10 of Our Favorite USA Adventure Travel Families to Follow in 2025 (And What They’re Not Telling You on Instagram)
- Emily Richards
- May 7
- 14 min read
Real stories. Real messes. Real sunsets. These travel families are redefining what it means to chase freedom, connection, and adventure—together. We’ve been following these families for a long time—not because they have perfect feeds, but because they share the kind of travel content that makes you feel something. These are genuine, creative humans who prioritize connection over curation and freedom over filters. Most of them we’ve never even met in person, but through their stories, we’ve grown to love them like old friends.
While many of them travel full-time in RVs or vans, there’s a little bit of everything here: slow travelers, off-grid wanderers, overlanders, backpackers, and families in every kind of rig imaginable. The one thing they all have in common? They show up with honesty, heart, and a sense of adventure—even when things get messy.
So if you’ve ever watched a travel family live out of a van and wondered, “How do they actually do it?”—this post is for you.
We asked 10 of our favorite travel families the same three questions, and their answers are honest, insightful, and full of heart. From parenting shifts to packing hacks, they’re giving us more than wanderlust—they’re giving us a glimpse into the real life behind the road.
Top Travel Creator Families to Follow in 2025:
Meet the Families
Each family answered the same 3 questions—and their answers are honest, helpful, and full of heart.
@Adventurefamdam (Shameless Plug - That’s us!)
Who we are: We’re Emily and William a slow-living, nomadic family on a mission to inspire a deeper connection with nature through gritty, authentic, and joy-filled storytelling. Our passion lies in capturing the magic of outdoor adventure and sharing it in a way that resonates with modern explorers and families alike.
1. What’s one challenge of family travel that people don’t see on Instagram?
Balancing work and family time is one of our biggest ongoing challenges. Since we both work remotely, we often have to take shifts—one of us parenting while the other works. Our daughter is still too young for long stretches of independent play, and we try to avoid screen time, so that means we often work early mornings or late nights. Another major challenge is the lack of consistent community. Sometimes we travel with friends and it feels like this beautiful, communal way of living. Other times, we go long stretches without that connection, and it can feel really isolating. Honestly, my craving for community is what inspired me to start sharing more on Instagram—and it’s led us to meet some truly amazing nomadic families along the way.
2. What’s one piece of gear (or habit) that’s absolutely essential to your life on the road?
Reliable internet - we use Starlink, and without it, we couldn’t work—which means we couldn’t fund this lifestyle. We often stay in remote spots, from mountains to Baja beaches, and being able to bring high-speed internet with us is a total game-changer. For our daughter, the Yoto Mini is absolutely essential on travel days. It’s like a kid-friendly audiobook player she can operate on her own, and it’s been a lifesaver for long drives—especially since we’re trying to avoid screens.
3. How has this lifestyle changed the way you parent?
We hit the road when our daughter was two, and she’s grown so much since then! Right away, I noticed how much easier parenting felt. The small space was simpler to manage, and my little koala baby loved being close to me—I could tidy the kitchen while still keeping her within arm’s reach. The constant change of scenery also broke up the monotony I was feeling as a stay-at-home mom. We originally planned to travel for six months, but it brought us so much joy and connection that we decided to keep going indefinitely. I never thought I’d say this—but we’re even considering homeschooling so we can continue the adventure together.
@WhatRVDoing
Who They Are: Ash and Lennon have been traveling the world full-time for over three years, from RV adventures across stunning U.S. destinations to international explorations. They inspire wanderlust in a beautifully authentic way.
1. What’s one challenge of family travel that people don’t see on Instagram?
Balancing the excitement of exploring new places with the need to maintain a routine for work and school. While it’s amazing to visit new destinations, we also have to carve out time for schoolwork, meetings, and ensuring our son stays on track. Finding that balance between adventure and maintaining some normalcy is essential, but it’s not always easy to manage while on the move, especially when it can feel like you are “always on vacation.” We also have to really incorporate down days because while we want to constantly adventure, it can be exhausting and we all need to have some time to wind down!
