I know where you are right now. You’re on a website called Families Who Travel, which means part of you is already dreaming. And another part of you, the part that knows exactly how busy tomorrow and the next day and the day after that are going to be, is already building the list of reasons it won’t work.
I know that part too. I lived there for years.
Six children. One income. A calendar that was already full before anyone mentioned the word “passport.” Every time the dream surfaced that Matt and I envisioned while sitting in a gazebo swing more than two decades ago – the one where we’d build a family together and take our family on extraordinary adventures – we’d list the reasons. The babies were too young. Work was too busy. It cost too much. The timing was never right. We’d file it back under “someday” and carry on with life.
And then one afternoon in 2019, while Matt was standing in a parking lot about to get into his car, I called him with what I thought was a very exciting piece of news.
It ended with the word “whoops” and eight round-trip tickets to Paris. [Read the full story on our About Us page.]
And everything changed.
I’m not telling you to do something impulsive. I’m telling you that the gap between the family you are and the family you want to be is smaller than you think. We are not extraordinarily wealthy or brave. We did not sell our house and uproot our family to achieve our dreams. We are a middle-class family from a small city in the American Southwest with real commitments to job, school, church, and community who made a series of small, deliberate choices that added up to something large. Seven continents. Six years. Six kids. Zero regrets.
The map on our wall started with one pin. Then a few. Then more and more, until there were pins on every continent and the map looked less like decoration and more like a record of a life lived the way we dreamed of living it.
You can have that too. Not our exact map – your map, with your family, your destinations, your version of the things that matter to you. The destinations will be different. The adventures will be your own. The memories will belong to no one but you.
But only if you go.
We’re here to show you how.
Everything on this site is organized around three ideas. Find the one you need most right now.
Why travel matters more than you think — and why now is the right time.
How to actually make it happen — budget, packing, logistics, and points.
Real stories from real families. Join the many families who are choosing adventure now!
You know the one. The reasons this won’t work for your family. We had the same list. Here’s what we found:
📍 The honest truth
There are always reasons to wait. Next year. When work settles down. When the kids are older. But the thirteen-year-old becomes eighteen faster than you think. The window that is open right now will not always be this size. Someday does not arrive on its own. You have to make it.
Our four-year-old hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu under his own power. Our three-year-old parasailed over the Pacific. Our two-year-old climbed to the top of the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica and was carried by his siblings up and down the stairs of the London Underground in a stroller. There is no age floor on adventure – only a planning adjustment.
We packed carry-ons only. We found incredible flight deals that you can also have access to. We often stayed in vacation rentals instead of hotels. We built a Family Travel Fund the same way we built everything else - deliberately and over time. We estimate over $40,000 in free travel through credit card points over six years. The math looks different once you know how to run it.
We built trips around “busy season” at work, school schedules, summer breaks, and spring break. The five biggest trips of our six years were in June and July. Planning starts eight to twelve months out. With enough notice and the right framing, many employers can be worked with.
We planned most of our biggest adventures during summer and spring break. When we did take kids out of school, we gave teachers advance notice, requested work packets, had the children keep travel journals, and offered presentations when they returned. Travel is education. Standing inside the Colosseum is not something a textbook can replicate.
AirTags on necklaces for the young ones. Location sharing on family phones for the older ones. A rule: everyone knows the address of home base before we leave in the morning. A system: we always move as a unit in crowded places. Develop a buddy system. In six years and seven continents, we have never lost a child. We have occasionally misplaced a carry-on.
If you’re new to family travel and don’t know where to begin, start with these four. They answer the most common questions and give you something concrete to do today.
Eight people. One bag each. Three weeks. Yes, it’s possible – and we’ll show you exactly how.
A family travel fund, credit card points, budget travel hacks, and the choices that made seven continents possible on one income.
Choosing your first international destination – what to consider, what to ignore, and how to make the decision.
The post we wish someone had put in front of us ten years ago. Read this before you file it under someday.
This site is not just about our story. It’s about yours. Every family that chooses adventure over waiting deserves to be celebrated. Whether you hiked a trail you didn’t think you could finish, took your kids on their first international trip last summer, or finally booked the flight you’ve been talking about for three years – we want to hear about it. And we want to share it here, for the family that is sitting right where you were sitting before you went. The Celebration section is a community space where fellow family travelers share their stories, their photos, and their proof that it is possible. Every story we feature is real. Every story is evidence that your family can make it happen too.
Are you a seasoned family traveler with a story to tell? We’d love to feature your adventure. Your story might be exactly what another family needs to read to take their first step.
HOW TO SHARE YOUR STORY
Fill out our short submission form below. We keep it simple — just tell us who you are, where you went, and what it meant to your family.
First names only — no last names or identifying location information will be published.
Include one or two photos if you have them. From-behind shots, landscapes, or candid family moments work especially well.
Submissions are reviewed before publishing. We read every single one.
We’ll notify you by email when your story goes live.
Share Your Adventure
Did your family take the leap? Tell us where you went, what happened, and what it gave your family.
Every week we send out practical tips, real stories from the road, and the kind of inspiration that makes you open a new browser tab and start looking at flights.
No fluff. No influencer lifestyle content. Just honest, useful information from a family that has been doing this for six years and wants to help your family do it too.
Here’s how we make it work — for a family of eight, on one income, without selling anything.
