WE’RE CHASING DREAMS, BABY! Summer Family Travel: Details + FAQs

Do you see that boy baby up top? Always showing off 🙂 It’s true, he’ll do anything for a family travel adventure!

I’ve had this dream forever, since before I was a mother, and it will finally come to fruition this summer. I can hardly believe I’ve just typed that! In fact, spending a summer in Latin America is #3 on my list of 40 things to do before 40 years old. But before I get started on  the details, let me offer this tip of advice:

The most powerful tool I can offer moms wishing to make travel a priority while combating realistic barriers (like paid leave, budget and school schedules) is this:

CREATE YOUR FAMILY TRAVEL LEGACY MISSION STATEMENT.

Once we had goals written down, we became obsessed with budgeting money and time to fulfilling them. Here is our Family Travel Legacy Mission Statement:

The governing priorities of our family travel will always support at least one of these intentions: language immersion, cultural explorations to expand self-awareness and investments in relationships (family and friends).

Summer Family Travel Details

More and more moms are exploring the world with their babies in tow, but in the days I started whispering this dream to the people close to me, I sounded nuts. “Traveling for months at a time without a super firm, daily itinerary in Latin America? With your babies? You’re nuts.” And you know what, I believed them.

I’m just a regular, American mom. Sure, I speak Spanish, but for the most part, my bicultural upbringing slants decidedly American and I’m a total travel novice. In short – I was scared!

It wasn’t until I shared my travel dreams with Rebecca Bernard of Family Go Global – an AMAZING family travel agency that specializes in custom, cultured tours – when spending summers abroad in Latin America seemed like a possibility. She was understanding of my fears, holding my hand when needed, but pushed me to realize I needn’t feel alone in my dreams to adventure with kids. We could do this!!!

First, she invited us to Family Go Global’s Costa Rica Pura Vida Peace Camp, a bilingual summer camp partnered with an international Costa Rican school. You can sign up for one week, but I enrolled the kids for two! Then a crazy thing happened: with every conversation, Rebecca and I added more and more weeks to our summer travel plans.

Before Costa Rica, why not stop in Mexico City to explore the rich culture, food and history? And hey, let’s reach out to the most adventurous travel mom we know – Becky Morales of Kid World Citizen – and see if she wants to meet up! Becky’s family (FIVE kids!) is currently living in Mexico and, after years of online friendship, I was excited for the chance to hug her in person. Becky then graciously offered to host us in her gorgeous, colonial home in Merida, which added yet another week to the dream summer adventure because who in their right mind would decline THAT? After Merida, we’ll fly down to Costa Rica for a few weeks, exploring both the Pacific and Carribean sides… and then I’m not sure what happens next.

(Kid World Citizen’s Teachers Pay Teachers Mexico Unit Study is really great! I’ve been using it with the kids in anticipation of our time in this beautiful country.)

So if you’re counting, we’re at 6 weeks of summer travel with no return flights currently booked! At this point, I’m not sure if this plan is awesome or totally insane but it’s happening nonetheless.

Moms Chasing Dreams 2018: FAQs

I’ve gotten a TON of questions regarding this epic summer adventure, so here are the answers to the most popular ones.

Mom travel is awesome, but what about Daddy D? The two biggest hurdles for us is money (see below) and time away. My work is location independent, but the kids are in traditional school and my husband has a career he loves and can’t leave. Travel time is therefore restricted. Rebecca and Becky – the moms I’ll be traveling with – are in similar situations as well.

For this trip, D and I are taking a big leap of faith. I’m taking the kids for our summer adventure and he’ll meet up with us for a week in between. He feels better knowing that we’ll be with friends, but we’ve also been putting in extra work on our marriage. Lots of communication and extra date nights. Our marriage is stable, but I’m not taking this to chance as my relationship with him is so very important. Ultimately, my husband knows this immersive travel is something my soul yearns for and he refuses to be the roadblock that denies that exploration. Yes, he really is that spectacular of a human being. (Alina, find yourself a man who pushes your greatness and never diminishes your evolution.)

How the heck do you afford a summer of travel?! I won’t deny that this trip will cost a small fortune, but probably not as much as some expect. Certainly not more than what we’ve paid for a trip to Disney World and the like. If travel is a priority, you’ll fit it into your budget. For this trip, I set alerts for flights almost a year in advance. I used apps like Skyscanner and Hopper to set alerts and have been flexible in our schedule to allow for the best deals. Flights from LAX to Mexico City aren’t that expensive and create the perfect launch to other Latin American cities. I’m researching festivals and events that will enrich our experience without a giant cost. Also, traveling with friends means we can split the cost of AirBnB accommodations!

The first cost incurred for this trip was made almost a year in advance and, even with 5 months until we leave, it’s pretty much all booked…. except for those return flights!

You’ll get some pretty pictures, but why is this such a big deal? I’m excited to tell you the story of how my study abroad application was rejected in college, but suffice it to say that this is a long-awaited redemption moment. Also, as it relates to my family’s travel mission statement, we’ll be fully immersed in Spanish for the summer, exploring cultures that expand our identities as Latinos and making big investments in friendships that I hope will be life-long.

Also…. the world is MAGICAL! I really believe that. I have fears, I won’t lie, but I want to show the kids how to navigate through them and to not avoid life in fear of the unknown. I want to live extraordinarily and push my comfort zone with my kids so they see even mama doesn’t have it all figured — but I learn quick and am persistent.

Travel is about experiencing and living stories that make up our legacy. You don’t have to travel internationally to do so (we’re SO excited to visit the Mid-West in a few months to learn about Dad’s family legacy and more American history!), but this summer is definitely turning out to be something quite epic indeed.