Truly amazing childhood travel experiences

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We did Morocco and Egypt at 9 and that trip was a blast. My son never stopped asking the guides questions.

We've also done Italy, Croatia, Paris, Rome at various ages (3 to 5) and he loved it all.

Eye roll.

Agree. I doubt a 3 to 5 year old would really appreciate those places or even remember them. But then again this is DCUM and all the parents on here think their kid is the next _____________ (fill in the blank for some highly educated, world game changer, etc).

[Anonymous]

The beach, within driving distance. They won’t remember so unless you have money to burn save it for later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids have been to 8-10 countries each- Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Germany, and more. All of them talk the most about the time we stayed on a farm in North Carolina. They got to feed the chickens, sheep, goats, and pigs, water and pick the huge gardens, corral the chickens back in the coup, the property had an in ground pool, trampoline, and treehouse, we had a local chef come give us a cooking class with herbs and veggies from the garden. They literally talk about it ALL the time.

This is why I chose to raise my kids on a farm.

BTW, personal pet peeve but insurrectionist have coups, chickens have coops.

LOL, this is funny but the hens can be like little insurrectionists, breaking into the garden and flower beds haha...

My own family, we are not world travelers, but my kids LOVED a farm like this in PA. They are adults and still talk about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We did Morocco and Egypt at 9 and that trip was a blast. My son never stopped asking the guides questions.

We've also done Italy, Croatia, Paris, Rome at various ages (3 to 5) and he loved it all.

Eye roll.

Agree. I doubt a 3 to 5 year old would really appreciate those places or even remember them. But then again this is DCUM and all the parents on here think their kid is the next _____________ (fill in the blank for some highly educated, world game changer, etc).

Sorry to be obnoxious but yesterday I asked my son what his favorite family trip was and he said hands-down Iceland. He was three when we went and he is now 10.

But I didn’t take him so that he would remember it. I took him because all four of us wanted to go because we saw a YouTube video about it. If your kid wants to go to a cool place and you do too, I don’t think the fact the the kid won’t remember it is a reason not to go.

I personally prefer to do bigger more “exotic” trips with my kids because that’s just more exciting for me. I am not going to plan activities they don’t enjoy, because if they’re not having fun it’s not fun for me either. But what they remember isn’t the issue. I think it would be really hard to plan a trip around what would be most magical and memorable for the child because as you see here, that varies a lot. If I was trying to do that I personally would choose Disney, assuming my kids wanted to go. Luckily they haven’t asked because I take one look at those spreadsheets on Disney blogs and close my laptop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids have been to 8-10 countries each- Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Germany, and more. All of them talk the most about the time we stayed on a farm in North Carolina. They got to feed the chickens, sheep, goats, and pigs, water and pick the huge gardens, corral the chickens back in the coup, the property had an in ground pool, trampoline, and treehouse, we had a local chef come give us a cooking class with herbs and veggies from the garden. They literally talk about it ALL the time.

This is why I chose to raise my kids on a farm.

BTW, personal pet peeve but insurrectionist have coups, chickens have coops.

LOL, this is funny but the hens can be like little insurrectionists, breaking into the garden and flower beds haha...

My own family, we are not world travelers, but my kids LOVED a farm like this in PA. They are adults and still talk about it.

I sent my kids to a sleepaway camp that is a working farm. (Yes, you can find these!). They loved the animals and nature but said “it was just so much work” with the chores.

[Anonymous]

My parents took us to the Galapagos when we were 13 and 15. That was amazing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree the parks are all so memorable in their own ways. My family wasn’t super outdoorsy (no camping) and we still enjoyed them growing up. Yellowstone and Acadia are my picks. Also SW Colorado — Durango area. We rode a train to an area inaccessible by car, did a high ropes course, explored Mesa Verde.

I think a dude ranch somewhere out west would be really fun, although I haven’t done one. I remember skiing in Aspen and we took a sleigh ride in the snow to a hoedown… I’m sure it was super touristy but I still recall a lot of it, 30 years later!

