There are so many reasons we love international travel with our baby. For one, it’s something we have prioritized throughout our relationship and marriage, and now our baby gets to come with us.

See the reasons for choosing international travel rather than domestic travel in the first two years of your baby’s life.

Bang for buck

We love international travel for this reason. See why:

Let your dollar go farther!

Plain and simple: sometimes leaving your home country means having your Dollar go farther. We learned this around the world for many years. We’ve experienced it in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Peru, Vietnam, Taiwan and Eastern Europe: it feels great to get more for the same costs we’d spend at home.

More luxury

We prefer to travel outside the US so that we can afford “luxuries” like larger Airbnbs, meals at restaurants and excursions. We’ve done things in countries outside the US that we’d never be prompted to do at home, due to the cost for the three of us alone.

More space on less budget

As a family with a baby, you will need more space, and sometimes, traveling to a lower-cost-of-travel international destination allows for more spacious accommodation with amenities (our favorite hack).

Affordable resort options

For couples who like resorts, choosing resorts outside the US may turn out to be more economical as a family traveling with a baby.

Bucket list international destinations

For some couples, checking boxes on the bucket list is still important, and doesn’t have to stop when you become parents!

Re-visiting is OK!

Our bucket list turned into “re-visiting” our favorite places with our baby, rather than going to new ones—that’s just us!

Just say yes

There are no rules that say you can’t bring your baby to the places you’ve always wanted to go. Bali? Take the baby (with some logistical prep)! Machu Picchu? It could be done, but maybe when the kid(s) are a little older. Keep it on the list!

Following your travel dreams

In the early years of our child’s life, our travel dreams are still ours, as parents. As a travel-savvy couple, we have lots of travel ambitions of our own, and we don’t want having a baby to stop us.

Showing children different cultures

This is probably my favorite reason to engage in international travel with a baby. While children under 24 months are a bit young to understand different cultures, they will still get to see them.

Language

Teaching toddlers new words in another language is cute, and eye-opening for them, when they get to communicate with locals. We taught our child to say, “Hola!” in Mexico, and when we came back home, we kept practicing it, along with “Que tal?” when we met Spanish-speaking neighbors or other people.

While language is probably the top difference between domestic and international travel with a baby, it depends if you can get by and if English is widely available.

You can see in this guide how to deal with language barriers when you’re traveling as a family.

Food

Trying new foods together is exciting, and interesting for the whole family. While we thought we’d get our child hooked on Mexican food in Mexico, the fact was that she really just liked the canned black beans from the supermarket in Mexico City! It makes a cute story for when she’s older.

Putting your child’s passport to good use

A lot of families opt to get their child a passport early nowadays, with how relatively easy it is now, compared to with years ago, to leave our home countries.

Remember to apply for your baby’s passport and also consider if a travel visa is needed to where you’ll be traveling internationally.