Monday, September 17, 2007

What’s The Best Age For Kids To Travel Abroad?

We have friends who have been living in England for a couple of years and we’d love to go and visit them.  However, our children are still quite young and my husband and I have been struggling with whether taking the kids overseas would be a valuable experience for them or if it would end up being a big waste of money.

Travel to Europe can be time consuming and expensive.  The last thing we would want is to come back wishing we had waited until they were older.  So, I decided to do a little research as to the best age for taking kids on long trips abroad.

According to a survey of travel professionals, 42 percent of their clients were booking international trips for families with kids under the age of 18.  In addition, the U.S. Office of Travel and Tourism Industries reports that eight percent of U.S. outbound passengers include adults flying with children.  These statistics suggest that indeed more and more parents are choosing to take their kids overseas.

One travel expert I talked to recommends that her clients don’t take kids on international trips until they are over three.  She suggests that they should have the ability to eat any types of food and of course, be out of diapers.  For those ‘once in a lifetime’ trips, she suggests waiting until kids are at least seven so that they can appreciate most everything they see.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that children who travel are more flexible and have a greater appreciation of the world around them.  Not to mention, family travel gives you an opportunity to spend a huge amount of time together without the nagging feeling that you should be doing laundry, cleaning the kitchen or working in the yard.

After my research and talking to several people, we’ve decided that while they are really young (up to about age 6), we will stick to Disney and all inclusive resorts that have lots of activities to cater to the kids.  As they get older, we’ll get more adventurous but will be cognizant to include lots of breaks, not to pack the itinerary too much and to remember to include activities that they will love.  Our goal will be to cultivate an adventurous and curious spirit while helping them learn about the world around them.

Posted by Patricia on 09/17 at 01:06 PM
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