We found The Traveling Village online while looking for ways to travel that felt less isolating and more human.

They organize trips where families co-live and travel together — usually 15–20 families at a time — with the goal of creating something that feels more like a village than a tour group. Their second-ever trip was a multi-week campervan journey through Europe, and it immediately caught our attention.

It felt unconventional. Slightly risky. And deeply intriguing.

Why This Idea Appealed to Us (and Why We Hesitated)

Jesse was drawn to the idea almost immediately. I was more hesitant.

We’re both somewhat introverted, and the idea of being around 15 other families for nearly two months raised real questions. Would it be overwhelming? Would there be enough space? What if we didn’t click with the group?

Ultimately, what made it feel doable was knowing we’d have our own campervan. Worst case, we could retreat into our own space when we needed quiet or downtime.

That made the experiment feel worth trying.

What People at Home Thought (and Why We Ignored It)

More than a few friends back home thought we were a little crazy.

There was a sense that a group like this would attract “weird” people, or that voluntarily spending that much time with other families sounded exhausting rather than enriching.

But we’ve learned to trust our instincts — especially when they lead us slightly outside the norm.

And it didn’t take long to realize that these were very much our people.

Finding People Who Share the Same Values

Pretty quickly, it became clear that this group wasn’t random at all.

These were families who had made similar choices — people who had intentionally structured their lives around being with their kids, often close to 24/7. Many had moved beyond simply talking about financial independence or alternative lifestyles and had actually put those ideas into practice.

We’re used to hearing, “That sounds nice, but I could never be around my kids that much.”

It was deeply gratifying to instead be surrounded by people who wanted exactly that — and had built their lives accordingly.

Why the “Village” Aspect Made Travel Easier

One of the biggest benefits of traveling this way was how much lighter everything felt.

Instead of one family carrying the full burden of planning — where to go, where to stay, how long to linger — that work was shared across many families. Ideas, research, and perspectives flowed constantly.

There were differences of opinion, of course. Some families wished we’d stayed longer in certain places; others would have moved faster. That’s inevitable in a group this size.

But those differences often turned into a strength. With so much input, decisions were usually well-considered — and in the end, people were happy with where we landed.

What This Was Like for the Kids

As meaningful as this experience was for us as adults, it was arguably even more powerful for the kids.

Each morning, our kids would roll out of the campervan and immediately find their friends. There were close to 30 kids in the village, ranging in age from about one to fourteen.

What they did each day depended on where we were — forests in Austria, farms in Italy, rivers in Slovenia, beaches in Croatia (and soccer pitches everywhere) — but the core experience stayed the same.

They played. They explored. They figured things out together.

They were with kids from different countries, different backgrounds, and different languages, and they learned how to get along, negotiate, invent games, and take care of one another.

They would disappear for hours and come back happy and exhausted.

It wasn’t always perfect, of course — but it was magical.

Unstructured Time + Community = Real Learning

One of the most striking things was how much unstructured time the kids had.

There were some organized activities, but most of the learning happened organically. Kids started little businesses. They sold cookies, tea, stickers. They offered to take trash to faraway dumpsters. They played soccer, learned rugby, swam, hiked, and created art.

What made this possible wasn’t a curriculum — it was time, and it was other kids.

This kind of learning — grounded in experience, relationships, and time — is a big part of why travel plays such a central role in how our kids learn.

That combination is surprisingly rare in modern life. School is structured. After-school time is often scheduled. The opportunity to simply be with peers and let imagination lead is limited.

This village created space for that — and the growth we saw was incredible.

Interestingly, we’ve also found that there are times when a little more structure can give our kids something valuable too — especially during summers at home.

What This Gave the Adults

While the kids were off adventuring, the adults had space too.

We talked — about education, finances, family dynamics, favorite places in the world, and the beauty around us. Conversations weren’t rushed or superficial. Community formed naturally.

The six core weeks of the trip went by far too quickly. Saying goodbye was genuinely hard.

What We Took Away From the Experience

This trip reinforced something we already believed, but hadn’t experienced quite like this:

True community is priceless.

Seeing new places is wonderful. But experiencing them with people who truly understand you — and whom you understand in return — changes everything.

Travel becomes richer. Easier. More meaningful.

What We’ll Be Writing About Next

This post is just the starting point.

We’ll be sharing more about:

• Whether campervanning is actually a frugal way to travel
• How slow movement through Europe made history and geography tangible for our kids
• The campervan itself — what worked and what we’d do differently
• Campgrounds as living spaces and learning environments

Each of those deserves its own space.

But at the heart of all of it was the village — and the reminder that community makes travel infinitely better.