I was three years old when I first traveled on an airplane. It was to a magical island called Cyprus. I was five years old when I had my first big road trip. It crossed France, Austria, Germany, and Belgium (and possibly Italy, I can’t really remember. I was five. Maybe I’ll ask my mom). I was two years old when I remember my first travel to a foreign country, Italy.
Some might think that it’s useless to take kids traveling. Because they won’t remember stuff (that’s not true). That it’s hard, tiresome, or completely impossible for them to enjoy traveling (not true). That it’s hard and complicated to travel with young kids (this one might be true).
I don’t have kids myself, so I can’t really give advice on how to travel with kids. But I was a kid, and I do remember my first travels.
I remember when I was in a cockpit flying a huge Boeing airplane. Yes, they actually let kids into cockpits while flying. I remember throwing up on a plane. Not in a cockpit, thank God. I remember building sandcastles on a beach. I remember being confused because cars were driving on the wrong side of the road. I remember the long (fake?) fingernails that my father’s then-partner had. That was Cyprus, by the way.
I remember being in a jeep on a safari in Italy. I had a cold, so I had a paper handkerchief in my hand. The jeep stopped. The windows were down; there was no AC back then. All of a sudden, there was a giant emu head in front of me, and it snatched my handkerchief from my hand. This is, traumatically, my first memory. I am still not a big fan of birds.
My first big road trip was a big one. I remember sitting in the back seat and not wearing a seat belt. Yes, that was normal. I remember that I found a big white feather in a lake where we were swimming. I still have it. I remember when I forgot my stuffed cat in a car that was parked somewhere far from a hotel, and my mom made me a temporary doll from a handkerchief. I still have it. I remember paper metro tickets from Paris. I remember cobbled streets in Belgium. I remember people swimming in the Atlantic Ocean and how windy it was. I remember being fascinated with so many different coins (no Euro at the time, only francs and marks and liras and so on). I ironically don’t remember almost anything from Disneyland. I guess rollercoasters are less important than playing word games in a car while waiting in long lines at borders (no Schengen back then). I do remember the Eiffel Tower, though.
So, take your kids traveling. They will remember it. Especially the birds.