There’s a popular phrase nowadays: “travel at the drop of a hat.” It sounds carefree, but as a parent traveling with kids, I don’t recommend it.
Traveling spontaneously either wastes money or, due to poor planning, wastes time. And if unexpected issues arise during the trip, it gets even more troublesome.
So how should you actually plan? I’ve summarized the key factors to consider when traveling as: time, budget, scenic beauty, the child’s age, and shared interests between adults and children.
? Time
Time is the most critical factor limiting travel. How many vacations do you get in a year, when they are, and how long they last all directly affect how far you can go and how much you’ll spend.
But even if you don’t have summer and winter breaks like I do, you still have at least five or six holidays of varying lengths throughout the year—Spring Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Labor Day, Mid-Autumn Festival, National Day, plus annual leave. Making good use of these can still lead to a rich and fulfilling travel life.
? Budget
Once you have time, you need to think about finances. With more money, you can go farther; with less, stick to shorter trips. I believe the most important part of travel is the mindset of appreciating and discovering beauty—not the destination itself.
As for food, accommodation, and transportation, it all depends on your financial situation—spend as much or as little as you’re comfortable with. I personally advocate for simple, modest family travel. As the saying goes, it’s easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go from luxury to frugality. When traveling with kids, I want them to focus on new experiences, not just comfort.
? Child’s Age
For children under 2 years old, I personally don’t recommend long-distance travel. First, they’re too young and their immune systems aren’t strong. Second, traveling with such a young child involves too much to carry, worry about, and manage, which can diminish the joy of the trip.
I generally don’t recommend taking babies under 2 on long trips, but if parents insist, I can offer a simple suggestion: focus on the essence of travel.
You may have heard the saying that travel is just going from a place you know well to one others know well. Why are we so enthusiastic about travel? Because so much at the destination feels fresh to us.
So for babies too, travel is the same—as long as the destination feels new to them and offers sensory stimulation they haven’t experienced before, they’ll enjoy it. Especially for kids in big cities like Beijing, Shanghai, or Guangzhou, many parks or suburban areas can spark their curiosity.
Parents can plan step by step—start with nearby parks or suburbs, then slowly move to other cities. If going out of town, choose places with beaches and sand when possible, as these fit the cognitive features of this age group.
For children aged 2 to 5, who may not yet fully grasp ancient history or profound cultural sites, the focus should be on nature, small animals, ethnic customs, and tangible experiences to broaden their horizons.
In other words, what I call touchable cultural experiences—for example, going to the seaside to see the vast ocean and play in the sand, or climbing a not-too-steep mountain like Mount Lao, where you can enjoy beautiful scenery and get some exercise.
Living in a country with 56 ethnic groups, take the time to observe the customs, clothing, and lifestyles of minority groups, enjoy their often passionate songs and dances, learn about their unique characteristics, understand and respect cultural diversity, realize that others are born different from us, and gradually learn to respect others.
My daughter’s first trip was to Qingdao, then we went on to Hainan, Dalian, and the Maldives— all water-themed trips. Later, we visited Yunnan twice to explore the architecture and clothing of ethnic groups like the Naxi, Dai, and Dong. When her teacher later asked about the Dai dance in school, she immediately shouted, “I know—they’re from Yunnan, from Xishuangbanna!”
After the ages of 5 or 6, you can visit more historical and cultural cities like Beijing, Nanjing, Xi'an, Luoyang, and Pingyao. Through ancient buildings and historical sites, kids can experience and touch history—an otherwise abstract concept. This ties into my emphasis on tangible cultural journeys.
Various cultural elements in different regions, such as Sichuan’s shadow puppetry and face-changing, Suzhou’s pingtan, Beijing’s drum storytelling, Tianjin’s xiangsheng (crosstalk), Shaanxi’s xintianyou, and more, can all be included in the trip. These let children learn about the nation’s artistic heritage from an early age. I truly believe love for family and country arises naturally from deep understanding, not from slogans on walls.
Once kids start elementary school, there are fewer restrictions on destinations. Additionally, depending on your budget, try to plan one or two international trips per year. Our children’s generation is destined to have a global perspective, and gaining international exposure is almost essential for their growth.
Moreover, as children accumulate experiences, develop basic appreciation for music, painting, sculpture, and gain simple knowledge of world geography and history, you can introduce art-themed travel. This helps turn textbook knowledge into real-life sights and tactile experiences.
? Scenic Beauty
Travel is a bit like falling in love—you want to meet the right person at the right time, and witness the most beautiful scenery at its most stunning moment. That kind of beauty and awe can be truly unforgettable.
There are many popular online travel timing guides you can refer to. Domestically, for example: visit Hainan in January or February, travel to regions south of the Yangtze River in March, go to Guilin, Huangshan, or Lushan in April, head to Xiamen or Taiwan in May, Zhangjiajie in June, Yunnan in July, Qingdao or Dalian or grasslands in August, Xinjiang in September, Jiuzhaigou in October, Guizhou in November, and Hong Kong in December. These can serve as guidance when choosing destinations. Similar guides exist for international travel, though I won’t list them all here—you can search for those yourself.