2. What’s one piece of gear (or habit) that’s absolutely essential to your life on the road?
A solid Wi-Fi connection is non-negotiable for us. With work, school, and staying connected with family and friends, we absolutely rely on the internet every day. Without it, staying productive and on track while traveling would be nearly impossible, in fact, we wouldn’t be traveling!
3. How has this lifestyle changed the way you parent?
Before we hit the road full-time, I was always at home with our son while Lennon worked long days, sometimes even weekends. It felt like our family time was limited, and I missed having him around. Did you know that non-homeschool parents spend, on average, just 35 minutes a day with their kids? That really hit home for us, especially since it felt like he was missing out on so much. Now that we’re traveling together, everything has changed. We’re all in this together...working, playing, and exploring new places as a team. Being in such close quarters means we have to communicate more, solve problems together, and just be there for each other. It’s been amazing to see how much closer we've become, and how much more we appreciate each other now that we’re living and working side by side.
@Sebas_and_Sarah
Who They are: Hey there! We’re Sebas and Sara, a family of five exploring the world part-time in our camper van with our three boys: Simon, Samuel, and Salvador. For us, vanlife isn’t just about chasing epic views (though we love those!), it’s about slowing down, being present with our kids, and showing them the beauty of the outdoors.
1. What’s one challenge of family travel that people don’t see on Instagram?
One of the biggest challenges is managing everyone’s emotions in a tiny space. Instagram shows the cozy campfires and beautiful sunsets, but not the toddler meltdowns, the sibling squabbles, or the moments when we’re all exhausted and just need a break. It takes a lot of patience, communication, and flexibility to keep the vibe positive on the road but we’ve found that those tough moments are where we grow the most as a family.
2. What’s one piece of gear (or habit) that’s absolutely essential to your life on the road?
Our absolute must-have is our solar/electric generator setup. it powers everything from our fridge to our coffee in the morning, essential! As for a habit, sticking to a flexible routine like quiet mornings, outdoor play, and early dinners keeps our days balanced and helps the kids feel grounded even when we’re in a new place.
3. How has this lifestyle changed the way you parent?
It’s made us much more intentional. When you’re living in a small space and exploring the outdoors together, you naturally unplug, listen more, and connect on a deeper level. We’ve learned to slow down, embrace the mess, and truly be with our kids. Parenting on the road has taught us that it’s not about doing it all. it’s about making space for what matters most.
4. @heartandsaultravel
Who they Are: We’re the Saul Family, a family of four who made the bold decision to sell our home in Asheville, North Carolina and embrace a nomadic lifestyle full-time in our RV.
1. What’s one challenge of family travel that people don’t see on Instagram?
Finding locations to stay during the busy months. Sometimes we have to travel an hour to two hours into a national park because people can book a year or two out and we tend to be more go with the flow.
2. What’s one piece of gear (or habit) that’s absolutely essential to your life on the road?
An essential item for us on the road is our water filtration system! It gives us the peace of mind that our water is safe while traveling full-time.
3. How has this lifestyle changed the way you parent?
We have adopted a more relaxed parenting style while living this lifestyle. We tend to unschool a bit in the sense that our schooling may not always come from a traditional schooling style. We prefer to allow our children to learn from their experiences and the world around them while also including traditional schooling methods in our curriculum.
5. @Roaming.nomads
Who they Are: The Roaming Nomads have been a full-time travel family since 2014, keeping their social feed refreshingly old-school with stunning snapshots from the road. From behind-the-scenes glimpses of homeschooling and travel hiccups to dreamy destinations, plenty of Baja, and an adorable dog—it’s impossible not to want to follow their journey.
1. What’s one challenge of family travel that people don’t see on Instagram?
Oh so many we try to keep it real but the older the kids get the more conscious we get with sharing struggles so I’m pretty sure we’re painting an incomplete picture here. Medical care is a struggle for sure, especially if you don’t have a home state you return to often. We’ve managed everything from pregnancies, baby well visits to short term acute and long term acute issues (like breaking a leg and subsequent surgery, PT and whatnot), as well as chronic issues. It takes A LOT of organizational skills and calls (which I hate).
