Family Adventure Travel

Family Adventure Travel is not a buzz word for us; it’s a way of life. Long before we had kids, my husband and I were already adventure seekers.

While we love family adventure travel, adventuring was already a big part of our lives long before our first was born. Before we head children, we went on a 2-month road trip around the U.S. and Canada. We got a lot of questions from incredulous people about how a young 20-something couple could afford to take 2 months off, a short 2 years after getting married.

It was simple, really. To begin with, we’ve never had consumer debt, which helps. So we lived really cheaply for 2 years, saved a bunch of money, and then travelled on a shoestring budget. We ate peanut butter and jam and salad and cheese sandwiches for 2 months straight, we stayed with swing dancing friends along our route, camped where we couldn’t find hosts, and budgeted for splurges along the West Coast. We went on an amazing adventure and have memories and pictures we will cherish for life.

Then we had kids. The travel bug bite doesn’t fade after the kids come, guys. If travelling has always been your thing, that’s not going to change after the kiddos arrive. So we kept our adventurous nature and planned on doing family adventure travel with our children.

When we took our 3 wee ones on a 557-kilometer bicycle trip through Ontario, some people thought we were crazy. Others were seriously concerned. But as always, we made our decisions based on logic and planning, not fear. We saved, planned, and we embraced family adventure travel, showing our kids to do the same.

The experiences kids gain by adventuring and travelling offer so much more for kids than what they learn in a classroom. There’s a time and a place for everything, and I’m not against seat work.  But I do believe we’re doing our children an injustice when we shelter them from what our beautiful world has to offer. If you enjoy travelling and you know the amazing experiences it brings, having kids isn’t a reason to quit travelling—it’s a reason to pursue it even more intensely.

Whether you cycle tour, take your kids across the country in an RV, travel around the world, or simply take them on micro-adventures around your town, we’re here to cheer you on. Check back frequently for updates on our own adventures and guidance on how to embrace family travel. You can also sign up for our mailing list below to get awesome family travel inspiration straight to your inbox :)

 

Posts about Family Adventure Travel

Treehouse bathrooms and riding on cows (Consecon-Presquille)

Mariana

It’s been a while since I’ve written about our bicycling adventure. My original intention had been to write blog posts while we were on the road, but no data plan and sheer exhaustion at the end of each day prevented me from doing so.

The intention then changed to writing at least one post a week after getting home, so I could recount our adventures while they were still fresh in my mind. But then, life happened, my writing business got really busy, I remembered that a new homeschooling year is just around the corner… and updating the blog sort of fell off by the wayside.

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5 Lessons Learned from 500 Kilometers on bicycles (with 3 children 6 and under)

Mariana

This post initially appeared on The Huffington Post.

At the end of May 2016, my husband and I decided (somewhat spontaneously) to go on a 560-kilometer cycling trip with our three children (ages 6, 4, and 2).

My husband and I are adventurous people, but there’s no denying that adding children to the mix puts a bit of a damper on how adventurous people become. Recently, my husband and I started thinking, however, that this damper is imposed by society, rather than by any real circumstances.

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Cycling Beautiful Prince Edward County

Mariana

One of the most rewarding things about setting out on a cycling adventure with my family was seeing the beauty of the natural Ontario world, which escapes us when we drive down the 401. We live next door to gorgeous Prince Edward County, but rarely take the time to visit it or to truly take in the beauty of Lake Ontario.

Me, my husband, and three children (ages 6, 4, and 2), left Kingston, Ontario, on May 28th, 2016, and started riding our bicycles. On May 28th, we cycled from Kingston to Bath, On, and enjoyed the little town of Bath on May 29th, before continuing to Picton, where we spent the night.

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Small town markets and pirate playgrounds – Bath, ON

Mariana

As most of you know by now, me, my husband, and our three children (ages 6 and under) set off on a cycling adventure on May 28th, 2016. We decided to see how far we would get, with a possible lofty goal of getting to London eventually. The reason doing a trip like this never stressed me out of overwhelmed me is that I looked at it as a 30 kilometer outing. Then the next day, I looked at it as another 30 kilometer outing, and so forth.

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Minimalist Packing for a Cycle Tour With Kids

Mariana

On May 28th, me, my husband, and my three children (ages 6, 4, and almost 2) set out on the road for a 700-kilometre cycling adventure. We had never done any cycle touring in our lives, did not plan this trip out very well (on purpose), and are having an absolute blast nevertheless.

On June 9th, we rode through Toronto and decided to stay at a hotel, since a house that can accommodate 5 cycling tourists downtown Toronto is sort of non-existent. We stayed at a fairly nice little hotel apartment with a fully equipped kitchen, so we did enjoy some freshly cooked dinner (we’re basically surviving on tortillas, canned food and protein bars—plus more junk food than I think I’ve eaten in my whole life put together at this point, but hey, it’s all good. You gotta live a little).

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4 Things We Should Have Brought on Our Cycling Tour With Kids – No. 4 is the most important!

Mariana

As most of you know by now, me, my husband, and our three children (ages 6, 4, and almost 2), are on a crazy cycling adventure. We decided to ride our bikes from Kingston, ON, to London, ON, a 557-kilometre trek along beautiful Lake Ontario (and sometimes highway 2). We already shared what we’ve brought on our trip, but we thought you might be interested in what we didn’t bring—but wish we had.

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Cycling touring with kids – our gear

Mariana

My hubby and three kids (ages 6, 4, and 2) are on an amazing adventure. We decided (somewhat spontaneously) that we would go cycle touring with our kids.

Thus, we are making lots of mistakes and learning along the way. I must say though, that for total newbies, we’re not doing too badly. We’ve had lots of people stop to admire our cycle touring gear and a lot of people online ask about it, so I thought it was about time I wrote a blog post about it, so here it is!

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