Hawaii

More locally:
Luray caverns
Gettysburg (there’s a new children’s museum)
Amish country, maybe a farm stay—I still have memories of eating at one of the family style smorgasbords, although that particular one closed.

Mesa Verde/Durango is definitely up there with my childhood travel experiences! Loved rafting, horseback riding, the gorgeous scenery and the history of the ruins.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ok as an immigrant who comes from a developing country, it does make me chuckle a bit when holier than thou DCUMers bash on Disney (which is not my cup of tea BTW) or popular places because they want to give their kids "authentic" experiences and because Disney represents consumerism, etc. Do you ever stop to think how *your* consumerism (aka travel) impacts the environment? Certain local economies? Local housing? I doubt it. Because to you, it's about having experiences and life lessons for your kids. So yes...go enjoy all these wonderful places. But get off your high horse.

Truth!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We did Paris recently and my 9 year old loved it.

Sure she did.

DP. My 9 year old was in love with Paris when we took her this spring. I have no idea why you would find this hard to believe.

My kids loved Paris too. It’s a great city for kids.

[Anonymous]

Didn’t read all the pages, but African game parks is on my list to do with kids. Also Australia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Besides Disney, what are some amazing travel experiences for elementary school kids?

My kid is 7, and I want to start taking him on fun, enriching trips with the family.

The trips don’t have to be expensive, just something that will leave him full of memories and good times.

Um, definitely not Disney. It’s terrible

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do whatever your kid wants to do.

For me, it was going to the Oregon Shakespearean Festival. My dad told us the stories on the drive there, and we camped in the mountains by a lake, under a huge sky filled with shooting stars.

Also a hike to a mountain lake with my dad and my cousins. I took our little boat out onto the lake at dawn and watched the shadows drop down the rockface.

YMMV.

Just curious, are you a stage actor now? Or how did this childhood experience impact your adult hood?

No, I am much too bashful to be a stage actor! But I love reading, and theater, and movies. I do music and visual art. And I adore being outside.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree the parks are all so memorable in their own ways. My family wasn’t super outdoorsy (no camping) and we still enjoyed them growing up. Yellowstone and Acadia are my picks. Also SW Colorado — Durango area. We rode a train to an area inaccessible by car, did a high ropes course, explored Mesa Verde.

I think a dude ranch somewhere out west would be really fun, although I haven’t done one. I remember skiing in Aspen and we took a sleigh ride in the snow to a hoedown… I’m sure it was super touristy but I still recall a lot of it, 30 years later!

Hawaii

More locally:
Luray caverns
Gettysburg (there’s a new children’s museum)
Amish country, maybe a farm stay—I still have memories of eating at one of the family style smorgasbords, although that particular one closed.

Mesa Verde/Durango is definitely up there with my childhood travel experiences! Loved rafting, horseback riding, the gorgeous scenery and the history of the ruins.

That's near where the dude ranch I went to as a kid. It was Lake Mancos Ranch, now Majestic (different owners)
https://majesticduderanch.com/

Magnificent location

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ok as an immigrant who comes from a developing country, it does make me chuckle a bit when holier than thou DCUMers bash on Disney (which is not my cup of tea BTW) or popular places because they want to give their kids "authentic" experiences and because Disney represents consumerism, etc. Do you ever stop to think how *your* consumerism (aka travel) impacts the environment? Certain local economies? Local housing? I doubt it. Because to you, it's about having experiences and life lessons for your kids. So yes...go enjoy all these wonderful places. But get off your high horse.

Amen to that!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We did Morocco and Egypt at 9 and that trip was a blast. My son never stopped asking the guides questions.

We've also done Italy, Croatia, Paris, Rome at various ages (3 to 5) and he loved it all.

Eye roll.

Agree. I doubt a 3 to 5 year old would really appreciate those places or even remember them. But then again this is DCUM and all the parents on here think their kid is the next _____________ (fill in the blank for some highly educated, world game changer, etc).

I doubt as well that any 3, 4 year can remember travelling. Actually, there is no way. My daughter is 8 and she no recollections of her preschool years whatsoever.