12 hours ago
Why Budget Travel Abroad Is Ideal for Families This Summer
More and more families are opting to spend their summers abroad. The peak in popularity finds that parents are relocating temporarily, working remotely, and putting their children in an international summer camp—all while saving on the costs of what a typical camp in the United States would amount to.
While the idea of this can seem daunting, it's one that could prove to be highly beneficial for the entire family. Your children get the opportunity to travel while experiencing cultural immersion, educational opportunities with less screen time, making worldwide friends, and getting a taste of independence—all while you're able to change up the scenery to work remotely and have time to explore yourself.
If you're questioning how to make this possible, we talked to a couple of families who have embarked on these experiences every summer, and they shared some tips for other families who want in.
Maddy Novich and her husband made the decision to start sending their children to European summer camps seven years ago after discovering a LEGO engineering camp in the Netherlands for their 'LEGO-obsessed son.'
Widely known as @cargobikemomma, the influencer says that relocating abroad for the summer has become their family tradition.
'At first, it was all about giving him [her son] something fun to do, but we quickly realized it was a win-win: he had a blast, and we [she and her husband] got to explore sights he wouldn't enjoy, like art museums or leisurely meals at non-kid-friendly restaurants,' she said.
All three of their children—aged 11, 7, and 4—have now experienced summer camps across Europe each year.
Maddy shares her experiences on her Instagram page and through her newsletter, where she gives camp recommendations and resources for other interested families.
Aside from working remotely, Maddy and her husband are able to get some much-needed time to themselves as well while their kids are in camp. 'We do all the things our kids wouldn't want to do. Most camps run from around 8 or 9 a.m. to 3 or 4 p.m., which gives us a nice window for grown-up adventures—visiting art museums, strolling through historic neighborhoods, biking along scenic routes, or enjoying a long, quiet coffee,' she said.
'We also go out to nice meals, take day trips, and sometimes just rest and recharge. If one child isn't in camp on a given day, we plan special one-on-one activities with them. It's a great balance of family time and adult time.'
Kay Akpan, known as @themomtrotter, has traveled all over the world with her husband and their 12-year-old son. 'We've traveled full-time as a family. We've been to about 68 countries,' she said.
Along with sharing her traveling journeys on her own page, she also runs the @blackfamiliesdotravel and @blackkidsdotravel Instagram accounts, where she highlights diversity in traveling.
Given her experience with traveling, Kay now fosters cultural experiences through her business, Rooted Journeys, where she helps make it possible for families to travel abroad. She also offers an option for other kids to travel abroad with her and her son. This year, they'll be going to a sleepaway summer camp in Japan.
'A sleepaway camp is really great, especially for kids, because it gives an added layer where kids can learn to navigate life without their parents,' Kay said. 'It gives children a chance to figure out themselves and figure out how to make choices away from their parents.'
In her experience, some parents have come to the country and traveled around while their child was in camp, while others came for a few days to visit. Kay has also gotten some parents who are unable to travel, but send their kids in order for them to get that experience abroad.
She says that over the past years, she's gained a lot of interest in these camps.
'From the US, a lot of people seem a little hesitant initially,' she said. 'In other countries, sleepaway camps are a big thing. Every kid goes.'
Some may wonder what the difference is between sending their kids to summer camp at home in the US versus going abroad. Maddy shared what she believes to be the biggest benefits.
Affordability: It's often cheaper than US camps.
Cultural exposure: Kids meet peers from around the world and learn about new customs, foods, and languages.
Skill-building: Many camps focus on unique offerings like coding, robotics, art, or local sports.
Adaptability: They learn to navigate unfamiliar environments and make friends, even when they don't share a common language. Play really is universal.
Independence: These experiences boost their confidence, resilience, and sense of adventure.
Parent recharge: While they're busy growing, we get time to reconnect and rest.
Both Maddy and Kay described summering abroad as a 'win-win' for the entire family.
'It's great for kids because number one, exposure,' Kay said. 'I'm all about raising global citizens. I want to raise a child who's aware of himself and the people around him. I feel like a lot of people are so unaware and forget that we live in this world with millions of other people.'
