Ideal Ages for Travel Spots

[ny96]

My husband and I were talking last night about travel and he mentioned that at some point he wants to take our boys (currently ages 2 and 6) on trips to Japan, the Great Barrier Reef, and an African safari. I’m curious as to what others think are good ages to take these trips. I’m under no illusions that it would be in the near future. We have taken them to Europe a couple times and on a beach vacation so we know what we can handle right now.

[rupertpenny]

I took my daughter to Japan at 2.5 and it was not good. Our only not great travel experience with her. So I would say definitely don't go this year, but a year or two would probably be fine.

I wouldn't necessarily wait long for any trip besides the safari. I think I would want my youngest child to be at least 8-10.

[goldengirlz]

I’ve only been to one of those places and that was pre-kids so I can’t comment on specifics.

But generally speaking, the number one factor I consider is the age to do certain activities, particularly with active vacations. For example, if you want to snorkel in open ocean, you want to make sure your kids are strong swimmers. Same thing if you want to do a significant amount of hiking. You’d also want to look into whether there’s a minimum age for something like safaris.

The other issues we’ve considered are whether she’d need special vaccines and flight length.

A lot of this will be kid dependent. For instance, DD is an excellent hiker and can easily walk 5-6 miles without complaining — some kids her age won’t even walk that much at Disney! She’s also a very good flier but has struggled with jet lag. So those are the things we weigh because if we’re going to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a once-in-a-lifetime experience, I want us all to enjoy it!

[hocus2]

It depends on what you want. I find kids are pretty resilient at 6 or 7. They can walk for long periods, don't nap, eat table food, etc.

People certainly travel with younger kids. I found my daughter was a perfect traveler at 8 while my son still gets a bit overwhelmed and needs more down time in the day.

[gardengal]

I've looked at a few safari places &, at least the ones I looked at, had a minimum age so that may help make that decision for you.

For Great Barrier Reef, I agree with pp that will depend on how strong a swimmer your kids are.

For Japan, I think the bigger issue may be flight time. I think my 6yr could handle it but my 9yo would be "are we there yet?" a million times. I guess I'm assuming a relatively chill itinerary there.

[ny96]

We’re on our 3rd attempt at swim lessons for the 6yo so it might be a while before either kid is ready for snorkeling. As for Japan two factors stick in my mind. The first is when we visited as a couple I was pretty overwhelmed by Tokyo and the other was that the language barrier and not being able to understand Japanese characters was intense. That being said I think both boys would do fine on the flights.

[erbear]

Those trips are on our list. My kids are awesome travelers (good on flights, deal easily with time changes, will walk forever) at 8 and 10. We are not ready for those trips yet. For us, African safari is probably 12 and 10, Australia is older (maybe 17 and 15). I want them to be able to do everything, since we're probably only going to go once.

[gardengal]

Jul 18, 2019 21:57:45 GMT -5 ny96 said:

We’re on our 3rd attempt at swim lessons for the 6yo so it might be a while before either kid is ready for snorkeling. As for Japan two factors stick in my mind. The first is when we visited as a couple I was pretty overwhelmed by Tokyo and the other was that the language barrier and not being able to understand Japanese characters was intense. That being said I think both boys would do fine on the flights.

Ah, makes sense re Tokyo. We aren’t big city travelers so when I think of a Japan trip, it’s mostly smaller cities with a night or 2 in Tokyo. 

I think it’d be possible to go to Japan earlier (a friend just went with her 4yo & had a great time) but it was a relaxing itinerary. I guess it depends on what you want to do while you’re there. 

[steamboat185]

We are heading to Australia in 2 weeks our kids are 6 and one will turn 3 while we are there. We would have loved to do a few more days of scuba diving, but I think we’ve found some pretty good compromises. The flights do suck, but I figure we made it to New Zealand with a 18 moth old we can do this.


I’m hoping for a safari when the little one is 8-10? Old enough to understand death and follow rules very clearly.

[origami]

I’d recommend Japan for ~ages 7+. It depends on the kid of course, but it would be far easier with kids who didn’t nap, didn’t need a stroller/could walk a lot, and weren’t picky about Asian food.

