Living and breathing family travel as we do, we LOVE being inspired by tales of family adventure travel, from our clients, from our FB and newsletter subscribers and from the wealth of family travel bloggers out there.
From destination guides, travel kit reviews to images that make us think, ‘‘hey, we can do that, too!’, we’ve selected our top 5 favourite family travel blogs because when you find something you love, it’s good to share!
We also asked the bloggers themselves about what inspires them most about family travel and to share their top tips in making a family holiday the best it can be.
Read on for the inside story, the family travel blog edition!
It was the ‘How to create a love of adventure with your kids’ that swung it for us, the post that had Stubborn Mule’s raison d’être stamped all over it. “Create stories,” Helen Wills, the author of this blog, suggests. “Climb trees.” “Say Yes,” she suggests, and so we did, including Actually Mummy in one of our favourite family blogs.
The blog, which originally started out as the voice of Helen’s daughter but morphed into more, doesn’t just focus on travel, though, or even just adventure travel. Rather, it gives a no-nonsense glimpse into life as a middle aged mum and all that entails, from parenting tips and advice, to recipe ideas to, and we love this too, a ‘Wot So Funee’ (sic) section where parents can share hilarious examples of their children’s linguistic accomplishments, from bad spelling to embarrassing content.
Helen says: “As a Mum, the best thing about travelling with my family is the opportunity to reconnect. Life is so busy with tasks, that it’s easy to feel like you’re not achieving very much. When I travel, I can’t get distracted by my endless to-do list, so I focus on the experience, on my kids, and on just enjoying the moment. That’s priceless, and it makes me notice the people in my life. And isn’t that what it’s all about?”
That the author of this blog, Nichola West, is a freelance travel writer will come as no surprise to followers, so well-crafted and attention grabbing is the respective copy and subject matter. The format is easy to follow, too, and if you scroll down to the various sections, ‘sleep’, ‘eat’, ‘festivals’ ‘theatre’ etc. you’d be forgiven in thinking you’d stumbled upon the online pages of a major newspaper.
Whilst we LOVE this travel blog, packed as it is with useful travel advice (5 travel essentials for under 10’s hand luggage is just one example) and inspirational first-hand destination reviews, the fact that Nichola comes from ‘a family of 5 adventurers (remind you of anyone?!) and her claim that ‘We really don’t like being tourists and love to search out the unusual “makes us love Globalmouse Travels all the more. Our favourite post? 50 places to take the kids around the world before they grow up.
Nichola says: “My favourite thing about family holidays is the time to step off the conveyer belt that life can sometimes feel and just reconnect as a family. It’s wonderful to watch my children explore the world, see new cultures and realise that people are the same the world over.”
“Can you really keep travelling with a child in tow?” is the question posed by author Cathy Winston in this fabulous blog. As the UK’s only 100% tailor made family travel specialist, we know the answer is a very emphatic ‘YES’, but then, so do you and so, of course, does Cathy, who travels with her young daughter, Minnie. Describing herself as ‘an award-winning travel-obsessed writer who’s never knowingly underpacked’, Cathy’s blog is a collection of destination guides, travel checklists and assorted gubbins, which she terms a less colloquial ‘paraphernalia’, from travel vaccination advice to swimwear reviews. Intelligent, humorous, easy to follow and essential travelling family fodder, you might also remember Liddy being interviewed by Cathy on ‘Travelling with Kids’. Our favourite blog? Mummytravels guide to Burma with kids , following Cathy (and Minnie, then aged 3) trip there last April.
Cathy says: ‘Everyone told me you couldn’t travel with children, or at the very least that it would be no fun – I’ve found totally the opposite (a lot of the time). Seeing the world through my daughter’s eyes means I look at destinations a different way. She forces me to slow down, to make a game of exploring and is constantly challenging my preconceptions about what she’ll love or understand.
Cathy’s Top Tip: Plan, plan, plan some more, have a few back-up plans… and then be prepared to ditch the whole lot.
It’s not just because the author of this blog, travel writer Clare Thomson, totally gets the concept of family travel (tip – slow down) or that, packed with inspirational – and aspirational – images makes visiting visually rewarding. No, what we like most about this family travel blogs is the sense that Clare and her kids live and breathe travel. Read any one of the myriad of fascinating posts, and you can’t help but be swept away by her enthusiasm of destinations and the many joys that travelling en famille can bring.
The writing is lovely, too (Clare used to work on the travel desk of the Daily and Sunday Telegraph, so as well as having broad travel experience, the copy doesn’t so much flow as fizz. Travel wise, the blog doesn’t just focus on far flung destinations, either (actually, unlike Stubborn Mule, destinations covered are either home or, in the main, close-ish to home). As she says herself, “Family travel is not just about a summer holiday on the beach. It’s about walking along a coastal path with the dog. It’s about eating fish and chips on a rainy beach in Suffolk or dressing up as a knight at Dover Castle. But most of all it’s about having fun and discovering something new.” Isn’t it just?
Clare says: For us, a family holiday is the thrill of exploring new places, taking a break from the fast pace of daily life and spending time together as a family while we’re enjoying new experiences – seeing a different part of the world, trying new foods and finding out about a different culture.
Clare’s Top Tip: Take it slow and take the time to enjoy what you’re seeing and to get your kids involved in the planning by talking about where they want to go and what they’d like to
The purpose behind Stubborn Mule and Globetotting are identical: in the words of co-founders Katja and Victoria, “Travel the world with your kids! It’s the best thing you will ever do.” We couldn’t agree more, which is why we are one of the few family travel operators Globetotting have partnered with in their incredibly inspiring blog. Once India focussed, Globetotting has grown to become a resource for families who want to travel the world with their children and visit less ‘traditional’ family destinations, not just Stubborn Mule’s favourites like Peru, Nepal, Cuba, Sri Lanka, Costa Rica but those closer to home. Be warned, though. If the insider story on so many destinations doesn’t have you reaching for the credit card, then the images definitely will! Our favourite section is ‘My family adventure’, where families share their holiday experiences, highlights and tips.
Katja says: “There’s a lot that we love about family travel, not least that it gives you time together as a family. And by that we mean real, proper time as opposed to a quick five-minute catch up on the school run. What’s more, travelling with children really keeps you on your toes and makes you try things that you might otherwise not have bothered doing whether it’s zip-lining over a rainforest, learning to make chocolate from cacao beans or kayaking across a volcanic crater lake. And finally, travelling with kids is fun. Maddening, frustrating and tiring at times, yes, but ultimately lots of fun.
Katja’s top tip: “It’s all about expectations. If you head off thinking that your kids will be as excited as you are about the ancient ruins / award-winning restaurant / world-famous museum then you will most likely be sorely disappointed. Children are more likely to remember a dog they met than they are a 16th century church. And that’s ok!”
Have we missed someone?
Let us know whose blog inspires you most! We did try to find a dad blog to include but they just weren’t ‘travelly’ enough. Forgive us! Do get in touch with us at [email protected].
If you would like some instant ideas on where to go on your next family holiday, check out our Destinations Calendar where you can simply click on each school holiday to see your best options. Or contact us directly for first-hand advice.