Interview with Eric Stoen from "Travel Babbo"
If you love to travel with your kids, you’ll love Travel Babbo, a blog by Eric Stoen. The dad of three has visited over 80 countries and encourages other parents to explore the world with their little ones too. Eric writes inspiring destination guides and informative blog posts aimed especially at families. Meet the incredible dad behind the Travel Babbo blog!
You are an adventurer, a traveller, a blogger and a dad, which status do you prefer?
I’m a dad first. I love travel, and I love writing and photography, but I would rather be with my kids than anywhere else. As I’m growing Travel Babbo I find myself at conferences and on destination-sponsored trips more and more and I’m now actively cutting back on anything that doesn’t include the kids. They’re only around for 18 years before heading off to University. I want to be with them during that time!
As a dad what is your typical journey?
I let each of the kids choose anywhere in the world every year for a one-on-one trip, and we also travel as a family for a couple of months a year. Our summers are typically in Europe – sometimes returning to our favourite places in Italy, France or Greece, and sometimes heading to new destinations. For the one-on-one trips there’s no rhyme or reason. The kids have now chosen Antarctica, Belize, Palawan, Australia, Easter Island, Bali and other assorted places, and it’s all fun. I love when they tell me where they want to go for their next trips and I can start planning. Right now I’m working on an around-the-world trip with my 10-year-old (LA/Orlando/Paris/Oman/Borobudur/Bali/Sydney) and Maldives and Sri Lanka with my 8-year-old.
Where your passion for travelling is coming from?
At University I studied in Florence for a year. Every weekend we had three days to go wherever we wanted, as long as we were back for classes on Monday morning. I loved looking at a map of Europe and thinking about where to go. Barcelona, Paris, Innsbruck, Heidelberg – so many places were just an overnight train ride away. I kept that mentality after I graduated, but with airplanes. So many places in the world are just an overnight flight away!
Our website “travel babbo” is a real inspiration for parents who are struggling to find some destination to go with their kids, your slogan is “take your kids everywhere”, is that really achievable?
Yes and no. Every family has different financial and holiday restrictions. But I really hope that I’m inspiring people to get out of their comfort zones and look differently at family travel. I see people in California who take their kids to Disneyland every year, spending upwards of $5000 for a week there. For that same $5000, or less, they could go to Chile or Costa Rica and introduce their kids to different cultures. Nothing against Disneyland, but it’s an incredible world, and hopefully I can encourage families to see more of it. And even through I’m not a budget travel blogger, I always try and find the cost-savings opportunities wherever we go so that destinations are financially accessible for as many people as possible.
Could you give us some tips to travel with them?
My top booking tip: Always call or write to hotels when booking anything outside of a standard reservation (e.g. families of 5) or if you want to stay somewhere but it’s just not fitting into your budget. If your funds are limited but your dates aren’t, ask the hotel about the best time to visit. Or just let them know how much you have to work with. It’s amazing how flexible they can be if they aren’t at capacity.
My top travel tip: Leave early! When we travel, whether it’s 4 hours or 24 hours away, we want to minimize the likelihood of anything going wrong. The first flights of the day are rarely delayed, and there’s never traffic yet, so we typically wake the kids up at 3am for 6 or 7am flights. They can sleep in the car or on the plane. In dozens of family trips, we’ve never once had a flight delay or cancellation.
You’ve been to 80+ countries and seven continents, which one is your favourite?
I get that question all the time, but it’s impossible to choose just one! I did an article recently on my favourite eight places in the world. Florence, Hong Kong, Jaisalmer and Oslo made the list as well as specific hotels and restaurants in amazing locations. There are so many places I’ve been that I would go back to tomorrow in a heartbeat.
What kind of activities do you like to do with your family?
The kids love pools and beaches of course, but they’re also foodies so we always try to fit farmer’s markets and cooking classes into our travels. I love when we learn to make things on our travels and the kids take it upon themselves to cook the same dishes when we get home.
Proudest moment of being a dad?
I love it all! But I probably feel most proud during long meals in Europe or elsewhere where the kids not only entertain themselves, but they use their manners and they’re adventurous with what they order. I want them to really enjoy their lives, whether at home or when traveling, and food is the one constant no matter where we are.
What gift would make father’s day special for you?
All I want is to spend Father’s Day with the kids. We’re not a gift-giving family, minimizing gifts even on birthdays and at Christmas. We invest the funds in travel instead.
What’s next for “Travel Babbo”?:)
This will be a fun year. I’ve never gone around the world in one itinerary before, so I’m really looking forward to that trip with my 10-year-old. We’ll get back to Italy a couple of times, introduce the kids to Budapest and take a Disney Cruise from Denmark to Dover via Norway and Iceland. And my youngest daughter and I are planning trips right now to Mexico and Australia. I’m addicted!
THANK YOU ERIC
TO FOLLOW THE ADVENTURE OF ERIC'S FAMILY