'Traveling with my child and putting him in spaces where there are all types of children from different backgrounds, different languages, different ways of being raised is a big thing of self-awareness for him.'
Her second point of why it's beneficial is the memories that they create as a family. 'We get to experience these places as a family. We'll come in a few days before camp, we'll travel around, and have fun. He'll [her son] go to sleepaway camp, and then my husband and I will have time together, and then, depending on if I'm working, then I'll work. If not, we'll have couples time together, and then after we pick him up then we'll have some more family time.'
Kay pointed out that her son now has friends from all over the world — some that he still keeps in touch with to this day.
'For me, those are super important connections that I love him to have because you never know where you'll meet these people again in life,' she said.
For Maddy and her husband, their jobs make going abroad for the summer extremely easy. 'I'm a professor and have summers off, and my husband has a flexible remote work policy. That gives us the freedom to spend extended time abroad,' she said.
For those who don't work remotely, however, hope isn't lost.
'Even if you're just traveling for a week or two, many European cities have day camps that align with vacation schedules,' Maddy said. 'You don't need to stay for months to try this out.'
Kay suggests planning at least a year or more in advance. 'There's something for every parent based on what they're looking for.'
She also emphasizes the importance of being able to go with the flow. 'Being flexible is key,' she said. 'I always keep an open mind if anything comes up to be able to pivot and change as needed or necessary.'
As far as finding the best camps, Maddy and Kay shared that researching is one of the most important steps.
'The biggest challenge is simply finding the camps,' Maddy shared. 'Many great programs don't have strong English-language websites or large online presences, so it takes effort to track them down.'
She relies on Facebook expat and parenting groups, recommendations from families they've exchanged homes with, and 'deep-dive research.'
Kay suggests asking other families who have been to the places you're interested in visiting, joining online traveling groups, and gathering as much information as you can in order to feel comfortable.
Both Maddy and Kay offered some strategies for saving on costs when it comes to spending the summer abroad.
'European day camps are often much more affordable than camps in the US,' Maddy pointed out. 'For example, in NYC, a typical week of day camp can cost $500–600 (or more). In cities like Copenhagen, Krakow, Amsterdam, or Berlin, we've paid closer to $300–500 per week for equally high-quality programs — and we've never once had to deal with a waitlist.'
When Kay's son was 8 years old, she put him in an overnight camp in the US. 'I realized it was way more expensive, so I started looking at international options,' she said. Since then, her son has participated in camps in Mexico, France, Spain, and Hawaii.
For parents who are worried about the affordability, there are ways to make it more cost-efficient, like using home exchanges and credit card points or travel miles.
'We do home exchanges—swapping our NYC apartment for a family-friendly home in Europe—which makes the whole trip far more affordable,' Maddy said. 'Flights are often covered or offset with credit card points, and we keep other costs low by cooking at home and choosing affordable local experiences. When you factor in those savings and the lower camp costs, it's often not more expensive than staying home for the summer.'
Kay says that airfare is usually the most expensive cost. She, too, relies on points and miles to cover flights. What she suggests is identifying the timeframe for which you and your family are available to travel and making a list of places that you all would like to explore. 'I find the most affordable tickets within that timeframe, and then once I figure out where I'm going, I start looking at accommodations.'
For her accommodation, Kay typically gets an Airbnb or a rental as opposed to a hotel due to being able to cook, do laundry, and have more space. She also noted that for most of these, you usually get a discount if you book for longer than a month. Once she has her airfare and accommodations picked out, she starts looking at camps in the area and narrows it down to what her child would be interested in (ie, language camps, sports camps). She suggests doing it in this exact order.
For some last tips of ease, Kay shares that parents don't have to fret about their children's safety—and, of course, the more you take on these kinds of experiences, the more comfortable you get.
'Don't overthink it,' she advised. 'Most of the places we've been to, I've felt very safe and much safer, to be honest, than when I'm in the US. My kid can walk around, he can walk to the store—like that's how safe I felt in most of the places that we've visited.'
Read the original article on Parents
