Teenagers! That word alone might fill a parent with dread. How many times have parents heard, “just wait until they’re teenagers!”? Yikes!
For some reason society tells us that we won’t know or even like our kids anymore as soon as they enter adolescence. Seriously, it is time to flip that perspective…
I absolutely love the teenage stage with my children: they’re witty, they’re tuning into themselves, they’re making important decisions, they’re sharing amazing observations of the world, they’re growing into their own voices, they’re deciding who they are and what they want out of life… and I get to watch them stumble-step into adulthood.
Stumble-stepping at an Upside-Down House.
This time is so dear! Because we all know what’s around the next corner: Adult Children 😮
… and adult kids are cool, too... but the time we have with our teens, when we are part of each other’s everyday lives, is a precious stage. I encourage you to embrace this time just as much as you did snuggling their warm little fuzzy heads when they were younger.
And sometimes that means we get to embrace travel with our teens! But this thought scares some parents.
They say teens are moody and have the ability to ruin everyone's trip if they're unhappy (special teen super power). Yes, that's true... but it's also 100% possible to accommodate your teen and their interests. Heck, if they can help with the planning, they might be more vested in the travels.
Of course not all teens want to help, but parents still can incorporate teen-friendly travel destinations and activities. This gives the teens fun things to anticipate or, at bare minimum, they will know their parents really do want them to enjoy the trip!
Astana, Kazakhstan: They Didn't Even Coordinate the Faces
Our Brief Travel Background:
My kids were born in 2004, 2007, and 2009.
We traveled as much as possible as soon as they joined our family.
In 2014 we sold everything.
In 2018 we started fulltime travel at ages 8, 11, and 13.
Our worldschool adventures started with one tween and one teen. They quickly whipped us into shape – as foolish parents, we thought our full-time travels would be driven by our adult-desired destinations, but we quickly learned that our kids had opinions, too! Also, the “squeaky wheel gets the grease” (a saying that means whoever complains the loudest, is heard and accommodated).
For us, our squeakiest wheel has been the eldest child in the household. Seems like if the oldest kid is happy, the rest of the crew is more content, too (perhaps because the eldest is more engaged with the travel and less engaged with pestering the younger siblings - 😂).
Salem, Kemaya, & Rachel in Georgia -- Their Faces Say They Love Travel! 🤣
So how do you find engaging travel for teens? Lighten up... be goofy... do some things their way... but most importantly, bring their interests into account any way possible!
One more thought I'll add: Teens can get grumbly... but it doesn't necessarily mean they are unappreciative. If our kids know we're their safety net, they will feel comfortable grumbling to us. They might just be unhappy about the circumstance... and grumbling is an easy way to release those emotions with a safe person. It doesn't necessarily translate to them being unhappy with our honest effort to accommodate their wants/needs while making a travel plan.
Here are some easy-to-incorporate travel themes for your teens (PS, I also encourage you to schedule afternoon and evening activities to accommodate sleeping in):
🍕Favorite Cuisine🍲
Visit that country/region and take a cooking class, find a food tour, visit the local markets, or enroll in culinary school there.
If they're really serious about cuisine, put your teens to work: Have your teens research recommended local foods and restaurants via blogs, guide books, Google reviews, or the Michelin Guide. Do not automatically dismiss Michelin restaurants due to the cost… it depends where you are! We happened into a Michelin recognized restaurant in Penang, Malaysia, and had a fabulous meal – I bet there was 6 or 8 of us and our entire bill was US$40-50 total… not even enough for one entree at many Michelin destinations!
What else is fun for teens? Food apps like ordering Grab, UberEats, Door Dash, etc, to wherever you are -- in the park, at a beach, or even at a dinner show (not kidding, my friend did this because the food was subpar!).
In many parts of the world “night markets” are a big deal – loads of stalls where you can sample a huge variety of foods. Sometimes everyone sits at community tables, other times you just walk and nibble or find a bench in the area.
And you know what else teens like? Pizza parlors, fast food chains, coffeeshops, and mall food courts. Not every meal needs to be a cultural experience -- we know that the KFC chicken in South Korea is touted to be the best in the world by our KFC aficionado worldschool friends!
Pro Tip: Another idea is an all-inclusive resort or a cruise so they can taste all the foods without additional price tags. We haven't done this but I have a friend with a teenage boy who seriously appreciated being able to order a big steak for dinner every night!
Night Markets, Cooking Classes, and Buffets around the World
🎬Favorite Movies / Shows 🍿
We plan to visit the castle from Netflix's Wednesday as well as Star Wars filming locations here & here in 2025. Game of Thrones has loads of filming locations and we happened into them in Northern Ireland and Spain (not that Game of Thrones is a kids’ show… but the filming locations are amazing on their own accord).
