left the country we headed south to spend two months in Panama, Chile and Argentina – Patagonia was a real highlight of our travels!

Our longest flight on record took us all the way across the Pacific to New Zealand, where we spent six weeks road tripping the country from north to south, and then to Australia for seven weeks in which we visited five states.

Once we felt confident that temperatures in the northern hemisphere were warming up again, we spent several weeks in Thailand – we had initially planned more time elsewhere in Asia, but had to shift our plans and headed to Europe.

The great thing about traveling around Europe these days is the availability of low-cost flights and we used that to our great advantage. We spent our spring in Barcelona, Morocco, Rome and Greece before hopping to Israel for six weeks.

Why six weeks in Israel? First, because there’s so much to do; second, we have a deep network of family and friends there and it was a wonderful opportunity for the kids to connect with them and for all of us to slow down and soak in the experience.

We wrapped up our international travels with a week in Switzerland and three weeks of road tripping around France (primarily to visit friends that we met in New Zealand and then reunited with in Australia and Thailand).

After returning to my family in DC and spending several weeks there, we drove back across America and spent several weeks visiting National Parks of the west. We returned to LA 370 days after our departure!

Related: 4 week US Road Trip Itinerary With Kids

(Half) A Gap Year At Sea

Dawn from 5 Lost Together Length of Trip:  6 months Age of Kids:  3, 5 and 7 years old Instagram: @5losttogether

When I was a teenager in the ‘90s, my parents took us out of school for a couple of years to sail between Canada and the Bahamas. It was a life changing time for me that showed me that there was a world beyond the rat race of life and planted my love for travel.

Fast forward to 2015, when I decided I wanted my own children to experience life living aboard a sailboat. Luckily for us, my parents had continued with the sailing lifestyle and had a small (42 foot) sailboat in the Bahamas.

Our family of 5 (kids aged 3, 5, 7) were able to borrow their boat for 6 months and had a fantastic time exploring the beautiful islands of the Bahamas.

I had to re-learn how to sail, navigate, anchor and my husband, who had no sailing experience, gamely took on learning the ropes.

Aside from spending days in the beautiful gorgeous Bahamian water, walking the endless beaches and meeting other salty sailors, living aboard allowed us to spend tons of time together as a family.

Our days were spent outside, we had to be self sufficient in producing and conserving our own electricity and water, and living in a small space forced us to be minimalists.

We have travelled all over the world with our kids, but the time we spent living on the sailboat was my absolute favourite. Our 6 months was a trial run to see if we wanted to continue with that lifestyle and it was definitely successful.

Unfortunately, things can and do go wrong when you travel.

World Nomads offers coverage for more than 150 activities as well as emergency medical, lost luggage, trip cancellation and more.

Living Abroad For A Year With Family

Sharon from Dive Into Malaysia Length of Trip:  13 months Age of Kids:  2 and 4 years old Facebook: @diveintomalaysia

We spent 13 months on a family gap year with our two kids (and a third cooking by the time we came home!) who were 2 and 4 when we left home in Melbourne, Australia.

We realised from the beginning that travelling all the time was not for us. We had travelled with the kids previously and knew it could get quite full on. Our oldest is also very social and we knew she would want friends.

In addition to this, we were also wanting to build our blog into a business and we knew we needed kid free time for that to happen.

So we decided to make a home in Penang, Malaysia that we would travel from. It was perfect for us. When we were in Penang, we had a somewhat normal life with work, preschool and a nice home.

However, it was still a life that was very different to being at home with great food and many different things to do. We travelled regularly including a stint in the middle of 3.5 months in Europe over their summer.

We also made it to many other countries and had a fabulous time. This was the perfect balance for us and is exactly how we would do it again except with maybe 6 weeks as longest period we would travel for.

The best part is that it really gave us a taste of what it is like living in another country and gave us the time to come home with a successful business.

The whole year was a win in every way and now we have the perfect souvenir with our third child!

Gap Year in Asia

Lisa from FlipFlopGlobetrotters Length of Trip:  10 months Age of Kids:  17 months Instagram: @flipflopglobetrotters

In March 2015 we packed our bags for a year of long term travel with family. Our little boy was 17 months at the time. We’ve always had the dream of traveling for a longer period. Of course, there’s never a ‘good’ time to go, jobs always get in the way.

But in 2015 the stars finally aligned. Not only did we plan to travel, but we actually wanted to do a test run and see if full-time travel was an option for us.

Because we love the region and because our budget would last longer, we decided to travel around South East Asia.

We started our trip in Dahab, Egypt where we own a holiday house. The time right before our departure was quite stressful with working a lot and packing up our house. Dahab is our second home, so the perfect place to relax before heading off to South East Asia.

Bali seemed like a safe place to start. We spend two months there and then moved on to North Sulawesi, Vietnam, Sri Lanka , Philippines and Thailand, with a few short stays in Kuala Lumpur in between.

Our little boy thrived during our trip and we had a blast too. We chose to spend at least a month per country and between 5 days and 2 weeks per location. It never seemed enough!

We did one house exchange on Bali and the rest of the time we stayed in Airbnb apartments or hotels.

Family circumstances reduced our year of travel to 10 months and are now forcing us to keep The Netherlands as a home base.

So currently we travel around Europe on shorter trips and keep dreaming of becoming a digital nomad family in the future. And we’ll always remember our 10 months of travel, it was the best decision we ever made!

Read Next: Best Gifts for Road Trippers

World Travel With Teenagers

Liz from It’s a Drama Length of Trip:  12 months Age of Kids:  14 and 16 years old Facebook: @itsadrama

Last year I had what can only be described as a mid-life crisis. I persuaded my husband to sell his business, we rented our house in New Zealand and we informed our two teenagers, then aged 16 and 13, that we would be backpacking and travel the world for a year.

Due to the fact that we had limited funds, we became part of the online community of Couch surfers for the majority of the trip.

Couchsurfing.

As you can imagine my teenager’s first reaction was not one of joy. Especially my daughter who, after only ever having known her princess and the pea bed, was now expected to sleep on a strangers couch in a foreign country.

For those of you who haven’t heard of Couchsurfing, it looks like this: You sign up to the Couch surfers website, you pick a country or city that you wish to visit and from there you use the filters to choose a host.

You might choose someone who also has kids or who hosts with similar interests to you. Couchsurfing is wonderful! It is a fabulous way to meet local people and to visit a country without feeling like a tourist. And of course, it is free.

If you would like to read more about the dramas we experienced Couchsurfing the world with our two kids you can read my post Couchsurfing with teenagers. The good, the bad and the bucket. I warn you though, some of it isn’t pretty!

Travelling the world with our two teenagers for a year has been the best thing I have ever done. In my life.

My only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner. Yes, there were hormones galore and no; I didn’t always keep calm – but hey! That’s what makes the travel life as exciting as it is!

Related : Best road trip activities for kids

Taking A Career Break With A Toddler

Leona from Wandermust Family Length of Trip:  4 months Age of Kids:  18 months Instagram: @wandermustfamily

At the start of 2018 we took a natural break point in our careers as we moved countries to do a four month round the world trip with our toddler.

Our trip covered China, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, South Pacific, US National Parks and Iceland. I have to say we didn’t set our itinerary in the most practical way – everywhere is on our list so we didn’t have set places we had to go to.

Therefore both my husband and I picked one place off our bucket list – we couldn’t have picked further apart. Wandermust Daddy picked New Zealand and I picked Iceland. Not the most logical way to plan a round the world trip but it worked for us!

The speed of our travel was probably slightly quicker than we would have liked but we only had a limited time to do our trip.

One of the unique things we did was take a cruise from New Zealand to Hawaii! This was so we could see as many of the Pacific islands as we could and also to reduce jetlag for our toddler.

We really like having a room to call our own for an extended period and it was great for my toddler to come back to the same place for awhile! For our next bit trip (date tbd) we would like to do it in a RV for the same reasons.

For us some of the best parts of our trips were being outdoors as a family and our favourite things including walking the Great Wall of China, visiting national parks and chasing waterfalls in Iceland!

For our next trip we definitely will be prioritising outdoor adventures and getting even further off the beaten path!

Related : Top tips for hiking with kids

Travel During Maternity Leave

Tina-Louise from Single Mum Travels Length of Trip:  4 months Age of Kids:  4 months and 10 years old Instagram:  @singlemumtravels

I’m Tina-Louise, the author and writer of Single Mum Travels. I like to pick up the kids and go globetrotting for weeks and months at a time to all kinds of destinations around the world.

This year we backpacked throughout Asia and Africa for 4 months. I took the family travelling during my 1 year maternity leave where I work as a product development manager in London. The kids were 10 years and 4 months old at the time.

We adventured in temples and played with elephants in Northern Thailand, hopped across to Vietnam travelling North to South, then over to Indonesia swimming with turtles. We then travelled to Laos, Malaysia and Cape Verde in Africa.

We stayed mainly in hotels and travelled by plane and boat. On average we spent about 1 week in each location before we moved on, and spent an average of 3 weeks per country.

I always save for my travels, it’s something I’ve always done throughout my life.  I adventured into the Amazon rain forest and Macchu Pichu when my son was 4 and had the wildest adventure. We’ve been to over 29 countries, including the Middle East.

Travelling pushes you out of your comfort zone, trying new things and new experiences is a lively way to live. You get to interact with so many kind and helpful people from all over the world. This is our life and were looking forward to doing it all over again in 2019!

A Gap Year In Europe and the Americas

Lori from Fitz5 on the go Length of Trip:  12 months Age of Kids:  3, 6 and 10 years old Instagram: @fitz5onthego

Late in 2016 my husband and I started looking over some of our bills and we realized it was cheaper to travel and not live in our home town – so we decided to travel for a year with family and take a gap year with our kids age 3,6 and 10 in tow.

We rented the house (for a little profit), pulled the kids out of school and set off on a year long adventure.

To save more money we spent our summers with family (that just happened to live at the beach). Starting in August we took 2 weeks camping and traveling up the Oregon Coast finishing just north of Ladysmith Canada. We found a wonderful waterfront condo to spend the month.

Next we flew down to Costa Rica for 6 weeks (5 days in La Fortuna, 5 in Tortuguero, and 1 month in the mountains of Pursical).

After a short break we were off to Copenhagen for December, 5 days in Morocco, 5 days in Lagos Portugal then 6 weeks in Olvera Spain (that we used as a home base to explore Seville, Cordoba, Ronda and Granada).

We took a short ski break in the Sierra Nevada mountains then off to Lisbon before flying to Ireland. In Ireland we spent 3 weeks near the ring of Kerry and Killarney and 3 weeks on Hook Head Peninsula.

We saved money by eating mostly at home and by staying a month at several places then shorter stays at the more expensive locations.

We lived off of my husband’s project management income as he worked while we travelled.  As long as he could get internet access he could work. He would log in 2-10pm which gave us plenty of time to explore in the morning.

I gathered some great resources for homeschooling but mostly the kids learned from museums and hands on activities.

We have plans to do it again (may be even better next time). It’s an experience that I recommend to everyone and I can’t wait for our next journey.

Family Gap Year Off The Beaten Path

Kyla from Where Is The World Length of Trip:  12.5 months Age of Kids:   5 and 6 years old Instagram: @whereistheworld

We left our home in Canada in July 2017, when our girls were 5 & 6 years old. We’d been dreaming up this trip for almost 5 years by the time we left.

When we started talking about it we know our girls would be young, so we wanted to choose places that were culturally very different from our own. We also knew we’d be traveling on a budget! So, we came up with a country criteria; non-English speaking & non-Western (so no Europe or Australia!).

Our gap year-and-a-bit took us through 31 countries on 5 continents.

It started in Asia, where we spent 7.5 months traveling as far west as Uzbekistan, and as far South as Indonesia. We went scuba diving in Raja Ampat, Indonesia, walked on the Great Wall of China, hiked the Himalayas, learned about Buddhism in Bhutan, marveled at the Taj Mahal, and shed tears over the Partition at the border of India & Pakistan. And, we ate the most incredible food!!

From Asia we ventured to the Middle East for 6 weeks. We visited with friends in the UAE, swam in Wadis (oasis) in Oman, pretended to be Indiana Jones in Jordan, celebrated Easter in Israel and climbed inside the pyramids in Egypt.

We broke our rule once on the trip, with a stop-over in Germany on our way from Egypt to Mexico. Germany felt like a different dimension compared to where we’d been, and we all marveled at being able to drink the tap water and throw the toilet paper in the toilet!

The year ended back in the Americas. We made our way overland from Mexico to Panama, visiting every country in Central America except Nicaragua (due to civil unrest).

Our adventures continued through South America. We spotted blue-footed boobies in the Galapagos Islands, climbed Machu Picchu, fished for piranhas in the Amazon, froze on the Bolivian Salt Flats, enjoyed the street art in Valparaiso, Chile, and ate our way through Lima.

We traveled quickly, sometimes maybe too quickly, but we had an absolutely incredible year. The kids (and us parents) pushed ourselves out of our comfort zone and were rewarded with the most amazing experiences.

How would you spend a family gap year? Let us know in the comments below!

For more inspiration browse all our long term travel posts here

Read More About A Family Gap Year

How to Travel the World with Kids Essential Travel Accessories for a Family Gap Year Best Road Trip Activities for Kids

Pin and Share to Pinterest

Rachel Rodda

Related Posts

The stats: Our 12 months around the world with kids

Top 5 hiking trails on our Family Gap Year

10 Tips for Touring Europe In A Campervan with Kids

11 thoughts on “12 unique ways to take a family gap year with kids”.

I Loved this Article. Very Nicely Explain the Concept of Gap, Year Also Very encouraging for those who need to take a break from their daily hectic life. Great Suggestions for Long-Term Vacation Planning. Thanks a lot for this Knowledgable Information.

I am crying… I just want to do this so bad. We have a 14,13, 10 and 2.5year old. I want them to learn to live minimal. I want to spend time with them. I want to do ALL the things. Convincing hubby. there lies the problem. My kids want to do the RV thing. I’m all in for everything all the time.

It is a great family experience, for sure. I too had to convince hubby to do it! It took a little while, but I was finally able to convince him with examples of all the great experiences we would have together. If you are in a position to secure work on your return there is little downside..Good luck!

Okay… this post was straight-up inspiring! We are so not used to considering such possibilities that a post like this makes us question the ‘normal’! Thank you! Enjoyed reading it!

I love how this article turned out. I now have lots (and lots) of new ideas for our next long term trip. Thanks!

Thank you for including us in this post Rachel! It has given me such an insight into how other people do things!

I loved reading this article (and not just because I’m in it!!). I hope it inspires others that you really can do this at any time, no matter what age your kids, going anywhere on any budget. It inspires me even though I don’t really have the interest in doing it again right now 🙂

Long term travel def intrigues me, and my husband’s job could be flexible,but I wonder if I’d miss my friends and family – we have a solid network where we live. But would be so cool for our kids,

Long term travel does have pros and cons for sure. We all had homesickness at some stage in the year. Our kids more than us actually! But it would pass and we would enjoy the new places and experiences along the way.

Love this post, so very inspirational! Thanks for including us. Being back in The Netherlands I sometimes can’t believe we actually spent 10 months abroad. Next trip will be just me and our little world traveler, to Portugal for 10 days. Can’t wait!

It is amazing how fast the time goes when you travel. We loved Portugal and it is on our list to return someday!

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

We are Rachel and Matt and we're here to help you adventure more as a family. Read more about us.

Looking For Something?

Popular Posts

40+ Best Road Trip Gifts For Travel Lovers [2024]

The Best Anti Theft Backpacks For Travel [2024]

Family Gap Year: Our Around the World Itinerary

The Perfect Itinerary for a 2 week Northern Territory Road Trip

Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links, meaning that when you make a purchase, I earn a small commission. For more information, see the site  Discl aimer .

Taking a Family Gap Year: Everything You need to Know

Are you dreaming of taking a family gap year to travel and live abroad with your kids? Go! A family gap year (or family sabbatical) is a special opportunity to share unforgettable experiences with your children. 

Taking a family gap year or a family sabbatical with kids is a way to slow down time. Spending six months or a whole year together allows you to know your kids and bond over shared experiences in ways you just can’t do without leaving your comfort zone.

Traveling the world with my children was a huge dream of mine. When they were 15, 12, and 11, we took a family sabbatical and lived and traveled in Australia and New Zealand. 

Taking a family sabbatical was absolutely the best decision we’ve made as parents. 

It took an incredible amount of work and planning to make it happen, but it was absolutely worth it. 

If you want to know how to take a gap year with children, venture out on a half year of travel as a family, or even dedicate just a few months to full time travel, this blog post covers everything you need to know.

The Ultimate Family Gap Year Guide: How to Plan Your Family Sabbatical

What’s a family gap year or a family sabbatical, what is a gap year.

Traditionally, a gap year is when students take a year away from school between graduating from high school and starting college.

Many young adults who take a gap year travel the world. They might participate in a language immersion program, backpack through a foreign country, or volunteer with a nonprofit. 

Others take a gap year to volunteer, work to earn money for college, explore a potential career path, or help their families. 

What is a family gap year?

A family gap year is when a family (however you define your family) takes a break from school and work to explore the world, and learn together.

By traveling together, families can deepen family bonds, experience personal growth together, and gain new perspectives on different ways of life. 

Individuals and families can take have a gap experience for any length of time. You could take a gap month or a gap semester. 

What is a sabbatical?

A sabbatical is a period of time, usually a few months to a year when someone takes a break from their work or career to explore personal or professional interests or rest and recharge. 

Academic institutions typically grant sabbaticals to tenured faculty. Other employers also allow employees to take sabbaticals. There are many grants that help fund travel and research for sabbaticals .

Individuals on sabbatical can use the break from work to travel, research, write, volunteer, reflect, or simply rest. 

What is a family sabbatical?

A family sabbatical is when a family takes a break from their daily routine of work and school to travel and learn together.

By traveling and learning together, families create lasting memories together, become closer to each other, better understand different cultures, and grow as individuals. 

A family sabbatical can last for any length of time, from a month to a year or more. 

Basically, a family gap year and family sabbatical mean the same thing: a chance for all family members to take a break from their typical schedules at work and school and explore the world together. 

What is a career break?

A career break is when someone stops working to do something else, like travel, go to college, or take care of a child or aging family member. 

A career break usually implies that someone’s return to work is uncertain. Some people do take a career break in order to travel with their family on a gap year.

Usually, they feel that they’ll be able to return to their original job when they return from traveling, or they expect to start a new job in a different field or with a different employer. 

How is a family sabbatical different from a vacation? 

A family sabbatical is different from a family vacation in many ways. A sabbatical is a more structured and purposeful break than a vacation. 

A sabbatical and vacation are usually for different lengths of time. A vacation is a short trip or brief break from work, usually a few days to a few weeks. A sabbatical usually lasts for a few months to a full year. 

The purpose of a sabbatical and vacation are different. When taking a sabbatical, there’s usually a specific goal or purpose in mind, like learning a new skill, doing research, or exploring a personal interest in depth. A vacation is usually just about relaxing and taking a break from work. 

It’s much more time consuming to plan a sabbatical than to plan a vacation. Planning a vacation can happen relatively quickly and easily. Planning a sabbatical requires creating a detailed budget, securing funding or savings, taking a leave of absence from work, and making longer-term living arrangements. 

The return experience is different too. When you return from a vacation, it’s pretty easy to return to work and regular life. Returning to work after a sabbatical can be more challenging, as a sabbatical can cause a significant shift in your perspective, goals, or interests. 

Why should you take a family sabbatical? 

As you know, kids grow up fast. I felt like if we didn’t take some time off from “real life” to travel when we did, we’d never be able to.

Investing in our relationships by traveling together is one of the best things we’ve ever done.

Here are some of the reasons why: 

1. Personal growth

Taking a family gap year or sabbatical can be incredibly beneficial for each family member. 

Parents and children will experience personal growth, increased curiosity about the world, and a clearer sense of direction for the future interests, academic pursuits, or career plans. 

2. Family bonding

Traveling as a family for an extended period of time is also good for the family overall. We made so many memories together when we were traveling. 

Even better was the sibling bonding. Because our kids were spending more time together, without the distraction of sports or afterschool activities, they became much closer. 

3. Seeing the world

There’s a great big world out there! It’s much more diverse than our neighborhood, city, or state. But if you don’t experience it, how will you ever know what it’s like?

Stepping outside of our regular home life to explore the world offered my kids the perfect opportunity to explore different ways of living, experience a better way of learning in school, and meet local people in lots of great places.

They made lifelong friends, and they have an entirely different perspective on the world.

4. Hands-on education

Sure, our kids missed a whole bunch of classroom time (even though we enrolled them in school in Australia). But they learned so much more.

They were exposed to Maori culture in New Zealand. They came to expect hearing “welcome to country” messages in Australia. 

Our girls got to experience the Great Barrier Reef now, so they have a personal understanding of the threats caused by climate change. 

We all learned about native plants and animals, invasive species, and environmental practices that we wouldn’t have encounter if we hadn’t left the United States. 

5. Meeting new people

By making new people and making new friends, we were all exposed to different ways of thinking, socializing, and learning. Also we just met some really awesome people!

6. Resetting priorities

It felt a bit countercultural to step away from club sports teams and the rituals of everyday American life. 

My kids certainly worried about what they would be missing out on. 

But they quickly realized that a lot of what they thought mattered really didn’t. When it came down to it, what they missed the most from home was their friends and our dog. 

7. Resiliency

I’m not gonna lie–there were times when it was really hard on my kids to have left behind their school, friends, and routine. Adjusting to a new house, new school, new ways of teaching, new friends, and everything else was hard! The FOMO was real. 

But from that experience, they learned that they can do hard things! They can get through some really uncomfortable, lonely times. 

Now, my kids are much less nervous about being “the only one” in the room who doesn’t know anyone else or talking to new people. 

8. Different perspective on life

Our kids learned so much about what it’s like to live in other countries, how politics work in other nations, and how other people see America.

Taking a family sabbatical really helped us all learn about the world and changed our perspective on pretty much everything. 

How to plan your family gap year

Don’t underestimate the importance of planning for your family gap year or family sabbatical. You’ll need to figure out finances, make travel plans, and decide what to do with the things you leave behind. 

Family gap years can look very different. How you choose to plan your family sabbatical will depend on your family’s interests and needs, your budget and your flexibility. 

Let’s take a look at all the things you’ll need to consider when you plan your gap year with kids. 

How long can you take a sabbatical?

Figuring out how long you can be away from your regular life is essential. If you can take a few months off, maybe you want to immerse your family in one region of the world, like Southeast Asia or South America. If you can take an actual gap year , you might want to plan an around the world trip and make the most of long-term travel while you have the opportunity. 

Here are some things to consider when thinking about how long you can travel for a family gap year. 

Leaving Work for a Family Gap Year

If you (and/or your partner) are taking a leave of absence from a permanent job, how long your leave is will determine the amount of time you can take off from work to travel with your family. 

If you can work remotely, or you’ve managed to save enough to cover all your expenses, you can afford to travel for a longer time. 

Other Obligations to Consider for a Family Gap Year

As an adult, you probably have other obligations you can’t just drop. Perhaps an aging parent, a side business, or other responsibilities have a claim on your time. You’ll have to decide how long you can be away. 

Financing a Family Gap Year

How much savings or income will you have to spend? Family gap year costs can vary greatly, but knowing how much you have to spend will help you decide how long you can travel with your family. 

Will you be working while you travel? Will you be depending on your savings account? 

Leaving School for a Family Gap Year

If you have small children, you won’t have to pull them out of school to travel. 

If you have older kids who attend school, might want to consider their school schedules. It might be easier to miss a whole academic year than the end and beginning of different grades. 

If you homeschool, these questions might not matter as much!

For us, the right time to travel was when our kids were in fifth, seventh, and tenth grades. Everyone was old enough to take care of their own things, remember the trip, and really participate in the adventure. 

How will you afford a family sabbatical?

Of course, travel is expensive. When you add kids to the mix, you’re obviously paying for more people, so your costs will go up too. 

So you’ll have to get a larger hotel room or an Airbnb. You might need a bigger rental car or more train tickets. 

You’ll need plenty of money in the bank before you start to travel. 

How to save for a family sabbatical

• Selling things you don’t need
• Cutting back on expenses before you leave
• Downsizing to a smaller apartment before your trip
• Renting out your house
• Taking on extra freelance work or a second job before traveling
• Working remotely (even part-time) while traveling

When traveling, you’ll find lots of ways for traveling on a budget as a family. 

How to save money when traveling as a family

• Couch-surfing
• Home-swapping
• Pet-sitting 
• House-sitting
• Stay with friends
• Buy a museum membership

When thinking about how to afford traveling with your family for an extended period of time, you have to consider how your family travels. Meaning: everyone’s idea of “budget travel” is different. 

It’s best to be realistic about how much money you have to spend and how much it will cost your family to travel in different locations. 

What to include in your family gap year budget

• Accommodations (potentially the highest cost/day)
• Food (meals, snacks, and drinks)
• Daily transportation (car rental, parking, bus tickets, or train tickets)
• Attractions (tours, museum tickets, etc.)
• Special events (expensive splurges, rather than normal daily attractions, like snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef or taking a safari)
• Transportation between different major locations

Draft an itinerary of where you want to go, then research costs for each location. 

I recommend making a spreadsheet to track and adjust numbers as you plan. As you see how expenses add up, you may need to adjust costs of certain things. 

What will you do on a family sabbatical?

Personally, I think one of the best things about a family gap year is traveling slowly and getting to know the places you’re visiting. 

A family sabbatical isn’t a really long vacation. Instead, it’s a chance to settle into everyday real life in another part of the world.

Enjoying the simple things, as well as the cultural highlights, of a new culture is what makes an extended trip like a family gap year so special. 

During your sabbatical, you may choose to live primarily in one country or even one city. This is what we did, because my husband was doing research at the National Library of Australia. 

Alternatively, you could choose to spend a few weeks, a month, or longer in different areas of the world. You’ll get to know things about the country, region or city you live in during your sabbatical that you wouldn’t know if you were rushing through. 

During a family gap year, there will of course be times when you’re traveling a lot and living like a tourist. 

But by giving yourself time, you’ll be able to settle into new routines. You’ll find your favorite coffee shops, learn where the best bread is sold, and enjoy your favorite family meals in a home away from home. 

Also, it’s a lot easier to be away from home for a long time when you allow yourself and your kids time to relax and do “normal” things, instead of always seeing new sites. 

What are your top priorities for your family sabbatical?

A sabbatical is a time to rest and reflect. It’s an opportunity to learn something new and get back to yourself after however many years you’ve been in the corporate rat race. 

You might want to learn a new language, take up painting, or write songs. Maybe you just want to soak in the different cultures you experience. 

If you’re taking a traditional academic sabbatical with your family, you will have research, teaching, or writing to keep you busy. 

And of course, on a family sabbatical, you’ll want to prioritize time together as a family.

No matter what you’d like to accomplish on your sabbatical, it’s important to take note of those goals. You’ll want to design your family sabbatical with your priorities in mind. Every person or family travels for different reasons, and no matter what you want to accomplish, you’ll have plenty of different options.

Where will you go on a family gap year?

There are several things to consider when deciding where you’ll go on your family’s big trip. 

Where have you always wanted to go?

What destinations are on your personal bucket list?

If you’ve always pictured yourself living in a lovely village in France, now’s the time. Your petits enfants can pick up French enunciation as you pick up fresh baguettes!

If, on the other hand, you’d rather go somewhere truly off the beaten path, take you kids with you! A family sabbatical is a wonderful opportunity to explore places of the world that are harder to get to or get to know. 

What sorts of things do you really want to see and do?

Do you want to visit the best art museums of Europe? Do you want to go to the opera in Italy? Do you want to practice yoga in India?

Do you want to cruise down the Nile in Egypt? See the rainforests of Brazil? Visit the Great Barrier Reef in Australia? Walk along the Great Wall of China? Go on safari in South Africa?

Are there any festivals you want to go to? Or seasonal events you can’t miss? Do you want to ski in New Zealand or see the Northern Lights in Finland?

Are there best times of the year to visit destinations on your list? (Remembering that in the Southern Hemisphere, seasons are opposite to those in the Northern Hemisphere.)

Are there weather patterns that you should try to avoid?

Which destinations should you visit at peak times and which should you visit at off-peak times?

And also, what do you want your children to see? 

What new perspectives do you want to expose your kids to? 

Since you probably can’t do it all, you’ll have to prioritize what you most want to do. This will probably require negotiation with your kids and partner.

After everyone agrees on a few places and things that are essential to your trip, you’ll be able to start outlining your world travel itinerary. 

