Recently updated on July 12th, 2022 at 02:04 pm
Have you ever thought about travelling with your mum? Or how about bringing your favourite child along for a mum-daughter getaway? We love chatting with our adventurous Trafalgar guests to find out more about how – and who – they travel with.
For this mum daughter travel story we spoke to Monica, a high school teacher from Sydney who loves to travel with her sweet mother, Rosaria. Despite the 34-year age difference, Monica says travelling with her mum has strengthened the already strong bond they shared. Together they’ve toured through Portugal, Greece, Germany, Austria and Italy with Trafalgar, and they have big travel plans on the horizon for 2022 and 2023.
Read on to hear what it’s like travelling with your mum, the memories made together and how to make the most of mum daughter travel.
How many trips have you taken together? What was your favourite?
We have been on a few trips. Best of Portugal in 2014, Best of Italy in 2016, Best of Germany and Austria in 2017, Best of Greece in 2019.
My favourite trip is Greece in 2019 that included a seven day cruise. Not only was it our last international holiday before COVID but it was laid back, fun and exciting. As a teacher, I love history and learning about the different cultures and Greece has a rich history. I really enjoyed the food, culture, sights and weather of Greece. It was a combination of sightseeing during the morning, having a delicious lunch, quick swim in the afternoon and going out in the evening.
GET INSPIRED BY: Best of Greece with Island Hopper
Tell us about your first mum-daughter travel getaway!
Mum and I bonded during our first trip to Portugal, as mum was born and grew up in Portugal before migrating to Australia. I had only been to Portugal twice and this time I had just finished my university degree, and was almost finishing my first year of teaching. It was special for me to witness and learn more about my heritage from mum. I now know the beauty of Portugal and can share it with others.
Why is your mum the best travel companion?
Growing up as an only child, my bond with my mum has always been strong. However, once I was living my own life after university, there was less time for us to have meaningful time together. Going away on trips and travelling overseas strengthened our bond and made us realise how similar we are – the things we like or don’t like, shopping, fine dining and immersing ourselves in real and authentic cultural experiences. I could count on mum to pull me back to reality while we were on shopping sprees in places like Florence with the exceptional leather goods, or the Christmas markets in Germany.
Mum is my ultimate travel partner as she is the sweetest person you will ever meet, has a sense of humour, is confident, friendly, patient, positive and adventurous. These qualities come in handy when you are having a rough start to the morning, the weather doesn’t turn out to be perfect and when you need someone supportive who will follow you around to get the right photo or if you need to visit five bucket-list things in the space of an hour.
RELATED BLOG: 7 of the best destinations for a mum and daughter getaway
What’s different about travelling with your mum to travelling with a partner or friend?
Travelling with friends is great, but when travelling with mum, it is easier to compromise on what we want as we are very similar. It is also handy that we are able to identify when the other needs some space to do their own thing and we are comfortable around each other. The memories last a lifetime and it solidifies the #lifegoals that I would like to have with my own family one day.
Has travelling with your mum made your relationship stronger?
Yes, travelling together has most definitely made our relationship stronger. In particular, trying to get a good selfie shot can be quite difficult but when we look back on them, we laugh seeing how hard we try to get the perfect shot. Travelling together has also made us learn more about each other and there are always opportunities for us to reminisce about “when I was younger, I would love to….” We are always there to support each other, even if that means ordering two desserts so that we have a bite of each or swapping food. When we look back on the memories of the trips, we are both glad we did them together.
Share a favourite mum-daughter travel memory…
Two fun memories stand out. The first was at Salzburg in Austria. Mum and I had the opportunity to do the Sound of Music tour, which was incredible as it was a movie we watched numerous times when I was growing up. To see the key places and burst into song – “do re mi”, “these are a few of my favourite things” or “the lonely goatherd” – was priceless.
The second favourite memory is how we used different filters on my phone to record daily updates/vlogs as memories of our trips. These consisted of different voices and facial filters that we used while talking about the highlight of the day- sometimes it would be about the food, the places, the music, the weather or even how jet lagged we were. This might not seem like much, but when we rewatch it, it takes us back in time and reminds us of how funny some situations were!
GET INSPIRED BY: Sound of Music
What types of activities do you like to do together while travelling?
I’m an introvert and mum is an extrovert so we compliment each other quite well when faced with different activities. We both have a love for culture, food and museums. I love anything that can immerse me into the history of the place, whilst mum likes being out and about and discovering new or hidden places. Since I normally plan ahead and organise things to do during free time, we compromise on where to go and sometimes I’ll surprise mum with a hidden gem along the way.
RELATED BLOG: 7 types of travel experience that are best shared with your Mum
Why do you choose Trafalgar for your mum-daughter holidays?
I think Trafalgar does an amazing job when it comes to creating an itinerary for a wide-range of ages, the quality of service is always exceptional and the trips are flexible with the variety of experiences. I can trust that Trafalgar will meet my expectations and I know what to expect from every trip.
What destinations do you dream of travelling with mum to next?
We were planning on doing the Best of Egypt and Morocco before Covid. This has now expanded to Turkey and France.
Did you know Trafalgar has women-only tours. Would you choose this type of tour over a regular Trafalgar tour?
I found out the other day about this and I am very excited to be part of a female-only tour. As much as regular tours that have couples and families are great, I feel like this is a way to empower females to be comfortable about travelling to a new destination with like-minded females. I feel that, particularly after celebrating International Women’s Day, the disparity that can make it difficult for some women to cross-off bucket list trips without the support of a significant other needed to travel the world independently.
GET INSPIRED BY: Best of Egypt – Women Only
Do you have any tips for other women thinking of travelling with their mum?
If you haven’t tried it before, I highly recommend you travel with your mum. It doesn’t matter how old you are, it will change the relationship you have with each other and it will create a special bond that will last a lifetime. Being an only child, I thought that my bond couldn’t get any stronger (all those years ago) but I was wrong and I keep learning something new every trip.
Do you like travelling with your mum or daughter? Do you have a mum daughter travel story to share? Tell us where you would plan a mum-daughter getaway in the comments….