Mom Bravely Travels the World Solo with Two Kids

She Who Wanders

Feb 3

A convo with Summer from Out Making Memories

Meet Summer. She’s a wife and mom of two kids, who is courageously living out her passion for exploration, adventure and travel. Refusing to wait for the perfect moment or limiting herself to when her husband has time off, she takes matters into her own hands, steps through fear and follows her dreams. Finding budget-friendly flight deals and beautiful, off-the-beaten path locations, Summer is an inspiration to other parents that they too can find a way to have more adventures with their kids. Emphasizing a “less is more mindset”, she shares tips for travel with kids as well as travel destination guides/itineraries so others can experience these amazing gems around the world too.

I love what an adventurous mom you are. Why is it so important to you to take your kids with you on adventures? What do you love most about it?

My kids thrive outdoors, they love the beach, our hiking spots, the duck pond, or just going for a walk. It’s so important to me that they love nature and respect it. I love that they love what I love. It’s so special to share these adventures that are so dear to my heart with them.

The Great Wanderlust is all about moms stepping outside of the box and diving deeper in both travel and in life. The mission is to inspire mamas and families to feel fully alive through adventure and exploration! What is your great wanderlust? What most makes you come to life??

What most makes me come alive is seeing the reactions of my children on our travels and adventures. I love to fall back a few strides behind them and watch them explore hand in hand.

mom and child ride horses on beach Summer @outmakingmemories

From seeing your travels, it’s clear you not only love spending time off the tourist path and focusing on the off-the-beaten path gems, but you also have a knack for finding them! Give us some tips for finding those special spots that aren’t over-crowded or touristy?

We live in a very touristy beach community and are completely overrun in the summer. It makes our beautiful beaches and towns less appealing to me. So I started traveling for a chunk of the summer to escape the crowds. With small kids, I find it safer and less chaotic to find places off the beaten path. Also the more touristy spots come at a hefty price tag and I am looking to travel with a budget in mind.

I find these gems through a combination of blog posts and sheer luck.

For example Capri looks lovely, but we traveled to the Island over Ischia. Tuscany is full of lovely towns you don’t have to look hard to find them. The Amalfi Coast is dreamy, but just south is Tellaro & Fiascherino which we’re jaw dropping!

I find Instagram makes it tricky to find these spots and you have to do your research. An Instagram photo will show a beautiful view with no one around, and not the long line waiting to get that shot.

woman walking with kids holding hands along water Summer @outmakingmemories

It’s so amazing how you fearlessly go on outdoor adventures (even around the world) solo with your two kids at the young ages they are. Do you ever feel nervous before you go just the three of you? If so, how do you overcome that? What practical tips do you have for parents who want to get started having more adventures, but know they’ll need to brave it alone?

I was nervous before my first solo trip with my two kids. My youngest is a pandemic baby and had never been on a plane, it wasn’t the prettiest first flight, and I didn’t expect it to be, but we survived. The nerves were about the logistics, carrying everything and minding them. I just reminded myself that I have always brought them everywhere, stores, parks, and hikes. After that trip I gained confidence and planned 7 weeks in Europe that Summer. My husband can’t take that much time off, but came and met us halfway through the trip for 10 days. Honestly my best advice is to know yourself and your kids, schedule time for them, and find age appropriate activities and destinations. At this young age, I’m not bringing them to museums, we’re outside at the beach or hiking and I avoid big cities.

Tell us about an experience you’ve had with your kids that you’ll never forget. What made it so unforgettable?

One that will live on in my heart forever was when we traveled to Dominica, not to be confused with the Dominican Republic.

My daughter (then 4) has a love of sea turtles and is disgusted by trash, we’d walk past litter and she would say we should pick that up. I ordered trash pokers and we cleaned up trash on all of our walks and hikes and raised money from our friends and family with a goal of one dollar a pound.

We were going to donate this money to a sea turtle foundation. So down the rabbit hole of Google I went to find a hands on experience and I came across Rosalie Bay in Dominica . They will give you wake up calls in the middle of the night to see nesting sea turtles on the beach.

I think it was our fourth night before we got a phone call. The first call was at like 10 PM and we ran down to the beach and saw a leatherback sea turtle nesting, but a huge wave came and soaked her and us, destroying her nesting efforts. We went back to our room to catch some sleep and at 2:50 in the morning our phone rang again. They sent security to help get the kids down to the beach and we witnessed a monster leatherback sea turtle nesting. We were hands on in measuring, tagging, and collecting the eggs which were being relocated to the hatchling sanctuary, a safe space away from the waters edge, where they would have a fighting chance of survival.

We ended up adopting two leatherback sea Turtles Hartley and Kiki and made a donation on Earth Day of $400 for the 400 pounds of trash that we collected.

My oldest asks to go back all the time, so we might just have to!

mom with child stands on beach under palm tree Summer @outmakingmemories

What are your top tips for planning a family trip? It can be overwhelming sometimes to even choose a destination! How do you get started and what do you prioritize first?

I get started with Skyscanner! I plug in the city we are departing from, our ideal dates and search everywhere for the best prices. I have a google map of places I would love to visit that I am constantly updating when I come across a destination, hotel or activity. I also have an Airbnb list with some amazing places I have come across. I use a combination of the three and an excel spreadsheet to plan. I do have a travel agent (a friend) book our flights, unless we’re using points, that way she can rebook for us if we run into trouble like missing our flight, which we have!

two kids look out over mountain sheep Summer @outmakingmemories

What character qualities do you hope to foster the most in your kids and how does taking risks and going on adventures contribute to developing those?

I hope these travels and adventures teach my kids a love of culture, language and food. Flexibility, independence and a love for moments over material things.

Food: we have a rule, you don’t have to like it but you have to try it. I often find myself ordering another appetizer when my kids polish off mine.

Language/Culture: Play is the universal language in childhood, and I have seen this across the world. Like in Spain when the kids were all playing in the little courtyard next to the tables as the adults waited for the food, it was a melting pot, children from Finland, Switzerland, France, Spain, Italy and my Americans, all playing together.

Flexibility: We have missed flights, and have sprinted to make some. My oldest is hilarious, “it’s okay mom we can just get on the next flight!” And she’s right - no need to stress, just rebook and make the best out of it.

Independence: I let them try things on their own instead of being so quick to help. The results have been nothing short of incredible.

Where are you off to next and what are you most looking forward to about it??

We are going away for the Summer to Europe, we have some amazing things planned and just started booking! Madeira-Portugal, Canary Islands-Spain, Nice-France, Monaco, maybe Italy and finishing in mainland Portugal. We will see. Between now and then I have to renew a passport so all plans are on hold till we get that done.

Is there a question you wish I would have asked or anything else you’d like to share with other mamas relating to travel or life?

Your kids won’t remember the name brand of the clothes they wear, or how much they cost, but they will remember the experiences you give them. They may not always remember in the traditional sense, like where and when, but these experiences live on in them. They will surprise you with what they remember.

Who inspires you to dig deeper in life? Do you have a few recommendations of someone I should feature next? :)

My grandmother had a love of travel and life, but she passed before my kids were born. It has always been important to me to keep her memory alive, so I do through travel, laughter, and truly living.