However, these guides should also be adjusted based on your child’s age and actual interests when picking a destination. For example, Harbin in January—with its miles of ice and snow—is a great spot for skiing and winter vacations. But it’s not recommended for children under 5 or 6, as the bitter cold can be tough on their immune systems. Any illness would ruin the fun. On the other hand, summer in Harbin is cool and pleasant, making it a great place to escape the heat.
Another example: everyone says December is a good time to visit Hong Kong, but in my experience, going during Christmas isn’t ideal. Mall promotions are limited, airfare and hotel prices soar, and places like Disneyland and Ocean Park are packed with long queues wasting precious time.
? The Interests of Adults and Children
If parents were seasoned travelers before their child was born and have explored many places both domestically and abroad, they can focus more on the child’s needs. However, such people are few and far between. For most, traveling with a young child is about fulfilling their own long-held dream of exploring the world. In such cases, the interests of both adults and children should be considered together.
Additionally, other family circumstances should also be taken into account. For example, if I were planning the trip myself, I probably wouldn’t take my child to a distant country like the United States before elementary school. But my husband only has holidays during National Day, so when traveling then, we’d prioritize his preferences.
%?How to plan trips for children of different ages?
Overall, before my child starts elementary school, I focus mainly on domestic travel. We go abroad once every National Day. Traveling internationally during that time helps us avoid the overwhelming crowds in China and ensures a high-quality trip.
I hope to take my child to see the beautiful landscapes of China before she finishes elementary school, allowing her to experience different rivers and mountains and the changing scenery across the seasons, thereby fostering an early love for our country and its people.
After she starts middle school, the focus will shift to international travel — firstly to broaden her horizons and learn about different cultures around the world, and secondly to understand the advanced systems, cultures, and the reasons behind them, laying a foundation for important life choices ahead.
Of course, considering the current situation, I’ll also take her to historically and culturally rich world-famous cities during summer vacations after she starts elementary school.
For instance, visiting India to see its long history and culture, and even the stark wealth gap caused by the caste system;
visiting Turkey to see the ruins of Troy and the birthplaces of Western history and culture such as ancient Persia, ancient Greece, and ancient Rome;
visiting Prague to admire city architecture from different periods and styles, and even to observe the varying impacts of the color revolutions on Eastern European countries;
visiting France to explore its numerous museums;
visiting Rome to see the street sculptures that are commonplace in books; visiting Florence to witness its city planning, unchanged since the Middle Ages and enviable even by many modern Chinese cities...
I believe that in such travels, history and geography will be deeply engraved in the child’s mind through their fascinating stories, no longer as dull, off-putting concepts from my childhood textbooks.
%?What preparations did I make for my child’s travels?
Next, I’d like to focus on travel preparation — not the kind that involves packing clothes and luggage, but rather preparing physically, mentally, and especially culturally for the journey.
Systematic Cultural Education
For other countries around the world, I’m currently giving Tiantian a systematic introduction to various nations. Through picture books, fairy tales, poems, movies, and animations, I’m helping her form initial impressions and develop an interest in these countries.
I hope that when she eventually visits these places, she’ll feel a sense of familiarity and closeness, as if meeting old friends in a foreign land. That feeling of something being both familiar and yet new will be wonderful!
Music Appreciation Preparation
In daily life, I expose her to classical music (though this exposure isn’t solely for travel purposes). Starting at age four, she attends music appreciation classes to cultivate her ability to perceive and understand music, as well as to learn about great composers from both Chinese and Western classical music traditions.
This way, when she later visits musically and artistically rich countries like Germany and Austria, the sights and sounds will come alive for her.
Art Interest Cultivation
From a young age, I’ve taken her to various museums and art galleries to expose her to art. Gradually, she’s gone from not minding the outings to finding museum visits ordinary, and eventually to enjoying them.
This will be a rather lengthy process. If she went at age five, I doubt she’d last more than half an hour with patience. So perhaps it’s better to postpone that Paris museum trip for now (of course, there are always exceptional children who could spend all day in a museum at just five or six years old — but those prodigies are not what we’re talking about here).
Language Learning
I hope that the process of traveling with my child won’t just be about what parents teach or point out, but more about her own journey of discovery and wonder.
If she finds herself in a foreign country where she can’t understand a word anyone says, the joy of travel would definitely be diminished.
Of course, learning many languages isn’t realistic, but being able to communicate basics in English — the global lingua franca — will greatly enhance the travel experience.
Physical Exercise
Taking children on trips can be stressful, especially when they get sick—any illness can disrupt the whole itinerary. Additionally, medical facilities vary greatly while traveling, so I’ve made it a point since they were young to help them build up their physical strength. Of course, getting in shape is definitely not just for the sake of travel.
Luckily, Tiantian has been doing wonderfully—after so many trips, she’s always bouncing around like a little deer, full of energy and cheer.
All of the above efforts are still ongoing and will continue throughout my life.