We’ve also been to sites from Jurassic Park in Hawaii and Wednesday’s classroom greenhouse in Bucharest. We've visited themed cafes for Lord of the Rings & Harry Potter movies and Friends TV series. What about studio tours or visiting Hollywood and the Walk of Fame? Oh, and an absolute favorite – Hobbiton in New Zealand!
Hobbiton is absolutely charming and we learned loads about the filming of perspective to make characters appear larger or smaller in relation to each other and the rest of the set. If you ever have a chance to go, it’s worth the splurge – and make reservations EARLY. Even though we booked months in advance, we could not book the lunch or dinner buffet, but we did get a cup of ale at the Green Dragon pub at the end of the tour.
Game of Thrones Locations in Italica Spain & Dark Hedges Northern Ireland | Hobbiton
💃 Friends 🕺
Can you bring along a friend or travel to where other friends are? We’ve had travel buddies stay with us, as well as sent our kids off with other friends’ travels. It’s fun to switch up the household dynamics and kids always love having peers around (usually to commiserate on how rotten their parents are).
You don't just have to swap kids, you can share the same residence with other worldschool families! We’ve done a little bit of coliving in the same home and quite a bit of renting apartments in the same complex so kids can use the facilities together (like the pool and game rooms). I highly recommend the staying in separate apartments at the same facility because everyone has their own private space at the end of the day. The coliving can be tricky, so try to make sure you have a good group of compatible and flexible people with similar expectations for behaviors, cleaning, times to run the television/screens, times to eat, who unloads the dishwasher, etc.
Other ideas include looking teen-specific gatherings: homeschool fairs & conventions, community camping trips, scouting groups, family camps, teen camps, etc. Here are some worldschool communities: Where Do I Find Worldschool Community?
Meeting Buddies around the World -- Shots from Malaysia, Azerbaijan, & Georgia
🧸Something Familiar🙂
Is there something from “home” that feels familiar but still is a cultural experience because it’s different than what you’d get in your passport country? We had a stage where we frequented Starbucks and Costco stores around the world. They are so different (yet the same) wherever we travel.
You can also find other chain stores: restaurants & fast food, coffeeshops, clothing stores, grocers, etc. I used to be embarrassed about visiting these businesses because (goshdarnit!) we are traveling to see the world and experience the local ways of doing things… however, as we looked at the Starbucks interiors, the Costco products, the McDonald’s local menus (spicy bacon sweet potato pie in Tokyo), I realized that we were getting a different spin on these iconic companies from our passport country.
Not only that, but we were learning about international business and how they merged with the local environment. It’s rather fascinating and I am glad my kids gave me the push to explore these familiar spaces in less familiar surroundings.
So Many Starbucks and Costcos!! (note the Costco in Merida, Mexico, has a cenote in the parking lot -- local culture!)
☠ Human Tragedy ⚔
(I don't say this lightly, please use discretion depending on your children's ages, temperaments, and maturity)
We've visited torture museums and historically significant places where people have been victims of political repression and genocide. For us, this has included numerous war and Holocaust museums and memorials around the world as well as Dachau Concentration Camp in Germany and Killing Fields in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Auschwitz is on our list for November 2024.
Though some destinations like the typical medieval torture museum go for the shock factor, others have been carefully curated to highlight the local history… for instance in Toledo Spain, the torture museum explains the Spanish Inquisition and how the local population was treated based on its religious beliefs (or proclaimed religious beliefs). Shortly after that, we visited the jaw-dropping Toledo Cathedral with 7 stories of gold gilt decor.... which made my kids question how, exactly, that cathedral was funded. Very relevant.
As always, these subjects are difficult to learn about, but, they also deserve our attention as we realize how many lives and cultures have been shaped and destroyed by religious expansion, power struggles, colonialism, and genocide. Gently prepare your children ahead of time the best you can and always provide space afterwards for reflection and thoughtful conversation.
Dachau Concentration Camp | State Museum in Memoir of the Victims of the Repression (Tashkent, Uzbekistan) | Pictures at the Merida Mexico's Government Palace Depicting Colonial Repression | Seoul's Seodaemun Prison | DMZ between North & South Korea
🏰History Buff or Architecture Lover 🏯
I’ve met kids who are super knowledgeable about WWII or aviation or art history or UNESCO World Heritage sites… I have a teen who drags her younger brother through cathedrals in Germany and hikes him up and down ruins in Turkey. This may be a devious way to torture him, but they also start to notice the structures & features that have stood the test of time.
