Some of Our Favorite International Travel Moments
The countries we’ve visited and the experiences that still stand out.
While most of our travels have been within the United States, we have also traveled outside the country and have really enjoyed our international trips. We’ve visited seven different countries since we started our nomadic journey: Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, and Luxembourg. This brings our total country count to 20 overall.
We’d love to do this more, but international trips are a little more expensive than wandering around the US in our van, and we just haven’t jumped into that as much. We have discussed visiting different cities or countries and renting an Airbnb for a month or so in places where it’s affordable. Maybe we’ll try in 2027! Who knows! haha!
Canada is an easy international travel destination and we’ve enjoyed our visits there. We drove up into Quebec, stayed in Quebec City for a few days, then drove through part of Ontario and really enjoyed it. We also visited the other side of the country - Vancouver, British Columbia. We did an Alaskan cruise that ended there so it made for an ideal time to check it out. We spent a couple of days in the city before traveling back to the states and really enjoyed it!
Mexico is a place we’ve visited numerous times before our nomadic journey began but only once since we started. We visited Cozumel while on a cruise, though we chose to spend most of the day on the mostly empty ship since we’d been there before. 😉 Now, with all that’s in the news about the country, we definitely don’t plan to head there anytime soon.
Europe is definitely one of our favorite destinations and we’ve VERY much enjoyed spending time there. We’ve been several times, but on our last visit, we got to spend a couple of months there and loved every minute of it. We have several family members in the Netherlands who are so gracious to take us in and also show us around so we can enjoy amazing things in their area. (James is a 1st-generation American on his mom’s side, so there’s still plenty of family there.) We love spending time with them and are so anxious to get back for another visit. Hopefully, this economy will improve soon so we can afford to get back overseas.
While in the Netherlands, we also took the train to France and spent a couple of weeks touring Normandy and staying in Paris. That was definitely amazing and something we will always treasure.
There are SO many things I could pick as favorite international spots, but I would say these were definitely some of the highlights - all from our last trip to Europe:
📍 Normandy D-Day Experience Tour (with Gold Beach Company) - France
📍 North Caves Maastricht Underground - Netherlands
📍 Aachen & Monschau - both in Germany
📍 Vianden Castle - Luxembourg
📍 Going to the top of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France
It’s so hard to pick just a few but those are the ones that really stand out in my mind.
One of these days, we hope to explore even more countries and see other amazing things around the world. There’s so much to learn from experiencing other cultures. Those are the kind of experiences we truly treasure.
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Have you traveled internationally? What’s been one of your favorite cities/landmarks/destinations?
I'm a Dutchie and have been living and traveling Europe in a van for several years. I've traveled a lot outside if Europe as well, but would love to explore all of the Americas with a 4x4 and rooftent. I love reading your stories ❤️
Thanks for sharing ☺️🙏🏼
Travel lists like this always make me reflect on how differently people experience the same planet. For some, visiting seven countries already feels like a huge chapter of life. For others, the world slowly turns into a kind of long-term map you keep expanding piece by piece. Both approaches are fascinating because what really stays with us are the moments attached to the places.
One thing I liked in your piece is how clearly those moments come through - Quebec, Cozumel, time in Europe with family. Those are the kinds of experiences that anchor travel in real life rather than turning it into a checklist.
I’ve spent a big part of my life moving across countries as well, and what surprised me over time is that the places that stay with you are rarely the ones you expected beforehand. Sometimes it’s a city, sometimes a random small town, sometimes just one afternoon that somehow captures the entire feeling of a country.
Pieces like this are a good reminder that travel is less about how many borders you cross and more about the stories you carry back with you.