Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
If you’re looking for real-life inspiration for traveling with kids—especially as a bigger family—this week’s featured family will show you what’s possible.
Meet the Summers family, a family of seven with five boys, who are proving that travel doesn’t have to be perfectly planned (or perfectly quiet!) to be meaningful. From spontaneous budget flights to road trips and new adventures outside their comfort zone, they’ve built a lifestyle that prioritizes connection, flexibility, and experiencing the world together.
In this feature, they share how they make travel work with a large family—and why it’s always worth it.
Who Are We?
We’re the Summers family — a family of seven with five boys aged 5 to 22, navigating life, business, and travel together.
Our adventures don’t always look the same. Sometimes we travel as a full team of seven, embracing the energy (and chaos) that comes with it. Other times, it’s just four of us exploring, as our older boys focus on their own lives and responsibilities. It’s not always perfectly coordinated, but it’s real — and it works for us.
With Tom (Dad) running his own personal training business and me managing our social media and content, we’ve built a lifestyle that gives us the flexibility to travel on our terms. We share the reality of travelling as a large family — not just the highlights, but the honest, behind-the-scenes moments too.
At the heart of it, we’re about making memories, staying connected, and showing that family travel doesn’t have to be perfect to be worth it.
Why We Travel
For me, travel is personal.
Growing up, my mum was a single parent, and holidays just weren’t something we did. I remember her often saying, “It’s not a holiday if you take the kids,” and for a long time, that idea stuck.
Years later, while on a business trip, I found myself standing in front of Niagara Falls — and it hit me. I didn’t want moments like that to be something my children only experienced later in life, or without family. I wanted them to see the world with us, while they were growing up.
That moment changed everything…
Since then, we’ve made travel a priority — from trips abroad to long road trips, and now even stepping outside our comfort zone with camping adventures (something I never thought I’d say!)
It’s not always easy with a big family, but for us, it’s totally worth it.
Because travel, in our eyes, isn’t about escaping everyday life — it’s about experiencing it together, in as many places and ways as we can. And what our kids gain from travel goes far beyond the trip itself. It’s the confidence, the perspective, the shared experiences — and the way it brings us closer as a family.
For us, that’s something money can’t buy.
Our Travel Style
Our approach to travel is quite simple — and a little bit spontaneous.
I usually start by finding the best flight deals and letting that guide where we go. Once the flights are booked, we figure the rest out. It keeps things flexible, affordable, and opens us up to places we might not have originally considered.
One of my favourite examples of this was our trip to Athens. I found flights for just £27 each, and it turned into one of our most memorable weekends. We booked a couple of activities in advance, but left plenty of time to explore, wander, and experience the city as we found it.
That’s really how we like to travel — a mix of light planning and freedom. While all-inclusive holidays have their place, we prefer to experience destinations more like locals. That means visiting shops, buying our own food, and living day-to-day life in a different country rather than staying within a resort.
For us, it’s about showing the kids more of the world — the culture, the pace of life, and the little everyday moments you don’t always see on a typical holiday.
Looking ahead, we’d love to take this even further — whether that’s travelling Europe in a campervan or spending time volunteering as a family, like working in animal shelters in places such as Thailand.
Our YouTube Journey
What started as me simply capturing family memories — shaped by my background in media — quickly grew into our own YouTube channel.
Now, we document our travels as a large family, sharing how we make it work in real life — from sticking to a budget to planning trips that suit five boys, all with different ages, personalities, and needs. It’s taken time to find our rhythm, but that’s exactly what we share.
Our content is honest and practical, showing both the highlights and the realities of travelling as a big family, so others can see what’s possible without it feeling out of reach.
As our platform continues to grow, we’re now expanding into our own blog, creating more space to share our experiences, tips, and everything we’re learning along the way.
If there’s one thing we hope people take from our journey, it’s this — don’t wait for the perfect time to travel. Just start. Because the memories you create as a family will always be worth more than the reasons holding you back.
Traveling as a Big Family—And Loving It
The Summers family’s story is such a refreshing reminder that family travel doesn’t have to look a certain way to be meaningful.
With five kids, busy schedules, and ever-changing dynamics as their boys grow older, they’ve embraced a flexible, realistic approach to travel—one that prioritizes connection over perfection. Whether it’s a spontaneous weekend in a new city or a big adventure abroad, they’ve found a way to make it work for their family.
Their journey is proof that you don’t need perfect timing, a perfect plan, or even perfect conditions to start traveling with your kids.
If anything, it’s about starting where you are, using what you have, and creating those shared experiences along the way—because those are the moments your family will carry with them for a lifetime.
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