Image by: Samantha Farr
Meet the world’s best-travelled BABY – after his mum and dad split their parental leave and used it to travel the globe.
Samantha Farr, 31, and husband Jonathan, 37, decided they were going to embark on their adventure when pregnant with George, now one.
The teachers started planning just two weeks after he arrived in January 2019 and saved up, before splitting Samantha’s maternity leave.
Alongside older kids Archie, seven, and Teddy, three, they embarked on a three-month backpacking trip across eight countries and through twelve cities.
They walked parts of the Great Wall of China and paddled over the Great Barrier Reef, surfed the Gold Coast and roamed the deserts of Dubai.
They abandoned hopes of any sort of newborn routine, dealing with the sleepless nights in 19 different places, from hotels and tents to camper vans and hotels, rather than their home in Louth, Lincolnshire.
Now back in the UK, the adventurous family are already missing the freedom and would urge others to follow in their footsteps next year.
Samantha said: “It was the most amazing experience and the kids absolutely loved it, I don’t regret it for one minute and we’re already talking about planning another adventure.
“Even though the kids are so small, they honestly threw themselves into every adventure and loved every minute.
“They were climbing mountains, riding elephants, running around local markets, racing in tuk tuks – it was amazing and just the most rewarding experience.
“Our eldest son Archie started filming bits from our trips – he said he now wants to be like David Attenborough when he grows up.
“We did a lot of backpacking and stayed in all different kinds of accommodation, from a hotel one day, to a camper van the next and then sleeping in tents as well.
“We wanted to tick off a few bucket list places in our travels too, so we visited the Great Wall of China and showed the kids the Great Barrier Reef which was incredible.”
Teachers Samantha and Jonathan have shared their passion for travel over the years and enjoyed many holidays before having children to Mexico, France and Majorca.
They married in 2009 before welcoming son Archie in October 2012, son Teddy in June 2016 and son George in January 2019.
After saving up money together, they split Samantha’s maternity leave between them and embark on a three month adventure travelling the world with their children.
Mum Samantha said: “We’d been talking about travelling as a family for ages, and using our maternity leave to do so seemed the most logical decision.
“We saved up money to go travelling and actually thought about doing it with our second child Teddy but he was quite poorly when he was born so we decided not to.
“When I fell pregnant with George, we discussed it again and thought if we don’t do it now, then we’ll never do it!
Image by: Samantha Farr
Image by: Samantha Farr
Image by: Samantha Farr
Image by: Samantha Farr
Image by: Samantha Farr
Image by: Samantha Farr
Image by: Samantha Farr
Image by: Samantha Farr
Despite their youngest only being five and a half months old when they departed from Stansted Airport in July 2019, the parents weren’t worried.
The young family started their travels in Sri Lanka, then went on to Beijing, Tokyo, Bali, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and ending their three month holiday in Dubai.
Over their three month journey, the family travelled across eight different countries and snapped photographs at every opportunity.
From surfing in Australia to roaming the deserts of Dubai, Samantha and Jonathan’s children have certainly experienced more than the average British child.
Returning to the UK in October 2019 with treasured memories and photographs to look back on, the family are already missing the freedom and itching to go travelling again.
The trip has made the family realise they are more suited to this way of living than the traditional life.
They are looking into how to incorporate their love for travelling into their daily lives more, and have just sold their home and are planning their next trip.
Samantha said: “It has been weird being back, I think we all miss travelling and we are thinking about giving up suburbia for life on the road permanently.
“We did make the decision for Archie to miss the first term of the school year to go travelling, which is controversial as we are teachers ourselves, but we did educate him as we travelled.
“We’re looking at doing it for longer next time, possibly travelling around North and South America.
“Our boys absolutely loved it and Archie especially is totally up for more.
“We just wanted to show the kids that you don’t have to follow the social norm of growing up, getting a job, moving into a house, settling down – there’s so much more to do and see than that.
“We wanted our children to see that life is for the living and you can venture out of your comfort zone, and I think we’ve definitely done that.”
Samantha shares her family’s adventures on their Instagram account @wildandthreekids
