This August marks five years since I became a mom. My life has changed in ways I never expected — I no longer have the freedom to book spontaneous long trips on my own — but somehow I’ve kept travel woven into our days. And into mine.
At just five years old, my daughter has been to 25 countries with me.
I’ve never cared much for counting countries — I don’t even track how many places I’ve visited myself — so this isn’t about the numbers. It’s about raising a child who is genuinely curious about the world, and what five years of traveling together has taught me along the way.
From long weekend getaways around Europe to multi-week road trips across the Americas, I can say without hesitation that traveling with your child is one of the best things you’ll ever do.
1. We’ll Wait Until They’re Older So They Can Remember — But You Don’t Have To
She’s too young for that trip. Why not wait a few more years so she can remember?
I used to hear those words all the time, and I think they miss the point entirely.
My answer is always the same: we’ll go now, and when she’s older, we’ll go somewhere else. The world is huge. You will never visit every country or region properly — it simply isn’t possible. So if you’ve been dreaming about a destination and finally have the time and money to make it happen, don’t postpone it. Just go.
People say children won’t remember those early trips. Maybe they won’t recall every detail, but travel becomes a natural part of their life. They grow up seeing the photos, hearing the stories, and most importantly — you will remember.
Not every country is suited for young kids — Central African Republic or Afghanistan come to mind — but there’s no perfect age to travel. There are only different ways of experiencing the world.
2. Kids Understand More Than You Think
If you meet us on a trip, try asking my daughter to name the smallest country in the world (Nauru), identify the only Dutch-speaking country in South America (Suriname), or find Yemen on a map.
You might be surprised.
She isn’t smarter than other children. I just think travel has had such a big impact on her — it made her genuinely curious about the world and eager to explore it.
We spend hours looking at maps together and reading books about characters who travel. One of her favorites follows a penguin who leaves Antarctica on the back of an albatross, visiting Peru, South Africa and New Zealand along the way.
She already suggests countries she wants to visit. Whenever we leave home, I make sure she knows where we’re going and what to expect from the journey. Children are like sponges — they absorb knowledge and experiences at a pace that surprises you.
The earlier you start, the better. The longer you wait, the less interested they become in their parents’ world. Take your chance while you’re still their hero.
3. One Day You’ll Have to Tell Them: Start Over
An unavoidable consequence of traveling with kids is that country numbers come up. Kids can easily become obsessed with them — my daughter mentions ours a bit too often, sometimes even bragging about it.
I think it’s important to teach them what travel is really about: meaningful experiences, local encounters and curiosity, rather than statistics. If they decide to become country counters as adults, that’s their choice. But the countries visited as children don’t count — not because they don’t remember them, but because traveling as an adult means making your own decisions, planning your own itineraries, and experiencing places in your own way.
One day I’ll sit my daughter down and say: Dude, you need to start over.
4. Find a Balance Between Kid-Friendly and Local
This is the real challenge — and honestly, it’s a fun one.
If you want travel to grow on your child, you need activities that are enjoyable for them but local enough that they feel somewhere genuinely different. In practical terms: fewer playgrounds, fewer theme-park trips.
Our recent trip to Serbia is a good example. We went because, besides San Marino, it was the only country I hadn’t visited in mainland Europe — very selfish, I know. It was just the two of us for a week.
We spent two nights in Belgrade walking around, eating ice cream and trying local restaurants with foods she’d never seen before. No boring museums, no excessive walking. Then three nights on two different farms in rural Serbia where she could feed the animals. The owners spoke only Serbian, everything felt wonderfully unfamiliar, and the food was deeply local. Finally, two nights in a traditional wooden hut in the mountains, from where we took the Šargan Eight train.
Everything was very Serbian. Everything was also thoroughly fun for a four-year-old.
5. Traveling with Kids Doesn’t Mean Missing Out
There’s a common misconception that traveling with children means missing out on things. I think the whole idea depends entirely on your expectations.
If I travel to Tanzania with my daughter, it’s natural that I won’t be climbing Kilimanjaro or overlanding by matatu all the way to Burundi. But I’m not missing out — I already know that’s not the kind of trip we’re taking. And if I want to climb Kilimanjaro, I can always come back another time on my own.
When we went to Ecuador, climbing Chimborazo was never part of the plan. Instead, we spent three days on a local farm in a tiny village nearby. The locals embraced us and made us feel like part of their community — probably because we were a family. I wouldn’t have stayed on that farm if I’d been traveling alone.
If I want to do something wild — hitchhike across Afghanistan, spend four days overlanding to Kaieteur Falls in Guyana — I’ll do it solo or with friends.
Stop saying traveling with kids means missing out. You may see fewer things, but you slow down, spend more time in places, and often have far more genuine interactions with locals than you would on your own. Each travel style has its own advantages and beautiful moments.
6. Family Travel Is Easy — Single Parenting Is a Different Game
Traveling as a family is actually much easier than people make it sound. What’s difficult is traveling alone with a child. That’s an entirely different league.
My daughter’s father and I separated some time ago, but I’m fortunate that her grandmother has always supported the idea of my daughter growing up on the road — so I can still take these several-week trips by myself.
Still, whenever I travel alone with her, I remember how much easier things are when there are two adults. Late at night in a hotel room, it’s snowing outside, and she says she’s thirsty. You realize you forgot to buy bottled water and she’s already in pajamas. With two parents, one runs downstairs while the other stays behind. Alone? It gets complicated.
Multiply that by every meal, every bathroom break, every train ride, every time she gets sick, and the countless tantrums on the street while you carry all the bags yourself. There are moments when I wonder: What am I doing here?
All the good moments make up for it.
7. Children Adapt to Everything — Adults Complain More
I’ve spent years bringing travelers from all kinds of backgrounds to some pretty unusual places, and after taking my daughter on multi-country road trips, long bus journeys, campervan adventures and even jungle regions in the Pacific, I can say this: some adults are certainly more dramatic and demanding than most children.
Children adapt to almost everything. They won’t complain about poor accommodation or limited food options as long as they’re having fun with you.
Remember that wherever you travel, there will always be children. There will always be diapers and there will always be food for kids. The world is built for them too.
A Final Thought
Having a daughter who loves traveling doesn’t make us special or better than anyone else. I simply believe that, like any other passion or hobby, children often end up embracing what their parents genuinely love.
This isn’t meant to tell parents how they should raise their kids, or suggest everyone should travel the way we do. But if you’re passionate about traveling and have been postponing trips because you think having children means the end of your adventures — I hope these reflections encourage you to simply go.
Because the thing I’ve learned most over these five years is that children don’t stop us from traveling. They just change how we do it — and in a way, for the better.
A note from Nora: Sam tells me I should write about travel more often. He says the kitchen gets quiet when I’m gone, but he’s wrong — Biscuit keeps him company, and our daughter sends photos from every hotel room. Small rituals, even on the road, make everywhere feel like home.
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