Some families have the great challenge of holidaying with a fussy eater, bad flyer, naysayer and complainer. We are not talking about the children here, but their spouse! Your partner is your world, your rock, and there’s no way you could live without him or her. Through travel, you want to create many priceless memories together as a family.

However when your loved one isn’t on board with your travel plans; whether they are reluctant to try new things, afraid of new environments or meeting foreigners, it will make family travel very difficult.

So here is what you need to do to convince your partner to go on family travelling:

  1. Find out why they don’t want to travel

Are they afraid of getting lost? There are WiFi and Google maps. Afraid of language barrier? Visit an English speaking country or download Google translate. Afraid of foreign food? McDonald’s are everywhere! Afraid of flying? Introduce some stats: flying is a lot safer than road travel. Stop watching shows like Air crash investigations!

  1. Go where they want to go

Tie your next family travel destination to the interests of your spouse. For example, if they are into wines – head to Bordeaux. If it is football – head to Barcelona to see the Nou Camp!

Unless you are married to a cardboard cutout, there will be at least one thing that will help convince your spouse to go. It might be movie shooting locations, awesome shops or cool modern buildings. Show your spouse what they will see ensuring them it will not be days of endless changing nappies and Disney stuff.

  1. Address the “We don’t have enough money to travel” objection

Travelling doesn’t have to be expensive and there are many ways to save money while travelling. Also don’t forget that family travelling especially with toddlers almost cost nothing extra. At first try travelling locally or visit this years’ value for money destinations.

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  1. Tell them you want to go!

Some people we know never actually tell their partner of their dream to take the family travelling! Simply tell your partner why you want to travel, and what you want to experience. If you feel you need to recharge from day to day parenting, work and have a change from daily routine, bring this up with your spouse. Share how you feel going on a family holiday will positively impact your family’s life.

  1. Gentle persuasion also helps

Plant your persuasion seeds. For example, if you want to encourage your spouse to travel to Japan, eat out at ramen restaurants. You can also watch movies that bring the city or culture into focus. For us, when we watched James Bond’s Skyfall (the best one ever!), it made us fall in love with London all over again – hence family trip there.

  1. Show how well prepared you are

From booking airfares to accommodation to sorting out public transport make sure everything is lined up so once you reach the destination, it’s all smooth going. Show your spouse how organized and hassle free the holiday will be. There’s nothing to stress about.

  1. Ensure them flights with the children will be manageable

There are many ways to survive long haul flights with children. Most toddlers and older children enjoy plane travel as the in flight entertainment system will keep them busy.  If the concern is a long flight, consider upgrading to business class for comfort, or plan a stopover to break the trip.

  1. Let them see other travelling families

Remind them there are countless other families that travel all the time to all sorts of destinations. Lead them to read family travel blogs (like ours!). Follow other family’s Instagram pages. These will assure your spouse that so many other families embrace the concept of family travel.

  1. Keep your partner away from the naysayers

A lot of travel news we hear from the media are almost always negative. Unfortunately this is the kind of story that sells! Yes, family travel is still safe. Also don’t rule out destinations based on your one friend’s negative experience. If we had listened to all our friends’ comments (those who seem to know a lot but never actually been), we would never have visited beautiful and amazing countries like India, China, Turkey and Nepal.