Traveling can be a special experience, and traveling with your family enhances that experience even more. It can sometimes be hard to put this unique experience into words, so we are here to help. We’ve gathered some of our favorite travel with kids quotes that you can use to inspire your own travels, or use to get you and your audience into that wanderlust mindset. If you’ve recently taken a family trip and are looking for family trip quotes to use for your Instagram, look no further!
Bonus: We asked some of our fellow travel bloggers to share their favorite travel with kids quotes and the stories they connect with them.
So, buckle up and get ready for some inspiration!
10 favorite traveling with kids quotes from fellow travel bloggers
“The greatest legacy we can leave our children is happy memories.” – Og Mandino
I’m a firm believer that travel is great for kids for so many reasons. One of the greatest reasons is the wonderful memories that will last children their lifetimes.
When your children are adults, they might remember a few special toys, but they won’t remember most of them. They won’t remember the clothes they wore, what car you drove or much of the food they ate. But they will remember the time you spent traveling together as a family.
When I was young my parents had a caravan. We used to spend weekends and school holidays visiting different places in the UK and that has given me so many happy memories. Even though I can’t remember too much of the actual places we visited, I remember sitting around the table playing cards as the rain hammered on the windows of the caravan, I remember throwing stones into the sea and I remember the friends I made at the playground.
Does that mean that travel has no benefit for children who are too young to make lasting memories? Of course not! It’s still a fantastic thing to do for their development. Plus, happy parents make better parents. So, if travel makes you happy and it makes your children happy, then that’s a good reason to do it as much as you can. Whether you’re backpacking around the world, taking a luxury cruise or just camping a few miles from home, don’t waste any opportunity to make happy memories with your children.
Jenni Fielding runs the family cruise blog CruiseMummy.co.uk
“Are we there yet?”
12 months before our family was due to set off on our 6 month trip around Australia we started preparing the kids for the journey. At the time they were 8 and 10 years old, the ideal age for the book by Alison Lester – “Are we there yet?”. The family in the book were missing a term of school, so our kids were very impressed that we would be away for two school terms. The book also helped to prepare the kids for the idea of living in a camper trailer, and let’s just say they were possibly more excited than us.
The book follows the family’s journey around Australia as they visited many famous landmarks such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Ayers Rock, Head of the Bight, The Pinnacles, Murphy’s Haystacks and snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef.
As we took off on our own adventure, we incorporated many of the places the kids had heard about in the book and I think this made the trip even more special. To travel around Australia, you are required to cover vast distances between each location and the familiar cry from the backseat during the 6 month road trip was “Are we there yet?”
Natalie and Steve run the Australian family blog Curious Campers.
“Travel in the younger sort is a part of education; in the elder, a part of the experience.” – Francis Bacon
Traditionally, a child’s education was synonymous to classroom learning. Nowadays, more and more families are realising the importance of experiences in a child’s development and a unique way to supplement classroom education.
On the contrary, travel in the elder sort, is a part of experience. Throughout childhood and adulthood, you learn so much about different places in the world. Getting the chance to experience these magnificent places is the best feeling.
What I love most about this quote is that it includes all age groups. It mentions children and shows how important travel is for them, not just for an experience point of view, but also for an educational perspective. But it also includes elders and reinforces how important traveling is for families.
Traveling can be made child-friendly. In fact, it’s easier than you think to choose kid-friendly activities to enrich their minds, that adults too will love. One example is a holiday in the Cook Islands. Located in the Pacific Ocean, this little-known holiday destination is popular for New Zealanders and Australians. There are many great things to do in Rarotonga perfect for families, including traditional arts and crafts, cooking classes and educational cultural shows.
Many activities provide a means of education that do not conform to society’s norms of a classroom. Being a millennial, I relate to both sides of the quote. Although I have gone through the traditional education system, I still feel I have a lot more to learn through travel, and many more places to experience.
By Delilah Hart from Our Travel Mix
“As soon as I saw you, I knew a grand adventure was about to happen” from Winnie the Pooh, by A.A. Milne
We spent a year touring Europe in a motorhome while homeschooling our daughter, and we often used to say this quote to each other.
We’ve always been big ‘Winnie the Pooh’ fans and our blue days are ‘Eeyore days’, but this quote perfectly sums up the excitement of traveling with people who just make life fun- make the smallest, silliest thing into an ‘event’.
It’s often confused with another AA Milne quote “ “When you see someone putting on his Big Boots, you can be pretty sure that an Adventure is going to happen.”- also in the House in Pooh Corner.
This is another charming saying we love to (mis)quote when we put on our adventure boots, ready to see where the road will take us this time!
If you’re traveling with kids, it’s a fun idea to grab a whiteboard and write some quotes onto it, so they can see, read and remember them. That way, they’ll be able to use them and you can create your own version of cute travel quotes.
