What Our Kids Really Think About Travelling the World

One of the questions we get asked the most is whether the kids actually enjoy travelling full-time.

We are six months in, and honestly, there’s no simple answer to that.

Some days they absolutely love it. Other days they’re tired, emotional, frustrated or just over moving around. Which is probably pretty normal considering they left behind their home, friends, routines and everything familiar to travel the world with us.

What’s surprised us most is how quickly kids normalise things that still feel unusual to adults.

Airports. Long travel days. Different countries. Different languages. Scooter rides through busy streets. It all just becomes life.

I remember early in Vietnam when crossing roads felt completely insane to Kia and I. We’d stand there waiting for gaps in traffic that never came while scooters flew past from every direction.

The kids adapted to it far quicker than we did.

That’s probably been one of the biggest themes of this whole trip actually. The kids adapting faster than the adults.

At first, they definitely missed home.

Their friends. Their own beds. Familiar foods. Lulu. The comfort of knowing exactly how life worked.

There were emotional days early on where the excitement wore off and reality kicked in a bit. Days where everyone was tired. Days where nobody wanted to do schoolwork. Days where they just wanted familiarity again.

But we’ve learned those moments usually pass pretty quickly.

A few hours later they’re swimming somewhere, riding scooters, making friends with kids from another country or talking about the next thing they want to do.

One thing we’ve noticed is how differently kids experience places compared to adults.

Kia and I might remember somewhere because of the culture, scenery or lifestyle.

The kids often remember completely different things.

Austria became skiing and snowboarding.

Vietnam became scooter rides, swimming pools and freedom.

Lake Garda became tennis lessons, bike riding and bread roll runs.

Morocco became quad bikes, surfing and the chaos of the medinas.

Some of their favourite memories are things adults would barely think twice about.

A bakery. A swimming pool. A couch in an apartment. A cat they met somewhere.

Watching their confidence grow has probably been one of the most rewarding parts of this trip.

When we first left Australia, even small unfamiliar situations could feel overwhelming for them.

Now they confidently walk into shops, order food, meet other kids and adapt to environments we would’ve thought impossible for them to handle a year ago.

They’ve become far more flexible and resilient than we expected.

Worldschooling has definitely had its challenges though.

There are mornings where everyone is motivated and focused, and other mornings where nobody wants to look at maths or writing.

We’ve slowly realised that learning on the road doesn’t always look the way we imagined before leaving home.

Some of the biggest learning moments have happened outside any workbook.

Different cultures. Different currencies. Conversations with people from around the world. Constantly adapting to unfamiliar environments.

Education has become much bigger than just schoolwork.

The kids have changed socially too.

Back home, friendships were mostly built around school and routine. Travelling has taught them how to quickly connect with people from completely different backgrounds.

It’s actually pretty amazing watching kids do this.

Within half an hour at a campground, beach or resort, they’ve usually found other kids and formed their own little world together.

Then a few days later, everyone moves on again.

At first that seemed sad.

Now it just feels like part of travelling.

I think one of the funniest things about travelling with kids is how quickly they become experts at judging places.

Not based on scenery or history.

Based on snacks, pools, playgrounds, Wi-Fi quality and whether the accommodation has a good couch.

And honestly, they’re probably right half the time.

What’s probably changed most though is the amount of time we all spend together.

Back home, life revolved around separate routines. Work, school, sport and constantly rushing between commitments.

Now we’re together almost every day.

Sometimes that’s amazing.

Sometimes everyone needs space.

But overall, we know we’re getting time together now that we probably never would’ve had otherwise.

And that’s become one of the biggest gifts of this trip.

Not perfect family moments every day.

Just more time together inside ordinary life.