I used to live in Asia so we took our kids (3-7y) to Japan a few different times. We love Japan but it was much easier for us already living over there than it would be to visit from the US. The time change/jet leg is BAD. it’s expensive AF there and reasonably priced hotel rooms for 4 that are near a train station are rare. Taxis are super expensive so expect a ton of walking/standing. Western kids menus are not a thing and neither is packing a kid’s lunch to eat at a restaurant. Even pizza there is not what we’re used to. (My kids were picky so this was a problem and they ate fast food bc of it.) Also the stuff I love most about japan can be really boring for kids (temples, gardens, etc). That’s not the case for all kids of course but just something to consider. How much of the trip can/are you willing to make kid-focused if they get whiny?

[goldengirlz]

Jul 20, 2019 11:48:11 GMT -5 origami said:

I’d recommend Japan for ~ages 7+. It depends on the kid of course, but it would be far easier with kids who didn’t nap, didn’t need a stroller/could walk a lot, and weren’t picky about Asian food.

I used to live in Asia so we took our kids (3-7y) to Japan a few different times. We love Japan but it was much easier for us already living over there than it would be to visit from the US. The time change/jet leg is BAD. it’s expensive AF there and reasonably priced hotel rooms for 4 that are near a train station are rare. Taxis are super expensive so expect a ton of walking/standing. Western kids menus are not a thing and neither is packing a kid’s lunch to eat at a restaurant. Even pizza there is not what we’re used to. (My kids were picky so this was a problem and they ate fast food bc of it.) Also the stuff I love most about japan can be really boring for kids (temples, gardens, etc). That’s not the case for all kids of course but just something to consider. How much of the trip can/are you willing to make kid-focused if they get whiny?

A friend of mine just took her preschool-age kids there. She said it was actually more kid-friendly than she expected but they had to skip a lot of the common tourist sites. Also it sounded like almost every night at least one of her kids, if not both, would have trouble sleeping because of jet lag — I’m sure that didn’t help with their behavior/ability to plan activities.

[sandandsea]

Our boys are also 4.5 years apart and we keep saying once ds1 is in high school. So 14 & 10. Part of it is that we want them to remember the really big trips
And be old enough to appreciate it. We’ve done Mexico, Caribbean, and Hawaii with them but will probably do more domestic trips with them until they’re older. Currently we are doing two trips a year. One with and one without the kids.

[jg183]

We are planning on Australia next year - they will be 8 and 5. I wont scuba dive and am not too adventurous in the water so I think they will be ok doing activities I am into.
Safari I'd like to wait until they are teens - I see that as a once in a lifetime trip and I want them to enjoy it. Maybe a graduation trip?
I have some trips by age but mostly just ranges... for example, you need to be 9 to ride a mule down the grand canyon so that will be once our youngest is 9. We are going to Costa Rica this summer.
My kids arent too into cities so a lot of places they arent ready for.

[wise_rita]

Following this thread with interest. I've always felt like when I have kids that'll be it for my travels.

I'm going on safari in 2 months and am baffled by affording it for more than two people. OMG!

[rupertpenny]

Jul 25, 2019 6:15:41 GMT -5 wise_rita said:

Following this thread with interest. I've always felt like when I have kids that'll be it for my travels.

I'm going on safari in 2 months and am baffled by affording it for more than two people. OMG!

Kids are 100% not the end of travel! It’s definitely different though.

[gardengal]

Jul 25, 2019 6:15:41 GMT -5 wise_rita said:

Following this thread with interest. I've always felt like when I have kids that'll be it for my travels.

I'm going on safari in 2 months and am baffled by affording it for more than two people. OMG!

It took several years for me to be able to handle even the *thought* of a family trip that was more than a 2hr car drive away, but especially now that both my kids are in boosters, don't need naps, and can be reliably entertained by screens, I feel like the world is my oyster! Otherwise 18yrs is a long time to not do something you enjoy.

And definitely *my* (and my husband's) oyster. We travel for us. I have no expectation our kids will remember or be impacted on the trips we've taken thus far. Obviously, we do stuff the kids like and such, but we pick places the adults want to see & then find kid-friendly things to do. 

They will, however, get full choice of the family trip the summer before they finish high school or before they go to college.

[ny96]

We have a rule that we go on a full vacation, apart from visiting family, once a year, and we leave the country every other year. I realize that we are lucky to be in a position to do so, but having kids has never stopped us. Much of the time these vacations are much more “trips” and are less relaxing than we wish, but both of of kids have generally done great and hotels and restaurants have been very accommodating even when our kids were not on their best behavior. The first time we took the oldest one to France he was just under 2 and he slept a lot which provided us lots of opportunities for leisurely meals.