In honor of Mother’s Day, we wanted to highlight some inspirational mothers within the Travel and Travel Blogging industries. It isn’t often that light is shone on the women who trek the world and write impactful travel articles, all while caring for their family. We’re here to help bring a bit of appreciation to these real-life Wonder Women.

Founder & Managing Editor of FamilyTravelNetwork.com , the award-winning family travel site, and mom of two.

Nancy Schretter of Family Travel Network

Q:  What is the best aspect of family travel?

     I had so many different answers to this question, so I thought I’d give you my top favorites:

• Discovering new places and having great new experiences with my family.
• Making vivid memories that last a lifetime and remembering them over and over to experience them again!
• Forging closer and stronger family bonds. Family travel lets us focus on our family – whether it’s a multi-generational vacation or a family trip. Many of life’s distractions are eliminated and we can just focus on talking, playing and spending time together. Family travel helps us to reconnect.
• Watching your kids learn something new. Through travel, the world becomes their classroom. Over the years, it’s clear that travel has broadened my family’s perspective about the world and our understanding of different cultures. We’ve also learned new skills together and it was great to share those experiences.
• Spending time relaxing, unwinding and having fun together.

Q: What is the hardest aspect of family travel?

     Transportation and logistical issues. No matter how hard you try, sometimes things just don’t go as planned. But that’s helped us to become more flexible, adaptable and confident. Vacation glitches have also provided us with some of our funniest vacation memories. We’ve learned a lot from them, too! Travel insurance and travel agents can be helpful in these situations.

Lifestyle & luxury travel writer, ex-expat (London/Hong Kong), mom, wine lover, San Diego editor @10best, Writer – Four Seasons Magazine

Katie Dillon of La Jolla Mom

Q: What is the best aspect of family Travel?

     The best aspect of family travel is exposing kids to a world outside of the one they live in. My daughter has been traveling long haul since she was just a few weeks old (she was actually born in Hong Kong) and I believe that because she’s been visiting other countries regularly throughout her entire life that she is open to nearly any food and adapts well to outside-the-box situations. She can relate to what’s now in her history books because she’s been to Delphi, the Great Wall of China, and even more obscure historic sites worldwide. What she studies now drives where we travel to.

Q: What is the hardest aspect of family travel?

     The hardest aspect of family travel is planning around the school schedule. As kids grow older it becomes more difficult (or impossible as the case currently is with us in middle school) to miss school. My daughter doesn’t like to miss school at all, not even for a doctor’s appointment, and we fully support that. We now travel exclusively during school holidays and summer which, of course, is peak season. Avoiding peak season rates is doable if you can plan well in advance though using miles and points can be tricky.

Freelance writer, social media maven, naturalist, mom, hiker, cross-country skier, getter outsider, lover of Malamutes.

Melynda Harrison of Traveling Mel

Q: What is the best aspect of family travel?

     One of the reasons we travel so much as a family is that we want our kids to be exposed to many different cultures, places, and ideas. I think that growing global citizens who have compassion for others, understand what is happening with our planet, and can recognize that other ideas are different, but not wrong, is of the utmost importance. Plus, it’s really fun!

Q:  What is the hardest aspect of family travel?

     Since we travel so much, it can feel a little isolating at times. We usually spend a month in each place we visit, but that’s not enough time to form deep connections with people. That’s why we strive to be home at least half the year with our friends, family, and community.

Creator of Around the World “L” Travel Blog and Teaching Traveling

Lillie Marshall

Q:  What is the best aspect of family travel?

     Getting to see the world through young, fresh eyes, and having an easy conversation starter with any local people who either have their own kids or like kids. I’ve had some of the best discussions with strangers because we both started laughing at something my son or daughter did!

Q:  What is the hardest aspect of family travel?

     In all honesty, I find travel with young kids incredibly hard. The hardest part, though? Dealing with vomit on the road! After learning the hard way, my #1 family travel tip now is to always pack plastic bags, paper towels wipes, and a change of clothes for everyone within easy reach at all times!

Mother of the Lopez ohana – a young, vegan, multicultural family traveling the world full-time!

Ayo Lopez of Traveling Our Roots

Q: What are the best and most difficult aspects of family travel?

     Traveling with children is just like life with children. It tests your patience, it’s exhausting, it takes a lot of extra planning. But it makes everything more exciting, rewarding, and meaningful. Experiencing a new place, somewhere you’ve always dreamed of seeing, is magical. But traveling with kids brings magic to all of the in-between moments too! They are just as excited to find a butterfly or make a new friend. There are definitely moments when I wonder if it is worth it, I wonder if my kids will remember anything. But I’m always reminded that this is shaping them to be the open-minded, compassionate, courageous human beings that I want them to become.

We are filled to the brim with gratitude for these refreshingly honest answers from travel moms that inspire us! Make sure to follow them on their blogs and social media to continue supporting these women doing amazing things every day. Who is a travel mom that inspires you?