Hilary Russell of The Slope Seeker Family has skied the same corner of Austria for more than 15 years, first with her husband and now with their three boys. Her family skis twice as long there for about half of what they used to spend skiing in the US. However, as Hilary will tell you, the savings are only half the story! It’s the village bakeries, the cows and horses out in snowy fields, ski instructors who are direct but kind, and a ski school lunch table full of kids chattering in different languages. Sign us up!

Hilary grew up in Türkiye and Germany and learned to ski in the Bavarian Alps as a little girl. Today she lives on a lake in Alabama, and helps families plan their own Austria ski trips.

A LITTLE SKI HISTORY
Austria is widely considered the birthplace of modern downhill skiing and ski teaching. In the early 1900s, Hannes Schneider began teaching in St. Anton. His Arlberg technique spread around the world, all the way to the ski school he opened in New Hampshire in 1939, which trained many American instructors. Closer to Hilary’s home base, Axamer Lizum hosted Olympic alpine events when Innsbruck held the Winter Olympics in 1964 and 1976.

IN THIS EPISODE

• The “why are we doing this?” moment that sparked her family’s swap
• Why you don’t have to be an expert skier to love it here
• Why Austrians won’t put up with price gouging
• Village life
• One pass = 12 resorts
• Gearhart, the slopeside hut owner who now greets her husband as “Alabama”
• Walkie-talkies, gondola friendships, and kids gaining independence on the mountain
• How Austrian run colors compare to U.S. runs
• Off days: tunnel water slides, Swarovski Crystal Worlds, and day trips to Salzburg and Neuschwanstein Castle
• How she’d structure a first week for beginners
• What to pack, what to rent, and drying clothes on the wall heaters
• The big side-by-side swap comparison

DESTINATIONS COVERED — AUSTRIA

• Innsbruck and the Tyrol region
• Kühtai (night skiing!)
• Stubai Glacier
• Schlick 2000
• Axamer Lizum
• Hochoetz
• Muttereralm
• Day trips: Salzburg and Neuschwanstein Castle (Bavaria)

RESOURCES

• Hilary on Instagram: @theshamblessttraveler (her story highlights break down each ski area, packing, and gear)
• The Slope Seeker Family itineraries: theshamblessttraveler.com
• Make the Swap: Belize and Mexico City with Marion Donat: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1PX8VAMhSv1midCSKBCFMM
• Coffee Break German podcast (Hilary’s pick for learning a few phrases)
• Untethered Childhood on Instagram: @untethered_childhood
• Email: hello@untetheredchildhoodpod.com

What swap should we cover next? Come tell us on Instagram, and we’ll go track down an expert for it.

P.S. Untethered Childhood was just named one of the best family travel podcasts on Feedspot. Thank you for listening, sharing, and cheering us on!

Until next time, we’re raising explorers together.

This week I'm sitting down with Erin Campbell. Erin has spent 20 years studying what really motivates people. Today she's a fractional CMO, mom to an 11-year-old, and co-founder of Pareidolia, a family board game built around one simple question: What do you see?

Erin walks us through her family's 10-day trip across Iceland's west and south, a three-generation trip. We go from the bottom of a dormant volcano to the top of a glacier, with whale watching, Arctic river rafting, and thousands of puffins playing in the wind along the way. Then we dig into pareidolia: why our brains do it and how a simple game of "what do you see?" teaches kids that people can look at the same thing and come away with different conclusions. We close on working mom life and the three words Erin's never forgotten: embrace the chaos.

Iceland and pareidolia turn out to be a natural pair. Erin spotted faces in the icebergs (a woodpecker head! a proud seal!), and Iceland has its own long tradition of seeing more in its rocks than meets the eye. Just ask a local about the hidden people said to live in them.

This episode isn't sponsored -- I just love this notion of observing, and how well it fits in with traveling with our kids!

DESTINATIONS COVERED — ICELAND

• Keflavík International Airport (KEF)
• Reykjavík
• Þríhnúkagígur: volcano tour
• Snæfellsnes Peninsula: a scenic coastal drive and a boat ride to spot whales and seals
• Hvammstangi: bird watching
• The Golden Circle: Gullfoss (waterfall), Geysir, and Þingvellir (where two tectonic plates meet)
• Hvítá River: whitewater rafting
• Sólheimajökull: glacier hike
• Jökulsárlón: zodiac boat tour on the glacier lagoon
• Ingólfshöfði: puffin colony tour
• The Blue Lagoon

MENTIONED

• The Culture Map by Erin Meyer
• Johns Hopkins Magazine: The science behind why we see faces in nature
• iScience: Processing visual ambiguity in fractal patterns: Pareidolia as a sign of creativity (2022)

ABOUT THE GUEST

Erin Campbell has spent 20 years inside the retail and marketing world, trying to understand one thing: why people buy what they buy. She's done it from every seat at the table: as a strategist at Saatchi & Saatchi X, where she ran a $20M digital and retail media portfolio for brands like Walmart, Procter & Gamble, and Spin Master; as SVP of Customer Insights at Hy-Vee, where she built the company's first-ever attitudinal customer segmentation; and as a consumer product founder herself, co-founding and exiting the beverage brand GEN Z Water within three years.

