Hello!

26 Comments

Travelling is all about experiencing new things and creating memories that will last a lifetime. 

It is about finding happiness and re-defining what’s important in life. It is about freedom and finding your own self.

There is no better company for that than your own beloved family and there is no better time than right NOW.

If you’ve dreamt about the open road for a while, maybe the time is now to start planning and executing it.

First of all, make sure this is what you want. Make sure you are ready to drive long hours, walk long distance, take up different jobs to support yourself and make sure you are ready to let go.

To let go of your home and most of your belongings. You need to be sure you can live in a small space like camper, tent, or hostel rooms.

But if you’ve always wanted to de-clutter your home, life and mind this is one way to go about it. You’ll definitely free some space for unforgettable moments and memories.

Essential advice for full-time travelling with kids:

  • First and most importantly be open to sudden changes in plans. Not everything will go as planned, but sometimes the best things are those that take us by surprise.
  • Living in a camper, or an RV is not easy on your children, so before you hit the road have your kids in a really good routine.
  • Think about education and home-schooling if your kids are supposed to go to school.
  • Juggling between home-schooling, sight-seeing, cooking and driving is exhausting and might take all your time. You need to think how you will keep your juices flowing financially.

There are a few ways to do that:

  • Online work – writing, app development, freelancing, photography etc.
  • In person – some families stop and settle for a few months at a single spot, take up jobs in person, utilise their talents and save some money to hit the road again.
  • Renting your home - you could rent your home and live off the monthly rent. Alternatively, you can sell it and invest in your travelling venture. This, obviously isn’t the best long-term solution, unless you have a back-up plan, but it is one many families opt for to make their dreams come true.

Keep your kids entertained during long-drives by playing various games such as holding breath over bridges and scoring on animals you see on the road, reading books, listening to podcasts, etc.

Get some camping equipment. It is always a good idea to change the scenery, step out of the RV and sleep in a tent some place beautiful.

When you buy camping equipment always think about the different items your kids might need, like special sleeping bags, lights, toys etc.

If you are on the verge of making this choice, be sure to remember you are not alone in this. In fact, most long-term travelling couples, travel with their kids (49%), as young as 12 months old.

If everything goes well, you will cringe at the thought of ever coming back.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock.com
We may get commissions for purchases made using links in this post. Learn more.
  • An interesting travel article, thank you.

    Reply

  • I would love to be able to do this! Watching stories on these families on tv has always made me a little jealous.

    Reply

  • Not sure if myself, hubby and the kids would have survived travelling around together long term. I’m not sure just hubby and he would survive either

    Reply

  • thanks lana jane, great article for sure

    Reply

  • im not a qualified teacher so i wouldnt be able to home school my kids adequately. i dont think i would take a long term holiday with the kids and risk their education

    Reply

  • We have been planning a long trip for a while now… and can’t wait to get going!

    Reply

  • A word of warning. If you are travelling where there may be no milk available and using UHT milk, check to make sure that the vibration whilst travelling doesn’t wear the bottoms of the cartons through. This happened to a work colleague of mine when they were travelling with young children who still drank a lot of milk. They suddenly had a horrible stench in their caravan. She found it, washed and disinfected the area thoroughly and left it open to air for a few days to get rid of the smells.

    Reply

  • Sounds like an adventure. Not sure if the uncertainty is for me though!

    Reply

  • I think its something most people think of doing at some stage but reality hits and it never happens! I just couldn’t live in such a confined space, but I do love the idea of the freedom and adventure. It’d be great for the kids.

    Reply

  • we did it when we were ids although not long term just in couple weeks at a time it was great

    Reply

  • I would love to do this and am envious of those who do – but I’m too afraid to give up my secure job to go for a decent amount of time.

    Reply

  • My kids have grown up but a very good article.

    Reply

  • This is not my cup of tea, even though hubby and I have retired now, we are still not into vanning or camping, great article though and wonderful tips and points, never know things may change and this may be useful to me one day. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

  • They are very helpful hints

    Reply

  • One of my favorite memories was when I met a friend from the US in NZ and we took my two youngest children on a tour of the North Island from Auckland up to the Cape. It was amazing and we had a blast and certainly created memories. Its a trip that often comes up in conversation.

    Reply

Post a comment
Add a photo
Your MoM account


Lost your password?

Enter your email and a password below to post your comment and join MoM:

You May Like

Loading…

Looks like this may be blocked by your browser or content filtering.

↥ Back to top

Thanks For Your Star Rating!

Would you like to add a written rating or just a star rating?

Write A Rating Just A Star Rating
Join