How We Traveled to 30 Countries Before Kids (and Before Points & Miles)

My husband and I traveled to 30 countries before we had kids. Now, with two little ones, we've made it to 50 countries and counting!

But our travel story started long before we knew anything about points and miles.

During our first six years of marriage, we made travel one of our biggest priorities. It all started when we did a study abroad together throughout Europe. That trip sparked our love for travel, and we've had the travel bug ever since.

After finishing college, we both worked full-time jobs, and we saved as much money as we could for our next adventure.

We weren't staying at luxury hotels or flying business class. Actually, quite the opposite.

How We Afforded to Travel So Much

Before kids, we were both working full-time, which gave us the opportunity to save quite a bit of money. But even then, we traveled on a budget.

We stayed in hostels and cheap Airbnbs, took public transportation, walked absolutely everywhere, and ate street food or whatever inexpensive meals we could find.

Our mindset was pretty simple: We only need a bed to sleep in.

We weren't traveling to spend time in our hotel room. We were there to explore!

We'd wake up early, pack as much as possible into each day, and stay out until we'd seen everything on our list. The more we could fit into one day, the fewer nights we'd need to pay for accommodations.

We'd stay outside the main tourist areas to save money, book flights with ridiculously long layovers, and even sleep on airport floors if it meant saving a couple hundred dollars.

Looking back, some of those travel days sound absolutely exhausting. And honestly, they're the kinds of travel days I'd dread now!

But at the time, we didn't mind. We wanted to see the world, and we were willing to sacrifice a little comfort to make it happen.

Then We Discovered Points and Miles

Eventually, we learned about points and miles, and it completely changed the way we traveled.

What's crazy to me is that we can now sometimes travel more luxuriously for less money than we spent on our budget trips.

We've been able to fly business class and stay at beautiful hotels using points, sometimes spending less out of pocket than we previously would have on economy flights and budget accommodations.

And while I wish we'd discovered points and miles sooner, the timing couldn't have been better for the next chapter of our lives.

Because then we had kids.

How Traveling Changed After Kids

Before kids, our travel style was very much go, go, go.

We wanted to see everything in the shortest amount of time possible. We'd wake up early, spend the entire day exploring, and move on to the next destination.

But traveling with kids forced us to slow down.

Instead of trying to fit ten activities into one day, we might pick two things we really want to do and give ourselves the entire day to enjoy them.

It was definitely an adjustment at first!

With little kids, you never really know how the day is going to go. Someone might need a nap, an extra snack, or just a break from sightseeing.

We've learned to leave room for the unexpected instead of trying to plan every minute.

And surprisingly, I've really come to appreciate this slower way of traveling.

Why Points and Miles Have Been Such a Game Changer for Our Family

Once we started traveling with kids, our priorities changed.

Suddenly, having a comfortable hotel room mattered a lot more. We wanted places where we could relax during naps, have a little more space, and actually enjoy spending time at the hotel.

Points and miles have made that possible without having to spend a fortune.

They've also given us the flexibility to stay longer in destinations instead of rushing through everything just to save money on accommodations.

And being able to book business-class flights using points has made some of our longer international travel days much more comfortable.

We still love exploring, and we still try to be smart about how we spend our money. We just approach travel differently now.

50 Countries Later, We're Still Exploring

When I think about how much our travel style has changed over the years, it's pretty incredible.

We went from backpacking around the world, staying in hostels, and sleeping on airport floors to traveling internationally with two little kids, staying in beautiful hotels, and occasionally flying business class.

But one thing hasn't changed: our love for seeing the world.

We've learned that you don't have to travel one particular way to make incredible memories. Budget backpacking gave us some of our favorite adventures, and traveling with our kids has brought an entirely different kind of joy.

And after 50 countries, I have so many stories, lessons, and experiences that I've barely shared.

So that's what I want to change!

I'll be sharing destination guides, itineraries, family travel tips, how we use points and miles, and plenty of stories from our adventures along the way.

Whether you're traveling on a tight budget, planning your first international trip with a baby, or hoping to use points and miles to make your dream vacation happen, I hope you'll find something helpful here.

Because if there's one thing I've learned, it's that there's no one right way to see the world.