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!!!

Whoever mentioned postcards reminded me of this.

https://www.unicef.org.uk/paddingtons-postcards/

Also, is there any organisation where you can get a penal from abroad?

Pen pal.

I travelled to Marrakech this summer (flew EasyJet) with my 9 year old and we absolutely loved it. Spent a couple of days in a desert camp in Agafay which was breathtaking. My other recommendation is to look on Air bnb as you can search for unusual accommodation which might fit the brief for something more exotic. We have done tree houses, shepherd huts and chateaux's in uk and Europe for the same budget as a package holiday.

Japan is hugely expensive. It's on my bucket list too but it's eye wateringly expensive!

Have you been to Thailand? Cheap enough when you're there, the flights are the priciest part. A lot of other Asian countries are cheap to stay. You could do a guided tour if you don't want to go alone.

That's a really sad attitude. Why would you not want to do things for your child if you can? I don't think OP is proposing to go into debt to go away, she's asking for tips on how to do it low budget.

Just echoing some other posters that Morocco is brilliant and very different from Europe. We lived there for about a year when I was young, plus I've been back both solo and just with my DSIS - I've never felt threatened. The only mild annoyance is the people trying to sell you stuff (and when I was far younger and a cute blonde kid people jokingly trying to 'buy me for x amount of camels' haha). Marrakesh is awesome (and can feel like a different world when you first go) but there's also Essouiara and Taghazout if you would want to go for some beach time as well. The Atlas mountains are great too, brilliant memories of going on horse treks there. The flights are really cheap which is obviously a major benefit.

Otherwise Thailand is a great shout. The flights are obviously more expensive but you can get some great deals and it's so cheap when you're actually there. My DSIS is going with her son and stepson and fiance over Christmas and although the flights were a bit expensive she's booked two gorgeous looking bungalows for them on the beach on Krabi for under £100 for ten days! And Bangkok is a great place to experience.

Lovely that your daughter is interested in travel OP! Definitely something to encourage 😊

Seriously??

You really wouldn't pay for your children to have any experiences they haven't saved for?

I'm sure it's all joy in your household

@Dungeonsandwagons
On my word the haters!!!!
Ignore them all.

We've been backpacking in various forms my kids whole lives.
Aged 13 and 15 they were put up in a 5 star hotel for 3 nights when flights were cancelled on a school trip. They had a blast but quickly said how they love our trips staying in small local places, getting a feel for the culture.

DD1 was telling me this trip, how it's much better for locals to be traveling how we do - spending money locally. Not something id told her - her observation linked with geography at school. (Sweeping generalisation I know, but it's true that mostly there were no 'middle men').
DD2 relayed stuff I'd forgotten from a trip when she was 5.

Carrying rucksacks - we just have the right size for them.
When they were smaller I carried everything, they had a day sack.
They are great at packing light: 3 shorts, 4 t shirts, many knickers.

Trains/buses - they are part of the plan, help get tickets etc. Play cards while waiting etc.

DD1 decided to learn Spanish on Duolingo before going to central America this summer.

Far flung has been amazing but equally Scottish Highlands, Yorkshire, camping in France, Venice, Croatia, Slovenia....

Those saying leave exotic places until DD is an adult. What about OP too! Sounds like she loves travel, and her daughter sounds like a fab companion.

Money often goes further farther afield. 2.5 weeks in Sri Lanka cost about £1000 more than 2 weeks in Slovenia for 4 of us.
Slovenia - lots of self catering
Sri Lanka - eating out every day
Accomodation/transport similar in both
Activities - more in Sri Lanka, hikes and exploring on foot in Slovenia

I also want to add a slightly different outlook on travelling.

How about looking up some of the UNESCO world heritage sites?
There are 1000's dotted all over the world.

Some are obviously more local than others, but with some reaserch even the more local ones will become magical and give a better understanding of culture and history associated with a place.

How patronising. Op wants to travel, not to be sneered at.

OP, my 12yo massively has the travel bug and has done for years. I think it's just in some people's natures - my younger enjoys holidays but he doesn't have that quest for new experiences and places and cultures.

Both of my kids (and me) are a bit obsessed with National Geographic Traveller magazine, it's now the only magazine subscription we have and really good for giving ideas about different sorts of destinations and trips closer to home, as well as the more far flung ones.

Another vote for Interrail and for European train travel in general- the return of night trains is a game changer. Couchettes can work out cheaper than a hotel + train or flight and you get a totally different experience, my kids have really enjoyed travelling like that.

Have you looked at Costa Rica or somewhere similar? Turkey and Jordan are also excellent shouts.

I really, really enjoyed Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Hungary as well, culturally a little more distant from Western Europe. That said we keep going back to the Austrian Alps - the further you get out of the cities and off the tourist track the better.

