Travel is simply incredible. You see new places, experience new things and see the world in a whole new light! And what better way to enjoy the wonder of travel than with your family? We have found that family travel can be a super special experience.
We had a Q&A with a few Expat Explore travellers from around the world who have been on tour with their families. These travellers tell us what makes family travel so great!
Take a look at stories from some of the families who have travelled with Expat Explore below. They share their favourite memories, best destinations and more!
Reycelle Rodriguez
Reycelle and her family live in Manila in the Philippines. As a family (Reycelle, her husband Edgardo and her four children Joaqui, Kathleen, Patricia and Carlos) they have completed the Europe Escape and Europe Jewel tours with Expat Explore! When travel reopens, they are hoping to visit the Eastern USA and they want to see more of Switzerland, Germany and the UK and travel to a place where they can see the Northern Lights.
What makes family travel a special experience?
Travel is the best way to learn about the world and its people and travelling as a family is also one of the best platforms to build memories.
What have been your family’s favourite holiday destinations?
Switzerland, Japan and the USA.
What is a favourite memory from one of your family holidays?
There are three! 1. Bringing my husband to Liverpool – and see him thrilled to the bones as a Beatles fan. 2. Expanding our circle of friends from all over the world, understanding their culture and seeing new places TOGETHER! 3. Our family altogether at Jungfraujoch, Switzerland…that was the pinnacle of living our dream.
Any advice to families who want to travel together for the first time?
Carpe diem! Don’t postpone. Listen to Doris Day’s song “Enjoy Yourself.”
Jodi Stanch
Jodi and her husband, Jeff, live in Florida in the USA. In April 2019, they completed the Europe Escape tour with friends they have known for over 30 years! They also have a family tradition of travelling frequently with their two children – this is something they have done since their children were young and have continued into adulthood. In the future, Jodi and her husband are looking forward to exploring Southern Italy, Greece, Germany, Poland, Austria and Switzerland. A Mediterranean cruise is also on the list!
What makes family travel a special experience?
Our family is passionate about travelling because we like history, enjoy exploring new cities, countries, and learning about other cultures and historical sights. When you travel as a family, it’s a
special bonding experience to make shared memories together that you can have and reflect upon for the rest of your lives.
What have been your family’s favourite holiday destinations?
We have three! 1. Our trip to Europe with the Expat Explore. 2. Our trip to Key West, Florida right after our Expat Explore Europe Escape trip. We flew from Amsterdam overnight to Florida and met our children in Key West and also spent time with other relatives there during a family wedding celebration over several days. 3. Two trips to California (USA), one year visiting Southern California and the Grand Canyon in Arizona; the next year visiting Northern California, driving up the Pacific Coast Highway to San Francisco and over to Yosemite National Park.
What is a favourite memory from one of your family holidays?
A trip to Blowing Rock North Carolina, in the USA, during the Christmas holidays. It snowed on Christmas Eve as we were visiting the Biltmore hotel and the mountains and grounds were beautiful and holiday decorations were festive.
Any advice to families who want to travel together for the first time?
I would encourage them to ‘“go for it”, as it will be enjoyable and cherished times together.
Benny Cervania
Benny lives in the Philippines with his family. Travel is definitely a family affair! Benny always travels with his wife and they have been joined by their children, his sister, his cousin and friends! The family have completed several tours with Expat Explore since 2016: Europe Escape, Eastern Highlights, Best of UK & Ireland, Northern Explorer, Nile Adventure, Spain & Portugal Explorer and Highlights of Turkey – what a list! When travel is safely on the cards again, they are hoping to visit Iceland, Greece, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong!
What makes family travel a special experience?
We are all passionate about travelling because it gives us relaxation in our daily lives from stress and work pressure and from the hot weather in summer. It also gives us the motivation to work harder so we can see, feel, and love the beauty of places, people, and cultures around the world. It’s a special experience because it shows us a feeling of closeness to each other.
What have been your family’s favourite holiday destinations?
Amsterdam, Switzerland, Austria, Paris, Spain, Portugal, Turkey.
What is a favourite memory from one of your family holidays?
Not my favourite but a memorable incident happened on the Northern Explorer tour. On our way back to St Petersburg, my two sons, wife and her friend separated from us going to the train station. They failed to get to the train on time (they entered the platform and the train started to leave and they ran and called thinking maybe it could stop but unfortunately not). Luckily, someone who could speak English taught them how to purchase a train ticket and they arrived in St Petersburg early the next day. What an experience!
Maricar Collado
Maricar’s family is originally from the Philippines and now many are based around the world in the USA and Singapore. That’s why they make it a point to meet up and travel every year! They always use the hashtag #barangaycollado. “Barangay” refers to a ‘small village’ in Filipino. Their family has completed the Europe Taster and Europe Escape tours with Expat Explore. She travels with her daughter, her three brothers, two sisters, her in-laws and nieces and nephew! In the future, they hope to visit Spain and Portugal as well as Eastern Europe.
What makes family travel a special experience?
Our family is passionate about travelling! Our late mom had itchy feet and always had the urge to hit the road (or the air even if that meant she had to go alone), and so I guess our love for travelling is heavily due to her influence. Creating strong family bonds and family togetherness is a priority for all of us. Travelling with family is a rewarding experience since every trip we take becomes cherished memories where our minds are stirred, our senses intensified and our spirits are in a constant state of wonder.
What have been your family’s favourite holiday destinations?
We feel blessed to have visited some countries and each one of them was unforgettable. Personally, I loved the Italian leg of our Europe Escape tour because of its grandeur and history, but for the young ones, they all seem to be in total agreement with Switzerland. They are so used to the tropics that seeing nature blanketed in snow is a different and almost an out-of-this-world experience for them.
Japan is also a favourite family destination. There is no wrong time to visit this country as it gets four incredible seasons – each of which is beautiful in its own way.
What is a favourite memory from one of your family holidays?
One of my brothers is a priest and so he and the whole family had the incredible chance of celebrating mass at St. Peter’s Basilica during our free day in Rome. It was such a solemn and emotional experience that we will never forget.
Just like a lot of people who dreamt of seeing the Eiffel Tower, myself included, seeing the structure the first time evoked a gamut of emotions. All my life, I’ve spent dreaming of seeing the Eiffel Tower. I’ve just imagined it only in books and seen it in the movies so I literally cried when I saw it up close. It is a dream come true not only for me but for the rest of my family.
Any advice to families who want to travel together for the first time?
If you’re a big group, it’s always ideal to plan and save ahead, making sure to consider everyone’s capabilities—from the youngest member to the oldest—when choosing a destination. We sit down or have a call together to lay out the plan. We even made a FB group page just to update everyone. By doing so, we are able to make sure that there’s something that every member of the family can enjoy or is at least open to trying. Expat Explore gave us that option with Europe Escape. We booked a year in advance so it gave us the time to plan for free days and save up for the trip.
Travelling as a big group is no joke. It’s definitely stressful but that shouldn’t be a reason to miss out on all the fun that comes with travelling. Go in the off season. We always timed our travel towards the end of autumn and the start of winter – it’s the only time that we can all go. One of the greatest benefits of off-season travel is saving so much money and having fewer crowds in major attractions thus a more intimate exploration of the city. Now, who doesn’t want that? Highly recommended, too, is going on an escorted coach tour with a reputable tour company. We are so happy with our experience with Expat Explore. We were able to visit a lot of the amazing top tourist attractions in one go. For that alone, it is all check marks on our bucket list!
If these stories have inspired your family wanderlust, it is time to start planning your next family trip! Take a look at our exciting coach and rail tours and get ready to make some memories!