I think personal space is another one. The younger the kids are the more personal space you want to recharge every now and then, and the older they get the more space they want. We just upgraded our rig to make sure they actually want to travel with us for the next 5+ years, and still have the space they need to become who they are.
2. What’s one piece of gear (or habit) that’s absolutely essential to your life on the road?
Habit: Getting shit done. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in “wanting to see it all” and treat this life as a vacation, but there’s work to be done, money to be made, laundry to wash and dishes. And then there’s schoolwork and taxes and whatnot. So you need to get in the habit to sit down in the most beautiful places and postpone that hike to after work. I’m working on that one.
Piece of gear: I’d say my camera, just because I can’t imagine traveling without documenting it. But truth be told, I won’t move to suburbia if it breaks, so probably not. Next best thing is probably unlimited Internet (like Starlink), because we’ve been traveling with sucky internet hotspots before and that made travel/work life miserable.
3. How has this lifestyle changed the way you parent?
That’s a hard one because our oldest was 18 months old when we started traveling, and our youngest was born on the road. So I can’t really say how I’d parent if I wasn’t traveling. I think the closest to that was last summer when we were bouncing from one Airbnb to another after I broke my leg. I can definitely say I saw them less than I normally do, and I connected way less with them. When you’re living tiny and keep exploring together pretty much every day you don’t run out of conversations and listening to all their ideas and dreams and brain somersaults while we hike is the best.
It also goes the other way around though, they can’t just slam a door on you and especially now as we’re entering the teen years there’s a lot of working through emotions that we have to be present for, because 130 sqft only gives that much space to hide.
6. @happyhealthycasita
Who they Are: The Happy Healthy Casita family is all about intentional living, wholesome travel, and making the most of tiny spaces. Traveling in their cozy Casita trailer, they share a mix of wellness tips, homeschooling insights, and slow, meaningful adventures that show how beautiful simple living on the road can be.
1. What’s one challenge of family travel that people don’t see on Instagram?
One challenge for us is not always being close to family. We’ve missed birthdays & holidays, don’t have family to call on to watch our kids if needed etc. Grateful for the tradeoffs, but we still miss being around them as often as we used to be!
2. What’s one piece of gear (or habit) that’s absolutely essential to your life on the road?
Oh gosh, honestly I always tell people building community. Without doing that, we wouldn’t have stuck with this lifestyle now for nearly 4 years. Our road friends have become like family in some ways, and putting the people before the places, sometimes, has made a big difference for us in making the road feel like home.
3. How has this lifestyle changed the way you parent?
Honestly, it’s chilled me out a lot. Being in a variety of different environments all the time has given my kids continuous opportunities to explore, take on new challenges etc., and me in turn, continuous opportunities to learn how to step back and let things unfold a bit more.
7. @rugged_desitinations
Who they Are: Rugged Destinations is a family built for adventure—exploring off-the-beaten-path locations in their rugged rig while raising kids in the wild. Their feed is packed with epic campsites, overland travel tips, and the kind of remote beauty that makes you want to pack up and hit the road.
1. What’s one challenge of family travel that people don’t see on Instagram?
One challenge that’s often overlooked is the patience and communication required to travel as a family for extended periods. There’s really no personal space, so fostering good communication is a constant effort. We all need to be patient with each other and make an effort to articulate how we’re feeling. I’m not sure how to effectively showcase this aspect through still images or videos, but it’s a significant part of the experience.
2. What’s one piece of gear (or habit) that’s absolutely essential to your life on the road?
This might sound simple, but our electric water faucet has been a game changer for us. While it’s not a necessity, the convenience it offers is incredible. Before adding the faucet, handling water jugs often fell on Patrick’s shoulders, especially since the boys couldn’t do it and I would often struggle to avoid spills. Baby wipes are a close second—an unexpected essential I didn’t realize I needed until having kids. They’re incredibly versatile and come in handy for just about everything when you’re on the road.
3. How has this lifestyle changed the way you parent?
Becoming parents has led us to live intentionally. It’s the reason we prioritize outdoor time and ultimately motivated us to start our own business so we could travel full-time. Parenting has shaped this lifestyle, constantly reminding us to stay the course. Every place we visit and every person we meet shares stories that our boys might never encounter if we stayed in our hometown. While we have access to a wealth of information online, nothing compares to firsthand experience. We value the opportunity to see and do things ourselves rather than just read about them.