By Kat from Wandering Bird
An té a bhíonn siúlach, bíonn scéalach (Irish proverb)
“He who travels has stories to tell.”
This is the English meaning of this Irish proverb and is one of my favorite travel quotes. Although my son is a little young to understand the meaning, it is one I will teach him about as he gets older. It is a saying that is applicable whether young or old.
Although he doesn’t realise it, he already holds true to this proverb, through his recounting of stories and memories he has of our travels. Tales like making a fire in the woods during our Yellowstone trip and making s’mores, seeing Santa in Lapland or visiting the best castles for kids in Ireland and pretending to be a dragon hunter. He is still young but certain trips have obviously resonated with him. He even surprises by saying “do you remember when we went to …” and telling us a memory that we genuinely did not think he remembered.
It is also a quote that makes me think of my son’s grandfather, my Dad. My father has always travelled, ever since his early twenties. He’s been a deep-sea fisherman in the North Sea, worked on building sites in London (but originally from Dublin), worked on several different mines in Africa and spent several years in Angola during the civil war in the 90’s. And often regals us with tales of his time in these different places.
So, the saying holds true. Anyone who travels will have stories to tell of those travels. Whether young or old, whether the trip was good or bad, there will always be a story to tell from a trip.
By Cath from Passports and Adventures
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” – Dr. Seuss
My favorite travel quote is from the 1978 book ‘I Can Read With My Eyes Shut’ by Dr. Seuss. The book was poignantly written after Dr. Seuss (otherwise known as Theodor Seuss Greisel) had started to lose his eyesight. The quote is ‘The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.’ Though this quote can be applied to people of any age and ‘going places’ may not refer to traveling, I like to think this quote means that the more you read, the more curious you will be about the world around you and the more you will want to see it for yourself. I regularly quote these words to my three children in the hope of inspiring their own wanderlust. I also used the quote many times to encourage the children to homeschool during our family gap year in which reading formed the backbone of their home school education! Their love of reading has helped to inspire their wanderlust. For example, my daughter longs to go to Greece after reading the Percy Jackson novels whereas my other daughter wishes to go to Prince Edward Island after reading Anne of Green Gables.
By Sinead Camplin from Map Made Memories
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“May your adventures bring you closer together, even as they take you far away from home.” – Trenton Lee Stewart
Traveling as a family can bring about a lot of different adventures and experiences. Many families experience things at home, and travel infrequently. Their highs and lows are experienced mostly in one place and their home base is where the majority of their memories are formed. When traveling with family, it is important to experience meaningful experiences, new adventures and important milestones anywhere, but especially while adventuring. A lost tooth in a hotel in London, a first walk at a grandmother’s house in Poland, chasing a pigeon for the first time in Krakow, or going on a boat adventure in Spain. These memories and experiences bring our family closer together even though we may not be in the comfort of our own home. Even little things that we may not think will forma s a memory, such as having a new breakfast will be remembered more so if it isn’t at our own home. A new meal, or a new friend that isn’t against a familiar backdrop creates a new adventure.
Milestones and family time can be spent anywhere, and this quote resonates immensely in that it fully explains that being home isn’t where things happen. Home is where your family is, and that can be anywhere.
By Diana from Travels in Poland
“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.”
Though this quote is often attributed to Emerson or considered a Native American proverb, its origins are unknown. Often quoted and paraphrased, the meaning isn’t lost: respect the earth now for it belongs to generations to come.
For me personally, it reminds me to not only show my children the world, but educate them to preserve it. It encourages me to travel mindfully and teach my children how to respect nature, history, and culture, whether that be through eco-tourism, volunteer work, or just through respectful exposure.
Growing up in a social media driven world can often instill a sense of instant gratification in children. The meaning behind these words can counter that by reminding families to approach travel as a means of connecting and learning about different places, cultures, and landscapes. Not just visiting a place for a picture but to understand it.
Ultimately, I love this quote because it reminds me that we are all connected. None of us is more important than the other, nor are we more important than the Earth that provides us with so many resources and experiences. Keeping that in mind can help preserve and create a more tolerable, connected world through travel, especially when we pass those sentiments to our children.
By Victoria from Tori Leigh | Family Travel & Lifestyle
“When you travel with children you are giving something that can never be taken away… experience, exposure and a way of life.” – Pamela T. Chandler
For me this quote totally encapsulates my feelings on family travel. It is so much more than checking out of work to enjoy a week in the sun. It’s about finding connections and a deeper understanding of the world we live in. For my children, travel is the best education. It opens their eyes to all the possibilities that are out there.
From a very young age we have travelled extensively as a family. We have trekked the Himalayas, lived in India, meditated with monks in Thailand and traversed Africa in a Land Rover. Yes they may have only been two when they saw the Taj Mahal, or three when they saw Victoria falls. But those memories stay with them in their own way and have formed them into the people they are today.
