Traveling Together: How a Two-Month Family Adventure Builds Resilience and Strengthens Values

Taking a two-month trip with my husband and our three teens for the last 4 summers has been one of the most transformative experiences we have ever had as a family. Moving our family from Rhode Island to Colorado in 2021 was another major transformative event. As a counseling psychotherapist, I often talk about the importance of connection, resilience, and shared values in family life. But living it firsthand, traveling with teens for an extended period, showed me how powerful these elements become when tested outside the comfort zone of home.

This journey was not just a vacation. It was a reset—a chance to step away from daily routines and distractions, face challenges together, and rebuild our family foundation. I want to share why traveling with teens for such a long stretch can be a crucial investment in their emotional growth and your family’s unity. My husband and I work remotely and we recognize just how fortunate we are to be able to work and travel. Working while traveling with three teens poses challenges that also build grit and resilience. We must negotiate times and turns as a couple.

Facing Adversity Together Builds Grit

When you travel with teens for two months, you inevitably encounter unexpected problems. Flights get delayed, accommodations fall short of expectations, or language barriers create confusion. These moments can be frustrating, but they also offer priceless opportunities for teens to develop grit—the ability to persevere through difficulties.

For example, during our trip to 3 different Hawaiian islands for 6 weeks and Japan for 2, we took 11 flights, 4 trains and endless car rentals and ubers all summer which inevitably lent itself to hiccups and needing flexibility. Instead of letting frustration take over, we sat down together, brainstormed options, and made a plan to find alternatives. Our teens took turns communicating with locals, navigating maps, and managing our budget. This experience taught them to stay calm under pressure and find solutions rather than give up.

Grit is a skill that will serve teens well throughout life. It helps them face academic challenges, social pressures, and future career obstacles with confidence. Traveling with teens exposes them to real-world problems that require persistence and creative thinking.

Problem Solving Skills Grow in Real Time

At home, teens often rely on parents to solve problems or follow predictable routines. But on the road, they must adapt quickly. Planning daily activities, managing time zones, and handling money in different currencies all demand active problem solving.

Our family made a habit of involving everyone in decisions. When choosing where to eat (with allergies and a vegetarian this can be tricky) or which site to visit, each teen researched options and presented their case. This practice encouraged critical thinking and respectful debate. It also gave them a sense of ownership and responsibility.

On one summer trip, we were traveling through France, Italy and Spain. My husband left early to go back to the States for a work event, leaving the 4 of us to travel for 2 more weeks. We switched suit cases and he took home all of the things we no longer needed to lighten our load. In the big suitcase he took home, he unknowingly flew off with our passports. The children and I had to adjust our travel plans while my husband shipped our passports to our next airbnb negotiating all of the details in French with the owners. We kept calm, only traveled in Ubers, (not trains or planes) and awaited for this package to arrive amidst a USPS strike slowing down deliveries. We learned valuable lessons in strategies on how to keep spirits high while feeling anxious and waiting. These moments sharpened their ability to assess situations, weigh options, and act decisively. It also teaches how to do our best and have faith that things will work out when it's out of our hands.

Traveling with teens creates a natural environment for learning these skills. They become active participants in daily problem solving rather than passive passengers.

Strengthening Family Values Through Shared Experiences

Extended travel strips away many distractions that pull families apart—screens, extracurriculars, social obligations. What remains is time together, often in unfamiliar settings that encourage reflection and conversation.

During our two months, we established new family rituals like nightly check-ins where everyone shared highs and lows of the day. We talked openly about what mattered most to each of us and how we wanted to support one another. These conversations deepened our understanding and respect. The older our children become year to year the more they express missing their friends at home while also reporting that they appreciate traveling to gain a wider perspective of the world and can acknowledge that it is good to reset themselves away from social circles from time to time.

We also encountered diverse cultures and ways of life that challenged our assumptions and broadened our perspectives. This exposure helped our teens develop empathy and appreciation for differences, reinforcing values of kindness and open-mindedness.

Traveling with teens gave us the chance to realign our family priorities. We focused on connection, patience, and mutual support rather than rushing through busy schedules. This reset has continued to influence how we relate to each other back home.

Building Resiliency for Life’s Ups and Downs

Resiliency is the ability to bounce back from setbacks and adapt to change. It is essential for mental health and well-being. Traveling with teens for an extended time naturally cultivates resiliency because it places the family in new, sometimes challenging situations.

Our teens learned to handle uncertainty, manage disappointment, and celebrate small victories. They saw firsthand that setbacks are temporary and can be overcome with effort and teamwork.

For instance, when one of our best, most special dining experiences in Japan, later turned into 4 of us getting food poisoning where one of our sons was very ill for 3 days, we had big decisions to make on whether to make trains and proceed or cancel everything and stay put. These family conversations became crucial in the center of crisis and adversity. Caring for each other in crisis became the psychological fabric of our family culture. At home it feels like common place to care for each other while ill, but in a foreign country in unknown landscapes, it feels like life or death while considering hospitals and problem solving getting help for health.

These lessons in resilience are difficult to teach through words alone. They require lived experience, which traveling with teens provides in abundance. Everyone survived and gratitude for each other and health was expressed in abundance.

Practical Tips for Families Considering Long Trips

If you are thinking about traveling with teens for an extended period, here are some practical tips from our experience:

• Involve teens in planning: Let them research destinations, accommodations, and activities. This builds engagement and responsibility.

• Set realistic expectations: Long trips have ups and downs. Prepare everyone for challenges and encourage a positive mindset.

• Create routines: Even on the road, establish simple rituals like family meals or daily reflections to maintain connection.

• Encourage independence: Give teens opportunities to manage money, navigate, and communicate. Support them but allow room to grow.

• Stay flexible: Plans will change. Adaptability is key to enjoying the journey and building resilience.

• Prioritize downtime: Traveling can be exhausting. Balance busy days with rest to avoid burnout.

  
  

The Lasting Impact of Traveling Together

Our two-month family adventures are more than a break from routine. They are a powerful experience that reshapes how we relate to each other and face life’s challenges. Traveling with teens gave us the chance to build grit, problem solving skills, and resiliency in ways that everyday life rarely offers.

If you want to strengthen your family’s values and prepare your children for the complexities of adulthood, consider a long trip together. The shared memories, lessons learned, and bonds formed will last a lifetime. It is an investment in your family’s emotional health and future strength. A one week resort vacation is absolutely wonderful but is not the same experience for building grit and resiliency. Unable to get far away or for long? Our National Parks trips on the road are priceless experiences in planning, adventure, outdoor challenges, many hours together in a car negotiating compromises, and team building. Camping trips are equally team building.

Engage your teens in timelines, budgets, and trip goals. Families who travel together get to build a culture of worldliness and expanded mindsets of how to be in the world as a global citizen: open-mindedly, respectfully and humbly. This allows your teens to consider things more impartially and fairly even if new viewpoints challenge existing beliefs, fostering learning and better problem-solving. You get to model active listening, avoiding quick judgements, and considering alternatives to grow and understand each other and new cultures more deeply. Happy Trails!