I have an only, and traveling with him became a total joy starting around age 3.5.

We just took our kids to Europe at 6 and 7 (turned 8 there) and it was perfect. They are old enough to remember it, carry their own backpacks and try to maneuver their rollers, and have a say in what they wanted to do. It was fun to see it through their eyes, but definitely plan for playgrounds and ice cream daily.

Anonymous wrote:Took DD to Europe when she was 9, just the two of us, and it was awesome! She could carry her own stuff, had enough stamina to wander around, and was just filled with wonder wandering around looking at everything. It was right after COVID, so it was even more special.

In general, though, it gets a lot easier once they don't need a stroller to go long distances, can manage their own backpack with water/snacks/activities for the airplane, and they can use boosters instead of carseats.

That's awesome! My 9 year old is not that patient and she hates sightseeing in general. We went to one of DC museums yesterday and afterwards she complained how much time she spent on the metro/bus ( only 20 minutes each way).

Anonymous wrote:I'd say youngest 4-5 as well. Not having to plan around a nap or drag a stroller is critical.

+1 on the not needing to plan around nap times or use a stroller.

I have always enjoyed traveling with my kids even when they were younger. My youngest was tough to travel with when he was younger because he did not sleep well when we traveled but he got 100x better around age 2 and everything was pretty good from there. But once he was 4-5 travel got even easier.

Anonymous wrote:It was always fun, even with babies or toddlers. Tiring doesn’t mean it isn’t fun.
But it gets easier when the youngest is 4-5 years old. Maybe 5.

+1 for me I always still enjoyed the adventure of it and getting out of routine but yes it is exhausting at those ages. It gets more enjoyable every year for me. I went on a solo trip with my oldest by plane when he was newly 4 and we had so much fun. Now they are 4 and 7 together and we’ve been out of town for two weeks now. It’s still tiring in some respects but sooo much easier and tons of fun. We did a legitimately difficult hike yesterday (heard adults complaining about their surprise at the difficulty), we all can bike as a family together, you can do so much more active stuff easily together. It’s a lot of fun. And there are still meltdowns. But if you expect that and roll with it it’s still enjoyable I think.

We do videos on planes because I don’t want to bother others and they are easy peasy now. That part gets soo much better after 2. No videos on car trips for us but still find even 9-10 hr car rides a few times are pretty easy - we just use audiobooks/podcats, the yoto players, coloring whatever. Looking out the window. It’s fine. So whatever you decide to do there it can work (another poster was mentioning this)

Anonymous wrote:When do kids become fun when not traveling?

When you drop them off at college.

When do kids become fun when not traveling?

8 to 12 is the sweet spot before lots of complaining and teen attitude starts!

Anonymous wrote:3 and 5. But we’ve traveled with them since they were your kids age and found it enjoyable in its own way. It just got exponentially easier and I think part of the reason was because we had a comparison of the experience you likely just had.

I was going to post the same thing! I really didn’t prefer the 18 months to 36 month stage. They aren’t potty trained, you have to watch them like a hawk, naps, strollers, snacks. Hard to do things with them.

When our youngest turned three and was potty trained day and night it was amazing. No diapers, wipes, no strollers no constant snacks or bottles. They could be reasoned with and bribed if needed to behave extra well in an airport or a quick trip to a museum. They would wear a puddle jumper life jacket at the beach, could watch shows on a plane. It was so much easier.

It was always fun, even with babies or toddlers. Tiring doesn’t mean it isn’t fun.
But it gets easier when the youngest is 4-5 years old. Maybe 5.

When they sleep well at the hotel and also when they can handle losing some sleep without melting down, which probably is 5+ for some kids.

It helps when it's familiar. We only do hotels, and we go to them often, so they know they rules and routines. They also know the rules and routines of flying.

And always keep your expectations realistic. Don't go somewhere with young kids if it's so expensive to you that it's your one chance or you're gonna want to pack your days too full for them, etc.

Anonymous wrote:Between 7 and 14 then it gets bad again.

Sort of agree with this. Ours are 17 and 14 and while they like to travel, they are not so easily excited any more, miss their friends, etc. They aren’t as in love with the family time as they once were.

Around 5 (no naps, no installing car seats).

It depends on the kid whether they ever become good travelers. I’m on a trip right now with DCs 17, 14, and 11. And the 17 y/o is miserable b/c their bed is not as comfortable as the one at home, it’s too hot (a/c is not everywhere like it is in the DC area), and they miss their GF. 14 and 11 are having fun and are delightful travel companions. All have been this way since age 5.

I mean it really depends on the kid. Also what all in family like. More people = less similar likes. So it doesn't matter if the kid is 8 or 14, if they like cold and you like hot weather, it won't be fun hahaha. Our 2 kids are 13 and 15 and are like this. So yeah, it's always a compromise. But from a practical perspective give the kid an iPad at age 5+ and the flights go smooth for sure! I had a boss who wouldn't give her kids an iPad in long vacation drives and complained about how hard it was to travel with 5 and 7 year olds. Well, duh!!!!!!