Sonja Prokopec took her son on their first “solo” trip together when he was six years old.
They went to Rome, and it was so memorable that Prokopec said she’s now planning their second trip this summer.
“I actually enjoy one-on-one time which now we have when travelling alone,” she said. “There are not any distractions, no arguments among the many siblings, time spent together is of top quality… My son still talks about our time in Rome and may’t wait for [our] London trip this June.”
Prokopec and her husband have three children — her son who’s now 10, plus two younger daughters. They travel together, but time away with only one child and one parent has perks that family trips don’t often provide, she said.
“Travelling with just one child permits you to deal with the needs of only that child,” she said. “Also, as I’m not stretched from managing different demands, I feel like I’m a greater parent — more patient, more playful and more within the moment.”
Plus, “my son loves all the eye and loves that we get to explore together, just the 2 of us,” she said.
Prokopec’s husband — who “at all times insisted on doing things together, including travelling” — is now a proponent too, she said.
“My husband has also taken my son alone to Turkey and really loved it … even he sees the worth in it,” she told CNBC Travel.
Serbian Sonja Prokopec and her son, Laith, on their trip to Rome.
Source: Sonja Prokopec
Prokopec hasn’t taken solo trips together with her two youngest children, mostly due to Covid-19, she said. But which will soon change.
“I will certainly do more,” she said.
A growing trend
The posh travel company Scott Dunn named “parent-child bonding holidays” one among 2023’s top travel trends.
Mother-and-daughter trips specifically are on the rise, though father-and-child trips are also rising in popularity, in response to the corporate.
“Parent-child duos often pick destinations and include experiences based on their mutual interests,” said Scott Dunn’s General Manager Mike Harlow.
Scott Dunn’s Mike Harlow recommends Norway (shown here) for mountaineering and biking, Finland to see the Northern Lights and Africa, which has been popular with parents traveling with teenagers. For more budget-friendly options, he beneficial Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand or Sri Lanka.
Nadezhda1906 | Istock | Getty Images
Harlow said his company recently helped a father-son duo book a visit to Cambodia that focused on the country’s history and national parks.
“We also had a mother-daughter duo who headed to South Korea for a visit themed around K- dramas and K-pop, while one other mother-son duo travelled to India to do the classic Golden Triangle together,” he said.
Elephants and ‘jungle bubbles’
Last 12 months, I made a decision to book my very own mother-daughter trip with my oldest child. (To satisfy cries of injustice from her younger siblings, I promised everyone a “solo” trip at their tenth birthday, too.)
To choose where to go, I asked my daughter a series of straightforward questions: beach or mountains, cold or warm weather, animals or adventure sports?
Based on her answers, I presented her with a number of ideas. She selected the Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp & Resort, outside of Chiang Rai, Thailand. We booked several nights within the important hotel, and one night within the hotel’s “Jungle Bubble” — a spherical tent with a king-sized bed and toilet that overlooks a part of the hotel’s 168-acre area where its elephants can roam.
By day, we walked with the elephants through the fields and watched them bathe in a river along the Myanmar border. We prepared food for the elephants and fed them, but we didn’t ride them, a practice that’s neither allowed by the hotel nor condoned by animal rights supporters.
Within the evenings, we swam within the hotel’s pool and held a “spa night” in our room, with facial masks from home and bath salts and lotions from the hotel. At night, we sat outside and checked out the celebs.
Guests at Anantara’s Golden Triangle Elephant Camp & Resort can prepare “power balls” made from bananas, rice bran, sunflower seeds, sticky rice, tamarind and salt to feed to the elephants.
Source: Monica Pitrelli
One morning, I suggested we book a cooking class. But my daughter was adamant about trying Muay Thai boxing as a substitute. Resisting the urge to inform her she would not prefer it (read: I would not prefer it), I booked a session. She loved every minute.
As for me, I cherished having a lot time with my daughter, without having to are likely to others’ needs. I discovered myself telling her stories from the past — my very own and my husband’s — just because, without competing voices around, I could.
Anantara’s Golden Triangle Elephant Resort & Camp currently has 20 elephants, including a mother and baby pair. The hotel said they don’t buy the elephants, and riding them is forbidden.
Source: Monica Pitrelli
The time also afforded many teachable moments — lessons that had long needed to be taught. While resting in our room someday, I suddenly remembered that we wanted to position lunch orders for my daughter’s next school term.
“Mom,” she said, looking up from her book. “We will do this after we get home.”
As a bonus, my husband reported having a beautiful time at home with my other children — having fun with their very own special moments as a trio, without the complications that may include a family of 5.
Memories that last ‘eternally’
California native Madeline Austin also grew up with five people in her family. She said she vividly remembers the trips she took as a baby together with her mother and grandmother.
The trips “centered around something they knew I used to be involved in. For instance, I did a report on Yellowstone National Park in elementary school and have become obsessive about the geysers, in order that they took me on an extended weekend trip to go to and see them in real life,” she said.
A recent photo of Madeline Austin and her mother before they went to the Hollywood Bowl, a live music venue in Los Angeles, California.
Source: Madeline Austin
Austin said her family didn’t travel often, so it felt “incredibly special” to take trips together with her mom.
“She was invested in my interests, and the undivided attention I received from her that weekend — especially because the forgotten middle child — was truly special and something I’ll remember eternally,” she said.
She recalled holding hands together with her mom and watching a geyser erupt. “I also remember leaving the park drained from walking, getting dinner together and having the ability to order soda — which we didn’t often have at home!”
Austin, 27, is not a parent yet, but she said she would proceed the tradition together with her own children someday.
“It’s such a special time to attach one-on-one together with your child in a way you could’t replicate at home.”
