Empty Nesters – Time to travel
We are a blended family, so we never got to experience a child-less vacation or honeymoon. As the kids were growing up, we travelled as a family; however, there were many obstacles though to traveling with 6 people. School schedules, sports, and social events seemed to get right in the way of any plans that we would try to make. So now that we can travel, just the two of us, we are embracing it.
Epic Family Trips
We did have a few epic trips while the kids were at home; we toured Spain and France in 2015 for 3 weeks, cruised to the Caribbean in 2017, Puerto Rico in 2018 for 18 days, road tripped in the Southeast in 2020, and Florida theme parks many times throughout the years. These may seem like a lot of vacations to some, but we wanted more. After our road trip in France, wanderlust hit us hard. We realized there was so much to see outside of our little bubble. We got a taste and wanted more!
Travel & Empty Nester Tricks & Tips
Have you always wanted to travel but couldn’t find the time when your children were growing up and living at home? Now that your children have left the nest, it’s time for you to start truly living and loving life through travel. What is the meaning of an empty nester? An empty nester is a parent whose children have grown up and left home. We’re here to help empty nesters learn how to experience all this world has to offer through empty nester travel.
We will share about our trips, favorite destinations, travel hacks, travel planning, reviews and how we are managing our travel life without the kids. A lot of parents feel sad when their children head off to college and leave the nest; we got over the sadness quickly and hit the ground running to the airport!
You have spent 18 years training them in life; let them spread their wings and fly high! You are always a phone call away; you aren’t deserting them, you are just spending time on yourself instead of all wrapped up in their sports, academics and social events. There will still be opportunities to vacation together, but with everyone having different work and school schedules, the opportunities will be few and far between. You can still live life to the fullest even if the children are off supporting themselves.
Empty Nesters’ Travel
Our adventures as empty nesters began fully in 2020, but we started practicing our empty nester role in 2019 (when the girls had other plans, we would sneak away); since fall of 2019, we have had adventures to Ireland, Spain, California, Colorado, Southeast USA (Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, Tennessee and South Carolina), New York, the Caribbean, and Ohio. We have hiked State and National Parks, road tripped in the convertible, cruised through the Caribbean, ATVed in Mexico, snorkeled in Honduras, river rafted in Mexico, went on wine and food tours, visited amusement parks, and visited museums and cathedrals in Europe.
Travels Coming up Soon
We have the following trips planned between now and the end of February 2023:
- Weekend trip to North Carolina – isn’t a fully empty nester trip; 2 kids’ schedules cooperated and they are going with us
- 8-day cruise on Carnival Cruise Lines to Aruba, Bonaire, and La Romana and Amber Cove, Dominican Republic
- 9-day land tour to Southern Italy on Globus Journeys
We also have a land tour/hike scheduled for the Inca Trail in Peru for fall of 2023, but we are unsure if it will happen this year due to the political unrest in Peru. We are hoping and praying for the Peruvians, that this will settle down and things will get resolved.
How does one move on after an empty nest? Be sure to follow to get some empty nesters’ vacation ideas! Thrive with an empty nest; see the world.
Be sure to check out our About Us page!
-S&E
