Involving the Kids in Travel Planning

Adults have different ideas about involving the kids in travel planning. Some suggest, half-jokingly, it’s best to leave them with grandma and grandpa while the adults visit museums and sip Aperol Spritz. Others hear “traveling with kids” and see only playgrounds and hotel swimming pools in the frame. You probably have your own ideas about what kinds of travel would work for you and your family. 

Maybe pre-kids you were in the Peace Corps and now you want to take your family to Cambodia, Cameroon, or Panama. Or, perhaps you did study abroad in Barcelona during your junior year of college, and now you’re dreaming of taking your kids back to your favorite places in and around Spain. We hope that whatever your prior experience with travel, this blog (and our upcoming book) will support your dream of long-term family travel. When you hit the road for longer than that two-week stint, a bustling world of opportunity opens up to explore, discover and learn side by side with your children. 

Involving the kids in travel planning is a way to engage the kids during the early stages of a Wonder Year, even as the notion takes hold, and has many benefits. It helps ease into the idea of leaving for an extended time. It gives them ownership and buy-in to the shared family project. And it allows your family to integrate the interests and desires of everyone involved.

Spend time as a family talking about your travel aspirations. Read about places you hope to go, talk about what you want to do there, pull inspirational photos and post them around the house. Create a sense of teamwork as you work toward a common goal. Invite your kids to pitch ideas for destinations, activities, or events. Maybe they can do a little background research and present what they’ve learned over dinner one night. 

To help find motivation for trip budgeting, get your kids involved in cost-cutting and doing the math: having dinner at home versus going out to eat. Solicit ideas from them on how you can further your savings, and include them in the moment as you make spending decisions. (“I know you’d love to go to the water park today, but how about we add to our travel savings instead?”). Get creative in finding ways to motivate everyone in the family.

If you plan to sell or give away any of your family’s belongings, this, too, is a great way to involve your kids in travel. You can let them help sort personal items. Older kids can help with household goods, reflecting on what is really needed and what can go. They can also assist with the selling process and learn about finance, marketing, selling, and online transactions. It’s a head start on worldschooling lessons! Plus, who can resist buying from a kid? 

When deciding where to go, ask for your kids’ input. Do you have family goals such as exploring your heritage, maximizing your time in nature, or better understanding traditional farming methods? Do you want to learn Spanish together or take that ski bum season you’ve always longed for? That’s a great conversation.

Perhaps everyone has different goals for the trip. Do individual family members have pursuits or things they wish to learn or accomplish during your travels? How do you hope to spend your time together? How will you balance together-time with a need for time alone? Especially for older kids, those conversations are a great way to involve the kids in travel sooner in the process and will help shape the journey ahead. 

Future blog posts will revisit the topic of involving kids in meaningful ways in every aspect of your Wonder Year, from planning to budgeting, documenting your travels through blogging and video, and even doing the day-to-day grunt work that keeps the family moving along. Getting your kids involved early in the process is an excellent onboarding to what might be the best months of your life.