I wouldn't recommend Costa Rica if budget is a consideration. I love the country (I was out there for 5 weeks this summer) but flights are expensive and you can't live out there as cheaply as you can in, for example, most countries in South East Asia.

Oh my gosh, thank you SO much everyone. There are so many great ideas here I’ll be looking into.

Some of the nasty posts last night made me have a small cry as I’m trying to do my best for my daughter on my own - and sometimes it’s scary - and there was a lot of sneery criticism. But the positive and helpful posts have now massively outweighed those, so thank you!!

@Dungeonsandwagons now that you are back, and I'm glad you have more positive comments what type of holiday budget do you have? Would you intend to go annually, biannually or save up for a big trip?
What sort of travel style do you think you could manage, a long break, lots of short breaks?

Also find out from your DD exactly what she wants to do is it a particular location she wants to visit? Specific activities she wants to try? Does she just want to avoid sitting on the beach type holidays? Children often ask for a very broad thing but when you pinpoint what it is they really want it's much more achievable.

@Singleandproud obviously I’m tied to school holidays but I was thinking of maybe doing some shorter breaks in the non-summer holidays. Budget for holidays a year would be a few thousand (interest rate dependent!). I’m going to have a proper think with all this advice and sit down with her and discuss options

Singleandproud makes a good point. What does your DD like? Is she into wildlife, history etc or does she want to try things like rafting, rock climbing etc? Once you look outside the standard holiday destinations it's amazing what you can find to do at a good price. Even in Spain there are places hardly any Brits visit. If budget is tight a good place to start is looking at the flight websites and seeing where you can get cheap flights then work from there. Some backpacker hostels are surprisingly good and if you pick a rail/road trip location is key so you don't waste time faffing.

With a budget if a few thousands you can get some great trips. You could look at some of the small group family trips from people like Explore and Intrepid. We did a couple of those and DS2 made friends he's been in touch with for nearly 20 years.

@Dungeonsandwagons I've only travelled with DD on my own within the UK, she is a fantastic travel buddy but we have had some incidents like stomach bugs etc that were tricky to deal with on my own, when she was too ill to leave a hotel room but too young to be left alone and would have been much more challenging trying to deal with if I didn't speak the local language which is why I suggested keeping it to adventurous activities in the UK to start with. There are lots of adventurous things to be done in the UK especially if you head to the Highlands or Wales and might hit the spot more than a packaged holiday. I also knew if I became ill or injured family could get to us easy enough whereas taking a Primary aged child overseas alone if something goes wrong it's trickier.

Once she hits Secondary school age and you can leave her in a room alone whilst you nip to shops if you have to it becomes much easier.

There are hobby linked holidays too, horse riding / biking/ kayaking tours that she might like too and could spend time building those skills before going.

I'm a lone parent and been taking DS abroad alone since he was 2, never had any issues whatsoever. Life is for living.

@Beezknees you are right of course, life is for living but DD has ASD so we go with other people on overseas holidays so if anything goes wrong she has other people around to help. We still go away but would do a group holiday or go with family. UK trips we galavant together.

With a few k as a budget you could do something amazing! I'd probably go to Mexico with that budget. Tulum (Mayan ruins basically on the beach just outside Cancun) is lovely. I previously flew into Cancun and then out of Mexico City (easy to search for multi city trips on Skyscanner etc). Lots of great and interesting places full of history and pretty cheap once you've accounted for flights. Maybe not the summer holidays though, the first time I went was July I think and it rained every single day. I've been again around Easter and it was perfect.

Glad you feel a bit more positive today! It's a lovely thing you're doing for your DD. I grew up dirt poor but my parents did everything they could to give me and my siblings the travel bug and exposure to other cultures from a very early age and it's stayed with all of us - I think it's one of the things I'm most grateful for about my childhood and I'm sure your DD will feel the same!

How about South East Europe? Romania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia?

I’m also a single parent to two DCs ( now 11 and 8) and have been travelling with them since the youngest was 2 - starting in the U.K. and then branching out.

I agree life is for living, but the OP also indicated she was slightly nervous about being more adventurous with her DC. So maybe sticking with Europe first is a good idea - having not had any problems last year I did, and was extremely glad I was somewhere I could get help relatively easily and that someone was able to fly out for the DC.

Id also recommend Andalusia - Seville, Granada and all the white villages really do feel different, although prob not one for the summer.

Have you done many city breaks at all OP? My youngest (8) is now really into those, and they both love seeing the different European city architecture now, which can also feel really different to them - they randomly really loved Salzburg and Vienna recently ( followed by the Alps which are also stunning of course), were fascinated by Venice and Rome. I think it’s easy to forget how ‘different’ these can seem to kids.

Then as you build confidence you can venture further afield!

@RexWillKillYou
I have been to Marrakech on a girl only trip and not once I felt unsafe.