I know this might sound surprising but Chris and I have been together for a little over eight years and we have never been away anywhere together, whether that be abroad or staying in the UK. When we first met we were both always working then we had children and then it just never happened. It's definitely one of the things we wished we'd done before children.
That said, we don't have regrets. We don't think that the children stopped us from travelling places but I do think it makes it a little harder when you have a family. We have had occasions in the past where we probably could have gone away but then there has been an unexpected bill or more school uniforms to buy and it's just been a little difficult. I am a very anxious person since having my eldest so travelling with young babies or toddlers kind of gives me the fear! Now that C and E are almost 6 and 4, I know (or hope!) that it would be easy plus I feel that because they are a little older, wherever we go would have a lot more things that are suited to them and their ages.
We live up in Northern Ireland so whilst it would be easy to pack up the car, jump in and drive to Dublin, Donegal, or wherever we fancied, I would love a change of scenery. After following so many fellow bloggers that are based on the mainland and seeing their beautiful Instagram photographs of the areas in which they live, I've mentally compiled a list of some places I'd love to see. London for the tourist sites and the Natural History Museum and the Jurassic Coast are my top two but I know the children would adore Legoland Windsor. Of course, having to cross a large body of water to get there is bound to hike the price up as realistically we'd want to take the car so that involves paying to take it on the ferry then driving to our destination.
I've written before about how I never want to pay full price for anything. If I can find a bargain or way to get something cheaper, I'll find it! I think our biggest cost will probably be where to stay but Groupon have some great savings on UK hotels which could shave a bit off our budget. I don't want to be completely obsessive with money, I will obviously spend what we have to on attractions, I definitely won't choose not to take the children somewhere whilst we're in the vicinity just because I'm worried about how much it costs. If we have travelled that far, I want to make the most of it but wherever I can save, you bet I'm gonna do it!
With the joys of the Internet, it's so easy these days to have a quick search for ways to get cheaper attraction tickets or even read some blog posts from people who have been to these places and will happily share their tips on how to save money. Being able to plan and doing this research has calmed my anxiety and made me realise that travelling with children won't be scary and definitely isn't unrealistic. I'm really excited to push myself out of my comfort zone, try not to worry about what could go wrong and make some lovely memories with my family.
Do you have any tips for travelling as a family or saving money when doing so?
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