Today she's Managing Partner of The Circle Foundry, a human capital investment firm she co-founded to back founder-led consumer brands she believes in, and a Fractional CMO who has advised more than 100 first-time founders. She lives in Bentonville, Arkansas, with her husband, Brandon, and their son, Everett.

• Pareidolia Games: play.pareidoliagames.com
• TikTok: @pareidoliagames
• IG: @pareidolia.games
• Follow along: IG- @untethered_childhood

Look up. Ask what they see. Keep raising explorers. Memories don't burn, and neither does imagination.

Let’s get real: one of the most daunting parts of international travel with kids is the bags. I’m a little maniacal about my lists in the weeks leading up to a trip, and it’s taken a whole lot of trial and embarrassing error to land on a system that works for our family. You should see my checklists and post-it notes and highlighters. I've spent years fumbling through suitcases, car seats and obsessing over supplies for "what if somebody gets sick".

On our July trip to Europe, I jotted down tips in real time, as it was happening, and built this solo episode from my notes. It's a good one to save and listen to before you roll out your luggage.

I’m walking you through how I build our family packing list for Europe, from that very first list to the last zipper. I wanted to give more meaning and context, so this one goes beyond the suitcase. We talk about the mindset that turned packing from a dreaded chore into a fun challenge for me (something our wildfire taught me), and how to get your whole household ready before you peace out for the airport.

It's a lot about cognitive offload, lightening your mental load (you know, my love language as a millennial mom): being purposeful about putting pieces in place ahead of time so you can stop second-guessing. The goal here is to get you to the "settle in and enjoy it" phase faster.

IN THIS EPISODE

• “Forced minimalism”: what losing every possession in our wildfire taught me about packing light and choosing fewer, better pieces
• Start with the type of trip, then set your goal: how your bag count shapes decisions from there on out
• Why I start two to three weeks out (I love to ease into a trip)
• The questions I ask before packing medicine plus where I don't cut corners
• What to bring vs. what to buy when you land
• My capsule wardrobe for travel, and why it doesn’t have to be all neutrals. Life is too short to leave your pretty dresses at home!
• Planning for laundry so you’re not packing for two full weeks
• Kids’ clothes, shoes, and the bright-color trick for spotting each other in a crowded airport
• Peace-of-mind safety steps: AirTags, an ID bracelet for little ones, and the itinerary I send to our emergency contacts
• Getting kids excited before you go, kids’ activities for long flights, and the toiletry-bag hack that keeps all those little pieces from exploding in their backpacks
• Household prep: depleting the fridge, checking passports

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

• Hatch travel sound machine
• Anker battery pack
• Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
• Dr. Bronner’s soap (I love the lavender)
• Seventh Generation laundry detergent sheets

CONNECT

• Instagram: @untethered_childhood
• Email: hello@untetheredchildhoodpod.com

Stay light where you can, bring what makes you feel like yourself, and let the rest work itself out once you land. Keep raising explorers.

Off the coast of Naples, there's an island with over a hundred natural hot springs, a castle that lights up the night sky, and a pace of life that makes you forget where you left your phone.

Ischia is the lesser-known island in the Bay of Naples: lush, volcanic, and wonderfully unfussy. The people pull you in like you're one of their own, and the kids on the beach will have yours playing ball with them before lunch hits the table.

In this solo episode, Jordan cracks open her travel journal from five days on Ischia with her husband, two kids, and her in-laws, the slow, sunny ending to a faster-paced trip through Italy. The first half gives you a feel for the island: the spa day, the castle, the food, the little fishing village. The second half covers the nuts and bolts: where to stay, how to get around, and what she'd do differently next time.

IN THIS EPISODE

• Where Ischia sits in the Bay of Naples, and why it's a natural fit for families who want to settle in
• A full day at Negombo: 14 thermal pools carved into rock and caves, a cove full of yachts, and a lunch "kiosk" that turned out to be something much better
• How a grilled chicken leg and an orange Italian Fanta made a little boy proud as a peacock
• Giardini Ravino, a garden built from a sea captain's 40-year plant collection, with peacocks roaming the grounds (plus a heads-up for toddlers and cacti)
• Sant'Angelo, the car-free fishing village where kids can roam and play
• Castello Aragonese, first built in 474 BC: pirate stories, dungeons, and how to tour it
• Coniglio all'ischitana, the slow-braised rabbit dish + the island history behind it
• Three fave restaurants
• Rooftop aperitivo with a castle view
• Getting around: walkable streets, a stroller-friendly town, cash-only taxis, and a very memorable rental car
• What's on the list for next time -- yay for learnings!

