Help me make my daughter’s dreams come true!!

[Dungeonsandwagons]

My 8yr old is desperate to go to some far flung places, top of her list are America, Central America and Japan. I’m a single mum and I would LOVE to take her travelling and have adventures together. Currently we’ve only done European countries and I’m not dissing Spain etc but it’s not culturally massively different. She really wants to see something different.

However, I don’t have a never ending budget. Also as it’s me and her alone I don’t want to rough it too much / need to be aware of safety. Are there any tips on taking some more adventurous trips that satisfy her desire to see something different but that might not cost the earth?

any help appreciated!!!

Yes! To have your child wish for travel and adventure over belongings is so wonderful so I absolutely agree with you trying to make her dreams come true! Sounds like she's after new cultures and some adventure rather than specific countries so I think rail travel around Europe is such a great idea. If you lose the British obsession to find sunshine then places become much more affordable! Northern Europe out of season can be much cheaper than people think and so different to the usual Brits abroad trips. Good on you and good luck!

I'm gobsmacked that you imagine Europe & nearby regions to be samey and familiar!

Don’t be. My post is literally (in the most literal sense) asking for travel advice and tips on different experiences I can give her within an affordable budget. Which you have kindly done. I just wanted inspiration and feel a bit like I’m being attacked for asking for some simple advice!

Thank you @tilestoclean! being very fair skinned we’re definitely not sun worshippers so good tips

8?..... At this rate she'll have been to the 4 corners of the world by the time she's a teenager.
I'd definitively leave her some countries to work towards & enjoy properly. Show her what hard work & savings can achieve.

Yeah, @Dungeonsandwagons, I was thinking as I hit Post that the ideas you mentioned are actually the suggestions of an 8-year-old, while you'd asked for a wider range of ideas!

Google Earth is a wonderful thing. Have some fun exploring with her, then pick an adventure!

Absolutely knackering with an 8 year old though. I've done it and it's amazing, but I'd wait til the early teen years tbh

Are the pair of you quite tough, in hiking terms? I mean, there are a million spectacular trails to try but I'm posting this one because few people know about it and it was on my long, sadly abandoned bucket list.
https://transcaucasiantrail.org/en/tct-trailblazers/

@Dungeonsandwagons check if interail tickets are still free for under 12s. Fab way to travel. Several night train routes across Europe .
Or go long haul where flights cost more but living is less.
Sri Lanka was a brilliant destination. Easy to travel around. Malaysia including Borneo too. Both felt safe as a single parent with youngest child being a similar age to yours.
We do tend to opt for backpackers/guest houses over air b+b type places. I like the fact there are always people at the places we stay to talk to and ask for help if needed.

I love your daughters interest and excitement and I love that you recognise this and want to inspire her further!

I think the advice about changing HOW you travel is the sensible one! We like adventurous holidays and this kind of format can be followed anywhere in the world and adjusted to any budget! We basically chose a start airport and end airport and 3/4 stop offs in between to spend 2/3 nights in between- transport is either hiring a car or public transport depending on budget/convenience and again you can adjust accommodation choices to suit budget. Also flying to one airport and flying home from other often makes flights insanely cheap, particularly in the US.

We buy real maps and draw on them/map it out/calculate travel options which would be a fun way to get her involved too!

The other thing I would consider doing that might make you more comfortable as a single parent is cruising- you get the safety and comfort of a “resort” but waking up with a new place to explore each morning is really exciting! Cruising is also surprisingly reasonable- Marella have some awesome itineraries round Turkey/Greece/Israel that might appeal (we did a FAB one that included Istanbul, Athens, Ephesus and Troy!). It’s also very easy to fix spending compared to the roadtripping option.

In terms of places:

• California- LA, Vegas, Yosemite- AMAZING scenery, US is safe for travellers but ££££.
• Vancouver/Vancouver Island + Cruise to Alaska: INCREDIBLE magical scenery, one of my favourite ever trips but flying to Vancouver is pricey, though less than the US.
• AmTrak trains in the US- you can get a “hopper” ticket and travel round different places- exciting and easy to plan, again very safe.
• In Europe: fly to Ljublana, use buses to get to Zagreb, Vienna, Plitvice Lakes National Park, on down to Split/Dubrovnik, even to Mostar in Bosnia if you’re feeling adventurous or Kotor in Montenegro- this was DEFINITELY a budget trip for us.

