The Fearless Flier: An In Depth Interview

Looking for a little travel inspiration? Look no further! Krista from Mama Bear in the Air proves that not only can you travel with young kids, you can travel as a big family. As a fellow PNW mom who isn’t afraid of long flights (20 hours!) she has an extra special place in my heart!

Fearless Travel Mom Krista By The Numbers

Not only is Krista an inspiration travel mom, she is an inspirational human! In addition to raising three kids ages 2, 5, and 7 she is involved in the Seattle Angels Love Box program, volunteers on her MOPS Steering Committee, and spends countless hours in her kids’ classrooms. Somehow between all of that she has managed to visit 4 continents, 27 countries, and 31 states.

Have You Always Loved Traveling?

Yes, my dad was always a great adventurer and loved to share travels with us. He recently passed away with trips on deck including Australia for the first time. He dreamed of taking his 9 grandkids on a safari once they were a bit older. I think we can honor him by still traveling and making memories together. My husband also has a love for international travel and I am happy to go along for the ride.

How Do You Find Time For Travel?

We take advantage of breaks, summer breaks, long weekends, and justify experiences of travel to miss school days sometimes. Naturally, with all of my family out of state, we travel to see each other.

What Advice Can You Give To Families Who Want To Be Start traveling But are nervous?

I just hope to encourage others with young kids who want to keep traveling, that it can be done and it can be enjoyable. My advice is to just keep going. There will always be reasons to not go on a trip with kids but if you don’t pause traveling once you have kids, your kids will adapt, be flexible, and learn to be travelers too. Each time you travel with kids, you’ll build your confidence too.

Favorite travel Destination And Why?

It is hard to pick one! I have so many that are a part of family traditions like northern Michigan, Naples FL, and Park City, Utah. The beach is my happy place though, and the Maldives is pretty unbeatable for its beauty and the peaceful setting with no crowds in sight. The diving there is exceptional as well. On our most recent trip my husband and I swam with whale sharks, which was a thrilling bucket list item for us!

What would you recommend as a first trip to the PNW?

I highly recommend spending the night at Mount Rainier to enjoy longer days of exploring trails without the longer drive times. My kids really enjoyed staying at the cabins at Mount Haven. For me it felt like glamping—campfires, exploring the creek and woods area, getting dirty but at the end of the day you can take a shower in your cabin and sleep in a real bed. We love going in August when there are wild flowers.

What Is One Travel Mistake You Have Made?

Not packing for the weather. When we went to Taiwan last May, I just assumed it would be warm. Thankfully, there’s lots of shopping in Taiwan and at great prices so we bought some layers to dress warmer.

BONUS! Travel Hacking Deep Dive

Best Win?

We’ve been able to go to the Maldives on points and miles redemptions that we would’ve never been able to afford with cash alone. Our first big redemption as a family was when we went to the Maldives for the first time in 2017. It was a $62,000 trip but we paid $10,800 for it, and only because we decided the cash price for business class seats was a good price on the return flights (and you have to pay 10% of the cash price of a ticket for your lap infant, even on reward tickets). My husband geeked out getting to fly First Class Emirates when they had the shower on the airplane. I had no idea a plane existed like that outside of private airplanes! We used a combination of miles, points, and cash to pay for that trip. That trip also taught us that we could enjoy our new baby and enjoy international trips!

Best piece of advice?

My biggest piece of advice is to not be afraid of credit cards that have fees. We wouldn’t pay the fees if they didn’t give us a bigger benefit. The first step would be to explore your spending habits and travel goals to choose a credit card that will make sense for your family.

Best Online Resources?

Some of the best points and miles redemptions we’ve done are international trips. I recommend reading up on thepointsguy.com, onemileatatime.com, @mommypoints , and Seattle local, @hungryhippohacks.

I hope you enjoyed getting to know Krista as much as I did! Make sure you follow her on Instagram for PNW inspiration, tips for traveling to the Maldives for practically free, and so so much more! Looking for even more PNW inspiration? Check out Adventure Mom Pri!