DESTINATIONS COVERED — ISCHIA, ITALY

• Ischia Porto (Via Roma, Corso Vittoria Colonna)
• Ischia Ponte and Castello Aragonese
• Forio and Giardini Ravino
• Sant'Angelo
• Negombo thermal park

WHERE WE STAYED + ATE

• Villa Durrueli
• Dortas
• Auras
• Porcavacca Steakhouse

RESOURCES

• Coming soon: our episode on navigating Italy's ferries with kids
• Instagram: @untethered_childhood
• Email: hello@untetheredchildhoodpod.com

Some places ask you to keep everything running. Some just let you be there. Keep raising explorers. Memories don't burn.

Argentina is one of those countries that's almost impossible to encapsulate in one sentence: jungle waterfalls, wine country at the foot of the Andes, glaciers, penguins, a lake town that looks like it was picked up out of Switzerland. So we're not summing it up. We're going stop by stop, and I've got the two best people to walk us through it.

Kathleen Hall and Melanie Marsell are the powerhouse duo behind Explore the Americas, a women-owned family travel company built around Latin America. Together they've designed more than 3,000 trips, personally tested over 500 properties, and been featured in Travel + Leisure, HuffPost, and Authority Magazine. Melanie is a proud tica who grew up on a farm in rural Costa Rica and has been working in Costa Rican tourism since 2011. Kathleen started out as a biologist, came to Costa Rica to study abroad eleven years ago, took a job at the beach, planned to stay a year... and never left!

What keeps things extra interesting is they have opposing viewpoints on some travel areas, so we really get some flavor here. Kathleen's a Brazil gal, Melanie's a Chile gal, and it makes for the most fun conversation. Oh, and Melanie recorded our episode 38 weeks pregnant. I always say mamas on the brink of delivery get stuff DONE, y'all!

I pulled up my map, we got to work, and I only butchered a few pronunciations along the way. (Kathleen gave my "Buenos Aires" an 8 out of 10. I'll take it!)

In this episode:

• The Buenos Aires neighborhoods they send every family to
• Estancias, gauchos, and asado, just an hour outside the city
• Iguazú Falls: why the Argentine side puts you in the falls, the boat ride that's a whole lot more than mist, and the famous walkway not to plan your trip around
• Mendoza, which Melanie calls a hidden gem for families: horseback riding in the Andes, the Vendimia harvest festival, and a winery tour that sends you home with a bottle your kid designed
• Bariloche and Northern Patagonia: lakes, paddleboarding, and a chocolate tour with major Willy Wonka energy
• El Calafate and the Perito Moreno Glacier, and why you don't have to be an "ultimate trekker" to do Patagonia
• El Chaltén for you hiking families
• Hopping over to Chile for Torres del Paine (and puma tracking!)
• Ushuaia: the End of the World train, penguins, and the Beagle Channel
• Why Argentina is a jet lag win for US families: one time zone, about an hour off Eastern
• Getting around a very long country, including the two-airport mistake in Buenos Aires
• Babysitting, when to go, visas, and vaccines
• We briefly get into a Disney comparison, and I promise it's not the same ole tired comparison argument you've heard over and over again

Destinations — ARGENTINA (+ A LITTLE CHILE & BRAZIL)

• Buenos Aires: Palermo, Recoleta, tango dinner shows
• Estancias outside Buenos Aires
• Iguazú Falls and the Devil's Throat (Garganta del Diablo)
• Mendoza
• Bariloche
• El Calafate and the Perito Moreno Glacier
• El Chaltén and Fitz Roy
• Torres del Paine, Chile
• Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego National Park, and the Beagle Channel

Guests:

Kathleen Hall and Melanie Marsell, co-founders of Explore the Americas

exploretheamericastravel.com | Instagram: @exploretheamericastravel

Email: info@exploretheamericastravel.com

Follow along on Instagram: @untethered_childhood and email - hello@untetheredchildhoodpod.com

¡Vamos! We're raising explorers together.

Dr. Jacqueline Harding is an internationally recognized child development expert whose career spans advising the UK government, practitioners, and parents, and shaping the children's TV shows kids grow up on, from Peter Rabbit to Teletubbies! In this conversation, she and Jordan dig into the science behind her latest book, The Brain That Loves to Laugh: A Visual Guide to Humour and Human Connection in the Early Years — why laughter drops cortisol and reverses the stress response, and what she calls the "triangle": the shared attention, eye gaze, and closeness that build real connection between a parent and child, whether you're across the table or across an ocean.

From there, they get into novelty: how new places, new people, and new languages activate a child's brain in ways familiar routines can't, and why that novelty is what makes travel memories stick. They talk about why resilience is something kids learn by watching how the adults around them handle a setback (canceled flights included!) and why it's never too late to reconnect with a child.

Of course, we had to save some time at the end to get Dr. Harding's list of favorite spots for a family trip to England (her homeland), from a whirlwind day in London to slower days in the Oxfordshire countryside.

