I am biased but even when I come back exhausted from trips - no longer vacations - they are worth it to ME and my DH, j emphasize this because as many have said it’s a PITA but the kids love looking at photos and “remembering” things. Maybe bc we have traveled with them since they were tiny babies I find 4+ to be much more manageable than any age before, although we have had fun trips starting at 3. But yeah it’s about expectations and being flexible: at 4+ you can also do kids clubs at most AI resorts or on cruises.

Anonymous wrote:No. My kids are teens now and have no recollections of any trip before age 8.

Haha ditto. My 16 yr old says it’s all a blur. And even if it wasn’t, little kids just love spending time with their parents and family no matter where you go. My kid’s fondest memories are family beach trips to PCB and HHI every summer.

OP here. Thanks everyone! This is very enlightening and makes me feel better. I think I was just getting some FOMO whenever I heard about friends taking their kids the same age abroad.

I wouldn’t really travel for the kids’ sake, so not worried if they’re not going to remember it. But I don’t want to look back and wish I had traveled and made those memories for myself (but sounds like that’s not really a thing I need to worry about..)

No regrets about not traveling more when my kids were younger. None whatsoever.

When my oldest was just 2 we took her on a weekend trip and one morning she just did not want to leave the hotel room. At that point I decided that I wasn’t taking her on a similar trip until she was at least 5. At 5.5 the same trip was much better.

I's so glad we did not waste money on travel when our kids were young. We now travel several times a year and have a blast doing it, but we did not start taking ambitious trips until our kids youngest was five.

Until our youngest of three was about 9 we didn’t do any International travel because we didn’t think she’d appreciate it or remember it. Before that we’d go to the Caribbean for a week but that was just home rental by the beach.

At young ages, they won't remember the trips, so no, not worth it for us. At that age, we took trips to grandparents. And camping trips with lots of fresh air. When kids were 5 and 7, we went to Acadia. Lots of outdoor time, hiking, etc

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We lived abroad in Europe for a semester when my kids were 4 and 1. It was an absolute nightmare honestly and I would never recommend it. I have some fun memories, but mostly I feel stress when I think about it.

On the other hand I have some very fond memories of trips to Aruba around that age. So much less stress, easy to drive around, take naps, eat in at night while they are sleeping…now my kids are older (tweens), they are fabulous International travelers. Be patient!

Those are hard ages generally.

Well, yes! But OP’s kid has been in those ages. If she wants to travel she should pick the easy trips, then ramp it up as they get older. She should feel relieved that she skipped traveling at the shit ages, and start again in a few years. In the meantime, go to the Caribbean. Whether that is her usual style or not (it wasn’t mine pre-kids). You have to adjust.

Anonymous wrote:It can be fun to travel with little ones if you can find the right destinations. We did a trip to England with a 2 and 4.5 yo and had a great time. We visited a few castles and our kids both dressed like princesses and pretended the whole time. We enjoyed seeing the gardens and architecture. We also did a fancy tea in the Cotswolds and they loved that. They wore fancy dresses again. We stayed at a BnB in the English countryside and they got to feed the animals and swing on a tree swing. We hiked along the cliffs near Dover, which was spectacular. It was lots of fun.

We've also done Egypt and Costa Rica with slightly older kids. They both loved it. They both ave very kid-accessible content. In Egypt we talked a lot about building technology used by the ancient Egyptians, mummification, and the Egyptian gods. In Costa Rica we talked a ton about the rainforest and animals.

There are lots of destinations with sights that don't mean anything to kids. Kids just don't have the context to appreciate what they're seeing. It's all about choosing the right destination and the right activities at that destination.

Totally agree with this.

It can be fun to travel with little ones if you can find the right destinations. We did a trip to England with a 2 and 4.5 yo and had a great time. We visited a few castles and our kids both dressed like princesses and pretended the whole time. We enjoyed seeing the gardens and architecture. We also did a fancy tea in the Cotswolds and they loved that. They wore fancy dresses again. We stayed at a BnB in the English countryside and they got to feed the animals and swing on a tree swing. We hiked along the cliffs near Dover, which was spectacular. It was lots of fun.

We've also done Egypt and Costa Rica with slightly older kids. They both loved it. They both ave very kid-accessible content. In Egypt we talked a lot about building technology used by the ancient Egyptians, mummification, and the Egyptian gods. In Costa Rica we talked a ton about the rainforest and animals.

There are lots of destinations with sights that don't mean anything to kids. Kids just don't have the context to appreciate what they're seeing. It's all about choosing the right destination and the right activities at that destination.

Anonymous wrote:God no. That’s a horrible age to travel with them. They are not rational creatures. They don’t transition well. They’re picky eaters, they go to bed early, they have pee and poop accidents. Why would you want to spend the money on travel with them now?

It’s much easier when they are a bit older, like 7+.

+1

Teens only.

I regret not taking the kids abroad to meet my grandparents, all of whom died during the pandemic. But I don’t otherwise regret cutting back on travel.

For my kid, 6 was the sweet spot. Doesn’t need naps, has walking stamina, finished with the picky food phase, still has a sense of wonder, not yet addicted to screens, still adorable but with good manners that charm the locals.

I traveled with her in a backpack til she was about 14 months, then took a break til she was 6. Been on the move together ever since 😁

Anonymous wrote:We lived abroad in Europe for a semester when my kids were 4 and 1. It was an absolute nightmare honestly and I would never recommend it. I have some fun memories, but mostly I feel stress when I think about it.

On the other hand I have some very fond memories of trips to Aruba around that age. So much less stress, easy to drive around, take naps, eat in at night while they are sleeping…now my kids are older (tweens), they are fabulous International travelers. Be patient!

Those are hard ages generally.

No, we traveled more when the kids were young and not in "real" school. We'd just take the nanny and go all over the place.