They have been traveling the world with their three children for eight years. But there is something that forces them to return home

(CNN) — Aside from one specific trip to Europe, the farthest Jessica G took with her family during her childhood was to Walt Disney World in Florida.

However, over the past eight years, the travel influencer known as “The Bucket List Mom” ​​has visited more than 90 different countries with her entrepreneur husband Garrett and their three children, Dorothy, Manila and Callihan.

“The thought never crossed my mind that ‘I want to travel around the world,'” Gee, of Denver, Colorado, told CNN Travel. “It never occurred to me. But the more I go out, the more I want to see.”

According to Gee, everything changed when her husband, whom she met during a church service mission in Vladivostok, Russia, sold his app to Snapchat for $54 million in 2014 and decided to quit his desk job .

a unique opportunity

“We were in an awkward situation where maybe no more than 20 people could have attended,” admits Gee. “We had a new property and we didn’t know what to do. So we decided to put everything aside and see what the world had to offer.”

The couple, married since 2009, wanted to explore other cultures and “learn a little”.

“We still felt very young and inexperienced,” says Gee.

They soon began planning a longer trip through Southeast Asia and decided to start an Instagram page, The Bucket List Family, to compile their adventures.

“I honestly think it was Garrett’s creative skills and my marketing background coming together,” explains Gee, who studied advertising in college. “Now I do it with my life.”

After putting the purchase money into savings, he sold his furniture and most of his belongings, raising about US$45,000, and set out to travel the world with Dorothy and Manila. Callihan was born while they were traveling in August 2015.

They initially planned to spend a few months traveling to Thailand, Singapore, New Zealand, and Australia, as well as the Pacific islands of Fiji and Tonga, but after returning to the United States for a short time, they decided they would rather continue. want.

“That little trip turned into a whole three years,” says Gee, who recently published a travel guide, The Bucket List Family Travel, in collaboration with National Geographic.

The family visited dozens of countries around the world, including Germany, Morocco, Japan, Brazil, Guatemala and Dominica.

family favorite

Gee included Belize among his top “family” destinations, and described the Central American country as a good “starter destination” for U.S.-based families who aren’t ready to travel too far.

He also recommends “wonderful” Alaska for those seeking outdoor adventures for their children.

“You have fishing, wildlife, whales and bears,” he says. “It’s ideal for slightly older children, ages five and up. But I took my two-year-old son and he had a great time.”

Gee was also deeply influenced by Rwanda in East Africa, a destination she did not want to visit due to her preconceived notions.

“I saw Hotel Rwanda and that was all I knew,” he says. “I was nervous and scared. And it turned out to be the most life-changing destination for me.”

After spending so much time traveling, Ji has become used to longer trips and actually finds these trips easier than shorter trips, stating that he often feels tired after taking a week off. Do it.

“When I travel for a month or more, I get used to the routine,” he says, adding that whether he is traveling for a month, six months or a fortnight, Yes, they pack equal amount of goods.

She spent her entire third pregnancy “living out of a suitcase” before welcoming her son Callihan in 2018.

“I didn’t realize how much flying does to your body,” says Gee. “So it got worse (because of my pregnancy).”

“Maybe it was also because it was my first pregnancy in over 30, but my back and body hurt.
But at the same time, we went to so many places in those nine months that I loved them.”

a big adventure

Gee makes sure her kids are included in her travel plans before they go out anywhere, helping them pack their backpacks, treating everything, even a long-haul flight, as a “big adventure.” Prepare as “Task”.

“As soon as they get on the plane, they get excited to take out the toy, book and snack packed in their suitcase,” he explains.

According to Gee, the best way to make traveling with young children as painless as possible is to “choose the best approach.”

“Children are 100% dependent on their parents’ attitude,” he says. “So when things get tiring, tiring and stressful, you just have to be happy and stay positive. Because if your If the mood is bad, they are also in a bad mood.”

Although she tries to plan every aspect of her trips, including scheduling flights during naps and making sure her luggage is packed, Ji has learned from experience to always have a backup plan.

“Things can go wrong,” he says. “You lose your luggage or the flight gets cancelled. These are shocks. Dealing with that and the children and their needs has always been the hardest.”

The Bucket List Family’s Instagram account has garnered nearly three million followers over the past few years, and they have since launched successful YouTube and TikTok accounts, with the revenue earned from partnerships with various companies helping to finance their travels.

Gee recognizes that her situation is unique and that there are many parents who cannot afford to travel around the world with their children.

In “The Bucket List Family Travel,” she offers money-saving tips, such as home swaps and budgeting apps, and encourages families to figure out what they want to do travel-wise and then Try to “make it affordable”.

“Sometimes it’s just a matter of finding a national park and going camping or hiking,” he says. “Or see if you can work hard enough to earn some time over the long term.”

The Ji family includes “service” in their travel goals, and they try their best to include activities such as volunteering at an orphanage in their trips.

“Travel is often a selfish endeavor. Taking the time to look outside yourself and your family and see who you can serve locally will be a huge blessing,” Gee writes.

After three years of traveling full-time, the family of five returned to the United States, and purchased a bungalow in Hawaii in 2018.

wish list is changing

“One of the things we miss when we travel is community,” says Gee. “We missed friends and family, and we wanted our kids to play and experience sports. So we decided to settle down and try to have the best of both worlds.”

Since then they have continued to travel as a family, and recently spent an entire summer in Africa.

But staying in one place for a long time has proven to be somewhat of an adjustment for their children, especially their son Manila, who was about 11 months old when they first set out on the trip.

“I had a habit of sleeping in a different bed every night or every other night (when we came back),” he explains. “So every night he slept in a different room in the house. It was a weird adjustment for him to know that we weren’t going to the airport and we were just staying at home.”

Although Ji tries her best to schedule her trips during school holidays, there are occasional exceptions, such as an upcoming trip to Antarctica.

“We have reinforcement classes so they don’t lose their rhythm,” he says. “And we take our school work with us.
And even during the summer, when they don’t have homework, we bring extra books and try to make it exciting for them.”

According to Gee, the family’s list of things to do has changed over the years as they’ve all become big wildlife fans, so things like seeing “pandas in China” and “orangutans in Borneo” have moved to the top spot. .

He further added, “What I like to do most with my family is go on safari.” “We’ve done it many times. But for me there’s nothing better than being in an environment where there’s something new every day. You wake up and you don’t know what you’re going to see, and then you see these animals. and life.” Wild and how everyone lives together and depends on each other. It sounds very strange, but it really is the circle of life. It’s beautiful to live it and witness it with my family.”

Gee advises other parents wanting to travel more with their children to get out of their comfort zone and “explore”, whether it’s “a week a year or a lifetime”.

“I think the more you go out and experience things, the more your bucket list grows,” says Gee.
“I think a lot of American families have vacations that they go on. For me it was Disney World. And I love Disney World, don’t get me wrong. But (it’s important) to be able to go out and see To be in the world and realize that there is more out there”.

This story was originally published Feb. 8, 2024, and was updated this Sunday, Feb. 11