We’re a year out from a year round trip around the world with our son who will be 5. I know it’s a very open ended question but any tips/thoughts on family friendly and budget friendly travel ideas?

What’s your route?

Our initial thoughts are South America, New Zélande, Asia, Africa and Europe. Vague, I know but that’s the direction we’re planning. We’re looking at about 2-3 counties per continent.

From my knowledge you will need to buy a one direction ticket in order to get a round the world airfare. I think you will need to plan this out and put more thought into it as a year will disappear quickly.

Donna do you have a budget? Visiting places on their shoulder season should bring costs down but likely still have pretty good weather.

We do have a budget (though would be nice if we didn’t!). We’re hoping to balance more expensive places like Europe with more affordable places like Asia. Shoulder season is a great idea! Thanks

Donna Europe during the winter can be quite nice, especially Holland and Germany where it is more wet than cold. You will need to wear layers though! Christmas markets in Germany are great and memorable, I would recommend Berlin for that.

My first thought it, "That's amazing. I'm jealous!" For budget friendliness, I would consider including the Americas. While flying directly from here to S America is pretty expensive, I bet it wouldn't be too bad if you chunked it up into shorter flights with lots of stops. Once you're in Latin America, the exchange rate generally makes everything pretty affordable. Plus, I mean, it's amazing - so much history, nature and food!

Thanks for the Latin America idea. That wasn’t part of our initial plan but that could be a great stop on the way to South America, and I’ve never been through any countries there. Any particular countries you’d recommend? I’ll definitely be looking into it!

Donna I would probably hit Mexico and Costa Rica on the way south. I've heard good things about Nicaragua, too. I've only been to Peru in SA, but my understanding is that most of the countries there are stable, safe and really amazing. You can probably just check the government recommendations for that. Oh, and check Zika maps if that's a concern. I know Chile is Zika free, but haven't heard otherwise.

Donna Latin America can be a bit tricky. You need to keep on top of State Dept. Or External Affairs in Canada for any travel alerts. Some countries you’re simply better to avoid; Honduras for sure, you need to be careful where you go in Nicaragua, and surprisingly, Costa Rica has had some really bad incidents involving tourists lately. There was a travel alert recently. Same thing with Mexico; the northern border area, and much of the Pacific coast all the way down past Puerto Vallarta have a lot of Cartel violence. There are places all over the world you need to be cautious about, keeping your head moving, not standing out, and being a bit sceptical will stand you in good stead. Highly recommend making time to see some of China, ideally away from the large centres. It’s a magical place, well worth spending time in

Thanks Wayne. I’ll definitely look into that as we make our plans. Travelling with our son has made us pay a lot more attention to government warns and safety concerns. Thanks for taking the time to share that information on some places to be cautious of!

This blog is great for family travel inspiration: https://www.earthtrekkers.com/
EARTHTREKKERS.COM
Earth Trekkers | Family Adventure Travel & Photography

Ethel Johnston
Consider an around the world ticket.

The Bucket List Family has a club you can join for like $5/month and they always have great ideas and tips for world travel with kids! And some awesome deals each month too

Check out Worldschoolers Facebook page! Also let me know if you want an excellent Serengeti safari guide who is awesome with kids

My daughter & her husband left for a 1yr trip around the world 3 years ago lol. They've had great luck with workshare programs. They'd trade a week of lodging & food for 2.5 days work. So still plenty of time to see local sights.
They worked coffee plantations in Hawaii, tourist assistance in Fiji, sheep ranching in New Zealand, mud house building in several African countries, teaching yoga in India & English in China. Plus dozens of other interesting jobs in amazing countries.

Sharon That sounds really interesting. Would you happen to know the workshare organization that they went through?

Kathi I don't know but I'll text her & ask

Kathi the site is https://www.workaway.info/
WORKAWAY.INFO
Workaway in over 180 countries - give meaning to your travels

Sharon Thank you!

If you book an aeroplan round trip before Sept 1 (not much time, I know) you can include a destination and two stopovers of any duration. You can fit some nested trips in there using cash fares.
After Sept 1 it changes to one stopover.
I'd also recommend airbnb's instead of hotels with a 5 year old. Much easier to cook your own meals, have a separate room when the kid goes down to bed, etc.

That’s amazing we are actually thinking about taking our then to be 3 and 5 year old on a round the world trip in a year from now as well. I don’t have any tips yet other than “just do it”. Good luck

Yea make sure you’re in cancun on Oct 10 2020 lol

Leo says we’ll do our best but if we can’t we’ll be there for the next one! He thinks he’s pretty funny but he’s also super happy for you

Donna k next one it is haha can we at least get together before you leave haha

That will be a wonderful trip, Donna and 5 is a great age for exploring.

Check out @thefunemployedfanily on IG. Lots of great ideas!