Travel Planning A Road Trip Through The Chilean Lake District
2 months ago
2 months ago
Travelling as empty nesters isn’t about doing more, it’s about rediscovering how you wanted to travel — the pace, the places, and the experiences that genuinely suit you now.
Travelling as empty nesters isn’t about doing more, it’s about rediscovering how you wanted to travel — the pace, the places, and the experiences that genuinely suit you now.
For years, family travel meant compromise. It meant working around school holidays, paying peak season prices, and planning trips that kept everyone else happy. We became very good at it (hence the birth of this blog), finding the right balance between fun, keeping the holiday moving smoothly, and trying to appease everyone.
And then, suddenly, things change. The house is quieter. You lose track of days. There’s no need to get up early other than to walk the dog and do some work. And, when it comes to travel, something feels different too. At first, it can feel quite strange. You have the freedom you always wanted — but you’re not quite sure how to use it. This is where finding your travel mojo comes in.
It didn’t take long for me and my husband to find our travel mojo again. Over time, we realised our trips naturally started to centre around three simple ideas; what we now think of as the 3 R’s of empty nester travel:
When the house becomes quieter, it’s not just your routine that changes, it’s your relationship too. For years, conversations often revolved around logistics… Who’s picking up? What’s for dinner? What time is the Leeds game? Travel, in many ways, followed the same pattern — focused on keeping everything running smoothly.
When that layer of organisation disappears, something quite nice happens, you get time back – time to talk properly, to relax over a meal without rushing, and to enjoy each other’s company without distraction.
Travel becomes less about coordination and more about connection. We’ve found that some of the best moments at this stage are the simplest ones; a slow breakfast that turns into planning the day together, or an evening where you end up talking for hours without realising the time.
It’s not something you plan into an itinerary, but it’s often what makes these trips feel different.
One of the biggest changes as empty nesters is letting go of the idea that every day needs to be full. When travelling as a family, there’s often an unspoken pressure to make the most of every moment. You try to fill in the key sights, keep everyone entertained, and justify the time and cost of the trip. Now, that pressure fades. You don’t need to tick everything off. You can wake up and decide what you feel like doing, rather than what you should do. This where many people naturally move towards slow travel:
We’ve had days where the only plan was a walk into town and a nice lunch, and those have often been just as memorable as the bigger, more structured days.
For many people, this where travel opens up again in a completely different way. Without school holidays to work around, you suddenly have access to a much wider window of opportunity, allowing you to travel:
For us personally, it means we are able to travel to Asia, which we had avoided for years as our eldest has a severe nut allergy. Now we don’t need to plan our holidays around this.
It also changes how places feel. A destination that might have felt busy or overwhelming during school holidays, might now be appealing and also more affordable, money saved which can then be reinvested into better accommodation or more memorable experiences.
One of the most common questions we hear is…
“How is travel actually different once the kids leave?”
Here’s how we tend to think about it:
| Feature | The Parent Years | The Empty Nester Years |
|---|---|---|
| Timing | Fixed around school holidays | Flexible, including off-season travel |
| Pace | Busy, activity-led days | Slower, more relaxed rhythm |
| Focus | Keeping children engaged | Following your own interests |
| Budget | Spread across the whole family | Invested in comfort, experience, or quality |
Our youngest headed off to university, it did feel a little strange at first. We suddenly had time back, and weren’t quite sure what to do with it.
The first couple of trips we took were fairly lowkey. A few relaxed breaks, a couple of city trips with friends — nothing too ambitious. But those trips helped us find our travel mojo again.
This led to our first property empty nester adventure in Chile. Below is a bit of a strategy I created to help you rediscover your travel mojo too:
When you’re figuring out this new stage, it can feel tempting to plan something completely different or ambitious. But often, the easiest way to begin is with something familiar, like:
The difference is how you experience it. Instead of trying to fit everything in, you slow it down. You allow more time. You enjoy the details rather than rushing through them. We’ve found this approach helps you settle into the rhythm of travelling as empty nesters much more naturally.