There are so many areas of the world that bring textbooks alive when you’re there on the ground! Visit the forts, the battlegrounds, the ancient towns (I love wondering whose feet walked the same cobblestones we’re traversing), cathedrals & mosques & temples, niche museums, homes & workspaces of historic figures, historic libraries… and let the kids do some of the research! Let them find a captivating place according to their interests.
Turkey | Normandy
🪂 Adventure Seeker 🚣
Oh boy, this is where it gets fun: zip lining, white water rafting, ghost hunting, rock climbing & bouldering, bungee jumping, ATV rides, amusement parks, off-roading, water skiing, jet boating, sand boarding, sky diving & indoor sky diving, surfing, skiing & snowboarding, mountain biking… there are loads of options out there. And, good news for your budget, some of these activities are quite reasonable while traveling.
Depending on where you’re exploring you may find very reasonable rates for these activities that are a fraction of the cost compared to your passport country (again, depends on passport country and home currency as well).
Rollercoasters | Skiing | Indoor Climbing | Archery | Ropes Course | Banana Boat Rides (snow & water)
🎮 Gamer 👾
One of my children loves to play video games such as Fortnite, Valorant, Minecraft, and more. He uses gaming to keep in touch with friends all around the world. We could be somewhere in Europe and he can connect with friends in the US and SE Asia… but not everywhere we go has good ‘ping’ or WiFi.
Some of this kid’s favorite travel places have been where we are near the Fortnite servers. We have to chuckle because he will say that he liked the museums or food or parks in a certain area… but when we crosscheck his favorite places (Tokyo, Paris, etc.) many of them correlate with proximity to the Fortnite servers. This means ping is low (ping measures the delay in your game) and your computer is quickly sending/receiving information to the server. Good ping is super advantageous for a competitive edge.
We also know of Pokémon lovers who visit Japan to collect unusual characters or families that try to attend GameSchoolCon every year. There are Nintendo stores, gaming conventions, game expos, board game cafes, etc.
🦘 Animal & Nature Lover 🌿
There are loads of options for these kids: national parks, safaris, nature reserves, trekking, animal sanctuaries (please do your research, not all are humane), rain forests, UNESCO Natural Heritage locations, walking the Camino de Santiago, visiting animal rehab centers, helping with a turtle hatchling release, whale watching cruises, visiting all the biomes of the world, sports fishing, natural history museums, zoos… the list is endless.
Sometimes we easily bump into wildlife as we travel, other times we make a specific effort to see a certain animal in its natural habitat. Many national parks have programs for kids including volunteer opportunities depending on their ages. It just takes a little digging to find compatible activities in the destination you choose to visit.. or do it the other way around: choose your destination based on the nature you want to see! Note: Not all sanctuaries are humane, do your due diligence before you visit.
I should also mention there are places in the world where the stray cats and dogs are very friendly, the community takes care of them and you’ll often see that they’re tagged to record which ones have been vaccinated and spayed/neutered. Greece, Turkey, Georgia… these have all been areas where the strays are beloved by the community and are happy to hang out with you.
Tame Horses in Georgia | Street Cats Making Buddies in Turkey (also note: ruins & Starbucks)
🎸 Musician / Music Lover 🎶
What style of music does your teen enjoy? Find a festival, visit Nashville or New Orleans, attend a concert (I have a few friends who go to concerts abroad because tickets are too expensive in their passport country), visit the house where Mozart grew up, look for outdoor concert series like “jazz in the park” or “classics at the square.”
Many destinations have events sites which list interesting happenings around town such as “lunchtime live” or open mic at a coffee shop. Check the local university’s recital schedule or look into local opera / ballet / dance performances at the local performing arts center.
Churches and cathedrals sometimes have free concerts to showcase their acoustics and choir or organ. Are you near a theater district? Catch a show! We’ve found many productions that entertain the whole family. Oh man, I almost forgot: go sing karaoke!!
⚽Sports Fan🥊
Attend a sports camp, visit your favorite team’s home stadium, go to Athens and tour the first Olympic stadium, go to a sports competition, seek competitions to compete in while you travel, join a local climbing gym or jiujitsu studio or arial silks class while you travel, attend a professional sporting event, look for festivals such as Nomad Games or the Highland Games, find the Sporting Hall of Fame for your favorite sport, watch a local secondary school game, or travel with sporting gear and invite local kids to join the fun.
Again, it takes a little creativity to find the right opportunities for your sports lover, but nearly every destination will have a way to weave sports into your plan.