Mothers Abroad

Kids-tested adventures. Planned by us, booked by you

You pick the place. We fill the days with experiences your family will actually remember, from the baby to the grandparents.

Where would you like to go?

Pick a place and tell us your days. We build a plan for you, using only providers we trust.

Who's coming? Pick all that apply

Kids-tested, from parents to parents

Built by parents who travel with kids

We've been on the road with our children since they were newborns. We know what works at 6 months, at 6 and at 16, and we build every day around that.

Age limits with reasons

Every activity says who it's for and why. Not "family-friendly" as a badge, but "from 6, because the saddle time is two hours".

Providers we trust with our own kids

Every provider is one we've used ourselves, or one recommended by friends, family and people we trust. Then we check how they work with children: patience, safety, the small things.

You're not charged until it's confirmed

You book once. We confirm with the local team, usually within a few hours, and only then take payment.

We're two mothers, one in Paris and one in Abu Dhabi, with two children each and a third on the way. We've travelled with them since they were newborns, often with grandparents, cousins and siblings in tow, so we know what makes a trip work for everyone from the baby to the grandma. More about us

Also planning somewhere else? Kazakhstan · Uzbekistan · Antarctica · all destinations

Would you like our Abu Dhabi guide?

Museums kids actually enjoy, theme parks, play areas for the hottest hours, beach clubs. Hotels adapted to kids, restaurants where nobody stares at a crying toddler, trips beyond the city, and the babysitters and drivers we trust. A guide built on our own experience of your destination: 60 pages in eight chapters, with addresses and advice.

Six pages of the guide, downloaded right away. No newsletter.

The 60-page Abu Dhabi kid-friendly city guide: cover, contents and the first chapter

What's inside

  1. Cultural destinations
  2. Amusement parks
  3. Kids play areas
  4. Beach clubs
  5. Where to sleep
  6. Where to eat
  7. Beyond Abu Dhabi
  8. Useful contacts

"One cultural site a day, then an activity or the beach. That's the rhythm that works with kids in this heat." — from the guide

Kate and Valeria sitting on the floor with their two youngest children

We're Kate and Valeria

Two friends, two mothers. Between us, four children, a fifth on the way, and one habit: the kids travel with us. We discover the world together, and we'd love to share what we've learned, and what we've picked, with your family.

Before the kids

We travelled the way you do at twenty. Valeria skied the French Alps and in Kazakhstan, and ticked off almost every country in Europe. Kate volunteered in Ivory Coast, backpacked across Brazil and crossed the Amazon by ferry. We saw a lot. We also learned how much of the world is only real when you're in it.

Valeria on horseback in front of snow-capped mountains in New Zealand
Valeria in New Zealand
Kate holding a snake at a reserve in Madagascar
Kate in Madagascar
Valeria lying on the bow of a boat at sunset off the Spanish coast
Valeria in Spain
Kate leaning out of the window of a crowded bush taxi in Ivory Coast
Kate in Ivory Coast

Then we became mothers

And we wanted our children to have that too — not a childhood of all-inclusive resorts and kids' clubs, but the real thing, at their pace, with us. So we started early: our first trips were with newborns. Since then we've tried just about every kind of family travel there is. Weekend escapes and vacations that stretched into months. Buses, trains and ten-hour flights. Trips with grandparents, trips with friends and their kids, and trips where it was just one of us and two small children in a foreign airport.

Kate walking with a toddler by the hand and a baby in a carrier
Travelling with a baby and a toddler. Yes, it works
Valeria in a helicopter with a baby wearing ear defenders
Never too small for a first flight
Grandparents walking hand in hand with a small child
Grandparents come too. They set the pace, and that's a good thing
Valeria and her daughter on a horse in front of the pyramids of Giza
Old enough to hold on, old enough to remember

What that taught us

What works at six months does not work at six, and what a four-year-old loves will bore a teenager. Grandparents change the pace; a baby changes the timing of everything. And safety isn't a checklist, it's a hundred small judgements about a road, a boat, a guide, a saddle. We've made those judgements for our own kids in a lot of places, and we make them the same way for yours.

Why Mothers Abroad

Anyone who has arrived somewhere new with children knows the problem: "family-friendly" on a booking site can mean anything, and finding the activities that really work for kids takes hours you don't have on holiday. So we've done that work. We research, we ask the people we trust, we try things ourselves, and we keep only what we'd book for our own families. Every activity here says who it's for and why.

A child snorkelling underwater in a mask and fins, holding a float
The moment the sea stopped being scary
Valeria with two children watching fish in a tank
What ‘kid-friendly’ actually looks like: a fish tank at toddler height
A father holding a baby while a small girl in ski goggles carries skis on her shoulder
The whole family on the mountain, baby included
A boy about to bite the chimney off the gingerbread house he decorated
Built it himself. Ate the chimney first

We're both parents who love travelling with our families, and we'd love to help you do the same. Get in touch — we read every message.

Contact us

How we choose

"Family-friendly" on a booking site can mean anything. Here is what it means when we say it, and how an activity ends up on this site.

