Welcome to our latest edition of our Traveler Interview Series. I am excited to introduce Family Travel Blogger Tamara Gruber of We3Travel. She has traveled with her family to over 25 countries and shares her experiences on her blog. I have followed Tamara’s blog for a few years now and always come away with nuggets of valuable family travel tips. Check out her story below.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR FAMILY. NAMES, CHILDREN’S AGE, OCCUPATION/S. WHERE IS HOME?
I have one daughter, Hannah, who is about to turn 15. We live near Providence, Rhode Island. My husband is a mobile strategist and my background is in marketing for tech companies, but I have been a full-time travel content creator for the last few years.
WHEN DID YOUR PASSION FOR TRAVEL BEGIN?
I dreamed of travel since I was a kid but, as a family, we couldn’t afford vacations outside of visiting family. Once I started working, I would always tack on time to my business trips to explore and the love of travel has grown from there.
WHAT IS THE FIRST TRIP YOU REMEMBER TAKING BOTH INDIVIDUALLY AND AS A FAMILY?
I was 16 the first time I went on an airplane and it was for a trip to Mexico with my Spanish class. There were so many times during that trip when I was a wide-eyed tourist just in awe of what I was seeing.
We started traveling as a family when my daughter was just a few weeks old as our family doesn’t live nearby. When my daughter was 18 months we took our first resort vacation outside of visiting family. It is our first trip to Europe, however, that always sticks in my mind. We visited Spain when my daughter was 8 and it was truly like giving her the world when I could see her soaking up history, culture, architecture, and language.
HOW MANY COUNTRIES HAVE YOU VISITED THUS FAR?
25 so far- Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Iceland, Ireland, England, France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Austria, Hungary, Morocco, French Polynesia, Jamaica, The Bahamas, Bermuda, Turks & Caicos, Grand Cayman, Aruba, Curacao, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, Dominican Republic (and 49 states!)
WHICH IS YOUR FAVORITE DESTINATION SO FAR? WHY?
That is always such a hard question to answer but I have an undying love for Italy — the history, architecture, people, landscape, and of course the food!
LET’S TALK ABOUT FOOD. ANY MEMORABLE DINING EXPERIENCES FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE?
But of course, food is an important part of how we travel. Nothing beats the linguine with fresh clams at the Scalinatella in Capri, or the langoustines in Reykjavik, and the pastel de nata from Manteigara in Lisbon. We loved our cooking class with Souk Cuisine in Marrakech and the Eating Italy food tour in Rome.
ANY UNIQUE EXPERIENCES OR CHALLENGES DURING YOUR TRAVELS YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE?
Family travel is always challenging — someone gets sick, planes are delayed, the weather doesn’t cooperate, and we make mistakes. What we have learned and continue to work on is learning to go with the flow and roll with those challenges because the benefits always outweigh the downfalls.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR BLOG? HOW DID YOU GET STARTED? WHY DID YOU BECOME A FAMILY TRAVEL BLOGGER?
I blog at We3Travel.com. My goal is to provide sample itineraries, destination guides, and travel tips to make family vacation planning easier. I spend an inordinate amount of time researching our trips and started the blog to share our itineraries so that others can learn from our experience and short cut their own planning.
WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH TRAVEL?
I have learned not to sweat the small stuff as much and to adapt to changes on the fly. We also have much less interest in material goods and would rather spend our available budget on travel experiences.
CAN YOU GIVE FAMILIES A FEW TIPS, TRICKS, AND HACKS WHEN TRAVELING?
As much as you plan, you can never build in enough downtime. Advance planning helps make trips go more smoothly and the earlier you book, the more choices you will have to get the best value for your budget. Don’t be afraid to utilize apartment and vacation rentals to get more for your money.
LIGHTNING ROUND
Ziplining or bungee jumping? Zip lining
Tea or Coffee? Tea
Who is the most interesting person you’ve met so far? My husband 😍
Disney World or the real world? Real world
What’s been the best street food you’ve had? Sausages in Vienna
You can follow our journeys by connecting with us below
Website|Pinterest|Facebook|Instagram|Twitter
Thank You, Tamara, for spending some time with us, sharing some of your experiences and valuable travel tips.
We hope you enjoyed getting to know a little bit about the Gruber Family as much as we did, and that you’ve been inspired to go On Travel Mode more often!
If you or someone you know would like to be interviewed for one of our future editions, please comment below or email us at theteam@ontravelmode.com.
Additionally, if you have any questions you’d like us to pose to future interviewees we’d love to read them!
Be sure to check out the other interviews in this series:
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