I used to think traveling with kids would mean giving up unpredictable adventure aspect I love about travel — but I’ve found something even better.
I’ve been a world traveler all of my adult life. My first trip overseas was during college, a summer semester in Denmark (with weekends all over Europe), and it hooked me on the thrill of exploring a new place, meeting new people, and seeing landmarks and landscapes for the first time.
Since then, I’ve visited over 50 countries, most of which were on an 18-month around-the-world trip I took around age 30. Each one offered a new adventure, a new perspective — and usually added places to my list rather than checking them off — as I learned more and more how huge and exciting the world is.
Travel has taught me about others: the people I’ve met, and even strangers passing by, have been kind, generous, and fascinating.
It’s also taught me about myself: I can do hard things. I can solve problems, push myself physically, and adapt to almost anything.
To me — and to my wife— travel isn’t the same as vacation. It’s not about relaxing; it’s about exploring, being curious, learning, and connecting. The lessons that learnt from traveling outside your comfort zone are lessons that only travel can teach.
That’s what we want to pass on to our kids.
Why we think traveling with kids is hard
My kids are currently 5 and 1. They are wonderful little humans — and even so, parenting is hard. Managing someone else’s emotions on top of your own would be hard enough without that person also relying on you for every element of their survival and well-being.
Another reason parenting is hard: every experience is unique. You, your co-parent, and your kids are all complex and ever-changing variables. Now layer on the additional complexities of your family’s location, culture, and support system — and you can see why just getting through a “regular” day is a lot.
So adding travel — new locations, new routines, unfamiliar food and sleep disruptions — can feel overwhelming.
Why traveling is important
And yet, travel opens doors in ways that everyday life often doesn’t.
It’s not just a hunch — there’s data to back it up. According to a Pew Research study, Americans who travel internationally are more curious, informed, and globally minded than those who don’t. Travelers follow international news more closely and even score higher on global knowledge quizzes.
For kids, travel can be a powerful source of growth:
- Enhanced Academic Performance
- Stronger Life Skills
- More Cultural Awareness & Empathy
- Social Confidence
- Stronger Family Bonds
Incorporating travel into children’s lives not only enriches their education — it contributes to who they become.
What our kids learn, even if they don’t remember
People often say, “But they won’t even remember it!”
Maybe not the specific meals or the museum you rushed through.
But that’s not the point.
Travel plants seeds.
It teaches them that there are different ways to live, eat, celebrate, and solve problems. That people speak different languages and value different things — and that’s not wrong, it’s just different.
Travel helps kids build flexibility, resilience, and curiosity. Even when they don’t remember the trip, they carry the lessons.
🏆 Mindset shifts to help you start (or start enjoying) traveling with your kids
If you’ve made it this far, you probably agree: travel is something important you want to share with your family. So how do you actually enjoy it — especially when kids don’t always cooperate?
Like most parenting challenges, it starts with you, not your kids. Changing your mindset is the unlock.
1. Expect and embrace travel challenges.
If you travel enough, you’ll deal with:
✈️ Flight delays or cancellations
🧳 Lost luggage
🏨 Accommodations that don’t match the listing
🤒 Sick kids
💼 Forgotten essentials
You can let these moments ruin the trip — or you can meet them with flexibility. Practice saying:
- That’s too bad — what are we going to do about it?
- We can’t change it now — how can we still enjoy the trip?
- What’s a reasonable fix or request right now?
And if nothing else works, say this (and believe it):
*At least we’re safe and together. Everything else can be fixed.*
2. Understand that kids will have a hard time.
Like Dr. Becky from Good Inside (great podcast and other parenting content to follow) says: your kids aren’t giving you a hard time, they’re having a hard time.
That meltdown in the security line? It’s not about the trip — it’s about overstimulation. Their whining isn’t because they’re ungrateful — it’s because their body’s dysregulated.
Your job isn’t to fix everything. It’s to co-regulate. Stay calm. Stay connected. You’re the anchor in unfamiliar territory.
3. Redefine what a “successful” day looks like.
Before kids, success might have meant hiking a mountain or meeting locals and drinking the night away.
With kids? It’s a long morning at the beach followed by finding the best local gelato. Or watching them celebrate finishing a half-mile hike to a lookout point.
That’s not failure — it’s winning.
If you measure success by connection, presence, and adventure on their terms, travel becomes joyful again. You don’t have to see everything or have a trip that looks like someone else’s.
4. Focus on rhythm over routine.
Kids thrive on predictability — but strict routines rarely survive travel. Instead, create a travel rhythm:
- Explore in the morning — if they wake early embrace it!
- Rest after lunch
- Chill time in the afternoon
- Early dinner + family time before bed — perfect time to recap the day’s highlights and get them involved in planning tomorrow
It gives your day shape without rigidity — and helps everyone feel grounded, no matter the destination.
5. Remember: Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed.
“We’ll travel when the baby’s older.”
“Maybe once they’re in school.”
“Maybe next year.”
I hear it all the time. And I get it. But life doesn’t always wait. And if the worst happens, you’ll be happy you took the adventures when you could.
There will always be a reason to pause. But there’s never a perfect time. There is, however, deep value in choosing adventure now.
Start small. Start messy. But start.
Want help planning your first (or next) family adventure?
I just built an AI trip planner especially for families who want less stress and more connection.
Test it out to build an itinerary for your next trip at app.livebold.travel!
I’m Alissa, the author and one of the two moms from LiveBold.travel — a site for families exploring the world together with intention.