Key Takeaways:

• Hope, humor, and human connection as what Dr. Harding calls essential nutrients for a developing brain
• The "triangle" (shared attention, eye gaze, and close proximity)
• The brain's "Velcro for negative, Teflon for positive" wiring, and why kids need an abundance of good experiences
• How novelty from traveling opens up a child's brain from a narrow "spotlight" of focus to a wider "lantern" of creative awareness
• The NASA-funded creativity study
• Neuroplasticity and why it's never too late to reconnect with a child
• Modeling resilience for kids during travel setbacks
• Why children need to feel safe before they can be creative or take social risks
• Dr. Harding's recommendations for a family trip to England: London highlights (Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, Big Ben, Oxford Street, the Thames at night, Hyde Park, London Zoo) and slower days exploring the Oxfordshire countryside

About the Guest

Dr. Jacqueline Harding is an internationally recognized child development and education expert who advises the UK government, practitioners, and parents. She's the founder of Tomorrow's Child and TCTV, chair of the Bright Start Foundation, and an Honorary Visiting Research Fellow at Middlesex University, and previously served as a BBC Education Editor, government consultant, and headteacher. She's worked on children's TV shows including Peter Rabbit, Teletubbies, Clangers, BBC's BeddyByes and My First, and CBeebies Parenting, and recently consulted with Disney and Mattel on the Toy Story 5 toy line. She's the author of more than 40 books, including her trilogy The Brain That Loves to Play, The Brain That Loves to Laugh, and Little Brains Love to Talk, alongside children's books. She's a mother of four and grandmother of nine, and lives just outside Oxford, England.

• Dr. Jacqueline Harding's website: drjacquelineharding.com
• Follow Untethered Childhood on Instagram: @untethered_childhood

The island that overwhelms you on arrival — and is nearly impossible to leave.

There's a place where restaurant staff hold your baby so you can finish your meal, where kids aren't just tolerated but celebrated, and where six months planned turned into three years lived. That's Bali, according to today's guest.

Alison Emerick's family spent three years living in Bali — sandwiched between two years in Singapore and their current home in Lisbon — moving there when her kids were just three and five years old. She's walking through everything a first-time family needs to know: how to survive the flight, where to actually stay, which beaches are worth it (spoiler — not many), and what happens when your kid splits her chin open!

Meet Alison Alison is a writer, photographer, and American mom of two now living in Lisbon after nearly seven years abroad — first in Singapore, then three years in Bali. She's the founder of Semicurated Life and the author of a comprehensive Bali Family Guide covering neighborhoods, sample itineraries, and safety information for families. Before any of it, she studied French and International Studies and teaching English in Japan through the JET Program.

In This Episode:

• Where Bali is in this great big world, and how to get there
• Surviving the long-haul flight: overnight legs, screens without guilt, and why Singapore Airlines tops her list
• The airport "taxi mafia" and why a prearranged private driver is worth arranging in advance
• Health and safety on the ground: dengue, rabies, motorbike accidents, and the reality of pay-before-they-treat-you healthcare — including the day her daughter split her chin open and needed stitches under anesthesia
• Area-by-area breakdown: Sanur vs. Nusa Dua vs. the South Bali resort towns vs. Ubud
• Why Ubud disappoints more families than it delights, and where she sends people instead
• Island-hopping options: Nusa Lembongan for the beaches Bali itself doesn't really deliver, and Flores for Komodo dragons and some of the best snorkeling of their time in Indonesia
• What things actually cost: villas, private drivers, food delivery, childcare, massages
• The daily offerings (canang sari) woven into everyday Balinese life, and what they taught her kids
• When to go: the wet-versus-dry season breakdown, and her least-favorite month to visit

Links + Resources 

Follow Alison’s adventures on Instagram: @semicuratedlife 

Alison’s Bali Family Guide: https://stan.store/semicuratedlife/p/get-my-bali-guide-for-families-now

Semicuratedlife site: https://semicuratedlife.com/

Questions or episode ideas? hello@untetheredchildhoodpod.com Follow the show: Instagram @untethered_childhood

There are 20 distinctive regions, and today we're zooming into Southern Italy - the CAMPANIA region! This "happy land" is the region that gave us Amalfi Coast, Naples, Pompeii, and Sorrento.

Luigi Panella is a Southern Italian luxury chauffeur who was born and raised in Campania and has spent the last 15 years guiding families through the region he knows through and through. He's the kind of guide who doesn't just drive you somewhere, he tells you what you're standing on. I've trusted him with two of my own Italy trips, including one with two very small kids, and he is a big reason those trips worked so well for us.

This episode is a window into what a Southern Italy trip for a family could look like, the sweet hidden stops along the coast, the food, and how to approach it with kids. It's an insider's guide. I truly think if you go with your kids, it'll leave a lasting impression on all of you.