Do you have friends you want to visit? 

If you have friends and relatives who live in far-flung destinations, and you’d like to see them, check in with them well in advance of your trip to see if you could visit.

Maybe you could stay with them for a few days or maybe they’d be happy to show you around for an afternoon. 

I firmly believe that people are the best part of travel. Reconnecting with old friends or extended family is a really lovely thing to do. 

Are you looking for kid-friendly destinations?

There are kids all over the world, so most places are pretty kid friendly. That said, some places are clearly easier to visit with kids. 

We like to include plenty of destinations that feature the great outdoors. We love hiking and visiting beaches. We always go to children’s museums and science centers. 

When my kids were younger, they very grudgingly went to art museums, but now they love them almost as much as I do. 

Everywhere you go, you can build kid-friendly activities into the schedule. A family gap year is a balance of activities for the kids, activities for the adults, and things that everyone wants to do. The beauty of it is that you’ll both learn from each other. 

heck with the US State Department for any travel warnings. 

Where will you stay during your family gap year?

The answer to where you will stay when you’re traveling on a sabbatical depends on what your travel style is.

Are you open to sleeping on a stranger’s couch? How about camping? Or is a three-star hotel roughing it for you? 

If you’re open to couch-surfing, home-swapping, or pet-sitting, you can save some serious cash on your family gap year. 

You have lots of accommodation options during a family sabbatical, including:

• Pet-sitting
• House-swapping
• Campgrounds
• Holiday parks
• Home rentals
• Staying with friends/family
• Hotels 

Your budget might dictate your style. For our family sabbatical, we did a combination of several of these options. 

As you travel, you’ll have a combination of short stays and longer stays, so experiment with different types of accommodations as well.

How will you get there?

If you’re staying in the US for your family gap year, you could drive. Driving is the perfect way to see the United States. You could visit lots of national parks or take a road trip along the east or west coast. 

You can also drive to Canada or Mexico. If you’re venturing outside of North America, you’ll probably end up flying. 

When you reach your destination, you might want to drive a rental car, take trains or buses, or go by ferry. 

To get to your destination, you could choose to book either consecutive one-way tickets or around the world tickets.

Before buying plane tickets, consider your list of must-see destinations and when would be the best time to see them. Play with the dates and destinations like puzzle pieces to make your itinerary fit together in a way that makes sense.

You could choose to travel eastward or westward, depending on where you’re going, what time of year it is, and what you want to do. Also consider the costs of flights before finalizing your plans.

I like to use Google Maps to plan travel time and chart the best routes. Thinking of travel planning like a puzzle is a great way to get a general idea of what might be possible. There are so many great options, so explore all the possibilities before making any final decisions.

I created a spreadsheet that listed lots of different combinations of dates, destinations, and flight costs, to help me balance all the places we could go, schedules, and costs. We didn’t buy any tickets until we’d finalized the whole plan.

What’s the best age for a family gap year?

There is no perfect age for a family gap year. I truly believe that if you have the opportunity to take a sabbatical with your family, you should do it, no matter your kids’ ages. 

Babies–preschool-age kids on family sabbatical 

Babies, toddlers, and preschoolers are quite portable and infinitely curious. Very small kids will love being in new places and having all your attention. 

You’ll be a bit limited in how adventurous your activities can be. They’ll get tired easily, but you can structure your day around their naps.

Very young kids won’t remember much, if anything, from all the travels. Also, parents will spend a lot of time and energy keeping them safe.

If you do travel with babies, here are some infant travel essentials you might want to take with you.

School-aged children on family gap year

Elementary aged kids are capable of packing their suitcase and asking great questions. This is a fun age to travel with. They’ll learn so much from a long-term family trip. 

Tweens and teens on a family sabbatical

Middle- and high-school aged kids are ready to learn about the world, including the difficult topics. They have a lot of thoughts about social justice, climate change, and the future of this world.

They’ll remember a lot about their family sabbatical experiences. You might have to do a bit of convincing to get them to travel with you, as their friends, school, and sports or clubs are super important to them. 

The ultimate list of the absolute best gifts to give teens who love to travel !

And here’s something else to consider: 

When you start to take long-term trips with your kids, you’re normalizing the act of traveling. 

If you take a family gap year when you have fairly young children, your kids will remember that. So later, when they’re older and you propose taking your own family gap year, they’ll be open to the adventure! 

If you’re traveling with tweens or teens, they’ll get so much experience traveling and living in other countries, studying abroad in a new country or traveling alone will be second nature to them.

There is no perfect time to take a family sabbatical.

So, find a way to make it happen, whenever you deem it possible for your family, given your particular work and family dynamics.

The most important thing is to not be scared of all work that goes into planning a sabbatical (so much work!) and all the changes that will ensue (leaving school, home, friends, etc.)–because the rewards of traveling with your family are so amazing.

What to bring with you on a family sabbatical?

Honestly, bring with you as little as possible. 

Pack for the climate and season of your destinations. 

Pack for one week, because you can do laundry when you get there. 

If you’ll be working, bring a few work outfits. 

You can buy extra clothes when you get there. If you’ll need a winter jacket at some point on your trip, buy it when you need it, rather than dragging it with you for months.

You’ll also need your personal toiletries, but you can buy that stuff wherever you go. Just bring enough to get started and buy more when you run out. 

Our list included our phones, airpods, kindles, cameras, a guitar, and some card games. 

What to do with your home/pets/stuff while you’re gone?

If you rent, you can either sell or give away any nonessential stuff and store the rest. You can give up your lease, knowing you’ll be able to find a new place once you return. 

If you own your home, you’ll have to decide if you’re coming back to it after your family sabbatical, or if you’ll be moving on. 

If you sell your home or give up your apartment, your monthly bills, like the electric bill, cable and internet bill, and water bill will go away. (While traveling, you’ll also not have to worry about paying for a housecleaner, gym membership, or other similar expenses)

When we took a family sabbatical, we knew we’d be returning to our house and my husband would be returning to his university position after taking a research sabbatical. So we didn’t sell our home–instead, we did a home swap. 

In addition to swapping homes, you could rent out your house for some extra cash to put towards your travels. 

Sometimes, people who take a family gap year choose to resign from their jobs and aren’t sure if they’ll return to the same city. In that case it might make sense to sell your house. But that will depend on your circumstances and plans. 

Your pets while you’re on sabbatical

Some people can’t imagine traveling without their pets. If that’s you, there’s a complex world of vet visits and permits out there. 

If you’d rather just leave your pets in good hands while you travel, you have several options. 

Get a pet-sitter to come and stay at your house. Lots of people do long-term pet sits, so you can see if you find someone who’d be a good match for your animals. 

Leave them with family or friends. This is the perfect option if you have friends or family who love animals, but can’t make a long-term commitment to a pet. 

If you’re selling a house or will stop renting an apartment, you’ll have to store your stuff. Pare down to the essentials. By the time you get back, you won’t remember half the stuff you own. 

Then, you can store everything in a storage unit–unless you’re lucky enough to have a friend or family member with some extra room for your stuff. 

You will have to think about the costs of a storage rental and any insurance coverage you need. 

If you’re coming back to your own home, I still recommend doing a big clean out before you go. You’ll be really happy to come back to an uncluttered house. And if you’re renting it out your house or home swapping, you’ll want to make it as clutter-free as possible for your guests. 

What are the best destinations for a family gap year?

The best places to go on a sabbatical completely depends on your family’s interests. 

World tour or immersion

Do you want to really get to know one or two countries? Or do you want to get a glimpse of lots of different places? 

If you’re taking a family gap year, you could actually do both. 

Do you want to travel only or mainly to English-speaking countries? 

Or do you want to use your family sabbatical as an opportunity to study and practice another language? The easiest way to learn another language is to be immersed in it.

If budget is a big factor, you might want to spend most of your family sabbatical in less expensive countries. For example, Southeast Asia is much more affordable than Europe. 

Alternatively, you can get creative about how you pay for things. Easy ways to cut your travel costs include:

• Limiting transportation costs between countries by staying in one place for a longer time.
• Free or cheap accommodations
• Cooking at “home” instead of always eating out
• Enjoying free experiences 
• Traveling at off-peak times
• Booking in advance

Domestic or international

Do you want to take a family gap year to explore the United States, or do you want to travel to foreign countries? 

If you stay in the US, there’s certainly enough to see and do to fill an entire year. The logistics are easier, and you’ll be close to home if you need to return. 

On the flipside, it’s much easier to take a short trip in the US than to take short trips abroad. So if you’re considering long term family travel, it might be the right time for international travels.

We personally consider Australia to be a perfect place for a sabbatical, based on our experience! But of course, there are many wonderful places you can travel to!

How will you “school” your kids?

If you are traveling with elementary, middle school, or high school aged kids on a family sabbatical, you will want to consider how to continue their education on the road. 

Schooling will look different for each family taking kids on a sabbatical or family gap year. Often, families taking a sabbatical will use a combination of these schooling options. 

Regardless of which schooling method you choose, your kids will learn so much from world travel .

Enroll in a local school during your sabbatical

If you will be living in one place during your family gap year or sabbatical, consider enrolling your kids in a local school.

Whether or not you can enroll your kids in a local school during your sabbatical will depend on local rules and visa regulations. You’ll have to do your research in advance and see if attending local schools during your family sabbatical is a possibility for your kids.  

Enroll in an American/international school during your sabbatical

If you are spending your family sabbatical in a country where attending a local school might be difficult, your kids could enroll in an American or international school.

American or international schools in foreign countries are usually quite diverse, with students from all over the world. Benefits to attending an international or American school can include

• Instruction mainly or solely in English
• Familiar curriculum
• Built-in school community
• School is used to people attending short-term

Remote schooling

Some students taking a family sabbatical might be able to take online classes through their home school district. After the Covid pandemic, many school systems recognized that some students prefer remote, asynchronous learning. 

Taking one remote class might be helpful if your child needs to keep up to speed on a certain subject.

For example, when we took a family sabbatical, our oldest daughter took a math class online through her school district. Doing so allowed her to return to high school in the US ready to progress to Calculus with her cohort. 

Find out if your school system offers this option and what the details are. 

• Must a student take a full set of courses, or can they take just one or two?
• Are the lessons asynchronous?
• What is the schedule of the school year?
• Is there any flexibility to account for your family’s travel plans?
• Would this be a good fit for your student?

Homeschooling

When families homeschool, parents set the curriculum, schedule, and learning environment for their children. Homeschooling during a family gap year can allow for greater flexibility than following a traditional curriculum. 

When homeschooling during a sabbatical, students usually study traditional academic subjects (math, science, social studies, and language arts). One benefit of homeschooling is that students have more time, flexibility, and support to explore electives based on their interests. 

Homeschooling parents often use a variety of resources, such as textbooks, online courses, Khan Academy, educational software, and materials from libraries and museums.

When making a homeschooling plan during a family gap year, it’s easy enough to choose online resources and visit museums and libraries during your travels. 

World schooling

World schooling means that children learn by experiencing and exploring the world around them.

Unlike a traditional classroom environment, world schooling involves learning about different cultures, languages, and lifestyles while traveling to different parts of the world. World schooling is similar to homeschooling, except that the world is your classroom. 

If you are world schooling with your children, you personalize the curriculum. Lessons can combine traditional academic subjects and experiential learning.

So a math lesson might involve visiting a traditional market, and an writing assignment might relate to a trip to historical sites. 

With world schooling, parents and kids can create a customized, well-rounded education that goes way beyond a textbook and prepares students for life in a globalized world.

World schooling promotes personal growth, creativity, and independence in students. It also lead to a deeper understanding of and appreciation for diverse perspectives and cultures. 

Tips for taking a gap year with kids

Start planning far in advance.

Taking a family sabbatical takes so much time and logistical planning. For us it was a long term plan that we worked toward, even before we knew where we would end up going.

You really want to have they “why” and “what” of your trip in place early on, so you can work out the details. After you know what your goals and priorities are and where you want to go, you can decide how long to spend in each place and exactly what you want to do there. 

Build in down time

Travel is exhausting. Long-term travel can take you (and the rest of your family members) down to your last nerve. 

Build in flexible time for your kids to just relax. Some of my kids favorite memories are when we just let them watch TV all day and when we scrapped our touristy plans for the day so they could swim in our Airbnb pool all day. 

Downtime is important for the adults, too. Especially if you’re trying to get any work done on your trip or need to deal with any situations at home, you’ll need a break from travel. 

So go into the trip knowing that you’ll have to build in some slow days along the way. 

Be flexible

Be open to changing your plans. If your kids suddenly develop a new interest in an unexpected topic, find out all you can about that topic and go see all the related sites.

Allow space for serendipity

If you hear about a tour you really want to take, find a way to fit it in. If you see a sign for live music, go check it out.

Anticipate some not-so-great days

When it comes to your family’s moods and health, allow for flexibility. If someone has a headache, no one will have fond memories of the day you made everyone go hiking all day. 

Expect culture shock

Long term travel is particularly tough when you experience cultures very different from what you’re used to in your home country. Being a long way from home can be hard on anyone, and sometimes it can be particularly tough on kids.

Things to do before you leave on a family Gap Year

As much planning as you’ll do, well in advance of your departure date, you’ll be a bit overwhelmed when you’re looking at the last few weeks before you leave the country. 

Here are the final things you’ll need to take care of before you leave for your family gap year. 

Handle your mail

This is a big one! We had a friend stop by our house periodically and go through our mail for any surprise bills or important letters. 

You can also use a service like PostScanMail , which scans your mail and emails it to you.

Be able to access money and pay bills

Confirm that your debit and credit cards will work where you’re traveling. Be sure and let your bank and credit card companies know you’ll be traveling. 

Set up automatic bill pay or add your bills to your bank account’s direct payment system, so you can pay bills from anywhere in the world. 

Consider adding a trusted friend or family member to your bank account, or leaving them with a few signed checks, just in case they need to take care of any expenses while you’re away. 

Doctor and Dentist appointments

Take everyone to the doctor for a check-up and any necessary vaccinations. Go to the dentist for a check-up and a cleaning before you go. 

Refill prescriptions

At the doctor’s office, get refills for any prescriptions you might need. Also, get a paper copy of each prescription to take with you. Find out how to refill medications where you’ll be when you run out. 

Withdraw from School

Find out what you need to do to withdraw from school.

Also be sure you understand what you need to do for your kids to get credit for their schooling while you’re traveling. This is more of an issue for high-school aged kids, but it’s better to check in advance. 

Make copies of important documents

Scan and copy your passports, birth certificates, and visas. Save them in the cloud so you can access the copies if you lose the originals. 

Give copies of your wills to your emergency contact, just in case. 

Designate an emergency contact

Choose a family member or friend who will be the point of contact in an emergency. Make sure all family members know their phone number, even the kids. 

Cancel memberships/subscriptions

Cancel your gym membership, any subscription boxes, Amazon pantry subscriptions, and anything else that’s a recurring charge. 

Check your insurance

You might need a travel insurance policy. Check your regular health insurance and other insurance policies to see what kind of coverage they’ll offer you while you’re traveling. 

Confirm your initial reservations/plans

In all the excitement of getting ready for your travels, don’t forget to confirm your reservations for the start of your trip.

While you don’t need to have everything planned at this point, be sure you’ve made all the necessary arrangements for the first month of your travels. 

For family travel tips, check out these 90 smart travel hacks for traveling with your kids .

Final thoughts on family gap year ideas

If you’re thinking about taking a gap year with your family, you won’t regret it. A gap year with kids might be the most challenging type of travel you’ve ever planned, but it will be absolutely worth it. 

I know that the sabbatical with my family in Australia was the best thing we could have done, for all of us.

We adults had a break from our everyday lives, my husband got to focus on his research work, and our kids got to explore Australian culture every day we were there. We all had an incredible time.

My last two bits of advice are:

• Go. Make this happen! You absolutely will not regret taking a family sabbatical. 
• On the days when you are exhausted and might be wondering why you did this, take a deep breath and appreciate the fact that you are exploring the world with your kids. Even when it feels stressful and overwhelming, just enjoy this amazing opportunity with your family . 

I hope you find these sabbatical ideas for families and tips for planning family sabbaticals useful. Check out some of my favorite travel hacks to help make your trip go more smoothly.

If you have any thoughts you want to share, please send me an email! 

I’m a traveler at heart. I’ve been an exchange student, roadtripped across the US, backpacked around Europe, and lived in Australia with my family. Sharing tips and inspiration with you, so you can travel bravely too!

Similar Posts

90 Genius Mom Travel Hacks for Traveling with Kids

Wondering what family travel hacks you’re missing out on? Here are some of the best mom travel hacks I’ve…

82 Baby Travel Essentials You Won’t Regret Packing

Are you wondering what baby traveling essentials you need to pack when you travel with your baby? This post…

• Worldschooling Topics
• Family Travel Resources
• Destinations
• Travel Tips
• Responsible Travel
• Family Gap Year Guide
• Places and Destinations

10 Steps to Prepping for a Family Gap Year

In 2018, we made a big announcement to the world: we’re hitting the road! After months and months of preparation, we announced that we would head out on a big family gap year adventure. Now, after more than three and a half years of our travel gap years as a family, we are loving it and thriving!

Looking back, I still marvel at how we managed to make that big leap into the unknown. But know that we're a seasoned long term travel family, the steps that took us to this point seem so logical and simple.

If you've always dreamed of taking a family gap year, then you're in luck. When I was in your shoes, I had to scour the internet and cobble together the information I needed to know to get our family ready for launch. But with this family gap year guide, and the other world travel resources on this travel blog, you'll have more than enough information to get you started on full time family travel.

This post was updated on December 28, 2021.

This post may contain affiliate links. That means I may receive a small commission if you click on the link and purchase something. But don't worry, this will not result in any extra costs to you.

Table of Contents

The dream of a family gap year

This travel lifestyle has been a long time coming. When I was a student in college, a friend of mine gave me the book, World Stompers by Brad Olsen (which is still surprisingly available on Amazon ), and the idea of traveling around the world full time was planted into my head. I immediately began drawing up schemes of how I would backpack around the world, crashing at hostels and living off of street food.

But life doesn't always turn out the way we plan. I graduated college, I went into the Peace Corps, I returned to the US, and eventually met the love of my life.

Since getting married, we have had two beautiful children together, raised a handsome grown-up son, launched our careers, lived on both coasts of the United States, traveled around three continents, and bought a house together. As the years passed, I began to accept that the dream of a family gap year would remain just a dream.

Meeting other families who are taking a family gap year

And then something serendipitous happened. We found ourselves at the Family Adventure Summit in Penticton, BC, surrounded by families who were as passionate about travel as we were. And some of them were even taking their own family gap year!

These families were working remotely and world schooling their kids . They were traveling from place to place, country to country. After several conversations with other families at the conference, my husband and I had an epiphany. Taking a family gap year was actually possible!

Can families actually take a gap year?

The concept of taking a gap year, or several years off, to travel is not new. However, people often think that it's reserved only for 20-somethings, fresh out of college and free of responsibilities.

When kids come into the picture, taking a gap year becomes exponentially more difficult. How does a family even do a gap year when they have to think about school and financing and taking care of little humans?

Fortunately, we're not the first family to ever go on a gap year. There are plenty of families who have written about their experiences, including Tsh Oxenreider in her book, At Home In The World . And in the book, The Road Taken: How to Dream, Plan, and Live Your Family Adventure Abroad , Michelle Damiani gathers together stories from families who have all taken their own trips around the world. Reading these books gave me so many gap year ideas to do with my own family!

Buy these books to get you started on dreaming of your own family gap year:

At Home In The World

The Road Taken: How to Dream, Plan, and Live Your Family Adventure Abroad

Additionally, take a look at this 12 week worldschooling course from  Trailblazing Families , led by fellow veteran worldschooling mom, Lizz Quain:

How To Travel Extensively and Worldschool Course

The fact that so many other families have taken this path gives us comfort in know that we can do it too. The scariest part is imagining the possibilities. But once we made the decision to go for it, everything pretty much fell into place.

Read more about what worldschooling life is like for our family here.

10 steps to putting our (and your!) family gap year plan into action

Back in 2017, after attending the family travel summit, we immediately put a plan into action. We set a launch date of July 2018.

Being the project management-minded folks that we are, we used a combination of Google Sheets and online project management applications to organize all the tasks that we needed to complete to get ourselves ready for what our family calls, "The Big Trip."

The tasks are many. There are so many things to consider for a RTW trip : researching destinations, finding plane tickets, researching visa requirements, deciding what to take with us, and purchasing travel insurance. And there are also tasks associated with moving a family.

When you're planning for a family gap year, you need to think about what you’ll do with your house and where we will store our things. You also need to think about how it's going to be worldschooling for a year or more, how you’ll finalize our will, and what you’re going to do with big things like your car.

If you're ready to start preparing for your own family gap year, follow these ten steps to get your family on the road.

Ready for a change? Take the first step to living a life of full time travel.

1. Make a commitment as a family for your family gap year

The first step to prepping for a family gap year is to make a commitment. Set a deadline, like we did. This will help put a concrete end date to your travel plans.

Additionally, spend time talking about traveling as a family with your kids. One of the ways to help kids travel is to make them feel like they're part of the travel planning process. Get them involved in the decision making. Engaging them in the family gap year prep early on will help them feel a sense of ownership to the process.

If it helps put the date on a calendar, on your phone, on your computer, and anything else you might use to plan your days. And consider doing what we did and investing in a project management tool. This can help you break down your goal into more manageable tasks, and help you set mini deadlines for yourself.

2. Meet another gap year family in person

Once you've made the decision to take a world trip, now it's time to talk to other people who have. Meeting families at the family travel summit really helped us get excited about the idea of traveling the world for ourselves, and helped us gain a lot of travel tips too.

Worldschooling Facebook groups are a great way to meet other families. Reach out personally to families in those groups. Or search if there are family travel or worldschooling summits that are happening near you.

Want to read up on other families who travel ? Take a look at this post.

3. Plan out a first draft of your family gap year itinerary

The next step to planning your family gap year is to decide on where you want to go, how you want to travel, and for how long. Start with a brain dump of all your bucket list destinations.

Have you always dreamed of traveling to New Zealand? Do you long for a family gap year Spain experience, exploring cities like Seville and Barcelona? Are you yearning for a road trip, or multiple road trips, around the world? Do you want to travel for more than just one year?

In this stage, it's okay to dream big. You're just creating a first draft. As your travel prep progresses, and you start thinking about nitty-gritty things like your family gap year budget and accommodations, you'll be able to pare down your destinations and travel plans. But for now, the sky is the limit.

In my opinion, some of the best places to take a gap year are the Central and South America, as well as Southeast Asia. We like them primarily because they are more budget friendly. However, it's also possible to do a family gap year in the US. And we also know families who have done family gap year Europe experiences.

Read up on some of the regions we've traveled to to get inspiration for your family gap year destinations:

North America

Central America

4. Decide how you'll pay for your family gap year

Now that you've set up your dream, it's time to anchor it to reality. How much money will you need to achieve your dream? And how will you actually fund it?

For a family of four, the average cost of a gap year can range from $36,000 to $100,000. It depends on your travel style, the speed of travel, and the destinations you choose. For reference, our monthly family gap year cost averages around $6,000 a month.

The traditional way of funding a gap year with kids is to save up the necessary funds and travel on a budget. But now that many people work remotely, it is possible to travel while also earning an income.

There are some disadvantages to living a digital nomad lifestyle with kids. You’re often tied to a set work schedule and you’re limited to destinations that have strong internet connection.

But having consistent income helps make travel more sustainable for your family and relieves some of the stress of having to stick to a tight budget. Take some time to assess whether it’s possible for your family to earn income on the road.

5. Discuss how you'll school the kids

The next conversation to have with your family is how your kids will learn while they’re on the road. Taking a year off to travel with kids doesn't mean that they will stop learning. There are countless ways that families doing a gap year with children can school their kids. And there are plenty of useful worldschooling resources families can access as well.

Some families follow a homeschool curriculum while they travel. Or they enroll their children in online school. Still others choose to unschool, and let their travel experiences guide their kids’ learning.

As you talk through this with your family, take into consideration your children’s learning styles and what feels best for your family. And also know that your choice doesn’t have to be permanent.

6. Determine essential items to bring

Once you’ve gotten through the tough conversations, you can jump into the fun part. It’s time to get your gear together for your family’s gap year travel around the world.

Decide as a family what travel essentials you'll want to take with you. Of course you will need clothes. But how much clothes are you willing to bring? For our family, we pack one large packing cube per person full of clothes. That's enough to last one week before we have to do laundry.

Other useful travel items include shoes, water bottles, sarongs, devices, learning tools, and small toys for the kids. If you want to be mindful of waste as you travel, you might also want to pack some eco-friendly travel products like detergent sheets, bar shampoo, reusable silicone bags, and beeswax wraps.

The most important items for your gap year with family will be your bags. The amount of bags you bring can also help you determine how much stuff you pack for your trip. Take some time to pick the right bag for traveling with kids that fits your needs.

7. Do a test run of your family gap year

Sometimes the thought of taking a year off to travel with family can seem to scary to imagine. So why not do a test run?

A few months before we left for our big trip, we did a test run right in our own home town of Seattle. We signed up for a housesit and stayed in a different neighborhood for a week. The timing coincided with my kids' winter break, so we used the time to see how working remotely and schooling our kids would work. While there were some hiccups, it went pretty smoothly.

Before your launch date, schedule a short trip with your family and test the waters of full time travel. Take a road trip outside your state. Or visit a place that's different from your home, but still has some familiar elements.

Alternatively, you can start with traveling closer to home and work your way towards going towards the other side of the world. That way, you're not jumping into culture shock, as you're simultaneously trying to adjust to your new lifestyle.

When we set off on our trip, we started with a road trip visiting National Parks in the western United States , and then made our way to Mexico and Costa Rica. It wasn't until ten months in that we jumped across the ocean to Europe and Asia. Start small, and gradually work your way up to bigger things.

8. Make your initial family gap year bookings

For us, things didn't really start to feel concrete until we bought our first plane ticket to Mexico. That's when reality started to set in. We were actually going to be traveling around the world with our kids!

As your launch deadline approaches, it's time to start making your initial bookings for your family gap year. These could be your plane tickets, train tickets, and accommodations.

Keep in mind that you don't need to buy all your tickets and book all your lodging ahead of time. As we've learned through our travels, it helps to have some flexibility in your travel plans, especially if you're planning to do a family gap year during COVID.

Travel restrictions can change quickly, and if you're not flexible with your plans, you may end up losing thousands of dollars.

9. Get rid of your things

In the final months before your departure, you also want to get serious with getting rid of your things. Unless you're willing to pay for a storage unit for a year or more, you will want to sell, donate, give away, or throw away as many of your things as possible.

When we left for our family gap year, Marie Kondo was all the rage. We used the KonMari method on all of our things, and continue doing it as we travel. While we didn't completely liquidate everything, we did manage to condense our belongings from a two-bedroom house to one storage closet in my parents' house.

The process of getting rid of things should be a whole family effort. Get your kids involved in deciding what they want to do with their things. It's going to be a long process, but trust me, it will be worth it.

If you need a methodical process for getting rid of your things, buy Marie Kondo's The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up .

10. Get your wills and accounts in order

The final, and most important, step to take before you take off is to get your accounts in order. This means having a will in place, and also getting life insurance, travel insurance, and health insurance.

You also want to make sure that you'll have credit cards, debit cards, and bank accounts that you can access outside of the country. And you'll want to make arrangements for what to do with your mail. I call this the "everything-else" step. Essentially, it's time to take care of everything else that you've put to the last minute before you take off.

Need more tips to help you get ready for full time travel with kids? Click here .

Remembering why you want to do a family gap year

Planning for full time travel with your kids isn't going to be easy, but hopefully these ten steps will help you get to where you want to be. You don't have to follow the steps in the exact order, and you don't have to complete one step to start the next one. But it is important that you do them all.

As you go through all these steps to launching your family gap year dream, remember why you want to go in the first place. For our family, we wanted an opportunity to learn about the world, but also to connect with each other on a deeper level.

Whatever your reasons and motivations, let that drive you through this process of planning. It will help you overcome the hard moments.

Keeping in touch while traveling around the world

When we left for our family gap year, we decided to document our experiences through this travel blog. That allowed us to keep in touch with our family while we traveled around the world.

While you don't have to start a blog, think about what you'll use to capture your travel memories and share them with those you love back home (and also the friends you will meet on your travels).

If you’re interested in following along on our family gap year adventure, keep reading this blog! You'll find a lot of useful information for traveling full time with kids, and also tips for how to explore various destinations around the world. And if you sign up for my email list, you can also get travel information directly into your inbox.