01

Built by parents who travel with kids

We've been on the road with our children since they were newborns: buses, trains, ten-hour flights, weekends and months. We know what works at six months, at six and at sixteen, and we build every day around that. When we look at an activity, the first question isn't "is it fun?" but "for whom, and at what time of day?"

02

Age limits with reasons

Every activity says who it's for and why. Not "from 6" as a badge, but "from 6, because the saddle time is two hours and there's no shade". If a child is too young, the page says so before you book, and often suggests what to do with them instead.

03

Providers we trust with our own kids

Every provider is one we've used ourselves, or one recommended by friends, family and people we trust. Then we check how they work with children: patience, safety, the small things.

04

You're not charged until it's confirmed

You book once. We confirm each activity with the local team, usually within a few hours and always within 24. Only then do we take payment, and only for what's confirmed. If a provider can't do your date, you're not charged, and we suggest an alternative.

Questions parents ask us

Have you personally done every activity on the site?

No, and we won't pretend otherwise. Many we have; the rest come from people we trust and are checked against what we know about travelling with kids.

What if my child is just under the minimum age?

Write to us. Age limits are our honest judgement, not a rule from the provider, and we know the reasons behind each one. Sometimes a confident five-year-old can do a "from 6" activity; sometimes the limit is about the equipment and there's no way round it. We'll tell you which.

How do you know the providers are safe?

We ask for insurance and licences, we look at the equipment, and we ask the questions a parent asks: how the activity unfolds step by step, who is with the children at each moment, what happens if a child panics or simply refuses. Safety isn't a certificate, it's a hundred small judgements, and we make them the same way we make them for our own kids.

What happens if the weather cancels an activity?

Balloons, boats and the desert all depend on it. If the provider calls it off, you get a full refund or another date, your choice. If you decide not to go and the activity is running, the normal cancellation terms apply.

Can you add an activity that isn't on the site?

Tell us what you have in mind. We'll ask around our network about the provider's reputation and run it through the same checks as everything else here. If it passes, we'll arrange it for you, and it may well end up on the site for the next family.

Still wondering about something specific to your family?

Ask us

Ask us anything

Two kids and a grandma in Uzbekistan? A baby in Abu Dhabi in October? Whether it's a question or half a plan, write to us. We read every message and reply within a day.

Is it safe to travel to these places with a baby?

Yes. As parents who travel with small children, we choose activities with each age in mind: the pace, the length, the timing, and what a baby or a toddler can realistically manage. Every activity states its minimum age and the reason behind it, so you can see at a glance what suits your child. If you're unsure, tell us the age and we'll say honestly what we'd do.

Do you book flights and hotels?

No. We plan and book the activities, and our guides tell you where we'd stay. Flights and hotels stay in your hands, so you can use your points and your preferences.

Can we change dates later?

It depends on the activity. Some of our local partners are very flexible, others work with fixed departures or small teams and can't move a date at short notice. Each activity shows its own terms before you book. Whatever the case, let us know as soon as you know you need a change, and we'll do our best to make it work.

Or write to us here
When are you thinking of going?

No newsletter, no follow-up calls. Just an answer.

United Arab Emirates

Abu Dhabi

From two days to two weeks. One activity a day is plenty in the heat; you decide if your kids can do more.

More things to do here

Everything we haven't put in your plan yet, and the few worth a second time. Add any of these to a day; we'll tell you if the timing doesn't work, but you know your kids best.

Every provider here is one we've used with our own kids, or one recommended by people we trust. How we choose

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Prices, all in one place

Every activity we book in Abu Dhabi, with the provider's own price and ours: the provider's price plus 15%, which covers our planning, the confirmation with each local team and our help before and during your trip. Prices marked "to confirm" are our estimates from public rates; you get the exact figure before you pay anything.

ActivityWho paysProvider priceOur priceCancellationStatus
The Louvre tour covers the art historian, not the museum tickets: those are bought at the entrance, without queuing. Children under the free-under age never pay; families pay the group price once, whatever the size.

Payment with our partner

This expedition is organised and sold by our trusted partner. Your contract and payment are with them, and we stay with you throughout.

Placeholder: the partner's secure payment page is not connected to the site yet, so nothing is charged here. Once it is, this step opens their page with your reservation already filled in.

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Activities are confirmed with the local team before anything is charged; guides arrive by email as soon as the payment is in.

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Next comes our secure payment page, run by Stripe, in the currency you chose. Your card is authorised today and charged only once each activity is confirmed by the local team, usually within a few hours; anything that can't be confirmed is not charged. Guides are sent by email right after confirmation.

When would you like to go?

Pick a date and tell us who is coming: we show the three departures closest to it with places left. Every departure of the next two seasons is listed at the end of the page.

All departures

The next two seasons. Each expedition is 10 days, flight to flight: the first date is the day you fly out of Punta Arenas, the last the day you fly back.

Every provider here is one we've used with our own kids, or one recommended by people we trust. How we choose