Wherever you are in your planning — just dreaming or actively researching — we hope you leave feeling inspired. Andiamo!

In This Episode

• Why the Romans called Southern Italy's Campania region Campania Felix — the Happy Land — and why it still earns that name
• The mindset shift Luigi says will make or break your Italy trip: come as a traveler, not a tourist, and choose one or two regions to really sink into
• The case Luigi makes for ditching the car and seeing the Amalfi Coast by boat with young kids (from the man who's driven that road hundreds of times)
• Where to base your family on the Amalfi Coast, and how to hop between villages by ferry like a local
• The layers hiding underneath the coast's 13 towns — including an ancient Roman villa buried beneath a church in Positano, the cave at Conca dei Marini (La Grotta dello Smeraldo), and why Ravello inspired a Wagner opera
• Why Luigi calls Naples a "giant playground of history and flavors" — and what it takes to see it that way
• Sorrento as the ideal family home base: stroller-friendly, walkable, connected by train, and deeply local
• Why kids love Pompeii (the volcano backdrop, the Romans' big cobblestones, the sense of a city frozen in time)
• Making the case for Matera — a UNESCO World Heritage city where people lived in caves until the 1950s — and its neighbor Alberobello and its iconic trulli stone houses
• Luigi's cheat sheet for spotting a tourist trap restaurant vs. the real thing (short menu, slow pasta, dinner at 7:30)
• What Southern Italy's food culture teaches kids about slowing down, lingering at the table, and what it means when someone says prendiamoci un caffè

Links + Resources

🌐 Luigi Panella: luigipanella.com 📱 Instagram: @LuigiPanellaLuxuryChauffeurs

📩 Questions or feedback? hello@untetheredchildhoodpod.com 📱 Follow along: @untethered_childhood

You go to Italy for the views. You leave with something deeper. Keep raising explorers.

Part 2 of our Japan series with Jo MacGregor is here — and this one is all about the stuff that actually makes or breaks a trip. Phrases to teach your kids before you land. The konbini experience that her kids sprint toward the second they touch down. Omakase with children (yes, really). Playgrounds that look like they were designed by a giant who loved Godzilla. And the luggage forwarding system that will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about traveling with kids.

If you missed Part 1, go back and start there — it's a full three-week itinerary, city by city. This episode picks up where that one left off.

IN THIS EPISODE

• Two mistakes families make when planning a Japan trip (and one of them will surprise you)
• Why Jo says strollers are non-negotiable
• Are kids actually treated like celebrities in Japan? Jo gives an honest, nuanced answer
• What to do if your family has gluten-free needs — including a Facebook group Jo recommends and a kitchen hack that changes the equation
• How to read a room, Japanese-style: the cultural motto Jo uses with her own kids everywhere they travel
• Japanese phrases to teach your kids before the flight lands (including the one that will make every waiter light up)
• Konbini culture — what it is, why whole YouTube channels are dedicated to it, and why it might become the highlight of your kids' trip
• Omakase explained: what it actually means in Japan versus what we think it means, and how to do it smartly with a family
• The playgrounds. We talk about the playgrounds.
• Sumo and baseball — the seasonal schedule you need if either of these is on your list
• Luggage forwarding: the system that lets you travel like a local and pack like a human being
• What Jo would say to a family the night before their first Japan trip if they called her in a panic

LINKS + RESOURCES thetokyochapter.com — Jo updates her area guides constantly with new finds. Bookmark it!

Jo on Instagram @thetokyochapter

Find me at @untethered_childhood or hello@untetheredchildhoodpod.com

We are thrilled and honored to bring Jo MacGregor to the show for a special two-part series on Japan. Jo is a mom, language aficionado, Japan expert, and the author behind The Tokyo Chapter — the most-read Japan with kids blog out there. She is precisely what you need if you're interested in Japan — she brings a level of detail that will make your heart smile and immediately put you at ease. 

She fell in love with Japan at fifteen as a full-immersion exchange student, spent most of her twenties living and working there (hotel concierge, ballet school, you name it), met her Scottish husband in Japan, and then moved back with babies. She's been going back three to four times a year ever since, keeping every restaurant rec, every playground tip, every detail on her blog FRESH and CURRENT. She lives in Melbourne now. She leaves no stone unturned. When you'll meet her you'll get it. You'll understand why I say we need a Jo MacGregor on every continent!!

Here's what makes Jo different from every other Japan resource you'll find: her blog is the tips, the findings, and the honest mistakes — so you don't have to make them. Their life in and out of Japan is colorful and adventurous, and also beautifully normal and relatable. 

This is Part 1 of a two-part Japan series. Today: the destinations and a full three-week family itinerary, city by city. Part 2 next week covers the practical details — what to book and when, those legendary Japanese playgrounds, convenience store culture, phrases you can practice with your kids and more. So make sure you come back next week!

