Featured Family Friday - Are We There Yet Kids • Travel Blog

We first discovered Karen from Are We There Yet Kids when we were researching for our upcoming trip to Kuala Lumpur and stumbled upon her travel blog! If you’re looking for some tips, head over to there to find so much amazing content!

Tell Us About Your Family!

Hi there, I’m Karen and I’m a family travel blogger over at Are We There Yet Kids https://www.arewethereyetkids.com . My travel partner is Piper, our nine year old daughter, a smart and funny little ball of energy who luckily shares my passion for seeing the world. We sometimes take Nigel, her Dad along on our travels but often it’s just the two of us. Our little family of three (4 if you include our dog Holly) is based in a tiny village in Staffordshire, UK. Although we absolutely love our home base, we travel as much as time and finances allow and have visited over 40 countries so far.

What led you to the decision to become a traveling family?

I’m an ex retail buyer which is where my passion for travel began, I visited many different parts of the world on sourcing trips and trade shows and although the crazy hours and long commute became impossible after I had a baby, I knew I didn’t want to give up exploring as much of the planet as I could. This is why, after several years of procrastinating, I set up the blog and haven’t looked back since.

I always hoped to raise Piper to be as comfortable in a shack on the beach as she is at home in the UK suburbs and to have a deep appreciation of other cultures and lifestyles. So far we’ve definitely managed to achieve this and I’m proud of how quickly she manages to adapt to new places – although heat does make her grumpy at times.

What are some of the highs and/or lows of being a traveling family?

Being an only child when traveling can be tough. Piper has no playmate to turn to in down time so I am, at times, her only entertainment. We’ve learnt to adapt to this by bringing along plenty of activity books, little packs of lego and making sure we get out and explore as much as possible. Playgrounds and swimming pools have become her favourite places to meet kids her own age and I love how she has learnt to make friends so quickly and easily, even when there’s a language barrier.

The highs for me are definitely seeing the world through Piper’s eyes, she notices more and has forced me to slow down to take it all in too. We make sure to schedule in plenty of breaks so spend a lot of time discussing our days, thoughts and feelings which means we understand each other more than when we are home rushing from school to clubs to homework.

We recently took a day trip to Koh Madsum, just off Koh Samui in Thailand. We stopped to snorkel in the clearest sea I’ve seen and chased the pigs roaming freely on the Island. It was a wonderful experience for my animal obsessed daughter. The island only had bucket toilets which Piper really struggled with but she’s learnt to take the good and laugh at the bad!

What are some places you think every traveling family should visit? Are there any places you wouldn’t recommend?

I can’t get enough of South East Asia, the people are friendly, the scenery is breathtaking and your hard earned travel money goes so much further. I’ve always felt at home in Thailand but have recently discovered a deep love for Vietnam. Singapore and Hong Kong are also great places for first time travelers to South East Asia.

I don’t think there is anywhere I wouldn’t recommend, there is family fun to be found in most places, you just have to do your research. We’re recently back from Las Vegas, and whilst it’s far from my ideal family friendly destination we still found plenty of fun things to do.

What advice would you give to other families looking to take the leap into long term travel?

I’d say try it out first. Extended periods of travel are very different to a week long family holiday to a resort. See how the kids are for 3 weeks or more, do they get excessively home sick, miss grandparents, friends or pets. Can they cope with different weather, food and culture? I think the more you do it, the easier it gets, so head off the beaten path and give it a go. People either love it or hate it – you’ll know pretty quickly.

How do you afford to travel long term?

My husband works in the Corporate world so we’re pretty lucky to have his salary to keep our home base going whilst we’re on the road. The blog covers most of the travel costs and has encouraged me to check out places where we get more for our money. We like a bit of luxury but I do hours of research to ensure we stay within budget. Staying away from the most popular places also saves a load of money. For example when we wanted to visit Amsterdam on our Interrailing trip around Europe we stayed in Utrecht which is only 20 minutes away by train and equally as charming.