Are you ready to make your family gap year dreams a reality? Share in the comments where you're dreaming of traveling to and what you've done so far to get ready.

Need help thinking through how to budget for a family trip? My  Travel Budget Worksheet  is just the tool you need! Click  here  to receive your free copy by signing up for my newsletter.

Want to connect with me on social media? Find me on Facebook , Instagram , Pinterest , and Twitter. And for those of you who are dedicated to traveling more responsibly, sustainably, and ethically, join over 200 like-minded families on my Facebook group, Responsible Family Travel .

Sharing is caring!

Related Posts

Sign up to get travel tips in your inbox!

Choosing Wings: Our family gap year and trip around the world

This post contains affiliate links, for which I may earn a commission if you make a qualifying purchase.

Sharing is caring!

We love so many things about our family’s life in LA. We are surrounded by an amazing network of family, we have wonderful friends, we are deeply involved in a religious community that we love, the weather is usually amazing and the list of activities is never-ending. But as you might imagine, life in the City of Angels isn’t without challenges… it is crowded, it’s extremely expensive for a family, navigating school decisions can require an advanced degree and some days you feel like your entire schedule is planned around minimizing time in traffic. Through all its faults, LA has been our home for a very long time and the only one our children have ever known. In fact, Ronnie and I have shared this wonderful apartment for almost a decade!

For a few years we’ve felt that our family needed some sort of change and we think that this is the right time to shake things up. Ronnie and I are both ready to move on professionally after a decade in our jobs, Jacob has graduated from preschool and needs to transition to a new school, and Shoshana is still a sweet, flexible kid whose primary need is time with us. All in all, we feel that this is the best time for a transition if there will ever be one.

Read one mom’s story of her life-changing adventure of full-time travel with her young daughter!

So what’s the big news?

We’ve decided to take a “family gap year”! As you all know, family travel is a big part of our lives – we enjoy it very much and feel that it binds the four of us into an unbreakable team. So often, being out in the world feels like our collective “happy place”. We will be leaving LA at the end of August 2017 and returning to the US around the end of June 2018.  After our almost-year of around the world travel, our family’s path isn’t very well-defined yet. We’ve told a number of people about our plans already, and here are some questions we get a lot and the best answers we can give you at this time about our new life as a traveling family.

What does your “let’s travel the world for a year” itinerary look like?

We’re kicking off traveling the world for a year with a good ol’ American road trip! We’ll take three weeks to drive cross-country from LA to Nana’s house in Virginia. We’re so excited to visit with family and friends along the way!!! Definite stops include Phoenix , Albuquerque/Santa Fe, Tulsa, St. Louis, Chicago, Philadelphia and of course the DC area. Once we fly out from D.C…

‘Round the world trip itinerary updated June 2018!

New Zealand

Switzerland

back to the US

How did you choose your around-the-world itinerary? Did you buy a “round the world plane ticket”? Where will you stay in all these places? Is it a lot of work planning a gap year?

We chose our itinerary to travel the world with kids mostly based on three factors: personal interest, seasonal logistics, and health/safety concerns. Gap year planning took us around a month for framing out a rough itinerary, obviously with much more time along the way to work out specifics.

All of the countries we’ll be visiting until Israel are new for us! We started with a much longer list of destinations and spent about a month playing with different options and whittling it down based on further research. We’ll mostly be chasing the sun and avoiding nasty things like hurricanes and peak mosquito seasons. There are a few places we might have considered visiting if we didn’t have the kids with us, but in reality we feel good about the pacing of our trip and don’t want to add any more stops. We’ll spend several weeks in each country, which should give us a chance to explore beyond just the surface (though honestly sometimes even that pace seems faster than we’d like). Recognizing that we’ll need a little decompression along the way, we plan to give ourselves some slow-travel time in Australia and Israel, where we have friends and family.

We aren’t using a special round the world plane ticket. There are very few of them available these days, though I know they were popular back when most of our peers took their solo travel gap years. The few that are available have enough limitations in terms of routing and segment totals that they didn’t seem like the best fit for us. Moreover, we have a huge pile of frequent flyer miles and Chase Ultimate Rewards points from our travels and credit card spending (especially those awesome Chase sign up bonuses!). While we aren’t booking everything with miles and points, we’ll be able to use them to save money on air travel. If you’re considering buying a RTW ticket, this guide is an incredible resource to compare your options.

We generally prefer to stay in vacation homes rather than hotels. They offer more space for our family to feel comfortable, a kitchen for quick breakfasts and lunch packing, and often laundry facilities so that we can pack light. We’ve been fortunate to find a great partner for this trip in HomeExchange.com , an international leader in home exchanges.

Most people think of home exchange as it’s shown in The Holiday  – Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet go to stay at each other’s houses (and find quirky romances in the process) and GuestToGuest has that traditional option (sorry, Jude Law not included). They also have a more flexible non-reciprocal option that allows you to earn points for hosting guests, which you can then use to stay in any home available through the network! For instance, Cameron goes to Kate’s house for Christmas and then Kate goes to JLaw’s house for New Year’s.

Throughout our trip, we’ll be staying in HomeExchange properties wherever they’re available – and I must say, we’ve booked some gorgeous homes and some beautiful locations! You can find all the details here. We’ll be sharing more info on how to use HomeExchange and showing you the awesome places we’re staying, so stay tuned. In the meantime, head over and sign yourself up — by going through the full registration and verification process, you’ll score enough points to try out the service as a guest before you even host in your own home. Sign up here to get started.

While we’ve had great luck booking HomeExchange homes in some countries, they are still growing their presence in others. In some remote areas without many restaurants or grocery stores, we’ll be staying at all-inclusive resorts or hotels to ease culinary logistics. In other places, we’ll rely on Airbnb for our accommodations.

After a few years of pretty serious travel, we’ve found that booking.com is our favorite hotel search engine. Most properties can be booked with no cancellation fee and they clearly show the pricing and details of every room available. There are tons of reviews on the site, and we try to target properties with an average score of at least 8+ (preferably 9+). Don’t miss these 5 simple hacks for saving money on booking.com!

We’re so jealous! How can we follow along vicariously/keep up with your adventures as you’re traveling the world for a year?

I can’t help you with the jealousy, except to hope that our world traveling family’s adventures inspire you to explore more and maybe even give you family gap year ideas. Want to travel around the world with your family? Ronnie is a master travel planner and we are always happy to give general advice on traveling with kids or specific recommendations for where to travel with kids. I’ll also set up part of this site where we’ll share updates that are more of a family travel journal than a formal advice-giving travel blog.

If you want to follow along from home, there are a few great options:

Sign up to receive our latest family gap year blog posts (when I have “free time” I hope to move to a monthly newsletter format)

Like/follow on Facebook (you’ll also receive new blog post notifications there)

See a sampling of our travel photos on Instagram

Our Youtube channel is still pretty sparse, but we hope to add more (especially interviews with the kids)

Get even more updates on Twitter

Updates from the road:

December 2017 (4 months)

March 2018 (6 months)

June 2018 (10 months)

September 2018 (1 year!)

Do the kids know? How do they feel about your family trip around the world? How do families traveling the world teach their kids?

The kids know about our big family gap year trip and they’re very excited to explore the world and especially to meet all of the different animals. If you see them around this summer, ask them and they’re sure to give you an earful. Jacob also feels a little sad to leave behind his friends and family, but he’s looking forward to Skype, exchanging emoji-laden text messages and even sending some postcards (check out these great options for staying in touch with folks back home ). I’m hoping that we’ll be able to interview him in some of our destinations for our YouTube channel!

Since Shoshana is only 3yo, her primary educational needs are learning how to interact with people and with the world around her. We know that she won’t remember much from this trip, but hope that it makes a positive impression on her as a human being. We’re sure she’ll learn to appreciate and tolerate other cultures and her sense of curiosity will blast into overdrive as she’s exposed to so much of the world!

Jacob has just graduated from preschool and will be skipping kindergarten. His only strict educational objective for the year is literacy: he needs to learn to read decently and to write at least a little in order to be ready for 1st grade when we return. Fortunately he has already begun reading a little and seems to be gaining more interest. We’ll be working on hand-written journaling with him during our trip to help him learn how to write and to document our adventures through his eyes. I suspect that his travel journal will be the best souvenir of the entire trip.

We’re sure that the kids will learn so much during our gap year. We’ll try to educate them and ourselves in a developmentally appropriate way about things like history, food, climate, flora and fauna of the places we visit. Rather than occurring in a classroom, that teaching might take place while we’re hiking around ruins, visiting an indigenous people’s cultural center, using our art supplies to document the world visually or sampling desserts around the world. We’re continuing to read some great worldschooling resources and please feel free to send your favorites our way.  

Update:  See what’s been working (and what hasn’t been) as we’ve done almost a full school year of kindergarten homeschooling while traveling .

How do you feel about leaving your life behind in LA? Where will you live when you get back?

Leaving our family’s life in LA definitely brings a mix of emotions. We’re excited for our year traveling as a family and also to see what’s in store after that. But of course we will miss all of our LA people so much!  We don’t currently know where we’ll live when we come back to the US, but it will be driven largely by professional considerations in conjunction with our family’s needs. If we aren’t able to get the professional situation squared away in time for the beginning of the school year, we’ll probably come back to the LA area at least temporarily while we figure things out.

How much does a gap year cost for a family?

In the interest of transparency, I’ll say that it’s costing less in outright money than we initially anticipated thanks to our awesome brand partners like HomeExchange, but of course we are essentially paying with our time and energy in those situations. We will still be paying for lodging in some places and our goal is to keep those costs to an average of $100 per night.

Through judicious use of our frequent flyer miles and points, I’m hoping to keep our total flight costs to around $10k for the four of us. I don’t yet know how much rental cars will cost and in total, but in some places like New Zealand and Argentina that will be a big expense. I’d love to hear any suggestions on keeping that cost down!

We often keep our food costs low when we travel by eating breakfast at home and packing a picnic lunch. Those food choices also keep us moving through our days at a decent pace since no one in our family is an early riser. I anticipate that we’ll eat dinner out several nights per week, because restaurants and local food are an important cultural experience in addition to being fun and tasty – a can’t miss part of our gap year with a family!

We’ve already spent over a thousand dollars on vaccines before we travel around the world with the family and we expected that travel insurance will cost around two thousand dollars. We got a helpful quote through Squaremouth to find the right policy for our family – it was a lot more affordable than we expected. Many long-term travel families opt for World Nomads , though it was very pricey for a family of four .

We could spend less on our family travel around the world if we chose our itinerary based on cost (like spending our whole gap year in Europe), but we figure this is (probably) and once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the world as a family and so we let our interests dictate our destinations. We’ve discovered that New Zealand, where we’ll probably spend the most time of any country, is extremely expensive. Another surprise on the financial front is the high cost of renting an automatic car in certain places – we’re used to paying an extra hundred dollars in Europe, not the multiples that we’re seeing in places like Argentina.

We won’t be working traditional jobs while we travel full-time, but we will be growing this blog to provide some income and we might earn some side cash through online surveys that pay cash .

Another option for financing a gap year with kids is to put your house up on Airbnb. We would have done that if it was an option! If it’s something you’re consider, check out these awesome tips for Airbnb hosts .

What’s your packing list for a trip around the world with kids? What about car seats for a trip around the world? What’s the best stroller for a world traveling family?

We generally pack light (it’s take lots of practice over years of family travel and countless trips), but we’re still working on specific packing lists for clothing. I’ll update here when we know, but in general we’ll plan a mix-and-match travel capsule wardrobe for each of us.  Update: it turns out we made some major packing mistakes! Laugh at us here.

Ronnie and I will each carry a large backpack. He has a Kelty Redwing 50L and I recently picked up the super awesome Thule Versant 60L after lots of research and testing . Upon the recommendation of another traveling family, we bought the kids his-and-hers REI Tarn 18L and REI Tarn 12L backpacks – they love them! Jacob will probably carry most of his clothing in addition to his Amazon Fire tablet  (loaded with our favorite free apps ) and some other entertainment, while Shoshana will probably just carry her entertainment and a change of clothing for herself lest she topple over.

Related:  Check out our complete guide to traveling with car seats!

Obviously with kids comes additional “kid travel gear”. We’re trying to be very strategic! We recently reviewed the Ride Safer Delight travel vest and that is definitely coming with us. We will probably also bring a Bubblebum inflatable booster seat and our beloved Combi Coccoro car seat. During long drives in our rental cars, Jacob will use the vest and Shoshana will ride in the Coccoro. If we’re going out in a city where we anticipate taking a taxi, we’ll bring the Bubblebum for Jacob and Shoshana will use the vest since she does meet all of the minimum requirements. Remember: the laws of physics are the same in other countries and in taxis! (Unfortunately we may need to rent car seats in Australia, as their laws are extremely specific even though I don’t believe that they would make my children any safer than the choices we generally make for their ages. But that rant will be the subject for another blog post.)  Update: we only brought the Ride Safer delight vest and the Bubblebum , and I’m so glad!

We still haven’t fully decided which stroller to bring for the trip around the world. When we leave the US, Shoshana will be almost 3.5 and Jacob will be 6. In some ways, they’re old enough to travel without a stroller and that could make life much easier at times. But travel days are long and legs are short. We want the kids to be happy and comfortable for their sakes and ours! We plan to bring a “big single” stroller that could allow both kids to ride in a pinch, either our Baby Jogger Versa (now replaced by the City Premier ) that would allow Jacob to ride in the footwell or our Baby Jogger POD stroller/bike trailer (it’s designed for one or two kids, but it’s a little tight for two and doesn’t recline; I love that the front mesh zips closed to keep bugs out and potentially overwhelmed kids in). If you’ve done similar travel and have suggestions on our stroller choice, please drop a comment to let us know!

What will you do with all your stuff while you travel?

Step 1: sell/donate/trash as much as possible

Step 2: store the rest

This is high on my list of “things to figure out before abandoning life as we know it.” We don’t know where we’ll end up next August, so I’m not sure if it will make more sense to get a fixed storage unit in LA or a movable unit like a POD or similar. We do know that we’ll hedge our bets on the inbound return flight by leaving a car on each coast. Our apartment is fantastic and we feel a great deal of nostalgia for it, but given our uncertain geography it just didn’t make sense to hold on to it. If you are ever looking for an apartment in West LA, we’d be happy to recommend our landlords.

Planning your own gap year? Make sure to go through this checklist for long-term travel before you pack your bags.

I’m excited for you guys, but I am a part of your lives in LA and I’m sad/angry/hurt/lonely.

We love you and our excitement about the next chapter is absolutely tempered by the heaviness in our hearts too! We are hoping to get back to LA next summer before we settle somewhere and promise promise promise that we will come to see you as often as is humanly possible when we get back to the US (if you’re really lucky, we’ll even stay in your guest room!). Thanks for being so supportive even though you’re sad that we’re leaving you.

Make sure to sign up for our updates ! You can also follow on Facebook , Instagram , Twitter and Youtube .

That’s a wrap for now. If you have a burning question that I didn’t answer already, please leave it in the comments and I’ll try to add the answer to this post!

What to read next

39 thoughts on “choosing wings: our family gap year and trip around the world”.

SOOOOOOOOOO excited for you guys! Do you have dates for OZ? We would love to meet you guys if our trips coincided.

Also any tips on packing for multi seasons – something i am terrible at. Would love an update as you go! #fearlessfamtrav

Thanks you! It would be great to meet up 😀 Do you have an itinerary fixed yet?

I’m *almost* done with my packing list, just refining a few things. Have you started thinking about a capsule wardrobe? The keys are for nearly everything to mix-and-match and to rely on layering for the chilly weather. thefamilyvoyage.com/travel-capsule-wardrobe/

What an amazing opportunity this is for you and your family! Such an incredible experience the children will surely grow up and be forever grateful for. Best of luck to you guys and safe travels!

Thank you so much!

Wow what an amazing adventure!!! Sounds fabulous 🙂 tou are all going to love it!!

Wow! This gap year is an amazing plan! You should include Austria for your Europe trip!

We would love to add more countries, but we’re trying to make it back in time for my husband to get situated with a job before the next school year! He actually studied abroad in Vienna and we went there on our babymoon as well – such a beautiful country 🙂

Congratulations on this very exciting decision and time of your lives – how admirable and extremely exciting! I got a lot of awesome travel tips reading your blog thank you – especially loved the recommendation of staying in vacation homes instead of hotels – having a washing machine was the added benefit that convinced me we need to try it out! I look forward to following along with your unfolding journey and wish you every bit of luck and joy on your journey!

Thank you so much for your sweet comment!

How exciting! Seems a perfect time to up and leave for a bit too. I visited L.A last year and can totally understand your comment about traffic – it’s insane.

There are lots of things (and PEOPLE!) we still love here, but hopefully the change will be great for our family 🙂

These tips are great!! I don’t have a family yet but these are great tips to remmeber in the future. It’s nice that travel can still be made a priority even when you have children.

Glad you found them useful! Travel benefits us all, regardless of age… there are just extra wrinkles when little people are involved 😉

I also love to go on family trips and your post is pushing me to just go and plan one 🙂 . I loved your recommendations and suggestions. Especially liked this one “We chose our itinerary to travel the world with kids mostly based on three factors: personal interest, seasonal logistics, and health/safety concerns”. This one of the most vital part to consider when planning a long family trip. Also I think stroller will be very helpful as it is a long trip and kids will have to do a lot. Finally all the best for your trip and enjoy 🙂

Thank you so much! I agree, the stroller seems critical. We’re just on the fence as to which one — and it’s a big decision since we’ll have to live with it for almost a year.

How old are your kids? Where do you live? We’ve never regretted taking them on a trip with us, you just have to pace yourselves appropriately to keep everyone happy.

Congratulations on this big decision! What an amazing opportunity you and your family have.

So excited for you! I really hope you swing by our little corner of Germany when you’re over here so we can meet up. xx

Amazing! Love it! Can’t wait to read more!

I’m SO excited to follow along with you guys and can’t wait to ‘party’ (used very loosely!) in Israel! Glad the kids love their Tarn packs 🙂

This is so exciting! Your kids are going to love it – you should definitely visit Taiwan, and if you haven’t been to Italy yet try to squeeze that into the Europe portion of your trip. All the best!

Thank you! We actually went to Italy when our son was 2 ? What do you love about Taiwan?

Very exciting! I can’t wait to follow along. I know you aren’t looking to add stops but was disappointed to see your around the world trip doesn’t include a single stop in any of the 54 countries in Africa. Between my husband and I we have been to only six of them and they are all vastly different. The seasons are mild and safety isn’t an issue in many of them. It’s particularly important that Americans see Africa for themselves given the misinformation about the continent rooted in our own country’s role in pillaging the people and vast resources there. Anyway I’ll get off my soapbox. Enjoy your trip and I’ll definitely sign up for updates.

I absolutely respect your soap box!!! We have actually considered various options in Africa ? We may yet visit Morocco from the Iberian Peninsula. In considering adding Africa to our itinerary, we considered a few things: -the cost and time to get to Southern Africa from many other places make it a challenge to fit in with the rest of our needs -we prefer to stay out of malarial zones if possible -we would VERY much like to go on a safari and prefer to do it with a guide, but most tour companies don’t permit children as young as our daughter to participate

In total, we decided that we *could* have visited parts of Africa, but we wouldn’t have been able to do it the way we want to AND it would have come at a very high cost. It’s absolutely on our list of places to visit when our daughter is old enough, and it will probably be a dedicated trip rather than one leg of an already-complicated itinerary.

I appreciate your response. It makes total sense. I would definitely recommend Morocco if you can swing it. It really dazzles the senses. Also what about Ghana? No worries about malaria in the city. Accra is a cosmopolitan city and Cape Coast is a coastal town with expansive beaches. You’ll only have to travel to West Africa and America’s history is tied very closely to Ghana through the slave castles off Cape Coast. Safaris are definitely cool but the reality is most Africans see the big three less often in their lives than we do. It wouldn’t be part of how most locals live.

Ghana is a great idea but it may need to wait for a dedicated trip ? We’re hoping to be back and somewhat settled before the start of the new school year so it’s tough to add other countries. We’ve actually been discussing removing some countries from the European leg of our journey!

This is amazing! We had plans to do one as well, but life got in the way and we ended up moving across country instead. One day though! Enjoy it!

Also, it would probably be worth it to learn how to drive a stick shift before you go, I can’t imagine paying automatic prices in places like New Zealand! Plus, we found that the tiny bit of extra attention you have to pay when driving a stick helped in countries where we drove on the wrong side of the road.

I’m sorry you had to shift your plans, but hopefully the move worked out well for you!

About the stick… I refuse to drive overseas. I did it on our first trip abroad together because my husband wasn’t old enough to be on the rental car agreement, and the experience was so horrendous that I told him that he’d have to all of the international driving for the rest of our lives. He married me anyway 🙂 All that said, I have some experience driving stick but my husband has NONE. We just talked this weekend about him learning in advance of the trip to try to save $$$ (it’s a big issue in Argentina too) and he feels like it will just be another stress on top of driving an unfamiliar car in an unfamiliar area. Given my personal stance on international driving, I can’t fault him for wanting to minimize the difficulty! But you are quite right that we’d be better off if one of us could do it. That would probably save us a few thousand dollars, so it’s not completely off the table but unlikely to happen.

Fair enough! I’ve only driven abroad in New Zealand which was a dream, but I’ve had some horrible taxi experiences in India and Thailand, so I can definitely sympathize with only driving where you’re familiar! Best of luck!

Oh my gosh, how exciting!!! My husband and I drove cross country from Virginia to San Francisco a few years ago and it was awesome! Where in Virginia will you be coming? Thanks for all your transparency in this post. Have an amazing trip!!!

What an incredible adventure ahead of you! I can’t imagine the logistics of the trip like that. It takes me weeks to plan a two-week trip itinerary 🙂 Looking forward to following you!

Oh wow, what an amazing thing to do. I admire your bravery and am a tad jealous. While we recently made a big decision to emigrate from the UK to Portugal, your round-the-world trip with your kids sounds unreal. If we didn’t have our dog I think we would be seriously considering it before our son needs to start real full-time education. That said, my parents are close by so we have dog-sitters for holidays up to a few weeks long. I wish you all the best of luck and will be following closely as some of your destinations are on our to-do list. Thanks so much for sharing this post and linking up to #wanderlustkids!

Thank you! I hope you enjoy your new adventure in Portugal 🙂

How exciting! Best of luck to you. I will enjoy following along. 🙂

I have been blogging for over twelve years, and I want to offer a counterbalance to some of the prevailing (and wrong) wisdom on how to succeed. There is no doubt that travel blogging is a crowded field – and it is getting crowded by the day. A job that pays you to travel the world sounds like an amazing opportunity. On someone else’s dime, you get to travel to beautiful places around the world!

It’s certainly not that simple, but wishing you much success!

In the end can you tell approximately how much did the GAP year cost?

If you can provide a breakdown it would be awesome and I understand you saved because of HomeExchange.

We never did a full accounting but I would say that most families of four spend $80-100,000 for a gap year. In addition to the HomeExchange partnership, we did cover some flights with credit card points. To be honest if I’d been more savvy about points & miles we could have spent even less! If you’re in the planning stages, I highly recommend that you check out these credit cards for family travel and start accumulating points to cover all of your major flight legs – definitely focus on transferrable points like Chase. In addition I suggest that you start researching the Hyatt award program, which is a transfer partner for Chase and has lots of amazing value redemptions – plus once you reach their Globalist status you’ll get free breakfast even at their fancy hotels.

Safe travels,

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Travel inspo: 10 great places to go with kids in 2024

The best places to go with kids have plenty of action for children and enough variety to keep everyone in the family happy. While all-inclusive resorts , family beach vacations , and theme parks remain popular year after year, families are increasingly looking to smaller cities, outdoorsy destinations, and international vacations as places to go with kids, too.

Whether you’re traveling with a Swiftie or an ancient history buff, the best places to go with kids in 2024 have enough variety to please everyone in the family. From making music in Nashville to eating ramen in Tokyo, these are the top places to bring the kids in the year ahead.

MAKE MEMORIES: 50 family vacations ideas for the best trip ever

1. Nashville, Tennessee

Calling all Swifties! The Eras tour isn’t the only way to get your Taylor Swift fix in 2024. The mega-star donated $4 million to build the Taylor Swift Education Center in the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, where songwriting tutorials and banjo instruction are just a few of the interactive possibilities.

BUDGET TRAVEL: 13 cheap family vacations that are super fun

Known as Music City, Nashville has plenty of engaging ways to expose kids to new kinds of music. At Gibson Garage , celebrity memorabilia, live concerts, and a shop where you can build your own guitar are a magnet for music-oriented teens and tweens. And families are invited to listen to free live music along the Honky Tonk Highway before 7:00 p.m. on most nights. Stay at the trendy Bobby Hotel , which is home to a floppy-eared dog who loves to cuddle kids. 

2. Cody, Wyoming

Explore the American West in Cody. Situated at the doorstep of Yellowstone National Park, it makes a fine basecamp for park explorations and a worthy standalone vacation destination. A smorgasbord of outdoor options, from fishing to horseback riding, join attractions that explore the history of the American West.  

NO HIDDEN FEES: 15 best all-inclusive family resorts in the world

At the Smithsonian-affiliated Buffalo Bill Center of the West , five museums mingle under one roof, including the Plains Indian Museum, where Indigenous traditions are told through an innovative lens. The Heart Mountain Interpretive Center offers a window into the lives of the Japanese-American citizens who were interned there during World War II. A visit may set the stage for important family discussions about this brutal chapter in America’s history. Top off your trip with an overnight stay in a fully-equipped teepee at Cody Trout Ranch Camp .

3. Bastrop, Texas

For small town vibes with Austin’s cosmopolitan charms only 30 minutes away, nostalgic Bastrop is one of the best places to go with kids in Texas. Its pedestrian-friendly downtown is filled with shops, art galleries, and comfort food eateries, while Bastrop State Park is part of the Lost Pines ecosystem, a mosaic of pines, oaks, shrubs, and grasslands punctuated by hundreds of colorful bird species and dramatic wildflower blooms. You can swim, geocache, and bird-watch with hardly another person in sight. 

SAVE MONEY: Kids stay free at these 10 all-inclusive family resorts

Stay on the banks on the Lower Colorado River at the Lost Pines Resort and Spa , one of the best family resorts in Texas . Horseback riding, a lazy river ride, golf, and a corral filled with friendly alpacas and goats will keep kids entertained. The resort is adjacent to McKinney Roughs Nature Park, where you can soar through the treetops on a zipline. 

Building sand castles takes on a colorful distinction in Bermuda, just 600 miles off North Carolina’s coast, where beautiful beaches are fringed with pink sand. At Baby Beach on Horseshoe Bay, a natural pool surrounded by large rocks forms a protected environment of calm water for tiny splashers. 

BIG FAMILIES: 15 best all-inclusive resorts for families of 5+

Budding geologists will enjoy Crystal Caves , a subterranean fairyland of icicle-shaped formations of stalagmites and stalactites. Locals actually wear those knee-length Bermuda shorts, and tween fashionistas can stop by TABS and check out quirky and classic versions in sizes for both kids and adults. Stay at the Hamilton Princess Hotel and Beach Club , which has multiple swimming pools and overlooks the harbor. 

5. Providence, Rhode Island

Providence is a modest-sized New England city that packs a big cultural punch. For a rich visual experience, hit up the contemporary art collection, hands-on workshops, and robust family programming at RISD Museum . Meanwhile, the educators at the Providence Children’s Museum celebrate the power of play with water activities, an outdoor garden, and a lab where young innovators work with real tools, from glue guns to sewing machines.

FAMILY FUN: 19 best family resorts in the U.S.

Time your 2024 visit to coincide with WaterFire, a multisensory, periodic public art installation of bonfires that seem to magically perch atop the city’s three rivers. Dates are posted on the official WaterFire website and updated as events are added throughout the year. Stay at the convenient Hampton Inn and Suites Providence Downtown , which serves a complimentary hot breakfast. 

6. Tofino, British Columbia, Canada

On Vancouver Island’s remote West Coast, Tofino feels like the edge of the earth. The laidback vibe and amble aquatic adventures are a perfect match for outdoorsy families. Book a fishing excursion at the Tofino Resort + Marina’s Adventure Centre and you may see orcas, grey and humpback whales, seals, puffins, and sea lions.

