There are many benefits to teaching your children to love travel – benefits that will pay off in spades when they become adults. These include helping them grow into informed, engaged and globally-aware citizens, the ability to adapt to new situations, the development of a wider worldview, appreciation for other cultures, beliefs and experiences, and of course exposure to things like spectacular landscapes, historical destinations, new cuisine and once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

But children aren’t natural-born travel-lovers. They’re routine-lovers! So how do you give your child the travel bug? Here are some ways to plant that seed:

1. Get a globe or a world map. Or both! When you are getting ready to travel, or when someone you know is traveling, point out on the globe or map where they went. Find where people you know live and track a path with your finger to show where you live to where they live. When you’re reading or watching TV together and different countries or cities are mentioned, find them on the globe or map.


2. Start with local, close-to-home travel. And we mean really close to home – like go to a nearby park to bird-watch, or inspect bugs. Visit an ethnic restaurant close by and taste some new cuisine. Attend a local cultural festival. Spend some time in the airport or railway station. Let them feel the excitement and anticipation of transportation. Expose your children to new experiences on a small scale. Once your child is comfortable with that, widen the range and go far enough for an overnight or weekend trip.


3. Watch TV, read books and see movies. Look for stories that take place in different settings that they can get excited to see: Harry Potter takes place in England, Madeline is in Paris, Clifford the Big Red Dog lives near the seashore, Knuffle Bunny gets lost in New York City, Pixar has a variety of settings from Coco in Mexico, Inside Out in San Francisco, Brave in Scotland, Up in South America. 


4. Get your child involved in the planning. Before you decide on a vacation, pull out the globe or map with your child and brainstorm ideas on where to go. Bring them with you when you visit your AAA Travel Advisor to hear about vacation options. Once you pick a destination, get a guidebook or search the internet together for family-friendly activities that would interest them. You don’t need to plan the entire trip around your kids but sprinkle in places and outings that would interest them, too. Involve your child in packing – talk about what they’ll need and why. Build up their excitement!


5. Be flexible about plans. If you find you’ve over-scheduled, or your family is not enjoying an activity, don’t be afraid to ditch it and move onto something else. If everyone is happy splashing around in the ocean, don’t feel like you need to pull them out because you have a museum visit up next. Leave room for downtime. Let family happiness lead the way – that’s how you build happy family memories. And on that note…


6. Find a way to preserve the memories. It might be creating a scrapbook or photo album afterward, or shopping for a Christmas ornament while traveling – create some kind of physical reminder of the trip that will spark conversation and reminiscing about for years to come.

Next steps:

1. Seek inspiration through AAA's Travel Pages. Look around our travel home page at our featured vacations. Browse through our digital travel catalogs. Flip through our digital tourbooks.
2. Book your vacation package on AAA.com. If you want to book your vacation yourself, build and book your trip right on AAA.com. You'll find great deals and have the backing and support of AAA behind you.
3. Or meet with a Travel Advisor. If you have questions, are unsure of what you want, are seeking advice from the experts, or just want our experienced advisors to take the hard part off your shoulders, make an appointment with a AAA Travel Advisor. Meet in person, over the phone, by email, or through a virtual appointment.
4. Start looking forward to your incredible vacation. Send us photos when you get back!