Customer Reviews

Adventuring With Children: An Inspirational Guide to World Travel and the Outdoors (Avalon House Travel Series)

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There are many travel books on the market, and there are many travel books for those who have children. This books stands out because the author actually took her kids on wonderful, real "adventures," not just tame camping trips in the U.S. She and her husband traveled to remote places (Morocco, Spain, Bali, Nepal, New Zealand...), kids in tow, and share the experience with us through text and photos. They sailed, biked, hiked, and drove about, and lived for several weeks in different countries.

While most books of this sort will list things to bring along, the author gives us real explanations for each of the things she brings--and she doesn't bring much--and tells us how to make do with less. Invaluable are her personal stories of medical needs, literary needs (her boys brought a few books and exchanged books with other travelers), laundry and social needs. There is even a terrific discussion of diapering while traveling!

Perhaps my favorite section, as a homeschooling mom, is her chapter on education while on the road. The author truly sees the educational value of travel. No doubt her boys were very well educated by their many adventures. They learned foreign languages and the differences between many cultures. Thinking of adventuring?Buy it, and you'll want to try it!

I still haven't had a chance to use the tips from this book, since our trip to Greece with our one-year-old is planned for a few months from now. I can say that reading so many real-life, much more complicated examples of Ms. Jeffrey's family's own travels have made planning a few weeks in Greece seem like no big deal, though.

I was also pleasantly surprised to read so much about the things her children learned through travel at different ages, as well as through the homeschooling done on the road. (Ms. Jeffries also provides very useful homeschooling references.) Our daughter is much too young for a lot of this, but I found it all inspirational. It's amazing how much more children can learn from travel, plus reading, rather than from reading alone.

I started reading just to find the basics of how to travel with a child (what to take, how to keep entertained, etc.), but ended knowing so much about how traveling with a child will actually be more beneficial to the whole family than I ever imagined.

Based on the reviews of this book, I was excited to check it out in preparation for our European and Tunisian adventure this fall. I was sadly disappointed when it arrived and I flipped through and read parts of it - granted not all, but I was not sufficiently "inspired" to read more. For one, and its a big one, this book is OLD. I thought a third edition would mean updated, and I neglected to look at the publishing date. My fault. It is pre 9-11, and I bet a lot of things have changed out there that this book does not address in re air travel and border crossings.

There was a lot of the book dedicated to camping, which if that is what you are doing, definately get it. It addresses very extended vacations, and I personally don't know a single sole who goes on a 6 month camping/biking trip to a distant locale. I read through the education part, since I want our trip to be educational for my preschooler, but was disappointed by that as well, as there was not much of use to me there.

The only things that I saw as useful were pretty common knowledge if you have traveled before. I am glad for others to have been inspired by this book, but personally, it does not help me one bit.

So, please enjoy if it sounds right for you, but as for me, I will be sending it back. Maybe you'll get my copy.

Great for anyone thinking about taking their kids adventure travelling. Lots of practical advice that give you the confidence to get out there and have fun :)

If you liked this book, you will probably enjoy "A Brilliant Teacher" about a family that had a similar year-long adventure, but with very different experiences because they were on a limited budget. Those limitations lead them to meet lots of interesting people and have quite interesting adventures with their three children.
A Brilliant Teacher: Lessons Learned from One Family's Journey Around the World