Our boys are now 5 and 6 years old and travel has become our way of life. We don’t stay in fancy hotels and lounge by the pool (well we do sometimes for a very special treat), but we often travel using local transport, stay with local families or camp, and try as much local food as possible. All these little experiences and exposures develop into the way we choose to view the world.
By Jenny from TraveLynn Family
“The best education you will ever get is traveling. Nothing teaches you more than exploring the world and accumulating experiences.” Mark Paterson
I like this quote because I have lived it. Over the period, I’ve come to realize that learning comes to life and becomes all the more fascinating when kids step outside the four walls of the classroom. Kids learn far more by seeing and observing than by reading and listening. Travel is when education mingles perfectly with fun giving an extra edge to kids. And, then travel teaches children to be patient, perseverant, accommodating, compassionate, forgiving, and responsible – attributes (highly underrated) that kids don’t learn in schools.
Supplementing our daughter’s school education with extensive travel across the world has helped her grow in prodigious ways. I mean, it’s amazing how exposing kids to diverse cultures, traditions, and languages around the globe epitomizes raising well-rounded kids. Now at the age of eleven, my daughter is fearless, bold, knowledgeable, confident, and kind. All because of the experiences she has gained while traveling. Watching her grow from a naive little girl to a fine young girl makes me feel glad about my decision to choose travel as a way of life for our family. Our travel blog aims to inspire parents to invest in experiences rather than material things.
By Anjali from Travel Melodies
“Having kids is a reason to travel, never a reason to stop.” – Author Unknown
In a lot of cases, travelers who have children feel that they need to stop traveling once they start a family. Of course, your family comes first so every family will be different BUT you shouldn’t think of children as a reason to stop traveling. Instead, you should think of it as having more travel partners!
For us, we had been traveling around the globe for five years non-stop before our kids were born. At first, we debated and weren’t sure what would happen after we had our children but it became clear very quickly that we would not want to change our lifestyle. In fact, we were getting more and more confident that our lifestyle would be as much fun for our children as it is for us.
Seeing them grow up exploring the world with us is the greatest gift and our fuel to continue traveling with kids – until the moment one of us says stop. But until then, we keep enjoying learning as much about life and this planet as possible, day after day, one place at a time.
By Julia from Jey Jetter
More great travel family quotes
“It is never too early to start exploring the world.” – Unknown
One of the best gifts you can get your children is the gift of travel. Introducing them to travel at a young age opens up so many doors. As the quote says, it really is never too early to start exploring the world! These are the memories that children will remember as they get older, and hopefully it ignites something in them to continue traveling.
“Teaching kids to count is fine, but teaching them what counts is best.” – Bob Talbert
Children learn through their parents, so setting a good example when they are young will stick with them. Introducing your children to travel and what is out there in the world is a great start exposing them to the ‘bigger picture’. School is important and plays a large role in a child’s future but it’s also important for them to understand there is life outside their homework.
“Don’t just tell your children about the word. Show them.” – Justgoplacesblog.com
Sometimes the best way to learn is by doing it! You can tell your kids about all these far off places, and they will only seem like a dream. But if you can, the best way to truly understand these places is by exploring them.
“Not all classrooms have four walls.” – Anonymous
As mentioned before, there are new ways to learn, outside of the traditional classroom. The traditional way of learning, inside a classroom, is still vital to a child’s education, but in today’s age there are other ways you can educate your children. Traveling with your kids is one way to continue their learning experience outside of the classroom. There is so much to learn through travel, about other people, places, and cultures, and about yourself.
“In the end, kids won’t remember that fancy toy you bought them, they will remember the time you spent with them.” – Kevin Heath
Material items will come and go but memories last forever. Traveling with your family may not be cheap, but if you spend money on travel experiences, instead of toys, you won’t break the bank right away. Spending quality time with your children when you can will help influence who they will be as an adult. Sometimes kids might not fully appreciate the meaning of travel at a young age, but as they grow older, they will look back on it and understand the value of these experiences, and (hopefully) understand all the long plane and car rides!
“A road trip is a way for the whole family to spend time together and annoy each other in interesting new places.” – Tom Lichtenheld
Travel is never perfect, and that includes traveling with your kids. If you have more than one child, chances are they will argue or disagree during your trip. A road trip is a great way to test those boundaries.
“There are no perfect parents and there are no perfect children, but there are plenty of perfect moments along the way.” – Dave Willis
This quote deals with the not so perfect side of traveling. Behind all those perfect family photos, there might have been a meltdown or two, but that doesn’t take away from the good parts of the trip or memories.
Did we get you into wanderlust mood? Let us know in the comments below, which favorite travel quotes you like best.