If you’re anything like me, January rolls around, and the simple question of “Where should we take our family vacation this year?!” overwhelms your brain. And if you’re anything like me, odds are you want to show your kids the world! You want to take them everywhere! But then you’re met with the reality of schedules, limited time off work and school, and, of course, budgets. If that all sounds familiar, then creating a family travel bucket list might be just the solution you’re looking for.
You see, a couple of years ago, my husband and I found ourselves on a two-hour car ride making our way to a friend’s destination wedding. To pass the time, we came up with a dream family travel bucket list. I should probably note that I am a planner, and I’m always making goal lists and vision boards and thinking five years out. But it proved a very fun way to pass the time.
Once we were done, I shared a screenshot of the family travel bucket list we came up with on my Instagram stories and was blown away by the response to it. To this day, I still get DMs asking to share it again from people wanting to create their own travel bucket lists for their families. What people really seem to like is how we matched up our dream destinations with the ideal ages for our boys to visit. The age/destination alignment is completely arbitrary, and we could learn that our best guesses are wildly wrong, but it was fun to do, and now we have a guide each year for where we should go next. It also takes the pressure off of feeling like all these trips need to happen this year (!!!) or they’ll never happen.
How to Create Your Family Travel Bucket List
Creating a family travel bucket list is one of the best ways to inspire adventure, organize vacations, and make memories that last a lifetime. Whether you have toddlers, tweens, or teens, building a bucket list together ensures every trip has purpose and fun.
“Our family bucket list started as a dream on paper, and it quickly became a guide for our most memorable trips.” — Alaina Kaz, CEO
This guide gives you age-based bucket list ideas, tips for how to build your own, and inspiration to make travel a true family adventure.
Building Your Family Bucket List
Building a bucket list is more than just writing down destinations. Here’s a simple framework you can follow:
- Dream Big Together: Brainstorm destinations, attractions, and experiences. From national parks to cultural cities. Include the whole family in the conversation.
- Match Ideas to Ages & Interests: Consider what’s realistic and fun for your kids’ current age.
- Plan & Prioritize: Not everything fits in one trip. Use your list to plan trips across the year or over several years.
- Make It Interactive: Let kids vote or research their favorite ideas; print it out as a visual “bucket list board.”
- Check Logistics: The biggest thing to consider is the budget for making all of this happen and determining a realistic timeline for taking said trips. Perhaps your goal, like us, is to take one big family trip a year. Perhaps you have some longer, international trips on your bucket list and know that may require saving for a few years or longer. Maybe you shoot for a big family trip every 3-5 years.
- Leave room for spontaneity: As they say, the best-laid plans… this family travel bucket list is meant to be fun and act as a guideline if you want something like that in your life. We all know that plans can change. Opportunities arise, and budgets shift. Have fun with this! If it doesn’t all go exactly as you planned, that is fine.
My Personal Family Travel Bucket List
Without further ado, here is the list my husband and I settled on during that little road trip two years ago. We approached it with the mindset of, “If we could be so fortunate as to take a big family trip every year, where would we want to go?” We feel zero pressure that this has to happen; it more so acts as a guide we can keep referring back to. At the minimum, maybe it will spark some inspiration as you look to build your own family travel bucket list. Happy and safe travels!
2020-2022: Because of COVID-19 and having babies and toddlers, we chose not to take big trips and instead did local road trips to Michigan lake houses.
2023: Florida (beach vacation) – 3 and 4 years old
2024: Mexico – 4 and 5 years old
2025: Disney World – 5 and 6 years old
2026: British Virgin Islands – 6 and 7 years old
2027: Costa Rica – 7 and 8 years old
2028: Italy – 8 and 9 years old
2029: National Parks Road Trip – 9 and 10 years old
2030: France: Paris and South – 11 and 12 years old
2031: New Zealand – 10 and 11 years old
2032: Greece – 12 and 13 years old
2033: Switzerland and Austria – 13 and 14 years old
2034: Month-long Asia trip (Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, China) – 14 and 15 years old
2035: Norway – 15 and 16 years old
2036: Scotland / England / Ireland – 16 and 17 years old
2037: Rio / Patagonia – 17 and 18 years old
Our other dream trips
- Germany/Poland (our ancestry)
- British Columbia
- Japan
- India
- Chile
“Our family tries to check off at least one big bucket list adventure every year. Seeing the kids’ eyes light up when we finally arrive at a long-awaited destination? That’s priceless.” — Alaina Kaz, CEO
More Family Travel Bucket List Ideas by Age
Toddlers & Preschoolers
- Visit a kid-friendly zoo or aquarium
- Explore national or state parks with stroller-friendly trails
- Take a beach vacation with gentle waves and sand play
- Ride a family-friendly train or scenic ferry
Elementary School Age
- Disney parks or other theme parks
- Interactive museums and science centers
- Historical cities with kid-friendly tours
- Overnight camping trip with nature activities
Tweens & Teens
- European city explorations (Paris, Rome, Barcelona)
- Adventure trips: snorkeling, zip-lining, or white-water rafting
- Volunteering trips or cultural immersion experiences
- Amusement parks and iconic landmarks
Tips for Making Your Bucket List Work
- Rotate Interests: Include activities that appeal to each family member.
- Plan Realistically: Avoid packing too much; leave room for spontaneous fun.
- Capture the Memories: Take photos or journal to track which bucket list items you’ve completed.
- Revisit & Update: Your family travel bucket list can grow as your kids grow.
Alaina Kaz, Chief Executive Officer
Alaina is the Chief Executive Officer, sole owner, and cofounder of The Everygirl and The Everymom. She is a mom to sons Henry and Charlie.