TOGETHER TIME: 11 best adults-only all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean

Catch salmon, halibut, or lingcod in the pristine Pacific waters and have a local restaurant cook it for you. Take a boat to Hot Springs Cove and follow a cedar boardwalk through an emerald-tinged forest for a relaxing soak in geothermal mineral pools. Spend your nights in the casual guest rooms at Tofino Resort + Marina , where everything is designed to seamlessly blend with the natural surroundings.

7. Rome, Italy

The Eternal City brings history to life in a way that no textbook ever could. Marvel at famed ancient sites first-hand, including the great gladiatorial arena the Colosseum and the magnificent ruins of the Roman Forum. For a hands-on experience, book a timed visit at Explora , the Rome children's museum, where kids can play at being a railroad conductor, deejay, or gardener. 

TEEN-FRIENDLY TRIPS: 10 best vacation ideas for families with teenagers

When you crave a quiet corner in this energetic city, the public Rose Garden on the Aventine Hill is a fragrant oasis of calm. Splurge for a stay at the deluxe Rome Cavalieri, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel , spread across 15 acres of parklands.

8. Savusavu, Fiji

Fiji is a tropical island nation in the South Pacific Ocean, an archipelago of hundreds of islands and islets formed by volcanic activity millions of years ago. Visitors are lured here by the dreamy beaches, plush rainforest, and exceedingly friendly locals. And if Fiji is a dream, Savusavu is a dream within a dream. Locals call it Fiji’s hidden paradise, home to an astonishing variety of coral, a pearl farm, and a bean-to-bar chocolate factory.

TROPICAL TRIPS: Bora Bora with kids? These French Polynesia family resorts belong on your vacation bucket list

Savusavu’s pristine natural beauty and an immersion in Fijian culture can be yours at the Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort , one of the best all-inclusive beach resorts in the world. An array of activities from Fijian cooking lessons to snorkeling with the two staff marine biologists are at your fingertips. An incredible children’s program has a conservation message and personal nannies, for an all-inclusive family resort experience that’s hard to beat.

9. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Little kids and manageable-sized cities go together like peanut butter and jelly. Oklahoma City hits the sweet spot, with enough to do without overwhelming. The First Americans Museum shares the collective histories of Oklahoma’s 39 First American Nations with immersive activities and exhibits highlighting the unique identity of each tribe. 

FAMILY TOURS: 7 family travel adventures where someone else does all the planning  

The Boathouse District along the Oklahoma River has canoeing and kayaking plus miles of paths for walking and biking. The Myriad Botanical Gardens is a green space in the heart of the city. Stay at The National, Autograph Collection at First National Center , which retains fun vintage details such as original mail chutes and safe deposit boxes. 

10. Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo is very exciting and very big. To get the most out of a Tokyo visit with kids, it’s worth focusing on a specific neighborhood. My pick is Nihonbashi, the birthplace of modern Tokyo that remains the heart of the city with many kid-friendly attractions. Enjoy a hands-on papermaking workshop at Ozu Washi , where artisan paper is made in appealing patterns and colors.

ESCAPE THE COLD: 7 best tropical vacation spots for families

Fans are a symbol of national pride in Japan, and you can get acquainted with this elegant art form at Ibasen , where they’ve been handcrafting fans since 1590. Head to the Imperial Palace East Garden and stroll its shady paths, open to the public. When hunger strikes, slurp a steaming bowl of noodles at one of the many eateries on Tokyo Ramen Street. Stay in a serene parklike setting at Mitsui Garden Hotel .

The best places to go with kids in 2024 originally appeared on FamilyVacationist.com .

More from FamilyVacationist:

• 9 best hotels near Disneyland for families on a budget
• 12 best Amtrak vacations and scenic train rides in North America
• 17 best flight booking sites for cheap airfares

FamilyVacationist.com and TourScoop.com are owned and operated by Vacationist Media LLC. Using the FamilyVacationist travel recommendation methodology , we review and select family vacation ideas , family vacation spots , all-inclusive family resorts , and classic family vacations for all ages. TourScoop covers guided group tours and tour operators , tour operator reviews , tour itinerary reviews and travel gear recommendations . The views and opinions expressed in this column are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of USA TODAY.

Get up and go: These are the best family vacations to take with kids at every age

Where should we go on vacation is a great debate in family living rooms around the world.

Should we go visit grandparents or head to the beach? Maybe we should visit a theme park or take a cruise? Or perhaps we should trek to a far-flung exotic destination with lots of hiking?

There's an endless list of possibilities and factors to consider, with one of the important being the age of your children. Each developmental stage certainly presents its own challenges, but you can still have a fun-filled, memorable trip if you know how to handle those challenges and decide which family vacations are best suited for kids in each age group.

TPG surveyed real-world parents and staffers for their first-hand advice on navigating family travel to bring you the best family vacations with kids at every age and stage.

Best types of trips with an infant

Travel challenges.

Congrats — you have a new baby in the family! The good news is babies don't need much in the way of formal entertainment, though traveling with an infant isn't without its challenges.

While it isn't always picture-perfect at this stage, don't discount traveling with a baby. Once babies have a pretty solid sleep schedule, they can make for great travel companions.

If you are planning a long road trip, you'll need feeding supplies, diapers, wipes and multiple "just in case" changes of clothes for yourself and your baby. For a trip that involves flying, you'll need to find out the airline's policies for flying with an infant and bringing baby equipment like strollers and car seats.

No matter your method of travel, you'll want to choose a destination with baby-friendly amenities, a relaxed atmosphere and maybe even bonus perks like onsite babysitting so you can enjoy a parents' night out.

All-inclusive beach resort

A vacation where everything is taken care of ahead of time and you don't have to venture away from your resort is the epitome of convenience for new parents.

Many all-inclusive resorts , including Cancun's Finest Playa Mujeres , have dedicated water play areas for kids and complimentary baby care amenities like cribs, strollers and baby monitors.

If you want to get away for a walk on the beach or a romantic meal, infant child care with nannies accredited by the International Nanny Association is available at resorts like Beaches Negril .

When it comes to accommodations, a multibedroom suite or room with a separate area where your baby can sleep in a dark, quiet atmosphere will help keep that schedule you've worked so hard to create from getting too far off track. If you can't get an entire separate room, some family travel veterans have been known to make unconventional spaces like oversized closets and bathrooms work as makeshift nurseries .

Related: Best all-inclusive resorts you can book with points

Mountain cabin rental

Consider a peaceful cabin rental in the Great Smoky Mountains, Big Bear or the Rocky Mountains if you prefer a cool mountain breeze to the salty sea air. Most cabins offer full kitchens and many comforts of home -- and maybe even game rooms or hot tubs..

With the help of a home rental service like Vrbo or Airbnb , you can easily filter out cabins that are too small or large until you find one that's just right for you and your family. You may even consider making it a multigenerational trip that includes the grandparents so they can bond with their new grandchild.

Road trip to visit the grandparents

Alternatively, for that first trip away from home, you could hop in the car and take a road trip to visit your child's grandparents in their hometown (especially if it's as picturesque as the above destinations). Depending on your family dynamics, it can be a great way to get some practice in on packing and sleeping away from home, but with some friendly faces and arms waiting on the other side.

Some parents may be ready for a visit like this right away, while others may feel more comfortable waiting until they've mastered the basics of baby care. One thing's for sure, though: You can't beat the built-in babysitting.

Advice from parents who've been there

If you've recently had a baby, going on vacation is probably the last thing on your mind, but once you've settled into a routine and are feeling up to it, a change of scenery may be just what the doctor ordered.

TPG's director of travel content and mother of two, Summer Hull, remembers that, for some, the 3-6 month range is a golden window when going almost anywhere is doable with a baby who has a good sleep schedule. "Just put them in a carrier, and away they go," Hull said.

Once they become mobile, everything changes, so take advantage of their lack of mobility while you can.

Best trips to take with a toddler

As infants transition to toddlerhood, they become more aware of the world around them and require more entertainment and stimulation throughout the day.

That can be difficult while buckled up in a car or in an airplane seat for hours. A backpack full of board books, mess-free coloring kits and a trusty tablet can help alleviate the boredom. We're going to be honest, though: Of all the ages, the 18 months to 3 years range is the hardest for travel , as it requires the most active work from the parents.

You may also be in the midst of potty training and wondering how to manage such a monumental task while away from home.

Plan ahead by packing extra clothing, emergency pull-ups and possibly a portable potty chair if you are camping or traveling by car. If you know you have a big trip coming up, you may want to tackle potty training before your trip (still pack those emergency pull-ups just in case).

Despite these challenges, there is also plenty of joy that can come from traveling with kids at this age. After all, this is the time when they're full of wonder.

Because toddlers are inquisitive and energetic, any destination where they can explore their little heart out should fit the bill.

Beach vacation

Whether you opt for a beachfront resort suite or a home-away-from-home rental, a spot at the beach is an easy place to set your toddler to safely dig, splash, collect shells and search for sea life.

Although it won't be the same as the relaxing beach vacation you enjoyed pre-baby, taking a trip where you can observe your toddler indulging their sense of curiosity is still pretty fun. Just be sure you do all that is necessary to ensure water safety.

You probably won't want to spend the entire day in the sun, so choose a destination with other family-friendly activities to fill your time. In addition to its award-winning beaches, St. Petersburg, Florida , offers proximity to Fort De Soto Park, the Clearwater Marine Aquarium and the Sunken Gardens' tropical botanical gardens. Meanwhile, San Diego boasts its world-famous San Diego Zoo, museum-filled Balboa Park and the USS Midway Museum.

The 30-A section of Florida is also a fantastic, laid-back place to vacation on the beach with the whole family.

Legoland Resort is the only theme park specifically designed for families with kids age 2 to 12.

With locations in California, Florida and now New York, each Legoland park has attractions, shaded play areas, interactive exhibits and on-site hotels that cater to younger children, including toddlers. Staying on-site puts you steps away from the fun and comes with special perks like free breakfast, early theme park entry and character interactions. (But remember, perks vary by location.)

Mitchell Stoutin, TPG's director of engineering, took a unique approach to travel with his toddler.

Before visiting Sitka, Alaska, with his then 2-year-old and 4-month-old, Mitchell prepared for a struggle to keep his kids seated without getting fussy. Since neither child liked being strapped into a car seat, Mitchell purchased a Thule Chariot multiuse stroller and bike trailer to use while traveling around the small island. "We arrived with the stroller and rented bikes from the bike shop downtown so we could tow the kids around," he said. "We spent the week exploring trails, sipping coffee, eating fresh seafood and hanging out by the water."

This could be a stellar option if you are traveling to a similar destination that's easy to get around.

Related: Guide to flying with kids of every age

Best trips to take with a preschooler

Preschoolers are generally easier to travel with than toddlers because they have longer attention spans. However, they also sometimes see themselves as tiny adults.

This means stronger opinions, self-determination and the subsequent tantrums that come with not getting their way. To manage unexpected outbursts, keep your schedule loose and flexible, include plenty of breaks and pack more snacks than you think you'll need.

Your child may also be getting to the age where you debate leaving the stroller at home rather than lugging it around on vacation. Consider the amount of walking you'll be doing each day and whether you'll be out and about during nap time or after bedtime when the stroller can be used to hold your sleeping child.

If you want to test out leaving the stroller behind, research stroller rental options at your destination ... just in case.

As kids get older, more mobile and more independent, a whole new world of vacation options opens up. Now's the time to try new things on an extra-special family vacation.

Disney park

A Disney vacation can be fun at any age, but preschoolers are at that magical age where they believe in, well, magic.

It also helps that they are old enough and tall enough for many of the attractions. When you hit something they are not ready to do, Disney offers a rider switch service so parents can experience attractions their kids are too short for without having to wait in line twice.

Whether you visit Walt Disney World in Florida or Disneyland in California, max out the magic by staying on-site, booking a character meal and packing their favorite Disney character costume to wear in the parks.

But remember, these kiddos are still pretty young, so you'll want to build in lots of downtime for swimming and resting at your hotel to avoid the aforementioned tantrums, even if your kid has otherwise outgrown regular naps.

Ski vacation

For the most part, preschoolers are too young to be overly scared of trying something new. That makes now the perfect time to take them to the mountains for a ski vacation .

Look for a ski resort that offers ski school with small classes for this young age or even private lessons. In some cases, the length and cost of private lessons is reduced for children in that 3- to 5-year-old age range. For example, at Winter Park, Colorado, a half-day lesson for children age 6 and up starts at $699, while that same lesson for younger kids is $404.

Look for family-friendly lodging — preferably with a hot tub for soaking sore muscles — that offers on-site dining and easy access to groceries and other necessities. If there's ever a time to spring for a room at the best spot on the mountain, it's now. The Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort and Spa , which sits just steps from Beaver Creek's ski school, can be booked with points for an excellent rate.

Go on a cruise

Once a kid is 3 years old and potty trained, the world of complimentary kids clubs, including ones on several cruise ships, begins to open up.

Certain cruise lines are a better match for families than others thanks to their exceptional kids programming. Norwegian Cruise Line's free program for preschoolers includes activities like treasure hunts, arts and crafts projects and parades. Norwegian also has fun family amenities like bowling lanes, a miniature golf course and waterslides.

MSC Cruises offers similar child care and family activities, with its kids clubs divided into small age ranges, such as the Mini Club for kids age 3-6. This line also has a partnership with Lego, meaning your little ones will enjoy access to Lego play areas in the kids club and a dedicated Lego-themed day during each cruise.

Then, of course, there's Disney Cruise Line , which excels at keeping kids entertained. Onboard activities range from Disney cartoons showing in the movie theaters to character meet-and-greets to the Oceaneer Club, which is available to kids ages 3-12.

While traveling with his boys in preschool, Michael Gum learned that his kids especially loved hotel rooms with bunk beds and electronic drawing tablets for inflight entertainment.

Florida-based writer and mom Dani Meyering recommends parents invest in TSA PreCheck to breeze through security, as children 12 and younger can accompany parents with TSA PreCheck through the expedited security lane. Lots of credit cards you may already have in your wallet even offer a credit toward getting PreCheck.

On a recent trip, Meyering and her husband kept everything in order at the airport by designating one parent to manage the luggage and the other to be in charge of their son.

Both Gum and Meyering extolled the value of packing more snacks than you think you'll need. "It's survival mode on travel day," Meyering said. "Bring plenty of snacks."

Best trips to take with elementary-age kids

The biggest obstacle at this age is finding the right balance of fun and hands-on activities without overtiring them.

This is also the age where school absences and working around an academic calendar become realities for many families. While planning your vacation, be conscious of your child's limitations and don't book too many back-to-back activities. Even though these kids can make it through a busy day at home, leave time for some rest and recuperation in between marquee activities.

Best types of trips

At this age, kids are largely self-sufficient and able to handle a full day of adventures. By age 6 or 7, you can start mixing in more active outings like hiking, horseback riding and exploring new cities by foot.

Dude ranch or glamping resort

Dude ranches and glamping resorts let you experience all the fun of the great outdoors while staying in luxurious accommodations. Most offer a wide range of activities like fishing, boating, archery, cycling and swimming in an idyllic, natural atmosphere.

Westgate River Ranch Resort & Rodeo in Polk County, Florida, (about an hour south of Orlando) has air-conditioned glamping tents and luxe covered wagons, among other accommodation options, plus a weekly rodeo. The Ranch at Rock Creek in Philipsburg, Montana, offers skiing and snowmobiling in the cooler months and mountain biking and hiking during the warmer months.

If you have some Hyatt points to spend, the Rawah Ranch in Colorado has a kids program for those ages 4-10.

Bahamas resort

If you are ready to venture a bit farther from home for a beach vacation, the Bahamas is a worthy contender. Resorts like Baha Mar in Nassau have multiple hotels to choose from, some of which offer fun amenities like water parks and are bookable with World of Hyatt points , such as the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar.

The Atlantis resort complex, which sits just a few miles away, is also an option that has thrilled kids for decades. Since some of the towers are affiliated with Marriott, you can reserve select accommodations with Marriott Bonvoy points.

International adventure

This is an opportune time for your child's first big trip out of the country.

They're old enough to handle a long-haul flight (and yes, even kids love lie-flat seats !), and they are better able to appreciate the defining characteristics of your chosen destination, whether that's snorkeling in Bora Bora or enjoying afternoon tea in London.

Jessica Stephens, a mom of two, warns parents not to over plan. "Go in with an open mind and have a short list of things you must accomplish on your trip," Stephens said. "The other fun things you get to do are just bonuses!"

Best trips to take with tweens

When kids get into the double digits, they will probably want more space and privacy than they did when they were younger. If toddlers are the toughest age to travel with logistically, tweens may be the toughest age group to please.

If possible, you'll want to seek out accommodations with individual bedrooms or even a living room with a pullout sofa where your child can unwind at the end of a long day. Finding a space with an extra bathroom or two wouldn't hurt, either.

These kids are also entering an age where fun with others their age can outrank fun with mom and dad or younger siblings. This makes the tween years a great time to double up and take a trip with another family or cousins or go somewhere that has a club specifically for the tween age.

Even in the world of theme parks, resorts and cruise lines, some are better suited for tweens than others.

Outdoor adventure

If you've been holding off on long-distance hikes or other iterations of "roughing it," now might be the time. A U.S. national park is a good place to start.

From mule treks in the Grand Canyon to beachfront camping in Florida's Dry Tortugas National Park to discovering dinosaur fossils at Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado and Utah , each U.S. national park offers something special for everyone, including tweens. Remember that the National Park Service also makes park passes available for free to those in the fourth grade.

Speaking of (almost) free, kids in fourth through sixth grade qualify for a $59 Colorado ski pass that's valid at a variety of resorts .

Universal Orlando Resort

You can certainly bring younger kids to Universal Orlando Resort , but by the time they reach the tween years, they should often reach the height requirements for most attractions and won't be as scared off by the tall, looping coasters that far surpass the intensity of even Disney's most thrilling rides.

We recommend staying on-site in one of Universal's Premier Hotels since they are closest to the parks and provide everyone in your party with complimentary Universal Express Unlimited access to skip the standby lines during your visit. If you want to enjoy a real treat, go all out on a Universal VIP experience .

Disney Cruise Line

Disney Cruise Line knows how to make guests of all ages feel special, but tweens can be a tough group to charm.

Luckily, Disney has this down to a science thanks, in part, to their club for guests aged 11-14. Tweens will feel like teens while making fun projects with provided art supplies, partaking in dance parties, singing karaoke, watching movies, playing video games and more.

Mom Shana Loveday advises parents to let their tweens help plan the trip. She also recommends teaching them the invaluable skill of reading a paper road map. "Teach them how to read the map and let them have markers to track progress," Loveday said.

Best trips to take with teens

Like so many aspects of parenting a teen, the biggest travel challenge with this age group can be getting them excited and willing to participate. Balancing their potentially busy school and work calendars can be tough, too. Asking for their input on where you travel and what you do while there can go a long way. Allowing them to bring a friend may even earn you non-sarcastic "cool parent" status for at least a few days.

The sky's the limit at this point in terms of where you go and what you do. The training wheels are gone, and you can probably take the types of trips you used to go on before you had kids — just with a teenage twist to the plot.

New York City

There is so much to see and do in New York City. Not to mention, there are quite a few opportunities to sneak in U.S. history lessons while you're there.

We can help you choose a hotel and from there, it's up to you and your teen to decide which Broadway shows to see, museums to visit and landmarks to go to the top of for perfect panoramic views of the city for social media.

California road trip

California is well known for its theme parks and beaches, but it's also one of the best states for an epic road trip.

In addition to its general travel tips and visitor information, Visit California (the state's tourism board) offers a variety of road trip itineraries for every type of traveler. You can stick with the Highway One Classic road trip for unparalleled views of the California coast, or you can choose a trip that satisfies your family's specific interests, such as the Amazing Desert Oddities road trip or a Movie Locations Tour .

European adventure

Nobody wants to deal with jet lag, but it is true that teens are probably better equipped to handle it than their younger counterparts.

If your teen is taking European language classes in school, you could choose a destination where they could get in some real-world practice. Or, you can bounce from country to country, which is surprisingly convenient and affordable by train or plane.

Writer, podcaster and parent Jana Seitzer loves letting her teens help plan their vacations. "We've found over the years that when they are invested, they enjoy the trip more," she said. "When everyone gets to provide input on activities and locations, everyone gets at least something they want."

Best trips to take with your college-aged 'kids'

If your college-age kids have flown the coop, planning a vacation where they have the freedom they are used to can be difficult. Keep them involved throughout the planning process and try to keep the reins loose during your trip, with pre-arranged meeting times throughout the day. As long as you land on something that sounds mutually enjoyable that works for their schedule, odds are they'll be thrilled to take a trip on their parents' dime — especially if a friend can come along.

Consider how your kid in college likes to spend their free time, and tailor your plans to their favorite activities. You could spend a day lounging on the beach or trying more active pursuits like zip-lining or parasailing.

All-inclusive resort

Because the cost includes (almost) everything, an all-inclusive resort gives everyone the freedom to do what they want, when they want, without worrying about money.

Excellence Resorts in Cancun, Mexico; Punta Cana, Dominican Republic; and Montego Bay, Jamaica; are ideal options for families with kids in college. The adults-only section of Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya is another terrific option, as it caters to guests 18 and older. There are plenty of points-friendly all-inclusive properties, too, such as the Hyatt Ziva Cancun .

Multigenerational ski vacation

Whether you've been skiing together for years or you're all learning together for the first time, the college years are an excellent time to bring the grandparents (and maybe some cousins, aunts and uncles) along for a big multigenerational ski vacation .

Rent a spacious ski home close to the slopes so everyone has plenty of room to spread out when they're not shredding powder on the mountain as often as they choose during the day. You can even book a semi-private ski lesson for your whole group and tailor it to your current skill level.

Seitzer is an enthusiastic proponent of multigenerational trips, no matter your kids' ages. "Multigen travel is a fantastic way to spend quality family time with multiple family units making memories together," she said.

Traveling with kids of different ages

If you have multiple kids with significant age gaps in between, your biggest challenge will be finding a destination with a wide range of activities that will entice children from various age groups. Your best bet is a cruise or resort where the activities and entertainment are built right in.

Adventures by Disney

While you may feel sticker shock when you initially see the price tag, if you have a mix of ages in your family and the budget to support it, Adventures by Disney vacation packages can be a fantastic solution.

They offer guide-led trips on land and by cruise to destinations ranging from Wyoming to Antarctica . They take care of most of the details and work, and the price covers all meals and outings. Additionally, there are likely families there with kids of all ages so your group could blend right in.

Hawaiian resort

A sprawling resort with lots of activities and accommodations designed for large families will ensure everyone has an enjoyable vacation. The Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa is an amazing deal with Hyatt points. Plus, it offers daily activities like yoga, lei making and golf, as well as one of the best family pool complexes in the U.S.

There's also a kids club (for a fee) if you find yourself in need of child care for the younger members of your travel party.

Travel writer Sarah Gilliland has 10-year-old twins and a 2-year-old son. Her advice is to save her older kids' favorite activities for their little brother's nap time.

"When he sleeps in the stroller or I head back to our hotel with him for a nap, it's go-time for them," Gilliland said. "It helps their time with us feel special, especially since they had our undivided attention for eight years." She also recommends having a grandparent, another family member or a babysitter travel with you so they can help care for the younger kid(s) while you spend time with the older ones.

Mom Christy Kelley shared a helpful tip for keeping the boredom away while en route to your destination. "A friend once suggested that I take paper lunch bags and fill each with one activity and one snack for each hour of the trip so the kids always have something to look forward to," she told TPG. "It's great for kids of any age."

Bottom line

Naturally, these recommendations aren't set in stone. Some kids and families are ready to level up their travel early, while others like to keep things simple for a little longer. There's no right or wrong time for most types of trips, just general age ranges when some things tend to be easier than others.

If you want to head to Europe with your toddler, go for it. Or, if you want to head to Disney World with your grown kids, do it. Odds are high that great memories will be made no matter what you take on, as long as you're willing to go with the flow and keep your kids' wants and needs high on the priority list.

So, where to next?

Our Family Gap Year

Have fun and Travel the World with Kids

Our Family Gap Year Destination and Accommodation Guides

Check out our Family Friendly Travel Guides

Is it me or has lonely planet left families behind, below you will find our family-friendly, country-specific travel guides and custom built itineraries designed for families with small children..

This is the master list of each destination we visited on our 365-day family gap year.

Each location links to a destination guide which shows you our exact itinerary along with all the places we stayed along the way. Our trips are designed for families with smaller children (ours are 5 and 7) and this will be reflected in our list of activities and budget friendly accommodation recommendations.

I will not recommend a hotel/homestay/hostel we did not like, and I will make sure to point out the ones we found amazing or which provided exceptional value.

Our Family Gap Year Destinations:

1.  South Africa →  2.  Bali →  3.  New Zealand →  4.  Australia →  5.  Thailand → 6.  Cambodia →  7.  Vietnam → (back to Thailand) →  8.  Hong Kong →  9. Malaysia  → 10.  Singapore  →  11. Taiwan →  12. Japan

12. Japan with Kids

Enjoying our amazing homestay in Takayama (The Japanese Alps)

We spent 18 days in Japan as our final journey before returning home from Narita Airport. We loved Japan and it proved to be the “icing on the cake” that brought the perfect end to our journey.

Japan with Kids

11. Taiwan with Kids

Hiking the beautiful Walami Trail in Coastal Taiwan

Taiwan was not on our original gap year itinerary, but after several families raved about the heaps of natural wonder’s and activities for kids we decided to make it a stop on our way up to Japan  Farm stays, surfing, hiking and some of the most friendly people we have met on our trip, made Taiwan a great place to wind down as we started to prepare for our journey back home. Is Taiwan a “must see” destination on an Asian itinerary? If you’re looking for ego building international landmarks then maybe not, but if you enjoy pristine nature, suspension bridges, bike paths, family-friendly hikes and swimming holes galore, then Taiwan is definitely for you.

Taiwan with Kids

10. Singapore with Kids

The amazingly fun and FREE Gardens by The Bay Waterpark.

We traveled to Singapore because I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. After a week, it proved to be a cool, modern city that had plenty of great food and fun for the entire family. Although I wouldn’t consider Singapore a “must-see” destination on a trip through South East Asia, it provided a much needed week of respite from all the ruckus. Although it is definitely expensive for South East Asia standards we found a wonderful family accommodation at the Bettle Box  for $74/night and the food was both amazing and relatively inexpensive.

Singapore with Kids

9. Malaysia with Kids

In Kuala Lumpur at MUD the Musical!

Malaysia knocked my socks off! We spent well over a month exploring both mainland (peninsular) Malaysia along with Western Borneo (Sabah). Malaysia is a true melting pot of Aboriginal, Indian, Chinese and Muslim cultures and amazing cuisines. Peninsular Malaysia is clean, modern and beautiful. With a combination of big-city delights (think Kuala Lumpur and the Petronas Twin Towers), small-town wonders (think Penang), beautiful mountains (the National Park and Cameron Highlands)  and underwater worlds of wonder (the Islands). If that wasn’t enough, Borneo just happens to be one of the oldest and most biodiverse regions in the world. Malaysia should be on the top of everyone’s list on a trip to South East Asia. I am so glad we made it a part of our adventure. Diving, mountain climbing, jungle treks, sky rises and spectacular food, there is something for everyone in Malaysia!

The view from atop Mount Kinabalu in Borneo!

Malaysia and Borneo with Kids

• Kuala Lumpur:  Ceria Hotel Bukit Bintang  – $49 per night for a deluxe family room (after Agoda fees)
• Cameron Highlands:  Hotel De’La Ferns  –  a “boutique” hotel 2km up the hill from the main stomping grounds. We booked this because we were able to score a triple room at the last-minute reduced rate. The problem is that it is a 20-minute walk into the main town. The benefit is that it is quiet and provides an amazing free morning breakfast and spectacular scenery. If you have a car this would be great, otherwise, I would suggest one of the hostels in town.
• Penang:  Star Lodge  –  A very basic, no thrills accommodation but we were able to score two rooms right in the heart of Georgetown for a total of $40 per night. They had decent WiFi and there was a wonderful hostel next door where we ate French toast every morning.  It is definitely a “flashpackers” hostel, but you can book by the night and they had availability when the entire town was full because of the labor day holiday.
• Perhentian Islands:  Shari-la Island Resort * –  Probably one of the nicest resorts on the small island. Right next to Quivers Divers dive resort, it offers a protected bay for snorkeling (with wonderful fish), cheap rental gear and discount snorkeling expeditions. The daily breakfast buffet is worth $20 US and is included. At $69 for our family of four per day, it was the perfect stay. We also heard good things about Coral View on the big island so that may be worth checking out.
• Sepilok (Sandakan) The Orangutang Sanctuary, Sun Bears, and Borneo Rain Forest:  Paganakan Dii Tropical Retreat ** –  This is one of the coolest places we stayed on our trip with budget bungalows overlooking the Borneo Rainforest and the most spectacular shower you may ever have. Don’t miss out on a very memorable experience. If you are staying in Sandakan, stay here!
• Kinabatangan for the River Safari:  Sukau Backpackers   – a great budget spot for the entire family. Very friendly staff.
• Semporna: Sea Fest Hotel –  A great mainland stay prior to beginning your hop to Mabul.   
• Mabul: Four days as part of our Sipadan Diver package: Scuba Junkie
• Kota Kinabalu:  Hotel 54 –  A Lonely Planet top pic, Hotel 54 is a superb place to stay while you are planning a climb, recovering from a climb, or simply enjoying a day of activities in the city. They have a great communal dining room and the owner is a gem who can help you with planning treks and tours.

