Welcome to World for a Girl’s interview series: Raising Global Girls. In this exciting new series, we interview intrepid families like the awesome Five Go Exploring about how and why they are raising their daughter/s (and sons) to love travel and be responsible world citizens.

We’ll also be asking some more probing questions about any sexism that they have faced on the road travelling with their daughters and how they use family travel as a way to introduce their children to a more inclusive version of world history.

In this interview, Ellie from Five Go Exploring talks to us about her passion for travel, family travel bucket lists and Disney movies with female-led adventures.

1. Tell us a bit about yourselves. Where are you from and how often do you travel as a family?  How old are your children? How many daughters do you have?

I have always loved travelling and experiencing new cultures. I was lucky enough to travel quite often as a child on holidays to Malta, Tunisia, France, Bulgaria, USA. My husband and I are from the same area of the UK and got together in our early 20s. Within a few months we had moved to Manchester, then a couple of years later I was temporarily posted to California. While we were there, we took advantage of cheap domestic airfares to explore other parts of the US, like Seattle and Las Vegas.

When we had children, we knew we wanted to keep on travelling and exploring as a family. We now have three children aged 6, 4, and 4: two boys and a girl. Taking holidays with three young children can be tough, but we keep doing it and learn a lot along the way!

2. Tell us about some of the destinations that you’ve travelled to as a family.

Shortly after our eldest son was born, we went to Paris for a few days. I lived there for a year when I was 19 and spent many happy holidays in the city growing up. Although our son was teething and we had very little sleep that week, it was freeing to realise that we could still travel with a baby. A few months later we took him to Madrid, which was a lovely holiday for all of us.

Since our twins were born, we have taken the children to Hannover to visit friends and embarked on two epic European road trips, as well as lots of shorter trips within the UK. When we took our first road trip, our friends thought we were bonkers! We travelled to the Loire Valley in France, then northern Switzerland, and finally just over the French border into Germany for a friend’s wedding. The second time, we drove to the Jura, then north to near Frankfurt, and finished up in Brussels. We’d love to drive across the US when the children are a bit older.

Every Easter, we take an adults-only trip so we can reconnect as a couple and explore at our own speed. We have been to Paris and Berlin, and this year we’ll fly to Copenhagen.

Related post: 11 Reasons your Baby is the Best Travel Companion Ever

3. How do you see travel inspiring and/or challenging your children?

Being from a small island, and particularly in the current UK political climate, we want to show our children much more of the world. We have all learned so much on our travels, and we have been surprised at how adaptable the kids are. When we are on holiday, they take everything in their stride, whether it’s new accommodation or different food (though they still ask for pizza and McDonald’s!).

I also think that the world seems more open to our children because we travel with them. They are all interested in different countries and enjoy looking at our large world map print. We’ve marked the places we’ve been with flag pins and I often hear the kids talking about our experiences, as well as countries they would like to visit. I hope this desire to see the world will stick with them as they grow up, just like it stuck with me.

Related post: 56 Messy, Ugly and Outrageous Truths about Travelling with Kids

4. Have you ever visited a space dedicated to women’s history (e.g. a museum, exhibition or monument) with your children? Would you recommend it to other families?

We haven’t!

5. Have you ever been uncomfortable with the way your daughter/s was being treated when travelling? If you have sons and daughters have you ever had any travel situations where your children have been treated differently because of their gender?

I can honestly say that we have never been in this type of situation. When I was a child and we travelled in Tunisia, I had very white-blonde hair. We got a lot of attention because of how unusual my hair colour was in Tunisia – people asked to touch my hair and were very complimentary about it. Although I sometimes found this strange, I never felt uncomfortable.

I have experienced uncomfortable situations when travelling alone, particularly in Southern Italy while backpacking. One of my greatest hopes is that my daughter never experiences this discomfort, or at least that it doesn’t stop her from adventuring. – Ellie, Five Go Exploring

6. Popular culture still tends to portray macho men as explorers and adventurers. What movies, books and other resources have you come across that help show young girls that they can explore and have adventures too?  

We have the brilliant ‘Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World’ book, which includes a lot of stories about adventurous girls and women. ‘The Girls’ is another wonderful book about female friendship and adventures. There are a lot of popular animation films that encourage girls to have adventures, like ‘Frozen’, ‘Brave’, and ‘Tangled’. And we have found the key is to model an adventurous spirit to our children!

7. Would you encourage your daughter/s to travel solo when she’s older?  Why/ why not?

Yes, absolutely. I lived alone in Paris for a year as a young woman, then went on a backpacking trip around Italy for a month. Firstly, it is important to show young women that it is safe to travel alone, and secondly, I learned so much about myself through these experiences. Solo travelling can help young women to grow in confidence, build resilience, and become comforable with being alone.

Related Post: Women with Capes: 10 Inspirational Solo Female Adventurers

8. Did you know that women organise 72% of all travel?  Who does the travel planning and organising in your family?  Are your children involved in the planning process?

We often find ourselves talking about where we’d like to go next, and we even have a family travel bucket list. I tend to do most of the practical organising, simply because I enjoy it and I’m good at it! However, we do include the kids when we are deciding what to do, and we make sure to consider their needs and desires when we travel.

9. What’s your number one family travel tip?

Lower your expectations: travelling with kids can be unpredictable (much like life in general with kids) and you may need to be flexible with your plans. Make sure you plan some downtime for everyone, including yourself! If you’re all relaxed and not rushed, you’re more likely to enjoy your time together.

10. Finally,  where’s your next family travel adventure to?

For the first time in a while, we don’t have a family trip planned. We are waiting to see the consequences of Brexit before we decide, but the options are Brittany (France) or Cornwall (UK). Either way, it will be during the summer holidays and we will take our trusty VW Sharan along for the ride!

Ellie is a mother, writer, and travel blogger living in South Manchester, UK. Follow her and her family’s adventures at www.fivegoexploring.co.uk

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