During the first UK first lockdown, I couldn’t bring myself to think, let alone talk, about our travels… it honestly brought me to tears. I know that sounds rather melodramatic of me, but travel has always been such a huge part of our lives.
This third UK lockdown is different though, and with the vaccine bringing hope and light at the end of a very long tunnel, we’ve been chatting more as a family about our past travels.
So I set our boys a challenge…
From the 21 countries they’ve travelled, I’ve asked them to decide on their top 10.
The results were fascinating and not necessarily what I would have picked (click here to see my personal top family travel destinations). Memory is a huge factor for them in deciding I suppose, but then it’s interesting that Germany, which we visited February last year, doesn’t make their list at all
This is a series that I ran over on our Instagram account. But in case you missed it, here are Athur and Ezra’s top ten family travel destinations (starting at 10, the lowest); they were age 7 and 5 respectively, when they took on this challenge.
Since the boys first took on this challenge, however, we’ve spent 4 months slow travelling Morocco, 10 weeks backpacking Southeast Asia, as well as lots of shorter European city breaks in between, such as Bucharest and Andalucía. And with our move to Penang this year, there will be some more new countries for the boys to visit, including Vietnam and Laos. So towards the end of this year, I think I’ll have to get them to redo this challenge. It will be interesting to see how things have changed for them!
10. Tanzania
I’ll be honest, Tanzania wouldn’t be in my top ten. This is the hardest country we’ve travelled with the boys. We were self driving from South Africa in a Land Rover Defender and on a budget – Tanzania is more geared towards high end tourism and organised tours. Safaris are extortionately expensive compared to Southern African countries, the police road checks were the most aggressive we have experienced, and we had to deal with unexpected monsoonal rains and washed out roads.
But the boys remember:
- The epic wildlife encounters at the quieter (and cheaper) parks we visited – mating lions close to our Land Rover, and being the only witnesses to hundreds of elephants at a watering hole
- A snow capped Mt Kilimanjaro
- The awesome hospitality at Utengele Coffee Lodge where we camped on a helipad with incredible sunset views for a week.
Tanzania was the most challenging country for independent travel, but totally worth it.
Read: Is Tanzania with kids worthwhile? and our Tanzania overland itinerary
9. India
Seeing that we lived in Bangalore for a year, I would have been rather peeved if India hadn’t made their list. The boys were 1 and 3 when we first moved out there.
I miss this place sooooooo much! Yes the bureaucracy drove me nuts, but anyone who’s been to India knows this is a county that gets under your skin and awakens the senses. Every day was an adventure and I would kill for a decent kadai paneer right now!
For the boys they remember:
- riding tuk-tuks every day
- overnight sleeper trains
- afternoon play dates at Funky Monkeys – Ez still talks about this place every week 🤣
- Sunday lunches at the Sheraton in Bangalore
- receiving a bindi and monkeys at the temples
- strangers pinching their cheeks and taking selfies
It may not be the most obvious place to travel with kids, but the tourist dollar goes far in India (which means decent accommodation away from the chaos) and there’s always someone around willing to help you out.
Read: Top things to do in India with kids or Is travelling India with kids worthwhile?
8. Thailand
There are so many reasons to love Thailand for independent family travel, and I would give anything to be perched on a plastic stool along Th Khao San in Bangkok right now, slurping noodles and watching all the travellers come and go, wondering where they’re off to next.
The boys first visited when Ez was 6 months old and Arthur 2, and then again two years later. So why did Thailand to make their top 10? Was it the incredible beaches? Cheap snacks available on every corner? Playing around the temples? Riding tuk-tuks?
Nope, none of that.
The reason the boys give is that Thailand is where they met their Australian buddies (my best mate’s kids) – who they still keep in contact with through little video messages. Thailand is also where they had their first holiday with their grandparents.
It just goes to show, it’s not always the destination that makes the place, but the company.
Read: An easy itinerary for travelling Thailand with kids or Why we love travelling Thailand with kids
7. Namibia
To think that we only decided to go to Namibia at the very last minute (as in the night before), seems crazy now. We were on our big overlanding trip through Southern Africa and camping for the night in Zambia, close to the Botswana and Namibia border, getting ready to cross the border into Botswana. But news of washed out roads in Botswana made us change our plans. We had been on the road for over 2 months, and had had enough of bad roads.
So to Namibia we went, and I swear our tyres were singing when they sailed along the fresh tarmac!
For anyone who asks me where to take kids on their first African adventure, Namibia is always my answer.
But for the boys, Namibia was more than the incredible and easy wildlife spotting on safari. There are hundreds of stinky seals to see, shipwrecks and abandoned mines to explore, huge crimson sand dunes to run down. Plus a German bakery in every town! And the roads are much easier for self driving – though be warned, the distances are huge!
Read: Why Namibia is great for kids or Our overland Namibia itinerary
6. Iceland
Thanks to Hey Iceland hosting us for two separate press trips, we have all fallen in love with Iceland. Yes it’s an expensive destination, but there are ways to keep costs down – such as bringing food with you on the plane from home, visiting off season (such as the October half term), visiting the free activities (there are lots of them), and self-driving! And pre-pandemic you could always find a good deal on flights. Click here for more money saving tips.