8. Hong Kong with Kids

Up top the peak tram in Hong Kong

No place surprised me more than Hong Kong . Clean is an understatement – hell I was even kicked off the playground for taking a nap because it wasn’t sanitary. We loved every single second of our one week stay in Hong Kong.  It is expensive, but this can be circumvented with some careful planning and being OK sleeping in a space the size of a walk-in closet. The city is buzzing with activity, and sites that will blow your socks off. Full of natural and modern beauty, it is the gateway to China, a gate that did not open sadly for us since we were not able to afford mainland China Visas for the family. Oh, China why do you shut me out? We will be back and this time with Visa’s in hand. But, boy was we glad we got to spend time in Hong Kong!

Hong Kong with Kids

Where we stayed in Hong Kong with kids: 

• The Mira Inn (Not the Mira Hotel) $69 for a triple room with a pair of bunk beds and a queen for the parents!

7. Vietnam with Kids

Touring the Mekong Delta on a traditional longboat

Despite the fact, my wife was hit by a motorbike in Vietnam and had to be airlifted from Hua Hin to Bangkok (long story) Vietnam stole more than my limited time visa, they stole a bit of my heart along with it. The trip from HCM city up to Danang by bus was beautiful, fun-filled and getting better by the minute. We will return to finish our trip someday as I cannot die without seeing Hanoi, Halong Bay, and Sapa, But until then I am just happy my wife is OK.

Vietnam with Kids

Where we stayed: family friendly Vietnam accommodations

• Ho Chi Minh City:  Dragon Palace Hotel District 1  $35 per night
• Mekong Delta:  Hung family Homestay
• Mũi Né:   Huang Kim Hotel   $26 per night for a family room
• Nha Trang:  LeSimoLe Boutique Apartments   $60 per night for an 8-bed family room with a kitchen
• Hoi An:  Starfruit Homestay

6. Cambodia with Kids

At Angkor Wat with our amazing guide for the day.

Angkor What? Exactly, Cambodia has so much to offer as a family destination. We spent only 2 weeks here, but we wish we had more. Cambodia is a land steeped in so much history (much of it dark) yet through all this, it has come out a stronger people. With elephants and temples and some of the most beautiful natural countryside, I have seen in South East Asia. Cambodia shouldn’t be missed.

Cambodia with Kids

Where we stayed: family-friendly Cambodia accommodations

• Siem Reap:   Siem Reap Rooms Guesthouse $25 – $35
• Phnom Penh:   King Grand Boutique Hotel  $45
• Sen Monorom lodge and elephant trek:  The Nature Lodge  check prices

5. Thailand with Kids

Climbing as a family in Krabi

We ended up spending more time in Thailand than any other place on our trip. This was not necessarily planned but, if you have to spend a couple months somewhere it might as well be Thailand. Thailand has world-class beaches, great food, accommodations to fit all budgets, endless massages, cooking classes, temples, the best place on earth to learn to dive or rock climb and Bangkok just so happens to have a world-class hospital (which is good to know if you are hit by a moped and need surgery like my wife did). Thailand is a bit more “touristy” than the rest of Southeast Asia, but there is a reason for this. Join the crowds, throw back some $1 Chang Beers and enjoy the easy life for a bit. From north to south there is plenty to please everyone. And our kids loved every second of it.

Thailand with Kids

4. Australia with Kids

Hangin “2” at Coolangatta beach on the Aussie Gold Coast

Australia ! Could I live here Yes! OK, I am a surfer, so Australia was like a chocolate ice cream lover taking a job at Baskin Robbins. But, beyond the surf, Australia had it all – Amazing wildlife, hikes, diving, snorkeling, iconic cities, rainforests, scary snakes and flesh-eating crocodiles. And to top it off they have places like Pretty Beach ! We love Australia, and if I could afford to I would return every year. To bad your food is so expensive and your accommodations can break the budget. Despite this, we love you Australia!

Australia with Kids

3. New Zealand with Kids

Hiking the famous Hooker Valley Track at the base of Mount Cook

If it weren’t for the expensive food, New Zealand may just be my favorite place on planet earth. Why? Because every direction I turn it looked like a page ripped from National Geographic Magazine. Stunning would be an understatement. NZ is so full of natural beauty, they may hold the patent on it. Go here with your kids, hike, get in touch with nature and cozy up in an RV or Holiday Park .  I was afraid our kids wouldn’t have enough adventure in them to handle NZ, boy was I wrong.

New Zealand with Kids

2. Bali with Kids

Family surf lessons on Kuta Beach. The perfect beach break for beginners.

The Balinese are a Hindu people holding onto their heritage in a swarm of tourist activity. They do it with such grace and style it will leave you in awe. The Balinese are some of the warmest people on earth, they love children, the food is spectacular.   Just about every hotel or hostel will leave you speechless and still below budget.

Bali with Kids

• See More: Bali Photo Gallery

Where we stayed: KKid-friendlyBali accommodations

• Jimbaran: Hotel Puri Bambu   ****  Spectacular budget-friendly hotel accommodation in Jimbaran that will make it hard to leave your hotel.
• Kuta:  Satriya Cottages   – Nice, well priced, central location – pull some cushions from the poolside lounge chairs at night and save money on the extra bed for your kids.
• Sanur:  Prima Cottages   – Great budget family-friendly hotel in the heart of Sanur with lots of decent eats nearby
• Balian Beach:  Pondok Pitaya   * One of the best places we have ever stayed!
• Pemuteran:  Amertha Bali Villas   – When it comes to finding the perfect place in Bali for kids, snorkeling, beach, and relaxation, it is hard to beat the Amertha Bali Villas.
• Ubud:  Gayatri Bungalows   – The Gayatri Bungalows are simple, clean and conveniently located hotel right in the center of Ubud. It’s a family-run business with a traditional feel. If you can’t find an apartment to rent in Bali this is a great alternative and gets big points in my book for its prime Bali real estate and great pricing.

1. South Africa with Kids

African Safari at Hluhluwe–iMfolozi Park just

Oh, South Africa , you stole my heart in so many places. This was the very first stop on our trip. Thank God, because the first bit was hard for my kids to adjust to being away from home, school, family, and friends.  Luckily, South Africa was there to welcome us with open arms. When people ask me where was my favorite place on the trip, I will often name other destination, but honestly, I think it may very well have been South Africa. With nature, beauty, history, animals and budget accommodations it may very well be the perfect family destination.

South Africa with Kids

Back to top  ↑

Leave a Comment Cancel

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

The Best Vacations for Kids at Every Age: A Trip Guide for Parents

By CNT Editors

All products featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

For those of us who live to travel, making sure we raise Good Global Citizens is maybe even more important than sending them to a Good College. Did we just say that out loud? But during the darkest hours of new parenthood when you can hardly remember to brush your teeth, that fantasy of trekking through the Himalayas with bouncing baby on your back feels about as plausible as learning how to play the cello at 40. And suddenly the old adage you thought would never apply to you starts to make sense: The days, especially those early sleepless ones, are long and the years, between Little League and prom night, are short.

So when we cut to browsing the aisles of Bed Bath & Beyond to pick out XL twin sheet sets for the kid’s college dorm and we find ourselves asking: How did we get here? Or more importantly, where did those 18 summers go? We’ll want to have a good answer. Did we pack their heads, hearts, and palates with enough color, texture, spice, humanity, compassion, self-reliance, and grit before sending them off into the world? Did we outfox urban ennui by dragging them to see that temple, that waterfall, or even that roadside dinosaur? Or did we default to the path of least resistance, surrendering to our fears of disrupted sleep schedules or arched-back refusal to be strapped into the stroller mutiny in the middle of the Papal Apartments and settle for the all-inclusive beach resort with human-sized cartoon characters?

The secret to successful family travel is, truthfully, all of the above. It’s an endurance game which, like parenthood itself, requires symphonic pacing—the highs, the lows, the fasts, the slows—and an against-all-odds sense of ambition, improvisation, and patience in order to push through the tough stuff.

What follows is a little nudge from some of our contributors, all of whom are currently immersed in various stages of family travel. We tapped them for their tips, tricks, and trip recommendations for different age groups (trust us, that destination that miraculously worked when they were 6 months old might not be such a success once they reach 6 years old). Plus, the gear you absolutely have to pack before hitting the road. You likely will, at some point, be that family with the screaming baby in bulkhead, but remember, we were all babies once. —CNT Editors

For longer flights, travel specialist Hannah Cote recommends breaking up the journey with a stopover.

You’re taking trips, not going on vacations.

Talk with parents and one thing becomes abundantly clear about travel with kids between 0 and 2: It’s hard. “Expect the worst and enjoy the small wins,” says Traveler contributor Melissa Liebling-Goldberg. No matter how thoughtfully you schedule a trip, you may need to drop everything to make sure the youngest traveler in your group is able to simply eat or sleep. There is a silver lining to this, though: Kids under two usually have a pretty simple set of needs. And as Regan Stephens, a Traveler contributor and mother of three based in Philadelphia, notes, they are also quite portable. “We took our first daughter to Nantucket , Dallas , Bermuda , even to Italy.”

Lots of prospective parents might write off further flung travel (“Now you’re taking trips, not going on vacations,” says Stephens), but they need not. Hannah Cote of Legacy Travel , a travel specialist with a focus on Hawaii , has a good tip that may seem counterintuitive if you want to take a longer trip: “I try to recommend a stop over if parents aren’t sure how their child will react to being on a plane for that long. On our last trip to Maui we stopped in Los Angeles for a night to break up the trip so it wasn't too hard on the kids.”

Several parents I talked to, though, found slightly less ambitious trips were the most successful with kids this age. Road trips were a popular choice, and they do have a lot going for them: You can run entirely on your own schedule (or, more likely, your toddler’s schedule), you’re sure to have room for everything you want to pack, and they allow for easy tangents. That sort of adaptability is the most important asset for parents making their first trips with infants and toddlers. As one parent put it to me: “Kids can get interested in just running up and down a ramp. So don’t stress that they aren’t getting to that cool thing you want to show them.”

As I learned on my son’s first flight when he was 6 months old, even when they aren’t doing much, kids need a lot of stuff. But nothing is more important than making sure a child that young can sleep. The Slumber Pod can keep a new hotel room or Airbnb dark, comfortable, and hopefully a little quieter.

Buy now: The Slumber Pod, $170, slumberpod.com

—Noah Kaufman

For ages 3-5, trips packed with interactive activities are key.

It’s all about creating moments to learn new things—and still having fun.

Jessica Puckett

María Casbas

CNT Editors

When asked about the best trip she’s taken with her 3-year-old twin sons, Marquita Wright instantly says Sarasota, Florida. “When we went to Sarasota, visiting the Mote [Marine Laboratory] was an absolute must. Being able to actually touch the stingrays, starfish, and sharks, absolutely blew my mind. Also, the Wild Kratts Ocean Adventure there offered interactive activities to help the boys learn about marine life; they loved the conveyor belt exhibit that teaches how sharks lose their teeth when they eat. They could not get enough of it.”

The trip, which took place over the twins birthday, wasn’t limited to educational activities, though. Wright was able to take the boys to Siesta Beach , known for its powder white sand and crystal blue water, and take advantage of the kid-friendly restaurants populating the area.

But blending education and fun in an easy to navigate way doesn’t have to be limited to domestic trips for the 3 - 5 age group, either. I have traveled a lot as a duo with my son, who was born in Poland and has spent the first four years of his life traveling at mine and my husband’s side. As a family, we prioritize cultural connectivity—our son had been to Greece, Portugal, Spain, and Egypt before he could walk or talk. However, one of the most memorable trips we have taken together was to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, just before he turned 3. We stayed right in the middle of it all: walking distance to the Central Market, the beautifully colorful Sri Mahamariamman Temple, and the huge outdoor shopping market Petaling Street. He was so excited to look at all of the colors, and people at Central Market liked to offer him free treats. I’m also a stickler for consistency and directly across the street from our hotel was a restaurant called Banana Leaf Curry House, where we shared big plates of curry with potatoes and sautéed cabbage, always washed down with mango lassis.

Another highlight? When we rode the Hop-On, Hop-Off bus stop, a double-decker bus that allowed my son to see almost every inch of the city without actually having to do anything. We passed through places like Little India, KL Bird Park , and the breathtaking Jamek Mosque. I just loved watching my son's eyes light up as he gleefully pointed out everything new he discovered.

I’ve found it imperative to have a tablet of some sort while traveling with ages 3-5. The Amazon Fire 7 has parental controls and you can download a ton of educational games, cartoons, and activities to keep the little ones busy throughout long journeys.

Buy now: Fire 7 tablet, $50, amazon.com

—Imani Bashir

Jermaine and Sarah Griggs took their three children on a yearlong journey around the world.

It's the golden time for family travel, when your little kid morphs into a big kid.

Kids have an innate ability to be impressed by the world—one that also has an expiration date. So use travel to capitalize on your child’s sense of wide-eyed wonder now, before the tween years steal it away.

“The 6-10 year old range is the sweet spot for families,” says Cate Caruso , an adviser for luxury travel agency network Virtuoso and the owner of True Places Travel . “Their mind is open, and travel can be truly formative.”

Cruises and safaris, Caruso says, offer the ultimate bang for your buck, and she recommends more intimate cruises like Lindblad Expeditions , which offer personalized tours through destinations like Alaska and the Galápagos . “Raising global citizens is in [Linblad’s] DNA,” she says. “They get the young traveler, they understand you should never underestimate your children’s abilities to experience the world, and they push kids to do things that their family may have thought they couldn’t do.”

Landlubbers should consider safaris with operators like Micato and Abercrombie & Kent , both of which can move at a family’s unique pace. For ages 6-10, Caruso recommends safaris in Africa’s southern region, where in addition to marveling at animals, kids can also interact with the local community and connect to history. South Africa, she says, hits all the marks.

“That’s where Gandhi became a global citizen with his race consciousness, and it’s an ideal way for families to help kids connect the dots,” she says. “It’s also mind-blowing—you’ll see lions, giraffes, and elephants, but also meerkats, penguins, and pangolins.”

Traveling with this age group also presents a great opportunity for teaching responsibility. When Jermaine and Sarah Griggs took their three kids on a yearlong journey around the world , Jadyn Griggs was 11, Layla was 7, and Brendan was 6. They played a game called “fun versus fact” on the road, pairing every educational outing with a fun one like a trip to a water park. But each child was responsible for packing and carrying their own luggage. “Even Brendan was able to pull his own suitcase,” says Jermaine. “Once we made that switch, they became travelers. It increased their maturity.”

Stories bring the world to life for school kids, so load up on simple chapter books that are set in your destination to help your young reader feel connected. Allow your child to pack and carry their own kids-size roller suitcase —and don’t forget an iPad or tablet to make long plane flights a breeze.

Buy Now: Lil Flyer suitcase, $140, younglingz.com

—Debra Kamin

If a resort or beach trip is where you land, pick a multi-dimensional place like Maui, which has plenty of activities for pre-teens.

The key to a great trip? Make them feel like true partners rather than just along for the ride.

Finally! Your kids more or less eat the same food as you and keep roughly the same hours. They can pack for themselves and lug around their own suitcases. They’re curious, smart, semi-helpful, and—early onset ennui notwithstanding—they still want to spend time with the family. Now, you just have to pick the type of trip and destination that will capitalize on this so-called honeymoon period of family vacationing.

This may sound a little Brady Bunch, but call a family meeting to discuss trip ideas. Have everyone come with at least one type (like adventure, nature, or ocean) and two destinations (one close by and one farther flung). You’ll make the final call that works with your budget, schedule, desire, but it goes a long way to hear where and what the junior family members are excited about. Even if the three-week South Pole adventure isn’t feasible, elements of it, like wildlife spotting or crazy nature, can likely get worked into whatever trip you decide on in some form. From there, keep them involved in the planning process, and get them excited about the destination—guidebooks and fiction or movies set in the location are great windows into a place, its people, and culture.

The beauty of this age group, however, is that just about any type of trip and any destination is on the table; they can handle long haul flights, endless hours in the car, real hikes, and pounding the urban pavement. The strategy, as compared with younger age groups, is planning enough rather than scaling back, and engaging rather than distracting. (An hour splashing in the pool and a visit to the kids club will no longer cut it.) If a resort or beach trip is where you land, pick a multi-dimensional place like Maui where, in addition to pool time and a stable of different types and priced accommodations, there’s amazing hiking and wildlife, small towns and inland farms for day visits, opportunities for independence (walking to another resort for a shaved ice, meeting other kids), a robust local food movement, manageable museums, and countless water activities (surf lessons, snorkeling, kayaking, fishing excursions).

But this is also prime time for a first big cultural trip. Kids in this age group have had some formal exposure to world history, music, or art at school, and chances are, some place that they’ve studied really resonated with them, whether it's Senegal for drumming or Rome for ancient architecture or Tokyo for anime. Let their curiosity and passion lead. If they’re interested and engaged, it’s going to be a great trip for you, guaranteed.

Blissfully, this age group doesn’t really require any fancy gear or gadgets. If they’re curious about marine life and you’ll be near the ocean, invest in a reasonably-priced but quality snorkel set rather than relying on whatever the resort has. Cressi makes a fin and snorkel set specifically for this age group. Or, if they’re into wildlife, get them a decent but affordable pair of real binoculars that are lightweight and durable.

Buy now: Cressi Youth Junior Snorkeling Set, $45, amazon.com

Buy now: Celestron Nature DX 8x32 Binoculars, $109, amazon.com

—Rebecca Misner

Active vacations are particularly popular with parents traveling with teens, says luxury travel advisor Josh Alexander.

Adventure and excitement are the secret sauce.

The good news? Traveling with older teenagers is almost the same as taking a trip with honest-to-goodness adults. The bad news? Well, we did say almost.

But let’s focus on the positives first: Luxury travel advisor Josh Alexander, who works for Protravel International , has many clients with children this age booking the most adventurous vacations out of anyone. “We see a lot of National Parks trips, biking trips through specialized companies like Backroads and DuVine Cycling and Adventure Co. ; they’re vacations with scheduled outdoor time that offer ways to be active,” says Alexander. Yellowstone is among his most popular destinations, especially because it’s easy to tack on Bozeman or Jackson Hole to the itinerary.

On the other end of the spectrum, late-stage teens are also old enough to appreciate the history, culture, and culinary delights of an urban vacation. Alexander has many families with teenagers opting for history-filled cities like Charleston , Savannah , and New Orleans . Atlanta-based author and chef Nandita Godbole has traveled frequently with her 17-year-old daughter since she was an infant, and now finds they can do activities together, as opposed to choosing something that only appeals to one of them. “We sometimes go antiquing, do scenic drives, or even stop at the local farmers market if we see one,” she says.

The best strategy, regardless of where you go, is to plan trips that keep teens curious and energized. Elizabeth Thorp, a communications strategist and writer based in Washington, D.C., has three teenage daughters with whom she travels frequently. “The vacations that are the most successful are destinations that they’re interested in and where there are activities for them,” she says. “They haven’t done as well when they’ve just sat on a beach; they need external stimulation.” One of the family’s recent favorites was a trip to Jamaica, where the girls were excited to test out all the water sports they’d researched ahead of time.

As for that “almost” we mentioned earlier? Don’t forget the snacks. “You have to make sure they’re fed or they get grumpy right away,” says Thorp.

Thorp makes sure that all three of her girls never leave for a trip without their Mophie power banks. That way, they can document their travels without worrying about their phones dying. “I borrow it from my teens,” she says. “When you’re out and about, your phone can run out so quickly.”

Buy now: Mophie Powerstation, $70, zagg.com

—Juliet Izon

This article has been updated with new information since its original publish date.

Packing List

By signing up you agree to our User Agreement (including the class action waiver and arbitration provisions ), our Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement and to receive marketing and account-related emails from Traveller. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Free guide: Learn how to travel full-time with your family!

Where Do You Stay During A Family Gap Year

Who sells their house and most of their belongings, packs up the car with clothing and laptops and children, and hits the road…forever? THIS GAL!

Okay, truth be told, our adventure is not going to be forever, but we ARE on a year-long (but probably to be extended to a year-and-a-half) Family Gap Year. When we tell people what we are doing, they respond (almost unanimously) with “Wow!” and then “That’s so cool!”

Yep, we are living the dream of full-time family travel , and let me tell you a secret. It’s easier than you’d expect! You can do it too, and I’m here to be your guide.

If you haven’t read it already, I recommend starting with my family gap year overview post here: How To Take A Family Gap Year .

This post is all about accommodations, so let’s get on with it.

Where To Stay On A Family Gap Year

The way I see it, there are four different places you might stay while traveling: in a hotel room, in a rental home, in an RV, or in a tent! I’m going to talk briefly about the latter two and a bit more about the first two, since we are staying in hotels and houses.

Full-Time Family Travel in an RV

RV traveling is a popular way to see the country. You’ve got everything you need right there, including your beds, kitchen, and bathroom! It’s a big initial investment to buy or rent one, but then you don’t have to pay to stay in a hotel.

The good news is that you don’t necessarily have to pay by the night. But you do have to plan ahead to ensure that you have a place to park, and, depending on where you go, some places do charge a nightly fee.

There’s also the upkeep and care of the RV itself, about which I know nothing except some horror stories about emptying the holding tanks…

You wouldn’t be able to travel overseas with your RV, unless you travel there first and then rent one there, but if you’re going to be on one land mass for awhile, then it can be an awesome way to travel with your family and see the sights!

Don’t head out on the road without reading about these awesome  Road Trip Car Hacks !

Full-Time Family Travel While Camping

I think to travel full-time with kids while only camping would be a task for only the bravest of brave people! But it could surely be done!

We started our trip with some camping gear, thinking that we might camp every once in a while, but we ended up getting rid of it when winter came because it took up a lot of space in our van, and we hadn’t yet used it.

But if you’re a hardcore outdoorsy person, you’d just have to have all of your equipment with you and probably some idea of where to camp in different places.

A great online resource is freecampsites.net . There you can find a map and information about campsites all over the country, from full-service campgrounds to primitive camping areas.

Full-Time Family Travel Using Hotel Rooms

Another option is to stay in hotel rooms while you travel. We have done some of that, especially when visiting places short-term (1-3 nights). The benefit here is that you can pretty much know what to expect, and someone else will clean up after you! (But be cleanish- come on, don’t be a jerk.)

With a hotel, you’re going to get what you pay for. So if you’re traveling on a budget, that might mean cramped space and no kitchen. If you have the budget to stay in a nicer place or a bigger room, then you might have plenty of room and a full kitchen. But again, that’s going to come at a price. And not many hotels will discount for a longer stay.

I do have two great tips for getting free hotel nights!

First, I book almost all of our hotel rooms using hotels.com . It’s a great way to search tons of hotels in your area and filter by price, distance to popular sights, etc. AND, after you book and stay 10 nights, you get a free night (average of the 10 nights previously paid for). If you use the site enough, sometimes it will offer you secret discounts and upgraded membership features for free. It’s a great system that I’ve used for years.

Second, try using credit card rewards. We rack up the points by using our card when we pay for our accommodations (see the next section), and often when we need a hotel room we have enough points to cover it. Our card is through Bank of America, and when you use the points on travel (hotel rooms, airfare), every 100 points is worth a full dollar. Points are worth less if you cash them in for…cash, so it makes more sense to spend them on travel.

We never budget for spending those credit card reward points, so sometimes we are able to treat ourselves to a nicer hotel stay than we would normally choose if we were paying out of pocket!

Full-Time Family Travel Using Airbnb

Now for the method of travel accommodations that WE use!

Airbnb is an essential part of our whole plan. I scoffed at first when my husband suggested staying in Airbnbs , but then I did some research and realized how do-able it would be.

With our current budget, we can spend about $40-$80 per night on accommodations, but we are taking advantage of the fact that most Airbnb rentals are greatly reduced when you stay long-term.

Many renters will offer a weekly discount or a much-steeper monthly discount, often 50% off and sometimes up to 80% off the normal rate! Because of this, we have been booking our locations for at least 28-30 nights at a time, and we’ve been able to consistently find places plenty big enough for the six of us in the range of $1000-$2000 per month.

This does mean that we aren’t bouncing from place to place every few days, which is good because we do actually have jobs and kids who need a bit of stability. So it does reduce the number of total places we can visit in a year. But it also means that we get to stay long enough in each location to really experience the city like a local.

We have tried to choose locations that have a lot of things to do and are close to a major city that we can explore. And we almost always do a smaller visit somewhere, when traveling in between monthly rentals.

So, for example, between our month in Washington and a month in Arizona, we visited Portland, San Francisco, drove the PCH, and went to Disneyland. Before heading off to Texas, we spent a few days in Denver and a day in San Antonio before checking into our month-long rental on South Padre Island. Then we celebrated New Year’s Eve in New Orleans on our way to Florida. Our next stop is probably Nashville, and we’ll see Atlanta on the way there.

My one piece of advice when staying in an Airbnb is to take comprehensive pictures of the place as soon as you arrive. We had one owner who insisted we had broken a doorknob (we had not) and continued to pester us to pay for it. Luckily Airbnb has a conflict resolution system, and they determined that we were not at fault. If you have pictures of the condition of the rental when you arrive, you shouldn’t have to worry about having to repair or replace anything that you didn’t harm.

At the same time, keep in mind that you may need to replace something at some point if you cause damage. But you would need to do the same every once in awhile if you were living in your own house. You are also likely saving lots of money on utilities. For example, our kids cracked a plastic hamper at one location, which we replaced. Bottom line: just be an honest person.

So where will you stay on your family gap year?

If you’ve read this far, I have to assume you are at least considering taking your own family gap year, so where do you think you’ll stay?

There are definitely pros and cons to each option, and it will have to come down to your own personal preference. Whether you choose a tricked-out RV, a quirky Airbnb, or hotel-hopping, you’re definitely going to have an unforgettable time!

Want to learn more about how to take your family on a family gap year? We teach you absolutely everything you need to know, step-by-step, to travel full-time with your family and have the adventure of a lifetime. Check it out in the  Family Gap Year Academy !

Family Travel Expert

Megan Tenney traveled full-time for four years with her husband and four children. She's visited 49 of the United States, backpacked across Europe, and spent some time in Canada, Mexico, Asia, and the Caribbean. Megan is the owner and author of Family Gap Year Guide , where she shares stories and tips from her family travel adventures and teaches other families how they can take life on the road!

One Comment

• Pingback: How to Take a Family Gap Year | Shaping Up To Be A Mom

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

2023 US Family Travel Survey Results

Written by Family Travel Association

The 2023 Family Travel Association annual family travel survey highlights post-pandemic trends, positive attitudes and opportunities for growth.

Today, the Family Travel Association released findings from its 2023 U.S. Family Travel Survey on family travel trends. Produced in partnership with the NYU School of Professional Studies, Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality and Edinburgh Napier University, the survey polled over 3,300 parents and grandparents about their travel plans, behaviors and attitudes, and summarizes a variety of travel trends in the industry.

The results show that the family-travel market will continue the robust growth it has enjoyed since the end of the pandemic—81% of parents said they are likely to travel with their children in the next year, and many families are planning to increase (or at minimum, maintain) their level of travel spending.  Despite these strong spending forecasts, affordability is said to be a challenge to family travel by 59% of parent respondents.

One trend that remains strong: interest in travel advisors for trip planning – 38% of parents have used a travel advisor to book at least one family trip in the past three years and 71% of parents indicate that they are willing to use a travel advisor in the coming years, which is an increase over 2022.

Large family groups are a big contributor to the market growth, with over 50% of parents saying they are planning to travel with grandparents and children. The top choice for “multi-generational” travel (grandparents, parents, and children) continues to be beach vacations. Whereas “skip-generational” travel (children and grandparents, without the parents present) lean towards museums and cultural attractions.