IN THIS EPISODE

• Jo's three-week family itinerary: Tokyo → Takayama → Kanazawa → Kyoto → Hiroshima → Miyajima → back to Tokyo
• How a fifteen-year-old exchange student became the internet's most trusted Japan-with-kids resource
• What Japan smells, sounds, and feels like before you've even formed a thought
• Futuristic and modern meets old world elegance — the striking contrasts that make this country unlike anywhere else on earth
• Takayama: dreamy mix of old wooden streets and mountain air where time slows
• Ryokans, onsens, and the story of Jo's son who was a terrible sleeper — until Japan fixed him overnight
• How to take your kids to Hiroshima in a way that's honest and age-appropriate

LINKS + RESOURCES thetokyochapter.com — free area guides for every city in the itinerary, broken down neighborhood by neighborhood. Start here. Jo on Instagram @thetokyochapter — real-time tips, kids on trains, convenience store runs, all of it.

Find me on Instagram @untethered_childhood or at hello@untetheredchildhoodpod.com — tell me where you want to go next. Part 2 with Jo drops next week.

Same budget. Same week off. Just somewhere new — a little outside your comfort zone, but not as far as you might think.

This week I'm sitting down with my real-life friend (and one of the savviest travel minds I know) Marion Donat, a travel advisor with Fora Travel who has a way of making international family travel feel less scary and way more possible. She's a mom of two based in Texas, and Marion and I have known each other for nearly two decades — I've admired her adventures and her work for a long time.

In this episode, we dig into two destinations Marion keeps coming back to for families: Belize and Mexico City. Ready to be surprised? Both are closer, easier, and more affordable than you'd expect.

What You'll Learn in This Episode

• Ever since I started thinking about my own philosophy around family travel, one thing has gnawed at me: why do we keep going back to the same places? What are we missing?
• Why Belize might be an awesome gateway international destination for American families (think: English spoken everywhere, US dollars accepted, short direct flights, same time zone, and nurse sharks your kids will talk about forever)
• Why Mexico City is more manageable than it sounds for families, and how to find neighborhoods where you feel the city, not just see it
• How staying in a short-term apartment rental puts you right in the middle of local life — pool, soccer field, supermarket downstairs, and all
• The only Michelin-starred taco stand in the world—and why Marion's son still begs to go back
• How Marion balances building a packed itinerary with leaving room to actually breathe and wander
• What Marion hopes her kids carry with them from all of this travel when they grow up — this one will stay with you

About Marion Donat:

Marion Donat is a travel advisor with Fora Travel specializing in international trips for families with young kids. She has a background in hospitality and corporate meeting planning—which basically means she has spent her whole career figuring out how to make travel work, beautifully, for other people. Marion grew up in Newport, Arkansas (small world!) and traces her love of travel back to sitting around her grandmother's kitchen table as a little girl, hearing stories about Buenos Aires and African safaris, and thinking I want that.

These days, she's the person who helps families stop scrolling "someday" destinations and start actually booking them.

• Instagram: @mcd.travels
• Marion Donat — Fora Travel

Destinations Covered:

Belize:

• San Pedro / Ambergris Caye
• Barrier Reef snorkeling
• Swimming with nurse sharks
• Mayan ruins + howler monkeys + carpenter ants
• Fishing for your lunch
• Golf cart transportation (kids lose their minds over this)
  

Mexico City (CDMX):

• Roma Norte neighborhood
• The best children's museum Marion's family has ever visited
• Museo Nacional de Antropología (giant artifacts that made her kids feel tiny in the best way)
• Lucha libre wrestling at Arena México
• Frida Kahlo Museum
• The only Michelin-rated taco stand in the world
• Day trip option: Teotihuacán pyramids + hot air balloons

Thanks for listening to Untethered Childhood. We're raising explorers together. I'll see you next time.

Some conversations stay with you. This is one of them. In this episode of Untethered Childhood, host Jordan Neri sits down with Heather Greenwood Davis, a travel journalist, on-air personality, and mother of two who left a law career behind to build a life around storytelling and travel. In 2011, Heather, her husband Ish, and their two sons spent an entire year traveling the world together — 29 countries, six continents, 365 days. National Geographic named them their 2012 Travelers of the Year.

In this episode, we hear about what that time taught her kids and what it taught her as a mother.

About Our Guest:

Heather Greenwood Davis is a force — she's been kicking doors wide open. She was the first Black woman to hold a travel column at both of Canada's national newspapers, The Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail. For over 20 years, she's told travel stories that encourage parents to raise global citizens without sacrificing their own dreams.

Her work has appeared in National Geographic (where she's been a contributing editor and columnist), Travel+Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, and AFAR. She's appeared on and hosted travel segments on Good Morning America, CBS Sunday Morning, CTV's The Social, and CHCH Morning Live. She's won multiple gold awards for her writing, was named the Family Travel Association's Person of the Year, and was a finalist for Global Travel Writer of the Year.

