Help me plan a solo trip with 13-year-old boy

[Anonymous]

I told my kids that when they turn 13, they each get a trip anywhere in the world with just DH and me. We have four kids so nobody gets a ton of one-on-one time and I thought this would be a nice memory maker and opportunity to bond in new ways. Our two oldest chose great trips abroad. My 12-year-old doesn't seem to have a lot of interest or know where he wants to go. I'm not a huge travel planner myself. Any great ideas for how to get him thinking and planning? Should I set him an appointment with a travel agent? Any fabulous ideas you have that I could share with him? He doesn't like amusement parks. He's never been to Europe so that could be fun, but only if we can think of young teen-friendly activities. Thanks for any great ideas.

[Anonymous]

I'd take him to Barnes and Noble before taking him to a travel agent.

[Anonymous]

What is he interested in? Science, engineering, history?

[Anonymous]

Does he like museums? Hiking or sitting on a beach? Sports? Warm or cold weather?

[Anonymous]

River rafting. We like middle fork of the salmon byt could also do the Grand Canyon.

[Anonymous]

If he can’t decide, would 14 or 15 be better?

[Anonymous]

We've been doing solo trips with the kids for a few years. My son has choosen

--Panama and the Panama Canal
--Ancient Athens
--Grand Canyon/Hoover Dam/Las Vegas
--Norway for the northern lights

[Anonymous]

What did the other two choose?

[Anonymous]

What does he like to do? Is he an outdoors kid? Nature hikes or adventure? Relaxation like the beach? Or does he hate the beach? Does he like to explore cities? Museums? Interested in history? Into a particular sport?

I think you can narrow it down quite a bit just based off his interests.

[Anonymous]

If he doesn't know, I would wait until he is older.

[Anonymous]

This isn’t something I would push on a kid who doesn’t have a preference yet. That said, my 12 yo would want to go to either Moab or Sedona.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If he doesn't know, I would wait until he is older.

+1. This is where you find out that you don't treat all 4 kids the same way, because they are not the same people.

He's not ready yet, OP. And set him up with a travel agent? How ridiculous is that? It's like immediately sending a kid to therapy because you don't know what else to do with them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If he doesn't know, I would wait until he is older.

+1. This is where you find out that you don't treat all 4 kids the same way, because they are not the same people.

He's not ready yet, OP. And set him up with a travel agent? How ridiculous is that? It's like immediately sending a kid to therapy because you don't know what else to do with them.

This. He may not be much of a travel kid and nothing is wrong with that. I think the idea of 1:1 time is great. Luckily you can do that easily without having to travel. Book a hotel for a few days and do local stuff together that he enjoys.

[Anonymous]

Does he prefer outdoor activities or museums?
A city might be good if he likes the later but if he likes the outdoors maybe somewhere like Costa Rica would be good where you can hike, zip line, go to the beach, etc.

Ohau might be a good option if he’s into a mix of both! You can tour Pearl Harbor, hike and go to the beach. Maybe he would enjoy a day or half a day of surfing lessons and you and your husband can have some free time.

[Anonymous]

We do similar in our family (they can pick to go with mom or dad). Last summer, 13 yo dd did a big trip to Alaska with dad. They rented a camper van, went ski kayaking, helicopter to glacier, salmon fishing, biking around Denali, etc.