According to Peter Bopp, Director of Research for the FTA, families are increasingly aware of the positive impacts of travel. “This year we probed parents on their children’s recovery from the pandemic and what role family travel plays in helping that recovery—88% of parents reported that family travel is helpful to their children in overcoming some of the lingering impacts of the pandemic. In addition, 84% of parents reported that family travel helps make their children more adaptable and open to new experiences, 62% say that it gives them a more positive outlook on life, and 61% say it helps them with their social skills.”

Lynn Minnaert, Professor and Head of Subject, Tourism and Languages, Edinburgh Napier University and co-author of the survey, also notes: “Our survey shows that parents plan to maintain or increase their spending on family travel in the coming year. However, despite this strong forecast, we see families are starting to express concerns about affordability and the rising cost of travel, and that they are starting to change their travel behaviors. For example, 50% of our respondents say they will avoid hotels and airlines that charge extra fees, 49% say they will pay closer attention to cancellation and refund policies, and 36% say they will choose more affordable accommodations than they did in the past.”

In addition, each year, the U.S. Family Travel Survey asks respondents to rate the travel industry on how well it serves the needs of traveling families. This year, they gave the industry at B+ (better than last year) and noted several areas of friction they would like to see addressed:

• The challenge and added cost of being seated together on flights.
• The scarcity of family rooms or connected rooms in hotels.
• The high cost of family travel, and the desire for lower-cost options and discounts.
• The need to improve the quality and level of service across the industry (with regular reference to the labor shortage across the sector).
• The dislike of hidden fees and charges that make pricing lack transparency.

“Being a parent of two young kids, it’s empowering to see that family travel has positive impacts on the social-emotional development of children, while also helping to offset many negative lingering effects of the pandemic,” said Anna Abelson, Adjunct Instructor at the NYU SPS Tisch Center of Hospitality. “Parents deal with many anxieties in children and young people, and family travel is a valuable parenting tool for tackling these and other issues. For example, the survey revealed that family travel makes children less isolated (58%), encourages them to be more adventurous with food (48%), and makes them more comfortable around strangers (44%). It’s hard to overestimate the role of family travel.”

The 2023 US Family Travel Survey represents responses from more than 3,000 parents and grandparents in the U.S. and was conducted in the Summer of 2023 by the Family Travel Association (FTA) and the NYU School of Professional Studies Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality, in partnership with Edinburgh Napier University, and with support from Telecharge, The Shubert Organization, Trafalgar Tours/The Travel Corporation Family of Brands, and Club Med (prize partner). This is the eighth year for the annual survey, and this year’s sample included a larger percentage of respondents in higher income brackets with more advanced educational backgrounds than in prior editions.

A summary of the survey highlights includes:

• International family travel is making a strong comeback post-pandemic.
• Beach vacations (54%), visiting family and friends (49%) and visiting museums and cultural attractions (41%) are the three most common family travel types.
• The most common booking window (33%) for booking a family trip is two or three months before departure .
• Summer remains the most popular travel season, followed by spring break.
• When asked in which type of accommodations they planned to stay in the coming year, hotels were the most-selected answer (84%). Resorts come in second at 50%, and vacation rentals third at 47%.
• Domestically, the most popular states for family travel are California, Florida, Hawaii and New York .
• 71% of respondents indicate that they are willing to use a travel advisor for their family travel needs in the next two years, which is an increase over 2022 (52%). These findings indicate that the position of travel advisors in the family travel space is strong.
• 80% of respondents agree that travel has helped their children see the world from a broader perspective, 67% agree that their children have become more interested in other cultures because of their travel experiences, and 62% that travel has helped their children to be more confident.
• 88% of parents feel that family travel is helpful to their children in overcoming some of the lingering impacts of the pandemic.
• 50% of parents say they will avoid hotels and airlines that charge extra fees .
• Over half of the grandparent respondents (54%) say that they plan and organize their multi-generational travel experiences.
• Over three quarters of the grandparent respondents (79%) say that they plan and organize their skip-generational travel experiences.
• Hotels are the most common lodging option (53%) for multi-generational travel, followed by vacation rentals (43%) and resorts (31%).
• 76% of respondents plan to travel internationally with their children in the next two years. Europe is the most popular continent for family vacations (1. Italy; 2. United Kingdom; 3. France), Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean also remain popular.

For more information and to access a copy of the survey, click and download here or contact the Family Travel Association at [email protected] .

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comments are closed.

• Notify me of follow-up comments by email.
• Notify me of new posts by email.

Meet the Board: Jenn Lee

Jenn Lee, Travel Planners International’s VP of Industry Engagement and Support, isn’t shy about her obsession for guiding and leading today’s entrepreneurial-minded travel advisor community. So, it was a natural fit for her to join the board o

Meet the Board: Stephanie Lee

Stephanie Lee is the founder of Host Agency Reviews (HAR), a website that connects over 70k visitors a month to travel industry resources. HAR helps people looking to join the travel industry the roadmap to successfully start and grow their travel ag

Meet the Board: Tamara Gruber

A former marketing executive, Tamara Gruber launched We3Travel.com in 2013 to share her passion for family travel. Now a travel writer and podcaster based in New England, Gruber works to make it easier for others to plan vacations by providing de

Trends in the Family Market Recap

Recently, the Family Travel Association presented an hour-long Lunch & Learn webinar covering the latest Trends in the Family Market, hosted by three experts in the industry. Here are just a few key highlights from the full discussion, which is a

Meet the Board: Karlene Angus-Smith

Karlene Angus-Smith has been with Sandals’ Unique Vacations since September 2002, working her way up over the years to her current role as Associate Director of Industry Affairs. Her new position allows her to work along with the Director of Indust

FTA Member Spotlight: Family Travels and Adventures

Kristin Luz has been traveling her entire adult life, so it only made sense to help others do the same. From trekking the Inca Trail to sailing on a 50-foot yacht in Greece and visiting village markets in Morocco, Luz and her family have done and see

The 2023 Family Travel Association annual family travel survey highlights post-pandemic trends, positive attitudes and opportunities for growth. Today, the Family Travel Association released findings from its 2023 U.S. Family Travel Survey on family

Why Cruise Lines Make For the Perfect Family Trip

There are a lot of benefits to working with the largest cruise line in the world, especially for families. As of May 2023, Carnival Cruise Line operates a fleet of 25 ships, with another in the works, across 15 different home ports spread across the

FTA Member Spotlight: Il Viaggio Travel

Sustainability, accessibility, education—Il Viaggio Travel does it all. While based in Costa Rica, “Il Viaggio” is actually Italian for “travel,” inspired by co-founder Stephanie Sheehy’s family and heritage. The initial hope was to draw

Welcome to the Family: Discover DeKalb

Just outside of Atlanta, Georgia lies a haven for family travel. North of the downtown area, Discover DeKalb—a new FTA member—represents a group of cities and towns with a hugely diverse selection of travel offerings. Michael Vescio, Director of

Lunch & Learn Recap: Cowboy-Cations

Every few weeks, the Family Travel Association is hosting a 30-minute virtual Lunch & Learn with suppliers, industry experts and panel discussions. Being an FTA member, you can not just attend these webinars, but also access the recordings at any

safetravelRX: 24/7 Peace of Mind

Would you know how to call for an emergency responder in Italy? Could you find a pharmacist in Egypt that speaks English? What about the latest health guidelines in Costa Rica? Even if you’re a seasoned traveler, you can’t account for every situa

• Visit Family Vacation Critic on Facebook!
• Visit Family Vacation Critic on Twitter!
• Visit Family Vacation Critic on Instagram!
• 1 Subscribe to stay up to date!
• Little Kids

9 Best Resorts for Toddlers

Traveling with a toddler can be both a pleasure and a pain (c'mon, admit it…

10 Best Hotel Amenities for Kids

Sure, free drinks and complimentary Wi-Fi rank high on the lists of most desirable hotel…

The 12 Best Indoor Water Park Resorts in…

The best part about indoor water parks? You can visit them any time of the…

LEGOLAND Florida vs. LEGOLAND California

There are two LEGOLAND theme park locations in the U.S. (soon to be a third),…

The Ideal Family Vacation, According to Kids

Have you ever asked your kids the question: "If you could go on vacation anywhere…

12 Best Amusement Parks for Toddlers and Young…

An amusement park will be the perfect spot to visit once quarantine is over, to…

Recommended Destinations for Little Kids

Disneyland, CA

Disney World, FL

LEGOLAND, Florida

Myrtle Beach, SC

North Conway, N.H.

Sesame Place, PA

Trending for Little Kids

The Best Family Pajamas for 2023

It’s that time of year again – to get matching pajamas for everyone in the family! From flannel to fleece, we’ve got the best picks…

10 Best Waterproof Winter Boots for Kids

Having fun while stomping through the snow is a terrific way for children to stay active in the fresh cold air. But dressing properly is…

10 Best Winter Mittens for Toddlers (That Will Actually Stay On)

Tiny mittens are adorable, aren’t they? But finding ones that fit properly and actually stay on can be a frustrating task. Isn’t it funny how…

8 Things You Should Never Wear at the Airport

Getting the entire family out the door and to the airport is a task that warrants a vacation all its own. And oftentimes, some of…

8 Best Water Shoes for the Beach

Inspecting tidal pools for critters and splashing in the waves is more enjoyable when nobody’s complaining about sore feet. Enter the water shoe—the go-anywhere footwear with…

8 Best Swim Floaties for Kids 2023

Whether you have an infant, toddler or a young swimmer, floaties for kids are a fun and a safe staple for any day in the…

8 Best Beach Wagons and Carts for 2023

What’s more relaxing than a day of sand and surf? The sea breeze, the warm sun, and best of all… the unimaginable amount of family…

11 Best Road Trip Games for Families

Games for a family road trip need three ingredients in order to maximize their vacation mileage: portability, a minimum number of small parts, and a…

Your personal family vacation planning starts now

Get expert advice, handpicked recommendations, and tips for your family all year round!

Get family travel & tips from our experts

By proceeding, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use .

Thanks for signing up!

• Massachusetts
• Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Washington D.C.
• Washington State
• Niagara Falls
• Playa Del Carmen
• Paris, France
• Rome, Italy
• Venice, Italy
• Florence, Italy
• Lisbon, Portugal
• Madrid, Spain
• Barcelona, Spain
• Seville, Spain
• London, U.K
• Antigua and Barbuda
• Cayman Islands
• Saint Lucia
• Turks and Caicos
• United Arab Emirates
• Cartagena, Colombia
• New Zealand

• All Inclusive
• National and State Parks
• RV Vacations
• Skiing/Winter Activities
• Summer Vacation
• Winter Travel
• Spring Break
• Animal Encounters
• City and Culture
• Virtual Vacations
• Weekend Getaways

• Packing Tips
• Road Trip Tips

Family Travel Tips

• Travelling With Babies
• Travelling With Toddlers
• Gifts and Gear -Travel Gift Ideas
• Submission Guidlines

Family Vacations to Plan a Year in Advance

SHARE THIS ARTICLE

Vacation planning is one of the greatest delights of family travel! Some vacations are easy to put together last minute because they require little planning. Alternatively, many of the most memorable vacation destinations require months or even years of planning. Now, when you add in traveling with kids, vacation planning becomes even more complicated! With children, there are often essential elements to put into place well ahead of a family vacation. During this time when a lot of travel, especially international travel, isn’t possible, dreaming and planning for our next big family trip can be a great option! To help you start planning, we’ve put together this list of the 6 Family Vacations to Plan a Year in Advance .

Disney World

Disney is magical whenever you visit, but there are certain things you can plan on your trip that elevate the vacation for your family! We’ve put together a resource to help you decide the best time of year to visit Disney World as a family. Additionally, we’ve also gathered all of the best Disney planning resources for your vacation planning . If you start early enough, you’ll have the time to familiarize yourself with the lodging, dining, and entertainment options available, as well as schedule them into your itinerary. With so many options for each park, Disney is definitely one of the vacations to plan a year in advance .

RELATED : Find the Best Time of Year to Visit Disney World with Kids

Why You Should Plan This Trip A Year In Advance

Once you decide when you want to go to Disney World, your next task is to look over all of the attractions and options for your trip. Disney World includes four theme parks, two water parks, and a sprawling shopping district. Take time to look over what to do in each of these areas and make a priority list. This will make you better informed about where to stay, as well. Because there are so many parks and activities, what you decide to focus on will be a factor in where you stay. 

There are a variety of ticket options, including the Park Hopper Pass which allows you to visit more than one park per day. Plan how many days you will stay and secure your tickets accordingly. Exactly 180 days before you travel to Disney, make your dining and special event reservations. Several popular reservations fill quickly. Know what these are and be ready to book if you’re hoping to include these in your vacation. Then, the next benchmark for your Disney vacation planning is to secure your Fast Passes for the rides you want to ensure a short wait for. Fast Passes are secured 60 days before arrival for guests staying onsite. Or, 30 days in advance if you’re staying offsite. For this reason, many families choose to use a Disney Vacation Planner .

RELATED : Disney Planning Resources You Need to Check Out!

United States National Parks

In 2019, more than 300 million people visited the national parks in the United States! Not only are these beautiful parks popular to visit, but travelers love staying within the park. In addition, lodging inside a national park can make the experience more immersive and less complicated. However, if this is your travel plan, it is important to know that this is one of the vacations to plan a year in advance ! Some of the most coveted lodging options begin booking 6 to 12 months in advance. If you have specific dates and locations you’d like to stay at and want to go to in the summer months, you’ll want to book your reservations up to 13 months in advance for the most popular choices. 

RELATED : 10 Best National Parks in the United States for Families

Some of the most coveted lodging options begin booking 6 to 12 months in advance. If you have specific dates and locations you’d like to stay at and want to go in the summer months, you’ll want to book your reservations up to 13 months in advance for popular choices like Yellowstone or Acadia. In addition to making lodging reservations in advance, you’ll want also to make advanced reservations for restaurants within the parks. Dining reservations at historic and well-known restaurants often require reservations which fill up quickly too, sometimes up to 6 months in advance. Additionally, it’s a good idea to know what trails and sights you want to see within the parks. Many of them are large and spread out. Depending on your schedule, you could find yourself at the far end of the park with your dinner or lodging reservation in a different corner of the park!

Lodging and dining are not the only pieces of national park vacation planning to begin early. In fact, many trail permits and shuttle reservations have limited availability or require advanced registration. For example, if you plan to go to the Grand Canyon and want to go on the guided all-day South Rim mule tour, reservations begin filling 15 months in advance! Regardless of which park national park you explore, it’s worth noting that many of them are vacations to plan a year in advance . Finally, there are a few National Park accommodations that are particularly tricky in planning. We’ve listed them here:

Popular National Park Lodges to Book Ahead (Not an extensive list!)

• Yellowstone: Old Faithful Inn
• Glacier National Park: Many Glacier Hotel
• Yosemite: Yosemite Valley Lodge , The Ahwahnee
• Grand Canyon: El Tovar Hotel , Bright Angel Lodge
• Glacier Bay National Park: Glacier Bay Lodge
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park: LeConte Lod

RELATED : The Best Guide to Yellowstone National Park with Kids

Way up north, past the Arctic Circle, lies Lapland, located in the northernmost part of Finland and Sweden. It is the place to go if you’re looking for an unparalleled look at the Northern Lights ! Plus, Lapland hosts a magical Santa Claus Village, dog sledding, and many other wintery adventures. Unfortunately, there are no direct international flights to Lapland, so you will need to first fly to either Stockholm or Helsinki. As such, you’ll definitely want to do some prior planning before heading to this Finnish paradise. 

There are exciting things to do year-round in Lapland, but the most popular time to visit is the winter months of December through February. This period alone begs for vacation planning, as temperatures average between -13℃ to 3℃. The Northern Light peak in December through March, which is also when the ice and snow hotels are open. With all of the snow on the ground, plan to take advantage of all things winter. Kids will love taking a dog sled or snowmobile under the cozy dark sky! As winter daylight hours are limited, planning ahead to maximize your time is paramount. Additionally, families love bringing their little ones here to see Santa in his hometown during the Christmas and New Year’s season. All of the attractions with Santa are very popular, making Lapland one of the family vacations to plan a year in advance .

This winter wonderland is perfect for family travel! Those visiting Lapland in the wintertime should plan far enough in advance to secure a stay at the Arctic SnowHotel or in the Glass Igloos. These are both incredible experiences. How many people can say they slept under the Northern Lights in an igloo? If your itinerary doesn’t allow you time to stay in one of these locations, you may still visit the Snow Hotel for a small fee. You’ll be in awe at what can be built out of snow in such a short amount of time! Finally, as with many of these once-in-a-lifetime trips , the price tag will be higher than your average vacation. Knowing this in advance allows you to save and look for discounts. Yet another reason to begin the trip planning process to Lapland early!

Safari in East Africa

Taking a safari to see African animals is a major vacation planning endeavor. However, the experience you’ll have with your family will be well worth the effort. Most of the countries where safaris take place require long flights to coordinate. A safari may be a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. Typically, an African safari requires multi-day travel just to arrive, making it the kind of vacation best experienced with more than a one-week stay. Along with coordinating your personal travel to and within the country, consider what you’re hoping to see and do when you take your East African safari. 

RELATED : Exciting 6-Day Safari Itinerary In Tanzania For Families

Once you land, there are additional travel arrangements to coordinate. In addition, you may need documentation to enter the country beyond your passport (visas and vaccination records, for example). Along with this, you’ll want to carefully consider all of your lodging options from roughing-it tents to luxury lodges. Finally, depending on what experience you’re seeking, do your research, and get recommendations so your expectations align with reality! These are some of the many reasons that the Galapagos Islands are one of the Family Vacations to Plan a Year in Advance .

Plus, if you’re looking to witness the annual Great Migration or hoping to spot the iconic Big 5, you will want to ensure you are in the right location at the right time. This will allow the best chances to spot animals. May through September in East Africa is the best time to see the most popular animals. Because these summer months are during the dry season, animals may be easier to locate in groups surrounding watering holes. You’ll also have better views of the animals because the vegetation is not as thick. With that said, if you’re hoping to catch the Great Migration in Masai Mara , Kenya, that may not occur until later in the summer, maybe as late as November. This is why you’ll want to know your expectations for the safari and what you’re hoping to see from the beginning of your vacation planning !

Machu Picchu

Families have been fascinated by Machu Picchu since their remains were uncovered in 1911. This remote area of Peru has also become a popular family-friendly destination, especially between July and October. Due to its popularity amongst travelers, tickets and local transportation must be booked well in advance. Additionally, these months are the most pleasant in terms of weather, but not in terms of crowds! November through March is the rainy season, with downpours and muddy trails. In February, the Inca Trail is closed for maintenance every year. This leaves the springtime months of April, May, and June as the best times to plan your travel to Machu Picchu. Also, be aware that the residents of Cusco province are permitted free entry to the ruins on Sundays. This is in addition to the regular number of allowed visitors.

Next, you need to consider which route to take. You can reach Machu Picchu in several ways. It is worth noting that some of them are more kid-friendly than others, however! Arriving on the famous Inca Trail is the most ancient (and often preferred way) of reaching the ruins. Since it is a multi-day trek of continuous hiking at high altitudes, you’ll want to consider if this is a good choice for your family. The Inca Trail can be done in either a four-day or two-day trek. Permits are required to hike on this well-known trail and are limited to 500 people/day. These hikes require a guide to accompany your group and are usually sold out months in advance. 

Additionally, there are other easier treks to reach the ruins. For the most direct access to Machu Picchu, many visitors take a 20-minute bus ride up to the ruins. Another option is a 90-minute walk from the town of Aguas Calientes. However you arrive, you must purchase a ticket in advance on the official website . The tickets have specific entrance times and are guided for two to three hours. 6:00 a.m. is the most popular entry time and the one that sells out in advance the quickest! 

For lodging options, the super luxurious and small Belmond Sanctuary Lodge is right next to Machu Picchu’s entry gate and an enviable place to stay for the earliest morning access. Most visitors, however, find a variety of lodging options in Aguas Calientes. Finally, you will likely pass through Cusco on your way to Machu Picchu. It’s also the closest airport to access the Sacred Valley and ruins. Don’t rush through the city, known for its rich history and fun cultural things to do!

RELATED : Take a Virtual Vacation from Home to Peru !

Galapagos Islands

The Galapagos Islands, off of the coast of Ecuador, is an enchanting archipelago whose ecosystem will amaze everyone in your family! A variety of flora and fauna is the real attraction on the islands. The Galapagos is also famous for its incredibly diverse wildlife population! If there is a specific animal you are hoping to see, this is where planning ahead becomes essential. Some animals are only seen in certain months and visit specific islands. You’ll want to make sure you coordinate your travel time and itinerary so you have the best chance to spot the desired animals. Certainly, this is one of the family vacations to plan a year in advance !

The peak season to visit the Galapagos Islands is mid-June through early September, when the land and water temperatures are a little cooler. There is not much fluctuation in temperature because the islands are located on the equator. However, during the summer months, the Humboldt Current cools temperatures a bit. The current also brings plankton-rich waters that attract fish and certain birds. Additionally, the holiday season of mid-December to mid-January is another peak season when it’s essential to have reservations made well in advance.

Next, there are several options for lodging during your family trip to the Galapagos Islands. All of which require advanced planning . Firstly, there are three inhabited islands where you can choose to stay. If you opt to stay on one of the islands, your days will be filled with day trips to various islands within the National Park . Five islands can be accessed in one day. Or, you can stay in a land hotel, meaning these five islands would be the ones you can access. Additionally, since you will travel out and back by boat each day, a good portion of the day would be dedicated to travel. 

Then, another option to consider is staying aboard a ship. The ship would be your home base and travel throughout the night, allowing you to wake up in a new location each day. Although the boat would be more expensive upfront, the bottom line is that if time is a significant factor, you’ll want to cruise around the islands. Boats in the Galapagos Islands can carry a maximum of 100 passengers. This makes the experience more personal and tailored, but also means the reservations fill quickly. Finally, diving reservations are particularly important to schedule ahead of time.

Bonus Idea for Advance Planning!

Our last recommendation for vacations to plan a year in advance isn’t exactly a location . But, we do think it is one of the most special types of trips to plan! Multigenerational travel creates memories and connections with the special people in our lives. Bringing grandma, grandpa, aunts, uncles, and cousins along adds fun to the adventure but also brings additional details to consider. Because multigenerational travel generally involves more people, there will be more schedules to coordinate. Finding a time when everyone can escape from work, school, and other commitments might require a year to pull off. Along with agreeing on a time frame that will work for everyone, the destination will be key. Often this type of large group travel is more about the time spent together than the actual destination. Discuss expectations as a group and decide what aspects of planning are a priority.

As you plan, think about the demographics of your group. For example, are there babies in the group that will need quiet space for nap times? Will there be individuals in the group who need wheelchairs, accessible rooms, attractions that don’t require stairs, or a lot of walking? All of these factors will be important to acknowledge as a group and to take into consideration as you plan. Finally, multigenerational travel is a type of vacation that requires a little more planning, but the benefits of the shared experiences will be held onto for a lifetime. In fact, we’re such strong believers in multigenerational travel, we’ve written a whole article about all of its benefits!

RELATED : Why Kids Should Travel With Their Grandparents

Let the Vacation Planning Begin, Thanks to Our Community!

We hope this compilation of the 6 Family Vacations to Plan a Year in Advance excites and motivates you as you look for future travel opportunities. Even if future travel is uncertain, we all hope for a day when it’s safe to visit interesting spots worldwide and make long-lasting memories with our families! A special thank you to our Families Who Love to Travel Facebook community for their input and recommendations for these exciting vacations to plan a year in advance . We hope you join our Facebook community , find us on Instagram ( @families.love.travel ), and pin our articles to your Pinterest boards to find all the details again in the future! 

*Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some of the attractions, accommodations, or things to do on this list may be closed. Please ensure availability before making your decision. 

*This post may contain affiliate links that may earn us a small commission, at no additional cost to you. Affiliate links in no way inform the hotels, sights, products, or other recommendations included in our articles. All opinions and recommendations expressed here are compiled from submissions submitted by the generous members of our Families Who Love To Travel community.

Planning a Sedona itinerary for families is a great way to ensure that everyone enjoys their time in this beautiful Read more

Gather your family together for a memorable meander through the jetting, dusty rock formations sprawled across Badlands National Park! Located Read more

​​Tokyo is a captivating city with endless fun to offer on a 7-day itinerary with kids! From the bright lights Read more

If you’re searching for a 6-day safari itinerary in Tanzania for families, you’re in the right place! From pristine valleys Read more

Thanks for reading!

Love our content?

Stay in the know by  subscribing to our weekly newsletter .

Immerse yourself in a world of limitless exploration by joining us on  Instagram at families.love.travel .

Join our vibrant  Facebook community, "Families Who Love to Travel,"  (where family travelers like you can ask for advice and share tips with other families!).

Plus, you can read our latest articles by following our  Facebook page .

Shop for Family  Travel  Memorabilia  on Shop Families Love Travel.

Latest Articles

How to plan a yellowstone national park family vacation.

Everyone knows that Yellowstone National Park makes for a classic family vacation. Strolling the boardwalks...

Best Beaches® Turks and Caicos Review By A UK Family

Beaches Turks and Caicos may not seem like a typical vacation destination for a UK...

All About the Cayman Islands With Kids: Important Information You Need to Know

If you’re traveling to the Cayman Islands with kids, there’s some important information you need...

• Next »

Travel Gift Ideas

18 Exciting Travel Toys For Young Kids That Will Keep Them Entertained The Whole Trip

Top Travel Books for Little Kids

Top Travel Books for Tweens and Teens

National park with kids.

6 Days in Acadia National Park with Kids

One week itinerary in zion and bryce with kids.

Use These 10 Tips For Your Baby’s First Flight

Families Who Love To Travel contributor Meghan Oaks provides her 10 best tips for your...

When you're planning a family vacation, it's important to pack travel toys that will keep...

6 Best Travel Toys for Toddlers on a Road Trip

What are the best travel toys for toddlers? With help from our Facebook community, Families...

Angie Reedy

Last Updated on 2 years by Antonia Grant

5 Places to Travel Abroad With Your Kids This Year

London, lapland, and tanzania are on the cards in 2024..

• Copy Link copied

TAASA Lodge offers a walking safari among several other singular experiences.

Courtesy of Go2Africa

Is it worth traveling abroad with your kids, especially with so many great options in the United States? Short answer: yes. That’s especially true if you consider one of these family-friendly destinations our writers have visited in recent months. They’ve been roaming with their children in the United Kingdom, Japan, Tanzania, Greece, and Swedish Lapland and have unearthed some great spots for the whole fam for 2024. Just try not to think about the flight there (and especially the flight home) . . .

Osaka, Japan

Theme parks and enticing street food are among the highlights of a visit to Osaka.

Photo by Usa-Pyon/Shutterstock

Wandering through Osaka’s neon-clad neighborhood of Shinsekai with my son—a hard-to-impress tween with a thirst for photo-worthy culinary creations—we passed takoyaki stands advertising their octopus-based wares with 3D tentacle-covered displays and a conveyor belt sushi joint adorned with an enormous rotating nigiri platter. Ultimately, we were drawn into Jumbo Tsuribune Tsurikichi , a restaurant boasting expansive pools of fish that you can catch with provided bait and rods. Here, they’ll cook and serve whatever you reel in—which, in our case, was a beast large enough to feed a family twice our size.

Memory-making experiences like this are only the beginning here, where maximalist signage beckons hungry travelers at every turn. And despite rising food costs across the globe, affordable eats are still easy to find in Osaka, making it an enticing choice for anyone looking to test their taste buds without breaking the bank. Even the pickiest of eaters will find something to love in this dynamic destination, and fun-loving families will find a variety of singular eateries. Dine alongside Pikachu at the popular Pokemon Café or enjoy impossibly cute Mario-inspired meals at Super Nintendo World at Universal Japan , which will soon offer even more options in its new Donkey Kong–themed land , slated to open in 2024.

Where to stay

For an immersive experience, families can sleep on traditional tatami mats at Ukiyoe Ryokan . The Cross Hotel Osaka , meanwhile, provides comfy digs located steps from the bustling food stalls in the Dotonbori area.— Amanda Adler

“I spy” gets a whole lot more interesting when there are leopards, hippos, and warthogs to peep.