Heather's approach to travel and parenting comes down to this: we each get a life, and living yours fully isn't something to apologize for. She believes the world is kind and that the best thing you can do for your kids is show them — by example — what it looks like to be fulfilled.

What We Cover:

• How Heather left a law career to return to journalism and travel writing and why creating that space changed everything
• Peru as the family test drive before the year-long trip — what surprised them and what they learned about their kids
• Why Heather believes the best trips leave breathing room instead of packing every minute
• Raising global citizens at home, even before you book a flight
• The truth about motherhood no one says out loud: being fulfilled as a person makes you a better parent

Destination: Peru

• Lima
• Ollantaytambo
• Machu Picchu
• Cusco
• Miraflores
• Recommended tour company: G Adventures (partners with National Geographic) — gadventures.com
• Hotel recommendation: SUMAQ Machu Picchu Hotel — family owned, incredible personal service, right at the bus stop to Machu Picchu — sumaqhotelperu.com

Resources:

• Heather Greenwood Davis: heathergreenwooddavis.com
• Instagram: @byheathergd
• TV: CTV's The Social, CHCH Morning Live
• Publications: National Geographic, AFAR, Travel+Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, The Globe and Mail
• G Adventures family tours: gadventures.com

Untethered Childhood:

• Instagram: @untethered_childhood
• Email us your topic ideas: hello@untetheredchildhoodpod.com

Kevin is a journalist, photographer, and dad of two who's taken his sons to over a dozen countries since they were toddlers. He and his wife Christina plan trips around activities that build confidence, and Ecuador delivered: volcanoes, cloud forests, the Galapagos Islands, and the Amazon rainforest.

In this episode, Kevin walks us through their itinerary, sharing why Ecuador turned out to be such a memorable trip.

About Our Guest: Kevin Wagar is a journalist, photographer, and travel writer based just outside Toronto, Ontario. He's the creator behind Wandering Wagars, where he documents family adventures.

Kevin's approach to travel is rooted in curiosity and intention. His family chooses culture and meaningful experiences over convenience and routine. They're happiest hiking through wild landscapes, sharing meals that tell a story, and staying in places with character. For Kevin, travel is about learning how the world works, understanding different perspectives, and growing together as a family. His work exists to show other families what's possible when you choose to travel with purpose.

In this episode, we dig into these places in Ecuador:

• Quito: Valley of the Volcanoes, incredible food scene, equator museums
• Otavalo: Textile market, animal market, Indigenous music workshops
• Cotopaxi National Park: Wild horses, volcano views, rustic lodge experience
• Quilotoa: Crater lake, steep kayaking adventure, downhill mountain biking disaster (in the best way)
• Galapagos Islands: Small boat cruises, marine iguanas, sea lions, hawks, snorkeling
• Ecuadorian Amazon (via Coca): La Selva Lodge, piranha fishing, canopy walks, Indigenous community visits

Resources: Wandering Wagars: www.wanderingwagars.com

• Detailed Ecuador itinerary with accommodation recommendations
• YouTube videos showing the Quilotoa hike, Galapagos wildlife, Amazon adventures
• Instagram: @wanderingwagars

Untethered Childhood Instagram: @untethered_childhood

Host Jordan Neri sits down with Dearbhaile Ni Dhubhghaill, a zoologist, conservationist, and founder of This Wildlife of Mine. Dearbhaile has worked with cheetahs in Namibia, sea turtles in Cape Verde, and researched wildlife on every single continent.

We're diving deep into two family-friendly destinations: Namibia (Africa's best-kept secret for safaris) and Australia's East Coast. Dearbhaile walks through exactly how to plan these trips—where to go, what to expect, how to research ethical experiences, and why some of the best wildlife encounters require a little patience and a willingness to "earn it."

This isn't about checking boxes or getting Instagram shots. It's about fostering empathy in your kids, teaching them to observe and wait, and giving them experiences that books and documentaries just can't replicate.

What You'll Learn:

• What a cassowary is and why your kids will think they're seeing dinosaurs
• Why Namibia beats South Africa and Kenya for family safaris (hint: you won't be surrounded by dozens of other vehicles)
• The red flags to watch for when researching wildlife experiences
• How to self-drive through Etosha National Park and actually see leopards in the wild
• Why Australia's East Coast is one of the best road trips in the world for wildlife
• Why stillness and silence in places like Namibia might be exactly what your overstimulated family needs

About Our Guest:

Dearbhaile Ni Dhubhghaill is a zoologist, conservationist, writer, photographer, and founder of This Wildlife of Mine. She graduated top of her class at University College Dublin with a degree in zoology and animal biology, earning the zoology medal for her achievements, and continued her studies at Linköping University in Sweden focusing on applied ethology and animal biology.

Her real education? The field. She's worked as a researcher at the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia, as a field research assistant with OSA Conservation in Costa Rica, in wildlife rehabilitation in Ontario and Malawi, and studied kestrels in Spain. She's been to every continent and now lives in a medieval town in Italy (next door to a castle, naturally).

