Why a Family Member May Be the Best Travel Buddy

My dad is one of the most supportive and loving people on the planet.  While he doesn’t openly show his feelings (like most dads), he shows them in little ways, like always being at my soccer games, or watching our TV shows together.  As I’ve gotten older, I appreciate these things more and more. What I didn’t expect, however, was to enjoy traveling with my dad as much as I have/do.

When I lived at home, one of the weeks we looked forward to was Shark Week (it’s gone downhill since,  but we still love sharks). Seeing Great White sharks breach in South Africa was some of the coolest footage we’d seen, and we kept saying how cool it would be to see it in person!  My mother got tired of hearing this for a while and said “why not go then?” And so it began.

Next year, 2020, I’ll have traveled to six continents and nine countries with my dad.

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Lion Sands, South Africa, Safari
Dad and I with our guide and tracker at Lion Sands Sabi Sands.

In 2012, my dad and I finally listened to my mom and decided to go to South Africa for ten days after I graduated with my Master’s degree and before I moved out. It was 4 days in Cape Town and 4 days on safari at Lion Sands Sabi Sands (right next to Kruger National Park).  Going to be fully honest, even though I know my dad is reading this, I was a little nervous. When traveling, typically we had my brother and mother as buffers, and traveling brings out the worst in people. This had a 50/50 shot of being amazing or being terrible. I mean, a 16 hour direct flight from New York to Johannesburg, followed by a short flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town is enough to make anyone in a bad mood.  Luckily, it wasn’t bad at all, it was epic!

Visiting an elephant sanctuary in South Africa.

While we didn’t get to go shark diving because of the weather, we did visit Seal Island, Table Mountain, and take a helicopter ride over Cape Town.  While I was disappointed, and yes, I cried about the sharks, my dad kept his calm and just said “it is what it is, but we’re still in South Africa and there’s nothing we can do about nature.”  That’s when I realized he’s a great travel buddy! He was calm, cool, and collected – three things that I definitely wasn’t!

In 2014, my family decided to go to Kenya, with a stopover in Amsterdam, on another safari. It was me, my husband, my mother-in-law, my father, my brother, my aunt, and my cousin.  This was another epic trip of seeing animals in the wild and exploring a new country.   We were all adults and it felt like I was on a group trip with friends. 

​Before both of these trips, people were concerned about my safety.  There is a lot of preconceived ideas about Africa as an entire continent (not even just the countries – the ENTIRE continent).   I never once felt unsafe during these trips.  I don’t know if that’s because the people are friendly, or if because I had an older man with me, but either way I was never concerned.  

Some of the group on a hot air baloon over the Maasai Mara, Kenya.
Antarctica
Dad & I after the worst night’s sleep in Antarctica.

In 2017, my dad decided that he wanted to go with me as I hit my goal of hitting all seven continents by 30, and we embarked on our longest trip yet.   Three weeks between Argentina, Antarctica, and Uruguay.  It was so much better than doing this trip on my own.    There was a lot of waiting – sailing through massive mountain ranges, waiting for our group to be called, waiting to get off the boat, waiting to get on the boat – it could have gotten lonely.  It was great to have someone to talk to, laugh with, and just hang out with. 

In 2018, we took a family trip to Costa Rica for a week – my mom, dad, brother, and husband.  This trip was more relaxing than our typical adrenaline vacations – plenty of beach and pool time!  Even on that trip, dad and I did a full day tour with tubing down a river, horseback riding, and visiting a chocolateir.  This trip was an awesome way just to hang out and reconnect with my family in a beautiful location! 

Next year we’re heading to India with my brother and husband to go on a tiger safari and I cannot wait!
Traveling with my dad (and all of my family) has strengthened our relationships in ways that only travel can.  Camping in tents in Antarctica, and racing in a jeep to see a leopard in South Africa, or learning to tango in Buenos Aires are memories that I have with my dad that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

Instead of just looking at friends as travel buddies, look to the people closest to you.  You may be pleasantly surprised at what you discover.

​How about you?  Have you ever traveled with family as an adult? Comment below! 

1 thought on “Why a Family Member May Be the Best Travel Buddy”

  1. I was planning a trip with my friends but after reading your blog, i decided to go with my family to spend quality time with them.
    Thanks for your guide.

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