9 Fun Reasons to Travel With Your Parents

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Right, before anyone jumps down my throat about how not everyone gets on with their parents, allow me to clarify. Obviously if your parents are serial killers or not-so-nice people or just HATE travelling, then you should not travel with your parents.

BUT for those of you that are lucky enough to have decent parents, or one decent parent, or decent parent-like figures in your life that enjoy travel, then this article is for you. Here are all the wonderful reasons why you should try travelling with your parents.

9 Reasons to Try Travelling With Parents

1. Money. Let’s be honest, parents will buy you the odd meal at least when you’re travelling. I’m not being mercenary, but it’s definitely a plus. When I asked my mam for suggestions for this list she literally said “Walking ATM Machine”. I would just like to say, in my defence, that I do bring my mam on the occasional press trip. That kind of balances it out right??
2. They can fix things. Let’s face it, when things go wrong, parents make everything better. They’ve been there, seen that. Nothing phases them. When you travel with your parents you don’t have to handle all the problems yourself.

3. Making memories. Who better to share an incredible experience with than the people who took care of you your whole life?! It’s like that guy in “Into the Wild” discovered (albeit a bit too late), none of your adventures really matter if you have no one to share them with.

4. You don’t have to explain a wonderful place to them when you come home. They were there. Like I said earlier, travelling with your parents makes for great story-telling at family events/dinners. If you’re the only one telling the travel stories it gets a bit boring.

5. Travel has gotten so much easier now. It’s great to encourage your parents to tick off bucket list travel destinations that they might not have previously been able to. With cheap flights and daily flights to pretty much anywhere around the globe the world is their oyster nowadays. It’s a whole new world of possibilities. Wait till you show them the Skyscanner “Everywhere” search tool – MIND BLOWN!

6. COMEDY FACTOR. I don’t know about you, but my mother is ridiculous in the best way. She’s basically like a toddler on a sugar-high the majority of the time. SO, holidays with her are always entertaining. If your parents are funny people then a holiday will only amplify that.

7. You never know when they’ll be gone. Let’s be honest, anything could happen tomorrow. So you should get out there and make some beautiful memories while you can. That’s what life is all about really. Make your time with them count!

8. You owe it to them. When you were young your parents put up with all your crap. They took you on trips and made sure you had a good time. SO, now it’s our turn to give back! Put up with their tantrums, take them to nice places and enjoy it.

9.  Fights don’t matter. When you travel with anyone you’ll fight or disagree every once in a while. The difference is that when you travel with family and have a fight, it doesn’t mean anything. You’re not going to break-up or lose a friendship or find yourself stranded because your travel companion left you.

   There’s something comforting in knowing that your family will be OK with you while you travel, because they know all your not-so-nice habits. They know you’re just tired or hungry or too hot ( OK maybe that’s just me), that you’re not actually some sort of demon.

   They’ll forgive you and you’ll forgive them and when you get home you’ll have incredible memories that you can bring up at family dinners for years to come.

** READ ABOUT OUR FAMILY TRIP TO LAS VEGAS –
3 Days in Las Vegas + The Grand Canyon. **

My Travels With My Mam

Travel with your parents or your family in general is something that I feel very strongly about. I have been travelling with my mother ever since I could walk.

My first flight was from New Zealand to America when I was 2 years old, with my mother. After that my mother made a habit of flying around the world with my sister and I.

*Note: My mother worked hard for all of this. We didn’t win the lotto or come into money. My mam loved travel and worked hard to fund her love of travel. This is something I inherited from her. 

Most of the countries I’ve been to in my life have been with my mother. And it’s not just my mother, sometimes my sister, aunt, granny or cousins pack their bags and join the party too.

One year I visited the Maldives and Sri Lanka with my mam and aunt. Another year my mam came to meet me in Bali for a week.

The year before that my entire family came on a trip to Prague with me. This was particularly funny as Prague was originally supposed to be a romantic weekend break for me and an ex .

My mam and sister and I even spent a weekend in Disneyland Paris a few years ago. Both myself and my sister are solidly in our twenties, we had the time of our lives.

In fact, there are some places in the world that I just would not even consider going to without my mother. I’d feel guilty and, honestly, it would be more fun being there with her.

For example, my mam has been telling me about the Galapagos Islands (her ultimate bucket-list item) ever since I was a child and I just could not imagine seeing it without her.

Mam, if you’re reading this, I hope you appreciate how thoughtful I am #bestchild.

Where to Travel With Your Parents

People always ask me “What are the best places to travel with your parents?” and the answer is simple – wherever you want to go! I will say that if your parents are older then they might prefer a quiet, adults only hotel/resort.

Obviously wherever you go on vacation with your parents is a very personal decision. But for me I like to help tick off my mam’s bucketlist. Ask your parents where is left on their list, is there anywhere they REALLY want to see and then make that happen.

If you’re hesitant about how it might go or if you’re concerned about medical conditions then it might be best to try somewhere close to home. A staycation could be a great way to test the waters.

Let’s Wrap it up

Ok, so in case you were curious, allow me to tell you about one of my most ridiculous travel moments with my mother.

My mam, sister and I were driving around Dingle peninsula in Ireland. We stopped at a small beach with massive waves. My mam got too close to the sea and as she turned around to run away from the waves, she tripped.

Of course, her natural reaction was to reach out to my sister and I for support. But, in her panic, instead of grabbing my arm or hand or shoulder for support, she grabbed my boob. We all promptly collapsed in a fit of giggles. Luckily for her, I didn’t press charges.

ANYWAYS, if that hasn’t convinced you to travel with your parents then I don’t know what will.

P.S: Mam I know you’re probably mad at me for using these photos. I apologise. Just think of all the press trips in the future!

Tell me your favourite family travel memory!
Leave a comment below.