Planning a family vacay is never easy, and the thought of a long-haul flight with multiple children may sound like a nightmare for some parents. But this certainly doesn't ring true for the Klukowski family whose children have visited a combined total of 110 countries.
According to the "Well Traveled Survey" conducted by Agoda, only 2 percent of American adults have visited more than 31 countries. Jonah, 12, and Mason, 9, and 4-year-old Ella have all been traveling since they were newborns. Now, they have a passport full of stamps and memories to last a lifetime. From visiting the world wonder of Petra to swimming in the Dead Sea and snorkeling in Curaçao, there isn't much these kids haven't done. Binders
Jonah has visited 47 countries, and he isn't even a teenager yet; Mason's country count isn't far behind at 42 destinations, and Ella has been to 21. Of course, none of this would be possible without their parents Ashley and Lukasz, both 41, who are always figuring out how to be travel-savvy with their family.
Ashley Klukowski told Newsweek they always opt for alternative holidays as opposed to mainstream destinations.
"We have never been to Disneyland, but we have been to theme parks, I can't justify spending all that money when we can have a cultural experience and unique experience elsewhere for the same amount of money or less," Klukowski said.
"We choose off-the-beaten-track places, we want to show our kids the world," explained the content creator.
These days, parents often look on social media for travel inspiration, and they may end up coming across this family's page (@born_explorers). The account boasts over 32,000 followers and is filled with epic videos showing hidden gems all over the globe. Along with tips such as "how to avoid long airport lines" and "ways to make family travel more affordable."
The Family Travel Association (FTA) and the NYU School of Professional Studies Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality examined family travel in the United States. The results found museums and cultural attractions are on the rise as 48 percent of 1,002 respondents intended to visit them as opposed to 36 percent in 2021.
While most respondents planned a vacation, 31 percent said they have too many other demands and their family budget will not stretch far enough. And 5 percent of respondents stated their children were too young.
Practice makes perfect when it comes to traveling with children. Klukowski admits feeling "anxious" when boarding her first flight with Jonah as a baby. Fortunately, those negative feelings had disappeared by the time she took Ella on her first flight at eight weeks old.
She told Newsweek: "The more you travel with children, the easier it gets. You just have to remember the flight is going to end and you get through it. It's so worth it in the end."
Now, over a decade later, Jonah has spent many birthdays in different countries like Thailand, Italy, Oman, Germany, and Indonesia.
"The boys learned to ski in the Alps, rode camels in Jordan, stayed in a Bedouin camp in Oman, had fondue in an igloo in Switzerland, visited a Sami family and fed reindeer in Norway, and went on safari in Namibia all before Ella came along," Klukowski said.
Ella has since made up for lost time; this summer she hiked over six miles on her own two feet in the Dolomites, Italy.
The family tends to travel more than the average person because of her husband's job in sales and marketing for a global corporation. They recently lived in Switzerland, making many countries much more accessible for them to visit
However, they have received backlash about some of their vacation choices.
Klukowski told Newsweek: "The real reason we went to so many countries with Ella before she turned one is because we knew when she was around 6 months old that we'd be moving back to the U.S. so we wanted to take advantage of how much easier and more affordable it was to travel while we lived in Europe!
"We've been happy with how much we've been able to continue to travel, and if it wasn't for COVID, Ella probably would have been to almost as many countries as her brothers.
"A lot of the places we have been aren't your typical family holiday. We have been to places that are considered to be dangerous like Albania, Colombia and Romania but we loved every second."
According to the 2022 survey, affordability emerged as a dominant factor, with 31 percent of the non-traveling respondents indicating they could not afford to take a family vacation.
Klukowski shared one of her money-saving tips with Newsweek, but it is certainly not for fearful flyers as it involves catching more flights than necessary to reach the desired destination.
"The amount we spend varies a lot from trip to trip but we do a lot of things to try and keep costs down. We usually plan the trip backward meaning we pick the destination based on wherever we find the best flight deals," she said.
"We also take satellite flights. For example: this summer we went to Switzerland and booked the cheapest flight we could find to Europe, which was Denver to London. We then booked an Easy Jet flight from London to Geneva. Doing it this way was less than half of what it would have been had we booked Denver to Geneva."
Klukowski tries to avoid hotels and often opts for accommodation with a kitchen such as an Airbnb. This way the cost of food is lowered as she is able to cook for her family.
"We use points and miles for hotel stays and flights, and we also get free lounge access through credit cards so we don't have to pay for airport food or drinks," she said.
She added: "We travel in shoulder season or off-peak for better pricing and fewer crowds. And we often go to more off-the-beaten-path destinations that tend to be cheaper."
Some survey participants revealed a trip abroad isn't relaxing with children and some said their children are too young. Klukowski admits traveling with young kids isn't easy but she insists the good far outweighs the bad.
"We want them to see the world is so much bigger and experiencing things together as a family. There are so many benefits," she said. "The kids are open-minded—they have been exposed to different religions, seen people pray in mosques in Turkey and churches in Poland. They have seen so many different ways of living, and they are all right.
"It has also taught them the flexibility that we have to go with the flow, and things don't always work out. They see we sometimes need a plan B and C. Traveling teaches them a lot of life skills."
Klukowski has shared tips that may help parents traveling with children for the first time.
Update 12/04/23, 03:27 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to correct the spelling of the Klukowski family's surname.
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Lucy Notarantonio is Newsweek's Senior Lifestyle and Trends Reporter, based in Birmingham, UK. Her focus is trending stories and human interest features ranging from health, pets and travel. Lucy joined Newsweek in August 2022 and previously worked at Mercury Press and Media and other UK national newspapers, the Australian Women Magazines and The New York Post.
My focus is human-interest stories ranging from relationships to health, fitness, travel, and home. I am always on the lookout for relationships that go against the "norm" such as age-gap ones along with incredible weight loss stories aimed to inspire and motivate others.
She is a Derby University graduate You can get in touch with l.notarantonio@newsweek.com.
Lucy Notarantonio is Newsweek's Senior Lifestyle and Trends Reporter, based in Birmingham, UK. Her focus is trending stories and human ... Read more
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