Taking a toddler on safari is not for the faint of heart; I knew if I was gonna do it, I needed serious help. Enter Go2Africa , a seasoned tour operator staffed by specialists who’ve traveled extensively with small children throughout East and Southern Africa. These experts knew exactly which camps were the family-friendliest and how to safely travel between them. They arranged private safari drives for us in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area , a UNESCO-protected World Heritage site with Africa’s densest population of large animals, and a quiet corner of Serengeti National Park. Over multiple game drives in the two regions, we spotted lions, leopards, hippos, ostriches, flamingos, warthogs, and roughly a gazillion wildebeest, but it was a dazzle of zebras lingering within arm’s reach of our 4x4 that really had my son clapping up a storm.

Check out TAASA Lodge , a boutique bush camp in a 15,000-acre concession north of the Serengeti, and Gibb’s Farm , an 80-acre organic farm and coffee plantation less than an hour from Ngorongoro Crater. Both properties hire guides, trackers, and staff who truly love children, as opposed to merely tolerate them. Both also have swimming pools—a fantastic way for kiddos to spend some time in between game drives. —Ashlea Halpern, contributing editor

Athens, Greece

Ancient history comes alive in Athens.

Photo by Sven Hansche/Shutterstock

While history and ancient ruins may seem boring for little ones at first, Athens is actually an entertaining and educational family destination. Before you even leave, get your kids into Greek mythology and history—there’s the graphic novel series Olympians that reinterprets the mythologies and a funny and engaging podcast by National Geographic called Greeking Out that my eight-year-old son loves. Once you land, kids will be eager to see the sites that otherwise might look like crumbling dirt. When I visited last summer with my husband and two young kids, I booked a private tour with Be a Greek specifically meant for families. Our guide kept both of my children (and my husband and I) engaged with a scavenger hunt, trivia, games, and dynamic storytelling as we traipsed around the city, ticking off sites like the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Panathenaic Stadium, and Syntagma Square to see the changing of the presidential guard.

Visiting the Acropolis is a bit more challenging, so be sure to go in early morning or evening when it’s cooler and less crowded, and leave the stroller behind (way too many steps!). Kids will also enjoy the Acropolis Museum (request a “family backpack” for educational resources, puzzles, and more); riding the bright red Athens Happy Train ; going up Mount Lycabettus via cable car; and strolling around the picturesque Plaka neighborhood. When you need to escape the heat, head outside the city center to the Athens Riviera for some time at Astir Beach or to the still-in-progress Ellinikon , which already features an incredible playground and park, with more to come.

To be in the center, stay at the new boutique Apollo Palm Hotel , which offers triple rooms perfect for a family of three (or four if one child is in a crib, which can be provided) while still boasting a chic design, gorgeous rooftop bar, and delicious breakfast buffet. For a resort experience, complete with a kids club, beach, and pool, the Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens has spacious rooms and an incredibly friendly and helpful staff who clearly love children.— Devorah Lev-Tov

The Jokkmokk market has been around for hundreds of years.

Photo by Tommy Alven/Shutterstock

Swedish Lapland

My kids were just toddlers when we visited Swedish Lapland’s Icehotel in Jukkasjärvi, where I pushed them in strollers as they teetered across packed-snow floors in rooms carved out from river ice by artists from around the world. (We sanely slept in the warm accommodations on site.)

On a visit this past winter on my own, I found several other reasons to plot a trip back soon with my now-older crew. The best winter adventures in this part of Sweden come with experiential elements that go beyond chasing the northern lights. At Arctic Bath in the small hamlet of Harads, I watched a British family with elementary school–age kids brave cold plunges together following a sauna session, stepping down a metal ladder straight into the frozen Lule River and whooping it up before beelining it for the outdoor hot tubs.

Nearby, the whimsical variety of cabins on stilts at Treehotel —including one shaped like a bird’s nest and another like a UFO—were pure fantastical fun, with ice fishing and snowshoeing among the activities. Sapmi Nature Camp offers three-night packages to stay with Sámi hosts in private lavvu tents on the family’s grazing lands for reindeer while learning about their modern way of life. And if you’re here in early February, the excitement of the annual Jokkmokk Winter Market draws hundreds of Indigenous people from all over the Sápmi region of Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Russia for an outdoor festival with live music, shopping for silverwork and traditional clothing, and many more activities.

All of the aforementioned stays are a treat worth planning a trip around. But I’m dreaming of a multi-generational winter adventure at Fjellborg Arctic Lodge , where you can arrive via dogsled from nearby Jukkasjärvi. Families stay in a luxurious four-bedroom cabin with its own sauna and outdoor hot tub overlooking Lake Väkkärä. (Smaller cabins can accommodate more people right nearby.) The lodge’s wilderness guides lead all manner of excursions—including snowmobiling, snowshoeing, and ice fishing.— Terry Ward

London, U.K.

With musicals, green spaces, and seemingly endless restaurants, no two days in London are the same.

Courtesy of One Aldwych

From a wickedly funny Yeoman Warder guide at the Tower to a bike tour with London Bicycle and a visit to the Harry Potter studios (where all eight movies were filmed), my family’s weeklong trip across the pond proved to be equal parts educational and fun. We also adored the Matilda musical, based on Roald Dahl’s beloved book, in the West End, with all four of us singing along to its catchy tunes as we left the theater. The city’s many green spaces (Hyde Park; Kensington Gardens, with the Princess Diana Memorial Playground; Battersea Park) also allow ample opportunity for little legs to stretch, run, and stop to smell the roses. With a food scene that’s the stuff of legend, eating at Indian street food chain Dishoom and plant-based Mallow in Borough Market were also musts and didn’t disappoint.

London has many great hotels . I liked the elegant 101-room One Aldwych in the heart of Covent Garden, within blocks of theaters, restaurants, and museums, such as the fantastic London Transport Museum (where kids can see double-decker buses and grown-ups can marvel at the history of the Tube). Along with spacious suites, thoughtful touches like the daily replenished complimentary mini-bar (with biscuits and chips to keep little ones happy) and a “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” themed afternoon tea make the hotel truly perfect for families.— Tanvi Chheda

What are you looking for?

80+ family travel & tourism statistics (2023).

Family travel and tourism is one of the largest sub sectors within the travel industry.

This is especially true as more people realize the importance of spending quality time and experiencing new things with one’s family.

Family travel statistics reveal that millennials take an average of 2.6 trips annually, and those with families tend to travel more than couples or even solo travellers .

And did you know that the average family spends $3,835 per year on travel ?

Below, you will find a comprehensive summary of the most interesting statistics about family travel, including the average annual budget, booking trends, popular activities, and top destinations they visit .

Sources : I have included the source of each data under the stats, and you can go to the end of the post for a complete list of all the articles and sources used.

Travellerspoint

What do you mean by family tourism?

Family tourism simply refers to the act of travelling and going on holidays with members of one’s family. This could be in the form of a nuclear family, skip generation (just the grandparents and grandchildren), or multi generation trip.

What is the most popular family travel destination?

Overall, Europe has the most international tourist arrivals in 2021, with the Americas coming in second.

But the most popular family-friendly destinations are Osaka, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Bordeaux, and Athens .

How much do families spend on travel each year?

The average annual spending on family travel is $3,835. In terms of a family of four, the average trip is estimated to cost $4,580.  

What are the effects of family vacations on family relationships?

Some of the proven benefits of taking vacations as a family is improving communication, strengthening marriage and family bonds, as well as boosting wellbeing for adults and children. Travelling is also a great way to create lifelong memories for the family.

Family Travel & Tourism Key Statistics

• France , Japan, Greece , Thailand, and Malaysia are the top 5 family-friendly destinations.
• The average annual spending on family travel is $3,835.
• Families with a household income of more than $100,000 per year are slightly more likely (20%) to have used a travel adviser than families with lower income brackets.
• The majority of millennial travellers (62%) brought children under the age of five to travel with them.
• In the next 24 months, more people are planning to take family vacations with children (44%) than with friends (40%).
• 43% of American families have vacationed to a National Park with their children.
• Generation Alpha has a huge role in influencing travel decisions in family trips.
• Plane (54%) and car (47%) are the most popular means of transport for family travels.
• In 2020, only 44% took a family vacation. This is well below the 70% prediction in 2019.
• In 2021, 88% of parents said they were likely or very likely to travel with their children in the next 12 months.

Top family travel destinations

What are the top family travel destinations?

1. The top five family-friendly destinations are Osaka, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Bordeaux, and Athens.

[Resonance]

The top five family-friendly destinations, according to Google, are Osaka, Japan; Bangkok, Thailand ; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Bordeaux, France ; and Athens, Greece.

2. Beach resorts are the top destination for 41% of millennial parents with children.

3. The second most popular destination for millennial parents is major metropolitan locations (36%).

4. the top destinations for families looking for adventures and outdoor fun are arenal volcano national park in costa rica, jim corbett national park in india, and serengeti national park in tanzania..

[TripAdvisor]

5. Cancun, Bali , and the Dominican Republic are the favorite beach destinations.

6. zermatt, switzerland, jackson, wyoming, and banff (alberta) , are among the best places for families to go skiing., 7. meanwhile, foodie families love rome, london, and paris as they offer michelin-starred and rising-star experiences..

Rome is a top destination for family travellers who are into food and cuisine.

8. Finally, the top 3 City Lovers Destinations include Dubai, Istanbul, and Barcelona .

Family travel spending statistics.

How much does the average family spend for travelling?

9. Based on estimations, the average trip for a family of four costs $4,580. 

[CreditDonkey]

Including transportation, vacation rentals , food, and entertainment, the average vacation cost is $1,145 per person, which amounts to $4,580 for a family of four. 

10. The estimated average cost of a family vacation makes up around 8% to 9% of the average household income.

11. in reality, the average annual spending on family travel was $3,835. the median amount was $2,435..

[Family Travel Association]

12. While on vacation, a family of 4 has to spend an average of $132 daily on food alone.

The figure excludes alcohol, snacks, or tips. This is why experts suggest hotels with kitchen facilities or renting Airbnbs .

13. In 2019, the average family travel budget is reported to be around $2,500.

14. families with a household income of more than $100,000 per year are slightly more likely (20%) to have used a travel adviser than families with lower income brackets., 15. 44% of people traveling with family expect to spend more on future domestic travel, while 43% expect to spend about the same. .

Only 13% of those polled expect to spend less money on domestic travel.

16. In contrast, only 22% of respondents anticipate spending more on future international trips, 36% anticipate spending the same, and 42% anticipate spending less.

17. people are willing to pay more for accommodations that offer free cancellation, rather than those that prioritize pandemic safety..

[Morning Consult]

This shows that hesitation to travel due to the Coronavirus pandemic is beginning to diminish.

18. Travellers are slightly more willing to pay a premium for accommodation flexibility and safety than they are for transportation (especially ground travel). 

Of course, not all travellers are eager to pay for the upgrade & instead opt for ways to find cheap hotels .

19. Lodging costs make up about 26% of total travel expenses for domestic trips and 21% for international trips.

[Value Penguin]

20. Overall, in family travel, people tend to agree that experience is more important than expense.

[Expedia Group]

21. 80% of visitors who spend a lot of money on travel are between the ages of 18 and 34, compared to 56% of travellers over the age of 50.

Younger families tend to spend more when traveling compare to their older relatives.

Family travel demographics

What is the average family who travels like?

22. The majority of millennial travellers (62%) brought children under the age of five to travel with them.

23. the average millennial takes 2.6 trips per year, and those with families travel significantly more than couples or singles..

According to data from the TMS Family Travel Summit in 2016, there are 80 million millennials in the U.S., all of whom take an average of 2.6 trips each year . Those with families travel significantly more than couples or singles.

24. 62% of millennial parents are traveling with children younger than five years old.

Experts infer that this is because children under five aren’t yet limited by a school calendar.

25. In the next 24 months, more people are planning to take family vacations with children (44%) than with friends (40%).

26. Across the world, travellers with Generation Alphas take at least three family trips per year.

27. 52% of respondents intend to take a multigenerational trip, while 11% intend to take their children on a skip-generational trip with their grandparents. , 28. 45% of respondents are planning a trip with family members other than their parents and in-laws..

29. All in all, 62% of all travellers are planning to visit family and friends.

In a family travel survey by NYU, 62% of respondents say that they are travelling to visit family and friends.

30. Out of travellers who go on family trips, 34% are taking multi-generational vacations.

This means that grandparents are getting to spend quality time with their grandkids.

American family travel statistics

What is family travel like in the United States?

31. The majority of Americans (23%) intend to travel abroad this spring.

The top three popular international travel destinations in spring are the well-known European cities: Paris , London, and Rome .

32. 35% of Americans want to take a vacation of 50 miles or more away from home with two or more immediate family members.

33. 43% of american families have vacationed to a national park with their children., 34. the top domestic travel destinations in 2022 for americans were orlando, destin, gatlinburg, pigeon forge, panama city, and maui., 35. the top international travel destinations in 2022 for americans were riviera maya, playa del carmen, tulum, rome, bali, london, and paris., 36. four-wheel drive, atv & off-road tours, day trips, cultural tours, and snorkeling are the top experience categories that americans are booking for spring 2022., 37. this spring in the us, road trips remain the most popular type of getaway (44%) followed by beach vacations (39%), and shopping vacations (30%)., 38. over half (51%) of americans who traveled in spring of 2021 intend to do so again, with nearly a quarter (23%) planning to spend significantly more., family travel planning and booking .

How do families plan and book their travels? Why do they travel?

39. To help them decide where to visit, millennial parents refer to online peer evaluations and ratings on websites like TripAdvisor and Yelp (37%), and social media posts by family members and friends (29%).

40. for millennials, the less contact with people there is while booking a hotel or vacation, the better..

Nearly half (47%) say they prefer booking through particular hotel, resort, and airline websites, while two-thirds (64%) say they prefer booking through travel websites .

41. Free Internet/WiFi Passes (68%), privacy (57%), and swimming pools (50%) are among the most sought-after hotel amenities.

The single most sought-after hotel amenity by guests is free Internet.

42. The educational benefit of family travel is highly valued by US families (4.6/5).

American families who travel tend to value the educational benefit of family trips.

43. Generation Alpha has a huge role in influencing travel decisions in family trips.

Generation Alpha includes anyone born in and after 2010.

44. In a 2021 survey, 65% of respondents would consider using a travel advisor when it comes to family travel in the next two years.

45. in the last five years, only 1 out of 4 families have used a travel agent. .

46. 46% of families say that they’ve brought their kids on trips for family reunions.

47. 95% of family travellers prioritize keeping their families entertained and happy..

[ShortTermRentalz]

48. 89% of family travellers prioritize deals and values when planning their travels.

49. 85% of family travellers think that outdoor activities, planning around school holidays, and near major attractions or theme parks are equally important., top family travel trends.

How do families like to travel?

50. 52% of families choose their transportation based on speed, while 34% do so based on cost.

51. as such, plane (54%) and car (47%) are the most popular means of transport for family travels., 52. the top travel trends in family travel include adventure trips, multigenerational trips, beach resort stays, celebration travels, and various tours., 53. 49% of families who travel state their main priority during a family vacation is visiting new places and exploring together., 54. 42% of families say that the priority in a family trip is to relax and unwind together., 55. meanwhile, 6% of them state that being active and outdoors together is the main priority., 56. domestic tourism and close-to-home travel, as well as open-air activities, nature-based products, and rural tourism, are among the major travel trends that shaped tourism in 2022., 57. shopping and attending concerts/festivals are both declining in popularity..

Only 6% and 7% of respondents named those activities as their top choices for 2022, respectively.

Coronavirus impact on family travel

How did the Covid-19 pandemic impact the way families travel?

58. In 2020, only 44% took a family vacation. This is well below the 70% prediction in 2019.

59. 80% of family travellers changed their travel plans. .

The 2019 US Family Travel Survey revealed that 80% of respondents changed their travel plans.

60. From those, 64% of domestic travel arrangements were canceled or postponed, while 23% international travel arrangements were canceled or postponed.

61. international travel is still a top choice for 27% of tourists, despite the ongoing restrictions..

This reveals a growing interest in overseas travel and for families to expose their children to international cultures.

62. Travellers are not avoiding areas with historically higher COVID case counts.

Despite the high case count, the U.S. coastal south ranked first (nearly 40%, a margin of 10% higher than any other area) among places travellers want to visit next year.

63. Those who did continue to travel frequently despite the ongoing pandemic adjusted their trips: 36% chose a destination they could drive to instead of flying, 31% adjusted their trip to accommodate travel restrictions, and 28% chose a destination where social distancing would be easier.

64. 43% of those who reported cancellations received a full refund, while 27% received full travel credit.

65. in october 2022, the majority of experts (64%) expect international arrivals to return to pre-pandemic levels only in 2024 or later..

This is actually an increase from just 45% in September 2022.

66. In 2019, 68% of respondents said they intended to visit a museum or cultural attraction; that figure has now dropped to 36%. Cruises were also reduced from 36% to 10%.

67. family vacations were planned by 64% for the summer of 2021 and 56% for the summer of 2022., 68. us families agree that having to forgo travel during the pandemic has made them appreciate the importance of family vacations (rated 4.1 out of 5)., the future of family travel and tourism.

What is the future like for family travel and tourism?

69. In the next two years, the same percentage of millenials (40%) are most likely to go on vacation with friends and to stay with friends/family when travelling.

This might hint at the growing trend of multiple families going on a vacation together.

70. In 2021, 88% of parents said they were likely or very likely to travel with their children in the next 12 months.

Travel intent in 2021 was higher than in 2019 (70%) and 2018 (79%). For families who do not intend to travel, affordability concerns actually trump COVID concerns.

71. In 2021, 80% of respondents say that they will only book from companies with flexible cancellation policies.

72. following the pandemic in 2021, 85% of visitors from britain or germany who clicked on hotels on tripadvisor intended to travel overseas. , 73. just over half (53%) of all hotel clicks by american tourists during the same time period went to overseas countries., 74. the percentage of international hotel clicks in countries like australia (14%) and japan (10%) were far lower. , 75. 70% of unvaccinated families intend to visit theme and water parks in the next 12 months (tying with beach vacations as their top choice)., 76. meanwhile, only 59% of partially vaccinated families and 50% of fully vaccinated families intend to visit theme and water parks in the next 12 months..

This proves that families who are vaccinated tend to also fall under the category of people worried about contracting Coronavirus.

77. Families will pay more attention to cancellation policies (56%) and health and safety considerations on future travel plans (55%). 

78. even after covid-19 has been contained, 26% of respondents say they will be less likely to consider a cruise., 79. 15% of them are also less likely to consider international travel..

Interestingly, respondents who indicate that their family is fully or partially vaccinated are more likely to report these long-term apprehensions than respondents with unvaccinated families.

80. Due to the pandemic, 15% of respondents are still unwilling to fly internationally.

81. In 2021, 45% of family respondents state that they’re not planning to travel overseas at this time.

81. as the number of american households who own a pet grew by 14% between 1988 and 2022, we can expect more families to be travelling with their pets in the future..

In 2022, 90.5 million households owned a pet, which has grown by 14% from 1988. Considering that 37% of pet owners travel with their pets , it's possible to see a growth in the number of family travellers who bring their pets on trips.

It’s clear that family travel will remain a crucial trend in the future.

While the Coronavirus pandemic has caused many to cancel their plans and bookings, we can see that a lot of families are planning to take a vacation together soon.

We hope these statistics could help you understand more about family travel and tourism.

Did we miss any important aspects around this subject?

Drop us a comment below!

Check out more interesting stats:

• Female Travel Statistics
• Digital Nomad Statistics
• Glamping Statistics
• Media.resonanceco
• Family Travel Association
• CreditDonkey
• ShortTermRentalz
• TripAdvisor 1
• TripAdvisor 2
• Morning Consult
• Value Penguin

Leave a comment

Let us know what you think.

5 million people can't be wrong

Protect Your Trip »

The 10 best cruises for teens in 2024.

The best cruises for teens provide the right mix of autonomy and time with family.

The Best Cruises for Teens

Amy Smith | Courtesy of Disney Cruise Line

Teen spaces on cruise ships foster friendships through games, music, events and more.

Cruises make the perfect family vacation, especially when traveling with teens. Teens can mix and mingle with others their age in teens-only clubs, play games, listen to music, or grab a pizza and watch a movie under the stars. If your tweens and teens need more action-packed fun to keep them entertained, some cruise ships act like floating amusement parks with zip lines, racetracks, roller coasters, ice skating rinks, laser tag, waterslides and more.

The following lines offer the best cruises for teens and tweens, along with their parents.

Find your perfect cruise

MSC Cruises

Courtesy of MSC Cruises

MSC Cruises offers plenty of family fun and activities for teens on its ships, including sports tournaments, waterslides and a family disco. On select ships, you'll also find the full-size MSC Formula Racer simulator, an interactive XD cinema, a virtual reality experience, zip lines and an arcade room. The Young Club programming by MSC Cruises offers daily activities for 12- to 14-year-old tweens, while teens 15 to 17 can participate in sports and dance competitions as well as video game tournaments at the Teen Club. Older kids can also participate in fun themed events, karaoke, piloting practice at the Drone Academy and flash mobs – and there's a teens-only disco.

On MSC Seascape , teens can stay busy in three new concept spaces. "Future" features a state-of-the-art technology area with the latest-generation consoles, VR and video screens for hours of entertainment. "Chill Out" is just as it sounds – a place to hang out, chat, and play foosball and pingpong. Meanwhile, "Music" is a dance club where kids can choose their own tunes and dance the night away with cool lighting and sound effects. If all that isn't enough, Robotron, the first of its kind at sea, is an amusement park-like ride that combines the thrill of a roller coaster with personalized music and lighting.

MSC World Europa boasts the largest and most engaging kids area in the fleet with an impressive 8,245 square feet of action-packed space. The new Teens Lab features an immersive area for teenagers with more than 20 of the latest consoles, seven VR stations and dozens of video games. Drone Academy 2.0 is a high-energy relay race for drones. There's even more onboard fun at Z Active, a sports program that offers basketball, football and zorb ball alongside two firsts for the line – pickleball and hoverboards. Teens can also take a spin on the bumper cars at the MSC Sportplex.

MSC Euribia – the line's newest ship, which set sail on its inaugural cruise in June 2023 – has a total of 7,500-plus square feet of space dedicated to kids ages 0 to 17. The new Teens Club Extra Space offers three different areas: the Young Club (ages 12 to 14), the Teens Club (15 to 17) and the Teens Lab (12 to 17). Some of the activities include those found on other MSC ships, such as Z Active, Drone Academy 2.0 and the MSC Dance Crew competition. Teens will also have access to new video games; pingpong; World Quest, an interactive game show based on trivia and geography; and Caravaggio, an immersive spy game show about an art heist.

Compare  MSC Cruises on GoToSea , a service of U.S. News.

Norwegian Cruise Line

Courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Cruise Line boasts a teens-only venue, Entourage, which caters to young adults 13 to 17 years old. This supervised space – available on 16 of the line's 19 ships – keeps teens busy in an adults-free lounge that's filled with video games, movies, music, arts and sports. Teen counselors on Norwegian Cruise Line plan activities and challenges to keep kids entertained throughout the cruise. A list of detailed activities is available on embarkation day so teens can plan out their schedule for the cruise.

Norwegian Prima , the first vessel in the Prima class, features many first-at-sea innovations perfect for entertaining families and energetic teens, including the three-level Prima Speedway. With cars reaching up to 30 miles per hour, this quarter-mile-long racetrack is one of the highest-rated attractions on Prima. Adventurous teens will also want to check out The Drop and The Rush. Billed as the fastest slides at sea, these chutes offer thrill-seekers a heart-pumping 10-story freefall plunge.

If that's not enough action, teens can also play The Bull's Eye, a classic game of darts that uses a video tracking system, or check out Tee Time for a pumped-up version of mini-golf set against a Las Vegas backdrop. In the Galaxy Pavilion, an indoor gaming complex, you'll find more than a dozen attractions, including immersive simulator experiences, escape rooms and the Topgolf Swing Suite – all of which are unique to Norwegian Prima. When it's time to cool off, the Tidal Wave waterslide is another first for the brand, letting guests ride inner tubes to catch the surf.

Norwegian Viva, the second vessel in the Prima class, is set to launch in August 2023. As the newest ship in NCL's fleet, Viva will also feature these exciting high-tech attractions, including Viva Speedway. If you and your teens are fans of the movie "Beetlejuice," you're in for a treat: The Broadway musical adaptation will debut on the new ship.

The line's Breakaway Plus class – Norwegian Escape , Joy , Bliss and Encore – is also popular with families as these ships offer plenty of activities and attractions suited for active teens, such as go-kart tracks, outdoor laser tag and VR games in the Galaxy Pavilion.

Find  Norwegian Cruise Line deals on GoToSea .

Disney Cruise Line

Courtesy of Disney Cruise Line

Disney Cruise Line features two cool spaces dedicated to teens and tweens, who can hang out on comfy couches, watch shows or movies, and play video games. These hangouts, called Edge (for ages 11 to 14) and Vibe (ages 14 to 17), are available on all Disney Cruise Line ships.

On Disney Fantasy and Disney Dream , the space at Vibe also features a private outdoor deck with chaise lounges, wading pools, foosball and more. While indoors, teenagers can mingle with others their age, or just kick back and relax in individual nooks. There's a dance club area for karaoke contests, talent shows and dance competitions. The trendy indoor-outdoor space – at almost 9,000 square feet – is accessible with a teens-only card or DisneyBand+. On the new Disney Wish ship, Vibe has a French twist inspired by a Paris artist's loft with neon signs and funk pop art.

For tweens sailing on Disney Fantasy or Dream, Edge is a bright, loft-style gathering spot – located in the funnel – that has individual computer stations for gaming and a massive video wall for screening television, movies and games. There's also a lit-up dance floor for dance parties. Two nifty features of the space – and its location – are views of the pool decks below as well as three portholes that allow for glimpses of the riders on the water coaster, AquaDuck, as they zoom by.

On the first night of the cruise, kids receive information on what activities and events will be available during their vacation so they can curate a personalized entertainment itinerary. Some fun options throughout the week may include "Gotcha," a game of elimination where one teen will become the ultimate victor. For a special treat – and a bit of pampering – guests ages 13 to 17 won't want to miss an afternoon at Chill Spa, located inside Senses Spa & Salon.

Book a  Disney cruise on GoToSea .

Royal Caribbean International

Michel Verdure | Courtesy of Royal Caribbean International

The newly updated space for teens 13 to 17 years old on Royal Caribbean International vessels is hidden behind a secret speakeasy entrance. The dedicated venue, which has a gaming lounge and music, is a cozy place to hang out to meet other teens on the ship. There's also an outdoor patio where you can relax in the sun or chill out under the stars. Teens will find planned activities throughout the day at the lounge, including sports tournaments, a nightly teen disco and themed parties.

Social 100 is an exclusive new space for ages 13 to 17 on Wonder of the Seas . The outdoor space sits next to the waterslides and boasts a hot tub, lawn games, cozy seating, a selfie area, and a bar serving zero-proof cocktails and shakes. The indoor part of Social 100 features a gaming area, foosball tables, a vending machine and more comfortable spaces for teens to mingle.

Teens have plenty of activities they can do with their families on Royal Caribbean's ships, especially on the new Icon of the Seas, the first vessel in the Icon class. Slated for its inaugural sailing in January 2024, Wonder of the Seas will be the  world's largest cruise ship .  Cruisers of all ages will have endless opportunities for fun with more venues, activities and attractions than you've ever seen on a cruise ship.

Teens and their parents will appreciate Chill Island, a three-level pool deck with the first swim-up bar at sea. The new water park, Thrill Island, boasts six waterslides, including exciting firsts at sea, such as Pressure Drop, the first open freefall slide. If that's not enough to get the adrenaline pumping, teens can check out Crown's Edge – a combination thrill ride, skywalk and ropes course – or other Royal Caribbean favorites like Adrenaline Peak, Sports Court, the FlowRider surf simulator or the reimagined mini-golf course.

If you're hanging out in the new Surfside neighborhood on Icon, a dedicated space for young families, teens will have easy access to the supervised teens-only club, Social 020, from this open-air space.

When you head ashore to Perfect Day in CocoCay, one of the best  cruise line private islands , teen cruisers will find plenty of fun land-based activities like Thrill Waterpark and 1,600-foot-long zip lines. Be sure not to miss another thrilling experience: Up, Up and Away. The helium balloon ride soars 450 feet above the ground to the highest vantage point in the Bahamas , offering incredible panoramic views of the island and surrounding turquoise waters.

Explore  Royal Caribbean cruises on GoToSea . 

Holland America Line

Michel Verdure | Courtesy of Holland America Line

The Kids Club on Holland America Line offers a fun supervised program for 13- to 17-year-old guests in an adult-free zone known as The Loft. The name is in the process of changing to High Score!, and you'll already find the updated concept on Oosterdam and Eurodam . The line's other ships will change over to the new venue throughout 2024. High Score! is a family game room that serves as a secret getaway for teens by day. In the evenings, entire families can come to play skeeball, board games and join in other activities.

