3 Ways to get kids excited about Travel

“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.” —Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

One of my favorite travel quotes and one that I truly believe in.  Traveling the world stretches the mind like no other experience.  The lifelong personal benefits that one gains from traveling abroad and interacting with all of the beautiful cultures of this planet is unmeasurable.  And that is why I’m a huge proponent of getting kids started early and setting them up for a life of travel, wonder, and discovery.  Below are 3 ways to get kids excited about travel.

GET THEM PASSPORTS

The sooner the better!  Even if you don’t have an imminent international trip scheduled, it’s best to get the kids their passports during this down time instead of having the stress of worrying if you’ll get them in the mail in time when you actually do have a trip booked.  The cost to get a US passport is only $135 for those under 16 yrs of age.  For kids 16yrs and older, the fee is $165.  I’m sure you’ve had bar or restaurant tabs for this amount (or more) so there is no excuse not to invest in a passport!

Applying is easy and you can follow this link to get started on the application today!  https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports.html/

If you have HS/College age kids about to graduate and they’ve never had a passport, you can get them as gifts.  Their passports will be good for 10 years and and they’ll hopefully use it many times over before it expires.  The next one is on them!

BUY THEM TRAVEL LUGGAGE

Your kids should have both (carry on and a bigger checked back luggage).  We started our kids off with carry on luggage for each of them and only recently bought them bigger luggage for our upcoming overseas trips.  Our 2 oldest kids (19 & 20) got them as gifts.

When it comes to what kind of luggage here are some factors that you should take into consideration before making your purchase. 

• Don’t go cheap!  If you’ve ever looked out an airplane window and seen the baggage handlers in action or seen broken/ripped luggage coming down the conveyor belt you’ll know why.  A solid luggage doesn’t have to be expensive either but should feel like it’s built for the long haul.  Look for high tech fabrics that are resistant to wear and tear.
• Zipper quality – Zippers are usually the weak spot on luggage so look for durable metal or plastic zipper chains.
• Good wheels – The last you want is to be dragging your luggage from terminal to terminal.  This one is super important.  You might drive your ride til the wheels come off but don’t do that with your luggage.  Take care of those wheels!  Get a luggage with 4 wheels if possible.
• SIZE – Yes size does matter.  When buying a carry on for you kids, make sure it will fit in the overhead bin.  You don’t want them to be that person in the aisle trying to force their carry on luggage to fit for 15 minutes while fellow passengers are made to wait.  All airlines have their acceptable carry on luggage size listed on their website.  It’s good practice to know what is acceptable prior to arriving at the airport.

TRAVEL GIFT CARDS

This suggestion is geared more towards older teens. For birthdays or Christmas, ditch the traditional boring gifts and instead get them something that will encourage future travel. Airline or other Travel gift cards are the perfect gifts to accomplish this. This will get them thinking of where they would want to go. It will also encourage them to save money and work towards that trip.

We gave our 2 older kids Delta airlines gift cards as Christmas gifts this past year. It was interesting to watch them plan their own trips with their friends. They began learning how to look for airfare deals and saw for themselves how airline flights constantly ebb and flow. They have started to pay attention to how much flights cost to different cities/countries. But more importantly, their curiosity is now piqued to travel on their own!

And that is the whole point. You want your kids to branch out and be curious. To never stop learning about the planet we inhabit. I believe in these 3 ways to get kids excited about travel. You will be setting them up for a life of travel. You will help launch them on their own journeys to learn about themselves and the world around them.

Wanderlust unlocked

Once their desire to travel has been unlocked, it’s for life. Now start planting those travel seeds!

If you have some other ways to get kids excited about travel, share them in the comments section.

For tips on how to rack up travel rewards, check out my post Keys to Unlocking Free Travel.