As the boys have visited here fairly recently they have lots of amazing memories from Iceland:
- Swimming in geothermal pools
- Riding icelandic horses
- Whale watching
- Walking inside a glacier
- Mum giving lots of Geography lessons
Read: 5 day Iceland with kids itinerary or our 7 day North Iceland itinerary.
5. Nepal
The full days sat on a bus, navigating winding, pot-holed roads means that Nepal can be challenging 🤢. Or maybe just fly between destinations?
But when you’re carried around the Himalayas in a doko (basket used by porters) it makes hiking at altitude so much easier . This photo is one of my favourite family travel memories, so I absolutely love that the boys put Nepal in their top 10.
Read: Nepal with kids itinerary or Hiking Poon Hill with kids⠀
4. Spain
I was really interested to see that the boys had ranked Spain so high. As a family, we’ve only been to the Pyrenees for a week of camping, and have only scraped the surface of what this country offers.
But Spain is where I’ve taken the boys separately for a 1-1 trip. Ez to Lanzarote (age 3) where we stayed in a luxury yurt with Lanzarote Retreats, and Arthur to Madrid (age 6) where we accidentally stayed in the red light district 🙈.
However, since this challenge, we’ve returned to Spain with the boys for Northern Spain road trip and to explore Andalucía with kids.
Read: Getting off the beaten track in Lanzarote with kids or Things to do in Madrid with kids
3. France
Well France couldn’t NOT be in their top 10. WE LOVE FRANCE! From the UK it’s so easy and cheap to pop over on the ferry (well it used to be!), and we always return with our car stocked up on wine.
In our humble opinion, France has the best campsites for families in the world – they’re well maintained, and often with a fab swimming pool, bakery, and restaurant(s) on site. Plus there is always a good cycle track from the campsite to lead you to a chateau, beach or quaint little village. And then there’s the food… 🥐🥖🍟…😋
The boys have totalled up many weeks travelling in France, and it was their most recent overseas trip in our Mazda Bongo, so it’s understandable why it’s made their top three.
Read: Travelling France during COVID or our Summer camping road trip from Calais to the Pyrenees and back
2. Morocco
I often refer to Morocco as ‘the accessible Africa’ as it’s only a 3.5 hour flight from the UK and the low cost airlines (used to) fly here regularly. There are no visa or vaccination requirements (well, pre-pandemic), and no jet lag. So it’s no wonder we’ve visited here three times with the boys.
Morocco offers so much diversity for kids and the boys remember:
- Sand boarding and fossil hunting in the Sahara Desert
- Trekking the High Atlas Mountains on a mule
- Shopping for a Morocco football kit in the medinas
We’ve returned to Morocco time and time again, including our 3 week Morocco road trip, and slow travelling Morocco for 4 months. And we also run a destination blog all about Essaouira in Morocco, and so Essaouira has been a place that we visit every year.
Morocco with kids travel guide
Your comprehensive guide to travelling Morocco with kids, including accommodation suggestions and itineraries, from a family that visit Morocco every year.
1. Malawi
Yes, Malawi! (Not the UK as lots of people had guessed over on instastories).
This really surprised me. Not that it should surprise me – Malawi packs a lot into its relatively small landmass; majestic mountains, white-crescent beaches fringing the lake, and intimate big five safari experiences. Plus, the people are so genuinely lovely – there’s a reason it’s called ‘the warm heart of Africa’.
We absolutely LOVED our time in Malawi as part of our 101 days overlanding Africa.
However, in the interests of full disclosure, I have to let you know that Ez played a Malawian child in this year’s nativity play, and the boys were learning about Malawian Christmas traditions in school last term. I asked them if this affected their decision at all, and it was a firm no 😉.
Whether this did influence their decision or not, it’s made me realise that it’s important to keep learning and talking about the places we’ve travelled. It’s this that keeps the memories alive and deepens their affinity with a destination, at a time when world has shut down.
Read: Itinerary for overlanding Malawi with kids or The best Malawi campsites
What counties didn’t make the list
Of the 21 countries the boys have visited so far, there were 11 that didn’t make the list; either because it was only short stopover and didn’t make a big enough impact, or they were just too young to remember. Plus, they decided that they couldn’t put every African country from our overlanding trip, so just selected their favourites.
A few of you over on Instagram thought that Sri Lanka would have made it to the boys top 10 countries. I did too! And I was a bit gutted that it didn’t, as it’s one of my top destinations we’ve travelled with the boys.
But in all honesty, the boys said that they just don’t remember this trip. I suppose they were 2 and 3 at the time, and this was one of the first of many epic trips. Plus they have done so well to remember all that they have. Just means we have to return one day soon 🤞
Also, Germany didn’t appear on their list either, and this was the last country we travelled pre-pandemic.
It’s interesting seeing what the boys remember from their travels. But even if they don’t remember all the places, I do! And I cherish the precious bonding time that every one of our family adventures has provided 💚.
It’s not all about the kids, right?
You may also want to read:
All about our Mazda Bongo
Useful travel gifts for kids
The best ALTERNATIVE European city breaks with kids