I feel a globe or a pin map for an Xmas present coming up for your DD!

3-week, pan-European Interrail pass, € 544, DD goes free 😃

Errrr she’s only 8!

Thanks everyone for the amazing ideas. I will look at them all!

I am amazed that an 8-year-old feels that she has seen enough of Europe to be bored by it. Does she speak French, Spanis, German and Italian? What are people looking for when they go travelling?

To me at 8, different languages and different foods were enough. I was learning spoken French & German, we explored loads of places that didn't look English, we visited glaciers & catacombs.

But we didn't have Instagram, YouTube or Tiktok. Everything new was 💥NEW💥

I don't think it matters, though. I am 100% in favour of fostering a child's curiosity, sense of adventure & wonder. It'd be a real bummer if it turned out that she expects her travels to be like Insta Stories, but I have some faith in OP's ability to engage her daughter's curiosity.

Me either.. leechy touchy men yuk

I have some faith in OP's ability to engage her daughter's curiosity

I don't. The child is already bored with Europe and I presume the UK is a big yawn. She sounds like an extremely incurious child

I know, I wonder if the OP will be back in a few years, moaning that Princess doesn't appreciate the Shetland pony and brand new laptop she got for tidying her bedroom 😁

She’s 8. She doesn’t have Insta or TikTok. She likes travel documentaries on TV. And she likes hearing my adventures of backpacking around the world and is inspired by it. However clearly she’s too young to backpack and it’s too expensive to holiday in these places for me at the moment.

The child is already bored with Europe and I presume the UK is a big yawn. She sounds like an extremely incurious child

shame on you @Coyoacan. She hasn’t declared herself ‘bored of Europe.’ She just wants some adventures. And I just wanted to ask for some suggestions. Peoples hate is out of control. I just asked for some fun adventure ideas for my 8 year old who wants to see the world and yet you felt the need to shit on both me and her. Nasty. Examine what’s made you like this.

I also recommend Marrakesh. Stay in a riad hotel in the old centre rather than a western style modern hotel in the suburbs. Go on a camel ride in the desert.

@Dungeonsandwagons

I'm sorry, you are right. My tone was all wrong. But I still think that adventures require imagination and the ability to observe what is before you rather than boarding planes and going to more and more places.

@Coyoacan, I'm also a fan of slow travel 😎

She's awfully young to be getting all of her dreams fulfilled if you are short on funds.

How about having her research various countries and cultures. Prep the food, read books, get pen pals etc and anticipate travel down the road.

Jesus people need to bore off…. The OP is hardly going to run out of counties if she decides to take her DD out of Europe. My DD is 11 and has been long haul several times. .we’ve just got back from Colorado and New Mexico but it was expensive OP. Food was expensive so hold off that for now unless you have relatives you could stay there.
I think Marrakech and Istanbul are good ideas… we did Marrakech when our DD was 3 ( “but she won’t remember it!!!!” No but I will). We’re planning on Jordan next Easter but flights are currently pricy. We shall do a combination of coast and desert. I don’t think it’s been mentioned yet but Thailand might be good… flights possibly pricy but accommodation and food much cheaper than Europe. You could do Bangkok, the islands and / or a train north to Chang Mai / Pai and visit the hill tribes. It’s a well worn backpacker trail.
If you want a holiday company in addition to what’s been mentioned you could look at Responsible Travel. They feature travel which is off the beaten track and I find their options really appealing. Spain for example could be up in the mountains with various activities in an eco friendly family hotel. So not exotic as such but not sitting in a busy AI resort either. Romania is another appealing one with a family trip to Transylvania.

https://www.responsibletravel.com/holiday/7982/granada-activity-holiday-spain

totally different concept but would she be interested in post cards from different places?
a friend of mine does post card collecting/trading and she gets them from all over the world.
i wouldn't even know how to start but google might be of help.