During the COVID-19 shutdown, we found ourselves at home, looking for ways to stay entertained. So, I decided to ask my wife and kids to rate every country they’ve been to on a scale of 1 to 10. After adding in my votes, I ranked each country that received at least two votes. The aim was to create a list of the best countries to visit based on our experiences.
Everyone had their own criteria for voting, and while the ratings were generally consistent, there were a few outliers – places where one person remembered things differently. As a family of five, it’s impossible to keep everyone happy all the time, but we had some fun discussions when disagreements arose!
Our Top 20 Countries: Family Travel Ideas
To give you some family travel ideas, here are our top 20 countries to visit. Keep in mind that our girls were 10 and 14, and our son was 12 at the time we created this list. They had already been to 62 countries. Our travels encompassed both cities and nature, with frequent cultural activities and cooking classes. We didn’t focus on museums or history, nor did we spend entire days at the beach or shopping.
Our top 20 countries represent five different continents. Australia just missed the cut, coming in at number 21, and the Seychelles is our top African country at number 29.
Note that I’ve included the average score after each destination.
20. The Netherlands (7.3)
Favorite Places: Amsterdam, the Keukenhof Gardens, and the tulip fields during spring.
19. Chile (7.4)
Favorite Places: Patagonia, the Atacama Desert, and Easter Island. Santiago is also fun for a day or two.
15 (tie). Antarctica (7.5)
Favorite Places: While Antarctica isn’t a country per se, it’s an incredible place to visit with or without kids. We took our kids when they were 8 and 12, and we loved everything about it.
15 (tie). Indonesia (7.5)
Favorite Places: For us, Indonesia is mainly about Bali, as my daughters love the island. But Borobudur is also amazing. We’re excited to keep exploring!
15 (tie). Norway (7.5)
Favorite Places: We adore Oslo and Bergen, especially in the summer. The Norway in a Nutshell tour is a fantastic way to travel between the two cities. The fjords are breathtaking, and experiencing the midnight sun in Tromsø, located in the Arctic Circle, is a unique experience.
15 (tie). Sweden (7.5)
Favorite Places: Stockholm and Gothenburg are both fantastic cities to explore for a few days. We also love the coastal towns and forests of Central Sweden.
14. Turkey (7.6)
Favorite Places: Istanbul and Cappadocia. We also had a fantastic day on a gulet near Bodrum.
13. Switzerland (7.7)
Favorite Places: Before we got married, my wife and I traveled extensively across Switzerland, falling in love with its small towns like Interlaken, Crans-Montana, and Luzern. Recently, I hiked and biked from Engelberg to Interlaken. With the kids, we’ve only explored Zurich during layovers and Lake Lugano on a day trip from Como. Switzerland is undeniably one of the best countries to visit, and we plan to have more Swiss adventures with our kids.
12. The Maldives (7.8)
Favorite Places: Six Senses Laamu in the Laamu Atoll.
11. Canada (7.9)
Favorite Places: Vancouver, Banff, Winnipeg, and the surrounding areas. Victoria on Vancouver Island is also a lot of fun.
10. Croatia (8.0)
Favorite Places: Zagreb and Plitvice National Park. We still need to visit Krka National Park and Dubrovnik.
9. Brazil (8.3)
Favorite Places: The Amazon Rainforest and the Rio Negro. Manaus is also worth a day or two. We haven’t been to Rio yet.
7 (tie). Laos (8.5)
Favorite Places: So far, we’ve only been to Luang Prabang, and we absolutely loved it. We still need to explore the rest of the country.
7 (tie). Japan (8.5)
Favorite Places: Tokyo, Kyoto, Naoshima Island, and Hiroshima.
6. Portugal (8.7)
Favorite Places: Lisbon, Cascais, and Sintra. We still haven’t visited Porto or the Douro Valley.
5. New Zealand (8.8)
Favorite Places: The South Island. We’ve explored it far more than the North Island, even though we’ve been to Auckland several times.
3 (tie). Faroe Islands (9.0)
Favorite Places: Torshavn, Tjørnuvik, Saksun, Gjógv, Mykines.
3 (tie). France (9.0)
Favorite Places: Paris and Provence.
2. Italy (9.1)
Favorite Places: Florence, the Dolomites, Venice, Cortona, Cinque Terre, Rome, Lake Como, Ravenna, San Gimignano.
1. Greece (9.8)
Favorite Places: Naxos, Paros, Santorini (or any Greek island in the summer, as long as it doesn’t see too many cruise ships).
Now it’s your turn! What are the best countries to visit according to your family’s experience? Do you agree or disagree with our ranking? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
And I should note that many people find this post when searching for “coolest countries to visit.” So I created a separate post on the coolest countries.
Travel Insurance
We used to travel without health coverage or trip cancellation insurance, but we regretted it when my wife broke her knee during a recent trip. I highly recommend purchasing insurance – either on an annual basis if you travel frequently or for individual trips. We chose G1G based on their price and offerings.
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