Where To First? Our Family Travel Plans
We promised an unfiltered view of full-time family travelling — and this blog is exactly that. You’re seeing what’s happening behind the scenes as we prepare to take our two toddlers around the world.
The House Is Sold
The first, and one of the scariest, steps is done: the house is sold.
We had a few wobbles along the way. What if it didn’t sell? What if after telling everyone our plans, we couldn’t go? But the bigger wobble was how easy it would have been to just carry on with “normal life.” That thought felt crushing.
Even if all we do is travel a few countries and then settle again when our youngest starts school in 2026, at least we’ll know we tried. To not go at all would have been the real failure.
Deciding on Our First Stop
With the house sale behind us, the next question is: where do we go first?
It’s a lot of pressure. We want a destination that isn’t too demanding for the kids, but still gives us a sense of adventure. We want it challenging enough that we feel it, but not so tough that we break.
Right now, we’re weighing up three options:
An American road trip
A route through Southern Europe
A North Africa and Middle East adventure (Morocco, Egypt, Jordan)
American Road Trip
America has always held a special place for me. I first fell in love with it through American Football, and as a Jacksonville Jaguars fan, I made it my mission to visit whenever I could.
We don’t “holiday” in America — we live it. We rent apartments, shop in supermarkets, and blend into daily life. That’s why an American road trip was the obvious first idea.
The challenge is cost. A Florida-only trip comes in at around £9,500. A Deep South road trip (Carolina–Tennessee–Louisiana–Florida) rises to £12,000. Going coast-to-coast would cost even more. For a seven-week test run before my sister’s January wedding, it’s a steep start.
Southern Europe
Southern Europe was another option. Places like the Canary Islands, Southern Spain, or Turkey would give us sunshine, culture, and celebration space for Christmas, New Year, and our daughter’s birthday.
Estimated cost: £4,000–£8,000 depending on where we stay and what we do. More affordable, but we’d planned to skip Europe for now, and December weather is mixed.
Morocco, Egypt and Jordan
And then there’s this option — our favourite. Slightly scary because it’s “proper travelling” in places so different from our life in the UK, but it’s also the most exciting.
By January, we could have:
Bartered in the markets of Marrakesh
Camped in the Sahara Desert
Stood at the base of the Pyramids of Giza
Floated in the Dead Sea
Walked through the ancient city of Petra
Splashed in the Red Sea
Not a bad list for seven weeks. And the cost? Around £6,500. For us, that’s incredible value compared to the US.
What’s Next?
We don’t have exact dates yet, so nothing can be booked. But we know the practical steps: notify schools and doctors, get immunisations, and sort passports.
When the starter gun fires, we’ll be ready to go. And our first stop? You’ll find out soon…