Most importantly? She has an infectious passion for animals and a gift for making wildlife conservation feel approachable, not intimidating.

Untethered Childhood Instagram: @untethered_childhood

This Wildlife of Mine: www.thiswildlifeofmine.com

• Travel blog with wildlife-focused destination guides
• Instagram: @thiswildlifeofmine_
  

Destinations Discussed:

• Namibia: Etosha National Park, Skeleton Coast, Caprivi Strip
• Australia: Fraser Island (K'gari), Great Barrier Reef, Whitsunday Islands, Cape Tribulation, Brisbane to Cairns stretch

Host Jordan Neri sits down with Dr. Erin Flynn-Evans, a Harvard-trained sleep scientist with over 15 years of experience in sleep medicine, to tackle one of parents' biggest travel fears: jet lag and sleep disruption. Dr. Flynn-Evans breaks down the science of circadian rhythms in a way that's actually practical (not overwhelming!) and shares actionable strategies for helping your kids—and yourself—adjust to new time zones.

From understanding why your toddler is wide awake at 2 a.m. in Paris to learning which items actually matter on your packing list, this conversation is packed with expert insights that will make you feel equipped and confident to plan that trip you've been putting off.

What You'll Learn:

• The science behind circadian rhythms and what's actually happening in your child's body during jet lag
• Specific strategies for eastward vs. westward travel
• Why traveling with infants might actually be easier than you think
• How to embrace cultural norms (hello, 10 p.m. Italian dinners!) without derailing sleep
• The essential vs. unnecessary items for your travel packing list
• Helpful phrases to use when negotiating with your wide-awake four-year-old at 2 a.m.
• How to protect your own energy while managing your kids' sleep schedules abroad
• Why Dr. Flynn-Evans believes the transformative power of travel is worth the temporary disruption

About Our Guest:

Dr. Erin Flynn-Evans is a Harvard-trained sleep scientist who worked in the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital for over 15 years. She's a member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Society for Research on Biological Rhythms, with 65 published peer-reviewed articles examining the effects of sleep loss and circadian misalignment.

She's co-author of "Baby Sleep Science Guide: Overcoming the Four-Month Sleep Regression" and co-founder of Baby Sleep Science, a resource center providing parents with customized, science-backed sleep solutions. She holds a PhD from the University of Surrey in the UK and a Master in Public Health from Harvard School of Public Health.

Most importantly? She's a mom of two who has traveled the globe with her kids and has a refreshing perspective on integrating motherhood with her career.

Key Takeaways:

✈️ Light is your secret weapon: Use bright morning light when traveling east, evening light when traveling west to help reset circadian rhythms

🌍 Embrace the culture: Sometimes staying on home time and enjoying late dinners abroad is easier than forcing a shift

👶 Infants are portable: Young babies' flexible sleep schedules can actually make them easier travel companions than older kids

🧳 Pack smart, not heavy: Familiar sleep cues (sleep sack, lovey) matter more than recreating your entire home routine

⏰ Compromise is key: Start with later bedtimes when traveling east, gradually shift earlier each day

🛏️ Routines still matter: Maintain shortened versions of bedtime routines to signal sleep time

💡 Creative solutions work: Aluminum foil on windows in Iceland's 24-hour daylight? Totally valid!

Resources Mentioned:

Baby Sleep Science: www.babysleepscience.com

• Free blog with comprehensive sleep resources
• Free jet lag travel guides for planning your trips

Sooz shares her personal journey into regenerative tourism, the importance of understanding UNESCO designations, and how travel can be a powerful teacher for children. The conversation also highlights kid-friendly UNESCO sites, cultural and natural heritage experiences, and the value of agritourism.

Destinations covered:

• 🇦🇺 Kakado National Park, Australia
• 🇮🇹 Cinque Terre, Italy
• 🇨🇦 Canadian Rockies

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction to UNESCO World Heritage Sites
• 02:54 Transformative Travel Experiences
• 05:49 The Journey to Regenerative Tourism
• 08:59 Personal Impact of Travel
• 11:46 Understanding UNESCO Designations
• 14:55 The Importance of UNESCO Sites
• 17:59 UNESCO Sites as Living Classrooms
• 21:05 Kid-Friendly UNESCO Destinations
• 24:04 Cultural Highlights: Cinque Terre
• 30:00 Natural Wonders: Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks
• 37:21 Traveling to UNESCO Sites: A Journey Begins
• 39:01 Exploring Mixed UNESCO Sites: Kakadu National Park
• 44:37 Cultural Immersion: Learning from Indigenous Communities
• 46:19 Raising Global Citizens: The Role of Education in Travel
• 52:13 Conversations on Conservation: Teaching Kids Responsibility
• 01:01:23 Agritourism: Connecting Kids with Food and Nature
• 01:09:03 Keeping the Spirit Alive: Post-Travel Reflections