The teens-only space (during the day) on Holland America Line resembles a New York artists loft where kids can listen to music, watch movies, play games and meet and hang out with same-age cruisers. Programs and activities at the current space, The Loft, include themed events, karaoke, a teen disco and nighttime activities such as Poker Night and video game tournaments. Youths can also participate in pingpong, basketball and other teens-only sporting events. If they still need more entertainment to keep them busy, the Kids Club offers origami lessons and watercolor painting as well as competitions in "Mario Kart," air hockey, foosball, pinball and more.

The Kids Club is complimentary for guests. The space is open daily, and you'll also find teen events around the ship. When it comes to dining, there are many teen-friendly dining options – where teens can even enjoy mocktails like nonalcoholic mojitos – at venues throughout the ship.

If you're cruising to Alaska with Holland America or other adventure-filled destinations, look for excursions that will appeal to younger family members like zip lining tours, trail hikes, float trips, helicopter tours and wilderness safaris. Alaska is a teen favorite, especially in Skagway (one of Alaska's top destinations ), where travelers can get a thrill out of dog mushing with a team of Alaskan huskies, taking a ride on the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad, or going on a rock climbing excursion.

Find  Holland America Line cruises on GoToSea .

Tips on Trips and Expert Picks Newsletter

Travel tips, vacation ideas and more to make your next vacation stellar.

Sign up to receive the latest updates from U.S News & World Report and our trusted partners and sponsors. By clicking submit, you are agreeing to our Terms and Conditions & Privacy Policy .

Princess Cruises

Courtesy of Princess Cruises

The modern Beach House lounge is the go-to place for passengers ages 13 to 17 to socialize and meet others their age when sailing on a Princess Cruises ship. Fun activities for teens include late-night movies and tournaments where they can challenge their peers in video games or at air hockey, foosball and table tennis. For more energetic activities, join in the fun during indoor dodgeball and basketball games. Or, learn new dance moves from some of the dancers in the crew, then hit the dance floor for one of the competitions. At the "Rock the Boat Party," teenagers can dress up and party the night away with mocktails and new friends on the ship.

"Movies Under the Stars" is one of Princess' signature events. Guests can watch movies, sporting events and concerts while bundled up with cozy blankets on the pool deck outdoors. Teens will enjoy the complimentary snacks – not to mention the special movie nights designed with them in mind, such as "Scary Movie Night." You might even find teen makeovers and glitter tattoos some evenings on the ship.

The line's three newest ships – Discovery Princess , Enchanted Princess and Sky Princess – offer the most activities for teens, but all of the ships in the fleet host youth programs in partnership with Discovery, along with plenty of other family-friendly activities. These offerings include Discovery Family and Animal Planet shore excursions and onboard entertainment like "The Voice of the Ocean," a musical competition.

Parents will be able to keep track of their busy teens anywhere on the ship with the state-of-the-art Princess MedallionClass system. The quarter-size wearable medallion and accompanying app allow guests to personalize their itinerary and locate family members and friends on board.

When Sun Princess launches in February 2024, as the first vessel in the line's Sphere class, it will feature Park19. This top-deck family activity zone boasts many outdoor adventures, including Sea Breeze – the first Rollglider at sea. The ADA-accessible seated ride offers a hang-gliding experience with panoramic views of the ocean and ports of call. Families and teens can also check out the climbing obstacle course, cargo nets and lookout points. The ship also has a recreational court – which offers pingpong, shuffleboard, fitness classes and more – and a splash zone where you can cool off after all the outdoor activities.

Inside Sun Princess, tweens and teens will find two centers just for them: Neon Grove and The Underground. Both spaces offer cozy and colorful areas for young adults to hang out, socialize, and play video games on the PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch. They'll also find foosball, skeeball and air hockey on top of planned activities like movie nights, dance parties and scavenger hunts.

Explore  Princess Cruises on GoToSea .

Adventures by Disney

Adventures by Disney offers river and expedition cruises for the whole family; the itineraries span many choices and experiences for tweens and teens with a focus on culture, history, gastronomy and adventure. The river cruises are operated in partnership with AmaWaterways, while the expedition cruises are a collaboration with luxury French cruise line Ponant.

If you're sailing on the Adventures by Disney Rhine River Cruise itinerary, for example, guests can choose between various exciting excursions. While you're docked in Strasbourg, France , for the day, teen-friendly options include a tour of the Black Forest, complete with a toboggan run and a visit to a woodworking museum. Another choice here is to visit Germany's Europa-Park, a one-of-a-kind theme park located between the Black Forest and the Vosges Mountains. In Melk, Austria, on the Danube itinerary, families can go for a bike ride along the Danube River, hike to the castle in Dürnstein or visit a family-run apricot farm.

Another great feature of these cruises is that teens can opt to have dinner and evening get-togethers with same-age cruisers, so they don't have to dine with their parents or younger siblings every night. Adventure Guides also curate special activities for teens like game shows and pool parties.

In destinations like Antarctica, the Adriatic and the Galápagos Islands , expert naturalists lead tours during these bucket list trips. You might even find a bit of Disney storytelling woven into the presentations by the Adventure Guides.

Keep in mind if you have younger kids as well as teens that children need to be 5 or older to sail on the river cruises. For the Galápagos Islands expedition cruises, the minimum age for Junior Adventurers is 7, and for expeditions to the polar regions, kids need to be 10 years of age or older.

Read: The Best Cruise Insurance Plans

Carnival Cruise Line

Courtesy of Carnival Cruise Line

Carnival Celebration, which launched in November 2022, is the line's newest Excel-class ship. It features an expanded family and youth program, including its offerings for teens. The line also rolled out the new program fleetwide in spring 2023.

The Carnival Cruise Line teen programming at Circle "C" is for tweens ages 12 to 14, while Club O2 is for ages 15 to 17. In these venues you'll find entertainment like themed dance parties – and even a Carnival prom – as well as video games, movies and karaoke. Circle "C" stands for "Cruise, chill and connect," and that's what teens can do in this colorful, contemporary space with engaging counselors. New activities include anime drawing lessons and pop culture games at Circle "C." Older teens can foster new friendships while engaging in Japanese crafts and authentic tea ceremonies at Club O2.

Teens will appreciate Carnival's onboard water park, Waterworks, which includes a splash park and slides. Carnival Panorama even has the trampoline park Skyzone. Teenage passengers won't want to miss the first roller coaster at sea, BOLT, on Excel-class ships: Mardi Gras , Celebration and the upcoming Jubilee, scheduled to launch in December 2023.

For even more action, Vista-class ships feature Skyride. This two-lane, bike-like ride is suspended above the top deck of the ships and extends out over the ocean. More indoor fun can be found at Thrill Theater (on Horizon and Vista ), an immersive cinematic experience where you'll feel the seat rumble, the wind blow through your hair and even a spritz of water during the action-packed video.

Book a Carnival cruise on GoToSea .

Celebrity Cruises

Michel Verdure | Courtesy of Celebrity Cruises

This line's Teen Club features activities focused on kids 13 to 17. Some of the events offered for teens in the Camp at Sea program on Celebrity Cruises range from video game tournaments and sports competitions to culinary classes and silent disco parties. Teen cruisers can even book glass-blowing classes on Celebrity Solstice , Equinox and Eclipse . The offerings for young passengers are similar at either The Basement on Edge-series ships ( Edge , Apex , Beyond and Ascent, set to launch in November 2023) or at X Club on Solstice- and Millennium-class ships. Note, however, the line's three Galápagos expedition vessels do not have the teen venues. Families who need accessible accommodations, activities and programs will also find autism-friendly cruises on Celebrity.

When it comes to pampering, Celebrity's spas offer spa menus for 13- to 17-year-olds. Teens can book facials that are designed for young sensitive skin or have express pedicures and manicures. When you're ready to relax, schedule a two-by-two massage, where parents and kids can have a side-by-side treatment.

Celebrity also offers family-focused excursions that highlight cultural attractions, wildlife sightings and adventure. Some of these tours include seeing gentoo, king and Magellanic penguins in the Falkland Islands; taking an aerial tram through the treetop canopies of a rainforest in Costa Rica ; and going on a small culinary or sightseeing group excursion in Europe and other destinations around the world. On Caribbean sailings – especially when school is out for summer or on holidays – Celebrity has additional family-friendly shore excursions on its five- and seven-night sailings.

Find a  Celebrity Cruises deal on GoToSea .

Cunard Line

Cunard Line offers programs and activities for passengers ages 13 to 17 years old in its Teen Zone. This dedicated space is a place for teens to hang out with cruisers their own age and play video and team games, table tennis, and more. On the first day of the cruise, you'll find an activity program for young guests delivered to the stateroom so your teens can plan out their vacation experience, which may include entertaining theme days, deck sports, quizzes and dancing at the disco.

Teens on Cunard Line can participate in the activities around the ship, hit the pool for a dip, practice their putting or try their hand at croquet. If you're sailing on Queen Mary 2, those interested in science, wildlife and the solar system can watch up to four 3D films a day (on sea days) in the largest planetarium at sea.

Compare  Cunard Line cruises on GoToSea .

Why Trust U.S. News Travel

Gwen Pratesi has been an avid cruiser since her early 20s. She's sailed to destinations around the globe on nearly every type of cruise ship built, including the newest megaships, luxury yachts, traditional masted sailing ships, and expedition vessels in Antarctica and the Galápagos. Pratesi covers the travel and cruise industries for major publications, including U.S. News & World Report.

You might also be interested in:

• Cruise Lines That Let Kids Sail Free
• The Top Cruises for Babies and Toddlers
• The Top Adults-Only Cruises
• Cruise Packing List
• Royal Caribbean vs. Carnival

Top Resorts Where Kids Stay Free

Tags: Travel , Cruises , Family Vacations

World's Best Places To Visit

• # 1 South Island, New Zealand
• # 4 Bora Bora

If you make a purchase from our site, we may earn a commission. This does not affect the quality or independence of our editorial content.

You May Also Like

How much does a cruise cost.

Gwen Pratesi April 24, 2024

The Best Whale Watching in Cape Cod

Lyn Mettler April 24, 2024

Best Whale Watching Tours in Maine

Marisa Méndez April 23, 2024

The Best Wineries in Napa Valley

April 23, 2024

The Best East Coast Beaches

April 19, 2024

The Best Carry-on Luggage

Erin Evans , Rachael Hood , Catriona Kendall , Amanda Norcross and Leilani Osmundson April 17, 2024

The Best Luggage Brands

Rachael Hood April 17, 2024

The Best Hard-sided Luggage Picks

The Best Yellowstone National Park Tours

John Rodwan April 17, 2024

The Best Rome Colosseum Tours

Laura Itzkowitz April 17, 2024

2018 Primetime Emmy & James Beard Award Winner

R&K Insider

Join our newsletter to get exclusives on where our correspondents travel, what they eat, where they stay. Free to sign up.

A History of Moscow in 13 Dishes

Featured city guides.

• Moscow Tourism
• Moscow Hotels
• Moscow Bed and Breakfast
• Moscow Vacation Rentals
• Flights to Moscow
• Moscow Restaurants
• Things to Do in Moscow
• Moscow Travel Forum
• Moscow Photos
• All Moscow Hotels
• Moscow Hotel Deals
• Things to Do
• Restaurants
• Vacation Rentals
• Travel Stories
• Rental Cars
• Add a Place
• Travel Forum
• Travelers' Choice
• Help Center

Family trip - Moscow Forum

• Europe    
• Russia    
• Central Russia    
• Moscow    

Family trip

• United States Forums
• Europe Forums
• Canada Forums
• Asia Forums
• Central America Forums
• Africa Forums
• Caribbean Forums
• Mexico Forums
• South Pacific Forums
• South America Forums
• Middle East Forums
• Honeymoons and Romance
• Business Travel
• Train Travel
• Traveling With Disabilities
• Tripadvisor Support
• Solo Travel
• Bargain Travel
• Timeshares / Vacation Rentals
• Central Russia forums
• Moscow forum

Entertainment for example. Where to hang out or to take taxi to ?

Many thanks

VDNKh Park and Gorky Park have large ice skating rinks, park Pobedy has ice sculptures from 28.12. onwards, https://www.mos.ru/en/news/item/66683073/

Don't hail taxi off the street, use an app (Uber Russia, Yandex.taxi, gett taxi).

From the airport find a taxi desk (a physical branded desk where you prepay the trip, not the people walking around with taxi sign).

Cards are accepted almost everywhere, so try to use them, but can have some pretty cash just in case someone doesn't accept.

Enjoy your trip!

Thanks all for the tips.

Sure will use them.

The Metro is like a Museum itself, and stations to get you to Gorky Park and Victory Park.

Also, head to the Kremlin, and surrounding areas, set up like a big carnival, street Christmas Trees, lights, rides, stalls. Hopefully most will be in place for New Years which is the big celebration.

Also, head to GUM Department Store which is also there, what kid doesn't love a big historic Mall.

Also, Moscow Zoo is much better than you'd expect, a lot to see.

Then there is also the Izmailovo Flea Market and Kremlin which is also interesting for kids, and you can get your souvenirs from there, the kids will be able to find something cheap and small. Again, you can easily get there via the Metro, take the Blue Line and the station is about 100 meters from the entrance.

Is their any quick tips you would share just to keep the kids and family happy?!

>>>

Sure - doing one's homework properly, and that's usually a year in advance.

May I ask, can you name any good taxi companies that has physical desk at Domodedevo international arrival area? Do they take 4 people in a regular taxi with 2 small luggage?

Out of Apps, which one is more easy to use, Yandex or Gett?

Thanks and best regards

Both Yandex.Taxi and Gett apps are easy to use, each can be cheaper or faster. Nice to have both and compare...

> There is only one desk to use at DME

Don't they have a Gett desk in addition to their own ripoff operator?

https://www.dme.ru/en/transport/taxi/

Marassa, that only desk IS Gett... The one after customs but before exit gates. Was there last week...

But their web site claims there's also some Domtrans charging 3000 for an economy ride into the center. To avoid!

• Train Booking Moscow to St. Peter Apr 24, 2024
• Planning trip to Russia Apr 09, 2024
• SIM card. Russian SIM cards, do they still work in the UK? Apr 09, 2024
• Union Pay debit card Mar 27, 2024
• Russian trying to book a hotel in Jerusalem Mar 14, 2024
• Dual Citizen Arrested in Russia Mar 12, 2024
• about clothes Feb 27, 2024
• NOTE - border crossing from Finland into Russia closed Feb 09, 2024
• Snow boots in Red Square Feb 04, 2024
• Travelling to Moscow & Murmansk with toddle in winter Feb 02, 2024
• Anyone traveling from London to Moscow this week ? Jan 27, 2024
• Booking accommodation Jan 11, 2024
• Traveling friends (Designers preferred) :) Jan 05, 2024
• Are shops and things closed during Christmas and New Week ? Dec 15, 2023
• Moscow to St Petersburg train or air?? 32 replies
• New Sapsan Express Train from Moscow to St Petersburg 18 replies
• New year's in moscow 8 replies
• Hop on Hop Off Bus Tour 5 replies
• How do you purchase Bolshoi Ballet tickets at a great price? 2 replies
• Select-a-room.com Are they legitimate? 3 replies
• Weather Moscow and St. petersburg in May 8 replies
• Night train to St Petersburg 3 replies
• ATM Access 12 replies
• Visa needed if on layover at Moscow Airport??????? 15 replies

Moscow Hotels and Places to Stay

• Where can I get initial answers to ANY question?

45 Best Gifts for 12-Year-Old Tween Girls and Boys That They'll Actually Appreciate

They won't roll their eyes at these trendy, popular, and unique gift ideas.

Every item on this page was chosen by a Woman's Day editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy.

In some ways, younger kids are easier to figure out. The best gifts for 4-year-olds involve cars or princesses. Six-year-olds like Bluey or Gabby's Dollhouse . But 12-year-olds? They're in the swing of figuring out who they are. Maybe they're on the more introverted side and like journaling and reading. Perhaps they're outgoing, artistic, or athletic. The key to gifting is zeroing in on a budding interest and giving them something that will help them explore that side of themselves.

Below, we've pulled together the best gifts for 12-year-old boys, the best gifts for 12-year-old girls, and gender-neutral gifts that will delight whoever receives them. Unusual gifts, crafty gifts, sentimental gifts , we've got 'em all!

Our top picks for the best gifts for 12-year-olds in 2024:

• Tower 28 LipSoftie™ Lip Treatment , $16 at tower28beauty.com
• Klutz LEGO Gear Bots , $21 on amazon.com
• ModernMade Glow in the Dark Blanket , $30 on amazon.com
• FlashCatch Light Up Football , $30 on amazon.com
• Radio Flyer Flyer Kickstart Max Kick Scooter , $57 on amazon.com
• Essential Popover Hoodie , $59 on ambercrombie.com

Not seeing what you need? Check out our related gift guides for kids:

55 Best Gifts for Kids of All Ages | 40 Best Gifts for Teenage Girls | 40 Best Gifts for Teen Boys | 37 Must-Have Gifts for Any 11-Year-Old

Tech Deck Competition Legends 8-Pack of Fingerboards

Celebrate the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris with this very cool set of fingerboards from Tech Deck. Each board represents a different legendary skater, and you can even get a limited-edition ramp to go with the pack. Ages 6+

Ooly Chroma Blends Watercolor Set

Encourage them to express their creativity with premium watercolor paints from Ooly. This set comes with 12 pearlescent paint colors, a brush, and a heavy-duty paint pad. No age listed

'EXIT: The Game: The Disappearance of Sherlock Holmes'

EXIT: The Game is the perfect way to engage kids and teens on a rainy night. Filled with brain-bending puzzles, these boxes are basically escape rooms that you can do from the comfort of your living room. There are also tons of different themes , ranging from novice to expert depending on the players' skill level. Ages 12+

Expressie Quick-Dry Nail Polish in Sk8 With Destiny

Whether they're only just dabbling with the occasional manicure or they have a full-on salon in their bathroom cabinet, you can't go wrong with Essie's line of quick-dry polish. There are nearly 50 glossy colors, all of which dry in about a minute. No age listed

RELATED: Best Gift Ideas for Girls of Every Age

GoSports Slammo Game Set

This volleyball-style game pits two teams of two against each other. It comes with its own carrying case, can be set up anywhere, and has thousands of glowing reviews on Amazon. All ages

Big Feelings Madden Cropped Pajama Set

If Big Feelings hasn't already taken over her Instagram, it will soon. These coveted PJs are as cute as they are cozy. They come in size XX-Small to XX-Large, but grab 'em while you can — this color will sell out quickly!

'Holes' by Louis Sachar

Not sure what kind of books they're into? Gift them one of your favorite books from when you were 12! In this editor's humble opinion, Holes by Louis Sachar is age-appropriate and an absolute classic. No age listed

BaubleBar Kali Tennis Bracelet

Gifting jewelry to a 12-year-old can be a tricky affair. You want to get something nice, but not too nice. At a perfectly reasonable price point, this colorful tennis bracelet from BaubleBar is just the ticket! No age listed

Uncommon Goods Madok's Interactive Treasure Hunt

When the experience is just as important as the gift, consider a treasure hunt! This one, designed by Yacine Merzouk and Michelle Rundbaken and available on Uncommon Goods, will take them on a journey to find where you've hidden their prize. The recommended age is 14, but the savvy 12-year-old could definitely do it.

ModernMade Glow in the Dark Blanket

Every night can be movie night with this glowing blanket, which comes in three colors. It'll easily become their go-to for sick days and snuggles. No age listed

Dermalogica Discover Healthy Skin Kit

Age 12 is the ideal time to teach them the basics of skin care. Suitable for all skin types, this highly rated set from Dermalogica is essentially a crash-course in cleansers and creams. (It also helps that the packaging is unisex, because boys need nice skin stuff, too.) No age listed

StubHub Gift Card

Every household is different, but 12 can be a great age to take them to their first concert. If you know who their favorite artist is, look up when they'll be in town. If not, grab a StubHub gift card and they can pick who to see and when to go. No age listed

Lola and the Boys Sequin Ombre Dress

Sweet and sparkly, the sequin ombre number from Lola and the Boys will make her whole day. The brand's bestselling dress comes in sizes 1-14 and will be the envy of every other 12-year-old at the party, we promise.

FlashCatch Light Up Football

Give them a reason to stay playing in the backyard past sunset with this cool football. While it may look like a toy version of a football, it grips like a real one — laces and all. Ages 8-15

Youthforia BYO Blush Oil

For those just dabbling with makeup, Youthforia's color-changing formula will be their new fav product. It's a first-of-its-kind blush that adapts to their skin tone to create the most complementary flushed look. It's also made with such clean ingredients that they can sleep in it! ( Watch the founder pitch it on Shark Tank here .) No age listed

America's Test Kitchen 'The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs'

Are they always trolling around the kitchen, wondering what's for dinner? Put them to work with The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs: 100+ Recipes that You'll Love to Cook and Eat . Ages 8+

RELATED: A Tween Chef Will Love These Cooking Gifts for Every Level

Nike Air Force 1 Shoes

It's hard to go wrong with a pair of Nikes these days. The beloved Air Force 1 sneakers come in four standard colors or you can customize them for $20 more. The unisex shoes come in sizes six through 18 for men or five through 12 for women.

Friends NYC Taylor Swift Greatest Era Birthday Card

While most birthday cards will probably wind up in the trash, this Taylor Swift card is sure to take a prime spot on their dresser for months to come. No age listed

Build-A-Bear Gift Card

Think they're too old to build a bear? Think again! The mall staple is experiencing a resurgence in popularity. They can use a gift card online, but going in person is so much better. Plus, they can hit up tween mecca Claire's while they're there. No age listed

Radio Flyer Kickstart Max Kick Scooter

Amazon reviewers love the sleek, lightweight design of this popular scooter. Radio Flyer's Kickstart Max is adjustable, foldable, and durable enough to keep them scooting well into their late teens. Ages 8+

After over a decade as a digital editor, Maggie Panos is navigating freelance writing and full-time parenting. She covered entertainment for POPSUGAR from New York and San Francisco before setting down roots in tree-covered Portland and focusing on local journalism. A self-proclaimed "okay baker", Maggie is interested in all things lifestyle — especially if those things involve Bravolebrities. 

.css-2lr79s:before{top:1.4rem;left:calc(-50vw + 50%);width:100vw;height:0.0625rem;z-index:-1;content:'';position:absolute;border-top:0.0625rem solid #CDCDCD;} Best Holiday Gifts 2023

55 Best Gifts for Pregnant Women

40 Best Gifts for Coffee Lovers

72 Best Gifts for the Wife Who Has It All

50 Best Gifts for Every Type of Mother-in-Law

Eid Gift Ideas to Celebrate the Muslim Holiday

30 Best Toys and Gifts for 6-Year-Olds

36 Anniversary Gifts for Her to Show Your Love

31 Great Gift Ideas for 9-Year-Olds

45 Best Gifts for Couples for Every Occasion

49 Baby Boy Gift Ideas That Are Useful and Special

32 Best Gifts and Toys for 2-Year-Olds

Ask Amy: Should we take a flight with our 1-year-old or miss a family function to avoid the travel headache?

• Published: Apr. 24, 2024, 2:00 p.m.

Amy Dickinson TNS

• Amy Dickinson

DEAR AMY: My sister will earn her Ph.D. out-of-state this summer.

My wife and I have a one-year-old and a three-year-old.

Bringing the whole family would be too much for the one-year-old to handle.

I’d like to bring our older child, who is close with the graduating aunt.

My wife doesn’t support the older child going with me because she wants to be there for that child’s first airplane flight.

She acknowledges that this is a selfish desire.

Should we go as a family, despite the headaches that will come from flying with a baby, or should I go solo?

– Harried Husband

DEAR HARRIED: I have to admit that as someone who has flown – a lot – with my daughter when she was a baby and a toddler, and subsequently with many other children of varying ages, I don’t see flying with a three-year-old as being the important and unmissable milestone your wife seems to perceive it to be.

(I still have flashbacks of running from one end of the Dallas airport to the other with my daughter, repeatedly dropping our carry-on luggage and assorted backpacks as we went.)

If the trip to your sister’s graduation is a direct flight of three hours or less, I would take the whole gang. If the trip requires a complicated connection, I would suggest you go solo.

(You can email Amy Dickinson at [email protected] or send a letter to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or Facebook .)

Latest Advice Columns

• Today’s daily horoscope for April 26, 2024
• Miss Manners: Put your fork down until everyone is served!
• Dear Annie: Woman is sad her grandchildren don’t appreciate the handmade cards she labors over
• Miss Manners: I wasn’t suggesting my mother was ‘losing it’ when I reminded her of lunch guests’ names
• Ask Amy: She’s pushing to go to our prenatal doctor visits AND host a gender reveal party for us

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

• Updated Terms of Use
• New Privacy Policy
• Your Privacy Choices
• Closed Caption Policy
• Accessibility Statement

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2024 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset . Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions . Legal Statement . Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper .

Oklahoma man with ammo in Turks and Caicos airport faces 12 years in prison: 'Risk of losing everything'

A turks and caicos court confirmed that ryan watson was granted $15,000 bail on tuesday for the ammunition possession charge.

Vacationers go viral for being the only guests in their five-star resort

Viral vacationers Cameron and Carlee join ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ to describe their experience alone in the top resort on their ‘baby-moon.’

An Oklahoma man is facing up to 12 years in prison for having ammunition in his carry-on bag at a Turks and Caicos airport, according to a GoFundMe page for his family.

Ryan and Valerie Watson, the parents of two young children, were flying home from their island vacation, where they were celebrating a friend's 40th birthday, on April 12 when they were arrested at the airport.

"They had their lives turned upside down when they tried to return home, as local airport security found four rounds of ammunition unknowingly left in a duff[le]bag from a deer hunting trip," a description on the family's GoFundMe page states. "It was not noticed by TSA when leaving America. Now, they are facing a legal system that is unfamiliar, daunting, and expensive that operates differently than the American Justice System."

The U.S. Embassy in the Bahamas issued a travel alert in September 2023 telling Americans not to bring ammunition to the islands.

PROMINENT BAHAMAS POLITICIAN KILLED DURING ROBBERY ATTEMPT IN NASSAU

Ryan and Valerie Watson were arrested in Turks and Caicos on April 12 after island airport officials found ammunition in Ryan's carry-on bag. Ryan faces up to 12 years in prison. (GoFundMe)

"TCI authorities strictly enforce all firearms related laws," the alert states. "The penalty for traveling to TCI with a firearm, ammunition, or other weapon is a minimum custodial sentence of twelve (12) years."

The embassy further stated that Americans should "carefully check" their luggage "for stray ammunition or forgotten weapons before departing for TCI."

FAMILY OF INDIANA MOM WHO DIED ON AA PLANE REMAIN WITH UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

But the Watsons insist they made a terrible mistake. Valerie Watson was released from jail in Turks and Caicos on Tuesday, but her husband remains in custody "with no current timetable for any possibility of bail or trial date."

A Turks and Caicos court confirmed that Ryan Watson was granted $15,000 bail on Tuesday for the ammunition possession charge (Turks and Caicos police)

"While we appreciate your support and willingness to help, please do not reach out directly to any of the TCI government officials during this time," the family wrote on their GoFundMe page.

The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force on Wednesday confirmed Ryan Watson's arrest, saying the 40-year-old Oklahoma resident appeared in magistrate court Wednesday, when he was charged with one count of ammunition possession. He was also granted $15,000 bail under the condition that he does not travel outside the islands without the court's permission, he surrenders his passport, he reports to the Grace Bay Police Station on Tuesdays and Thursdays and he resides at a specific address.

MOM OF AMERICAN IN BAHAMAS SEX ATTACK SAYS DAUGHTER TEXTED, 'WE'VE BEEN RAPED'

Ryan is due back in court for a "sufficiency" hearing on June 7, officials said.

Ryan Watson was granted $15,000 bail under the condition that he does not travel outside the islands without the court's permission, he surrenders his passport, he reports to the Grace Bay Police Station on Tuesdays and Thursdays and he resides at a specific address. (Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The Wastson family's GoFundMe page says the couple faces "mounting legal fees, living expenses, and the overwhelming stress of their situation."

"The emotional and financial toll is immense, and they are at risk of losing everything," the page reads.

Audrey Conklin is a digital reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business. Email tips to [email protected] or on Twitter at @audpants.

The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.

You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter!