12 Reasons Traveling With Young Kids Is More Fun Than You Think (And Totally Worth It)

Some of the links might be affiliate links and, at no extra cost to you, we earn a small commission. See our disclaimer for more info.

Travel is a vital part of family life. We do it to see family, take vacations, and explore our home nations. However, many travelers think having children means you have to stop traveling. After all, how can you raise a family and backpack around the globe? However, people who think that are wrong.

You don’t have to give up your passion for travel to raise a family; you only have to adjust how you do it. In fact, you’ll likely find that traveling with your family is much more enjoyable and enriching.

Traveling with kids has been an amazing experience for our family. With our three children, we’ve gone on many adventures, including several three-month road trips across Europe and visits to many countries around the world.

Since our first child was born, we’ve made a point to travel a lot because we firmly believe that the world is the greatest classroom. Each trip has helped our children understand different cultures, histories, and places, building their curiosity and kindness.

With that in mind, here are 12 reasons traveling with your kids is an epic adventure.

Create Unforgettable Memories

Save this!

We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later.

Arguably, the main reason to travel with your young children is to create unforgettable memories. While your young child might not remember everything you do, families that travel together create memories that stand miles above the other memories made back home. Whether it’s a trip to the beach or an African safari, some of the best family memories are the adventures you go on.

Think back to when you were a child. What do you remember most? Do you have unforgettable memories of playing at the park or having a family dinner in the garden? Probably not. However, you likely have fond memories of your first vacations and big trips with your family.

It’s Fun

Above all else, traveling with young kids is a lot of fun. It often gives us parents the perfect excuse to relive our childhoods and do things usually aimed at children. Admittedly, some of the world’s most entertaining attractions are aimed at children, so taking your kids traveling gives you the perfect excuse to have fun.

For example, while we don’t necessarily need an excuse to visit Disneyland, having a child by your side makes it more acceptable to ask Mickey Mouse for an autograph. Furthermore, spending more time with your child away from home is enough fun, tying back nicely into creating unforgettable memories.

Improve Your Child’s Social Skills

Traveling is one of the best ways for children to interact with new people. At every new destination you visit, your child can meet new people, play, and socialize with people of all ages. What makes this even better is that your child can meet people from different backgrounds and cultures.

This may be at a summer club on a cruise ship or a playground in a small town. Either way, socializing with different people benefits your child massively. They’ll become more relaxed and confident around new people and learn more about the world’s diversity.

Trying New Things and Learning About the World

Preschool and nursery are children’s first steps to learning more about the world and how life works. However, real-life experiences are much more valuable than anything a child can learn in a classroom. Of course, education is essential, but trying new things away from the school is also crucial.

Whether trying local cuisine, playing a new sport, or visiting somewhere of historical or cultural significance, your child will benefit from seeing and doing new things. They’ll learn more about the world’s cultures, find things they enjoy doing, and start forming opinions. They’ll also have some epic stories to tell their classmates.

Our kids loved visiting the Colosseum in Rome and the Acropolis in Athens, bathing an elephant in Thailand, learning to row like a gondolier in Venice, sleeping in a tent in Wadi Rum in Jordan, exploring Park Guell in Barcelona, taking the cable car in Porto, and playing mini golf by Lake Como.

Teaches Them About Life Beyond Their Bubble

Similarly, traveling with children when they’re young teaches them about life outside their tiny bubble. When we’re little, the world doesn’t seem very big. Beyond our family, friends, and the classroom, we don’t know about the vast world surrounding us and what the future might entail.

Whether it’s traveling domestically or internationally, your kid will reap enormous benefits from being exposed to the wider world at a young age, especially if they can experience lifestyles and cultures different from their own. With that said, try to take your child to places where they might be taken out of their comfort zone and introduced to something completely different.

Promotes Family Bonding

It’s often through traveling that families come closer together and bond. There’s nothing better than a family of four cramming into one hotel room, getting wet in a small tent, or trekking through a muddy forest in another country to bring a family together. On new adventures together, your family will grow closer.

Even negative travel experiences, which do, unfortunately, happen from time to time, bring families closer and promote family bonding. You’ll likely find that through these tougher traveling experiences, your child will trust you more. Traveling also allows parents to get to know their children more. You can start to gauge their personality, likes, and dislikes.

It Helps You Slow Down

Admittedly, the following reason for traveling with young kids can sometimes be frustrating, but it’s valuable if you can get past the initial heartache. When traveling, there’s no denying that it can be tempting to see and do as much as possible. However, with a child, it’s hard to do that.

Luckily, though, this could be a blessing in disguise. If we can get past our go-go-go, fast-paced travel style and move slower with our children, we can experience more in the places we visit. Slowing down grants us more opportunities to notice, explore a place in depth, appreciate a location, and enjoy the moment.

Teaches Children To Open Up From an Early Age

One of the things we love most about traveling with children from an early age is how it opens them up to a wide range of things. For starters, there’s no denying that younger children are impatient. When they want something, they want it immediately, and they don’t like to wait.

However, traveling opens children up to the world, teaching them that it’s not always possible to have everything you want immediately. Children are also more settled in environments they are used to. Taking them out of that environment and introducing them to a new one teaches them to adapt. These are valuable life skills worth introducing to your child from an early age.

They Have No Travel Expectations

Conversely, traveling with kids when they are young is also an excellent idea because they don’t have travel expectations. When they are young, children don’t know what travel is and what it offers. Therefore, you don’t have to worry too much about your child’s opinion when planning an itinerary.

Of course, you’ll want to include things they enjoy, such as playgrounds, but you can worry less about the destination. This isn’t a pleasure you’re granted when traveling with older children and teenagers. Older children and teenagers usually have specific things they want to see and do in mind. As a result, you’ll have to plan your itinerary carefully to cater to everyone in your family.

It’s Cheaper

It may sound harsh because we should always try to travel with our children, but traveling with smaller children is also a good idea because it’s often cheaper. Generally, you’ll find that many airlines, hotels, and travel companies offer better deals for families with children.

For example, a holiday package company might allow children under a certain age to travel free. Of course, it’s also possible for families with small children to share rooms, so you don’t have to book multiple bedrooms, something you might have to do with teenagers and young adults. Finally, you won’t have to spend as much in restaurants as you would with a pack of hungry 16-year-olds.

Get Closer to Nature

Traveling with kids allows you and your children to get closer to nature. The world is jam-packed with fascinating natural sights and magical wildlife, but you can’t see it all by staying at home, no matter where you live. By traveling, you can explore new landscapes, discover new species, and introduce your child to the world’s most spectacular places.

It doesn’t matter if you take your child to Yellowstone National Park, the Amazon Rainforest, or a local forest; they will enjoy exploring somewhere new and exciting. You can make the experience even more memorable by creating games and challenges to complete during your trip, such as spotting specific species on safari.

Make the Most of Every Moment

Unfortunately, the harsh reality is that there will likely come a time when your child or children don’t want to travel with you. Instead, they’ll probably want to go off on their own adventures with their friends. With that in mind, make the most of the time you have now.

If you think about it, you only have 18 summers until your child is old enough to move out of home and start their own life. Therefore, spend every second you can creating memories, having fun, and cherishing your time together. When they are young, it is likely the only time in their lives they want to be with you all day, every day.