How Travel Shaped Our Lives
We’re a family who believes the best memories aren’t things — they’re places, moments, and stories you carry home.
Travel has shaped our lives from the very beginning.
It’s how we connected.
It’s how we built our life together.
And it’s how we’ve learned to feel at home in more than one country.
How We Met (And How Travel Started It All)
Before we ever became a “family travel blog”, travel brought us together in a way neither of us expected.
By 2014, I had already been to Vietnam a few times when my parents decided they wanted to do a Southeast Asia trip — the classic route through Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
I joined them.
When we arrived in Saigon, they booked a couple of tours — one around the city, and one to the Mekong.
I tagged along.
And as luck would have it, our tour guide that day was the woman who would later become my wife.
We weren’t in Saigon long.
So there wasn’t much time.
But she invited me out for dinner…
…and from there, things just happened.
When “Goodbye” Didn’t Feel Right
Two days later, we moved on — Da Nang, then Hanoi.
The plan was simple: fly home from Hanoi to Ireland.
But something shifted.
A flight change meant I had to go back through Saigon.
So I booked a return a day early — just to see her again.
Because by that point, she wasn’t just part of the trip anymore.
Before we said goodbye properly, I made her a promise:
When I landed back in Ireland, I’d book another flight — three months out — so we’d know exactly when we’d see each other again.
Long Distance, Big Decisions, and Taking the Leap
From there, it became constant.
Messages. Calls. Time zones.
The kind of long-distance that slowly becomes part of your everyday life.
By early 2015, I was back again.
And after a few trips, it became clear:
If this was going to work, I couldn’t do it halfway.
I needed to move to Vietnam.
That wasn’t straightforward.
I was working as a cartographer — not exactly a career with easy opportunities abroad.
So I had to pivot.
I completed a TEFL course, took a career break, and moved over in 2015.
At the start, I winged it.
Teaching in a high school, figuring things out as I went.
Then I found my place — teaching younger children.
English, maths, science.
It wasn’t what I trained for.
But it worked.
Because sometimes you don’t follow a perfect career path.
You follow that special person.
Marriage, Moving Home, and Becoming a Family
n 2016, we got married.
Not long after, we made another big decision — we moved back to Ireland.
We wanted to build a life closer to home, while still holding onto everything that started in Vietnam.
Then we became parents.
And everything changed again.
Our daughter was five days old when we were dealing with passport paperwork.
At three months, she was on her first flight.
At nine months, her first long-haul trip back to Vietnam.
Since then, we’ve been lucky enough to show her the world in a real way:
Beaches.
Cities.
Quiet towns.
Road trips.
Budget hotels.
Early mornings.
Snack stops.
Tired legs.
Big smiles.
Family chaos.
And those moments where everything just clicks:
👉 This is what it’s all about.
In 2020, a job change brought us from Northern Ireland to the Republic of Ireland, where we’re now based.
Why We Share Family Travel
This is where everything we learned started to come together.
Because over time, we realised something.
Trips don’t fall apart because of big plans.
They drift in smaller moments.
A delayed decision.
A bit of hesitation.
Energy dropping without anyone noticing.
Individually, they don’t seem like much.
But together, they shape how the entire day feels.
That’s what we focus on now.
Not perfect itineraries.
Not trying to see everything.
But the small decisions that keep a day steady — especially when you’re travelling with kids.
This website is where we share that.
Real family travel.
What actually worked.
What didn’t.
And what we’d do differently next time.
We’re not here to pretend family travel is perfect.
We’re here to show that it’s possible.
And more importantly —
👉 that it can feel manageable.
If you’re travelling with kids and want it to feel doable — not flawless —
you’re in the right place.
• and far less rushed
