18 Family Travel Experiences I'm Grateful For

You only have 18 summers with your kids. Make them all count.

These are 18 travel experiences I'm grateful we did with the kids before they turned 18.

1. Paris

The kids were 7 and 10 at the time. If I could relive one vacation over and over it would be this one.

The kids loved exploring the city. We started at the Eiffel Tower, took the Batubus up to Notre Dame. When then walked to the Saint Chappelle, the Louvre, down to the Champs-Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe. We climbed the stairs to the top of the Eiffel Tower which is definitely the best way to get the full experience.

They were old enough to walk all day long so we got to explore a lot.

A day trip to Versailles capped off our 3 days of fun in the city.

2. Ski trip to Colorado

Our first trip out west was to Winter Park. I still remember our first run down through the trees and how thrilled the kids were to ski in deep powder. They learned to ski in New Hampshire and Vermont but the shear size, elevation, and ability to ski just about anywhere blew them away.

3. Disney Land/Disney World

This one is probably on everyone's list. You really can’t go wrong with a visit to one of the Disney parks. It’s pricey and the lines are long but it’s just an easy place to make fun memories together as a family.

4. Whale Watch in Boston Harbor

This one really surprised me. It may have just been the right day to go, but the whales put on a great show. Not only did we see them surfacing and splashing their tales, they also came up along the side of the boat. At one point, one swam directly at the boat before diving underneath. It was so close we could see its eyes.

5. Gondola Ride in Venice

This list started with a trip to Paris. On this same trip, we also went to Italy, where finished our vacation in Venice. Again, we walked the whole city, getting lost in the maze of streets and taking ferries to the nearby islands of Murano and Burano

My wife and I tried to avoid doing the gondola ride. It seemed really expensive for what it was but the kids kept insisting. We gave in and hired a gondolier on our last day. He made it so much fun and the kids loved it. We had to concede and it admit that it was absolutely worth it.

6. California RV Trip

We rented an RV in San Francisco and then drove to Monterey, Sequoia National Park, and Yosemite National Park. It was a lot for 1 week. I’d recommend 10 days but the experience was wonderful.

We went in April and the weather was mostly fine. We had a cold, rainy day in Sequoia but we still got to get out into the park and see the massive trees.

Living in the RV for a week was interesting. Space was limited but everything worked out. We still joke about my daughter taking a shower and flooding the RV. She was 11 and didn’t realize the gray water tank had filled up. That led to the shower overflowing and a river of water coming out the door.

7. Camping in New Hampshire

Almost every year when the kids were younger, up until they went off to college, we did a camping weekend. We would spend the day in the lake swimming and kayaking. Sometimes we’d go for a hike, dodging the mosquitoes, adventuring through the woods. As they got older, they grew out of it a bit but it was fun while it lasted.

8. Grand Canyon

This kids were pretty young when we went so we couldn’t do any long hikes. Still, there were plenty of place to explore, pictures to take, and Elk to see. We did a short hike down into the canyon, far enough to get some of the experience without having a long hike back up to the rim.

9. Niagara Falls

We put this trip together quickly when our plans to go to Myrtle Beach during the summer fell through. We drove out to Niagara Falls, spending a couple of days in Canada. We enjoyed viewing the force of the falls and getting wet on the Maid of the Mist before taking a day trip up to Toronto to see the Hockey Hall Of Fame.

10. Barcelona Football Match

When the kids were 10 and 12, we went to Spain for a week in November. We started the trip in Madrid, doing day trips to Cuenca and Segovia before taking the train to Barcelona.

The trip centered around going to an FC Barcelona game to see Messi play in person. Barca lost but Messi scored 2 goals so we were happy!

Barcelona was a fun city to see with the kids. We visited the waterfront and the Old Town, Park Güell, La Ramba, and the top of Tibidabo. We did a lot of walking around the city, making our way up to the Olympic stadium. Our Airbnb was right next to La Sagrada Familia which was spectacular to see each day.

We also squeezed in a “3 country in a day” tour to see southern France and Andorra.

11. San Diego Zoo

This is a wonderful place to visit when the kids are younger. The zoo is great and the Safari Park, a little further away, should be considered as well. If you go, definitely do the Safari experience. The giraffe come up to you and eat from your hands and we threw apples to the hippos.

12. Scuba Diving in St. John

A few years ago, the kids an I got scuba certified so we could scuba dive on our trip to St. John. It was worth training in the cloudy Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Rhode Island to have this opportunity.

The crystal clear water and all the sea life of the Caribbean was just amazing. We had snorkeled there before but going down to 15 meters and seeing it all up close was a whole other experience.

13. London

Like Paris, London is one of those cities you just have to see. There is so much history and plenty of great day trips to take. We went to Stone Henge where my daughter still swears she had the best ham sandwich in here life and Windor Castle. It’s so easy to enjoy a week of activities there.

14. Pink Jeep Tour in Sedona

My daughter wasn't sure about this one at first but she couldn't stop talking about it after. Beautiful scenery, even better at sunset, and they take you places you never thought you could go. The jeeps are modified to hold a small group and the drivers really make the whole experience a blast.

15. Doors off Helicopter tour of Kauai

This is for when the kids get older. A couple year ago, we did a doors off helicopter ride in Kauai and it’s definitely the way to go. It provides outstanding views of an already amazing landscape. I highly recommend it!

16. Rome and Vatican City

Again, a great historical city to visit and very walkable with the kids. We loved it so much we returned a second time. The kids enjoyed the Colosseum and we even got to see the Pope arrive in Vatican City.

17. Hawaii

We visited 3 of the Hawaiian islands with the kids. Starting in Oahu, we toured the whole island, making sure to stop at Pearl Harbor for a morning. My son and I love WWII history so this was a great experience for us.

After Oahu, we spent several days in Maui. We did the Road to Hana, which the kids endured. I’m thankful the kids got to see Lahaina. 4 weeks after we visited, the town was destroyed by a devastating fire. The restaurants and shops we went to burned to the ground. We met so many great people while we were there. It’s so sad that's it’s gone and feel for those still trying to recover.

We ended our trip in Kauai, where we did the helicopter tour I mentioned earlier.

18. Gelato, especially in Italy.

We are a gelato family. We never pass up a great gelato place when we travel. Our first experience was in Sorrento and we've rarely missed a chance to stop since then.

Four of these experiences happened on one trip. The 10 days going from Paris to Naples to Rome and on to Venice were the best 10 days of my life. The kids enjoyed every minute of it. They were the perfect age where they loved getting out and seeing the world, learning about the history of the places we stopped, and could manage a full day of activities. We didn’t speak French or Italian which I think helped bring us all closer together.

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If you have kids, you have a limited window to enjoy traveling with them. Those years will go by faster than you think. It’s best to have a plan early on so you can make the most of those years.

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