Who They Are: Peeples.and.Places is a family of five embracing full-time travel with heart and humor. From national parks to hidden gems, they share the real-life highs and lows of road life—capturing the joy, chaos, and deep connection that comes with raising kids on the move.
1. What’s one challenge of family travel that people don’t see on Instagram?
Challenge would be finding a quite place with an outlet 😝😂 to plug in computers!
2. What’s one piece of gear (or habit) that’s absolutely essential to your life on the road?
Gear: our portable chargers from Lion energy (for that reason above!)
3. How has this lifestyle changed the way you parent?
We have definitely become less rigid when it comes to how the kids learn. Homeschooling on the road is just different than homeschooling in a house. SO many learning opportunities.
1. What’s one challenge of family travel that people don’t see on Instagram?
Instagram shows all the good, and some of the bad but RARELY shows the hard work. It takes a lot of prep work and post work. Days of planning and packing and then constantly being ‘on’ while traveling with your kids. And unlike a vacation without your kids, it will most likely make you way more tired than your average days at home. But if go into it knowing that it’ll be so tiring yet a MILLION times worth it, then you’re prepared and you’ll learn that feeling that joy is better than feeling rested any day of the week!
2. What’s one piece of gear (or habit) that’s absolutely essential to your life on the road?
One habit that makes all the difference is working as a team! My husband and i each have specific roles when it comes to traveling with our kids. We’ve figured out what we are both best at and how we can work together to get everything done. having these roles makes everything easier. We don’t fight or argue about who did or didn’t do something-we just do our own jobs and then if the other person still needs helps, we offer; we are a team 100%. Our life while traveling and adventuring strengthens not only our family but our marriage as well.
3. How has this lifestyle changed the way you parent?
We are 100% better parents when we are outside adventuring! This lifestyle of adventuring and exploring outside has given us so much. It’s given us a lifetime of memories and endless opportunities for adventure.
We will have years of bonding and connection with our children that are beyond what we can experience in the four walls of our own home.
It’s completely changed how we look at our lives. Our habits, our lifestyle, our goals, what’s really important and how we can make the most of these fleeting years with our children. There’s something about nature that just calms you and makes you more grounded and our parenting gets 100% affected by it. Time slows down when you are outside, traveling or on adventures and it makes soaking in all the magic of your children that much easier!
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1. What’s one challenge of family travel that people don’t see on Instagram?
Well, for one thing, we think you SHOULD see more of the challenges on Instagram, since it’s important to normalize the struggles and challenges, rather than just post the highlights.
For family travel, I would honestly just say the same parenting challenges that we deal with when we’re at home.
Sibling fights, tired kids, meltdowns, losing shoes, misplaced water bottles…parenting is hard no matter where you are, and and we get a lot of comments from people to the effect of “oh, I could never travel that much with our kids because they’re just way too hard,” when the reality is that our kids can be hard too—all kids are at certain times—so I think it’s borderline irresponsible to curate content that makes it seem as if family travel doesn’t still involve it’s fair share of parenting challenges
2. What’s one piece of gear (or habit) that’s absolutely essential to your life on the road?
We’re not huge gear people—and this might seem like an old school answer—but honestly we’d probably say books.
Kids of all ages can still lose themselves in books, whether it’s sticker books on an airplane, picture books in the car, or bedtime books regardless of where we’re sleeping that night, whether it’s a hotel, tent, campervan, etc.
On road trips, we’ll even sometimes just pick up the free magazines of local travel guides or newspapers that give the kids something new to look at in the back seat (and since they usually also feature activities/attractions in the local area, it can lead to some good talking points and suggestions from the kids on what areas or places look interesting).
3. How has this lifestyle changed the way you parent?
I think it really helps us remain flexible and learn to adapt to things on the fly, since travel (and parenting) is full of unexpected challenges, and rather than getting flustered, or fixated on problems, when things don’t go according to “plan,” it allows us to embrace the shifting landscape as it evolves and changes in real time
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