Another one of the biggest changes is that your interests can take centre stage again. For years, trips may have been shaped around what worked for the whole family. Now, you can build them around what you genuinely enjoy, like:
The key difference is that these interests don’t have to fit around anything else – they are the trip.
It’s easy to overthink this stage, especially if it feels like a big shift. But, it doesn’t need to be. A simple trip is often the best way to start — that could be:
The goal isn’t to plan the perfect holiday, it’s simply to get comfortable with this new style of travel. Once you’ve done that, you’ll naturally start to build more confidence in what works for you.
In all honesty, there isn’t much difference between empty nester travel, and travelling with young adults! You want some adventure, with some time to relax, with the possibility of maybe doing some work as you go. Here are our top picks for empty nester travel:
Slow travel is often where empty nester travel really comes into its own. Instead of moving around every few days, you stay in one place long enough to get a feel for it, you begin to recognise places, fall into a routine, and discover spots you wouldn’t find in a “Top 10 Things To See” style blog.
It turns travel into something that feels less like a schedule and more like a lifestyle, even if it’s just for a week or two.
Road trips offer a level of freedom that’s hard to match. You’re not tied to fixed schedules, and you can adjust your plans as you go. If you find somewhere you like, you can stay longer. If somewhere doesn’t quite work, you can move on.
We’ve found that road trips at this stage feel much more relaxed than they did with younger children, fewer stops, fewer constraints and more flexibility.
City breaks work particularly well because they offer variety without pressure, allowing you to explore at your own pace, dip in and out of attractions, and take breaks whenever you need. Some days might be full of activity, others might be slower, and both feel equally valid.
Accommodation often becomes much more important at this stage. You’re no longer just looking for somewhere practical to sleep, you’re choosing somewhere you can genuinely enjoy spending time. The right hotel can shape the entire feel of a trip, especially when you’re travelling at a slower pace.
We’ve found ourselves appreciating places where you can properly relax, whether that’s enjoying a quiet breakfast, spending time by the pool, or simply having a space that feels calm and well thought through.
One stay that really stood out for us was our weekend trip to Singapore in 2026, where we stayed at Raffles Singapore. It was one of those hotels that lived up to the expectation, and then some.
It also felt quite special for another reason. For years, Singapore hadn’t really been on the table for us due to our eldest’s peanut allergy, and realistically, a hotel like Raffles wouldn’t have been within reach for a full family trip anyway.
Being able to experience it at this stage felt like one of those quiet perks of empty nester travel, travelling differently, and sometimes, a little more indulgently than before.
Check out these blogs below to see our latest empty nester blogs:
One of the biggest perks of this stage is being able to travel outside of school holidays. We’ve found that some of the best times to go are May and September/October in Europe, the weather is still lovely, but places feel far less crowded and generally better value.
In other parts of the world, travelling just outside peak seasons can make a big difference too. For example, parts of Southeast Asia during the early “green season” (around May to June) can be quieter, more relaxed and more affordable, with the added bonus of everything looking incredibly lush.
In many cases, yes – although it does depend how you like to travel.
We’ve found that once you’re no longer working around school terms or rushing to fit everything into a week, it becomes much more natural to slow things down. Staying in one place for longer allows you too:
Some of our most enjoyable trips have been the ones where we’ve stayed put — whether that’s a villa, a small town, or a city neighbourhood, and let the days unfold naturally.
This is a question we get asked quite a lot – and the honest answer is, it depends on you.
There’s definitely a growing trend of people choosing to take those bigger, once-in-a-lifetime trips earlier, rather than waiting for retirement. And, it makes sense, you have the flexibility, the energy and often the means to do it.
But at the same time, not everyone thinks in terms of a bucket list. Personally, I’ve never really had one! Instead, I tend to think in terms of ongoing travel goals. For me, it’s things like visiting every U.S. state and exploring as many national parks as possible.
It’s less about ticking something off, and more about enjoying the process over time. And, that’s really what empty nester travel allows – the freedom to shape travel in a way that feels right for you, rather than following a checklist.
Every month I’m sending out either a full itinerary for a destination or some genuinely helpful packing guides – including downloadable PDF’s, accommodation recommendations and much more! Sign up for free below: