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Niece Project 5.0 Travel Decisions

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“Have you decided?” I asked Lindsey with excitement and anticipation about where her big choice was going to be. However, this was niece number 5; I should have known the answer is never that easy.

When I started the Niece Project journey in 2012, I thought the travel decisions on where they wanted to go would be easy for the girls; I had no real restrictions – the world was their oyster!

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I expected them to choose places like Paris, Rome, Barcelona, and maybe even New York City. Instead, I had hours of agonizing with them as they tried to narrow down the whole world into one place. Some of the girls were more decisive than others.

Bethany always knew she wanted to go to Italy, Evie had it narrowed down to 3 countries, Megan knew she wanted to go to South America, and Allie knew more about where she didn’t want to go than where she did want to go. However, there was no one who simply came out and chose a decisive “I want to go to X.”

Check out this list of gifts for friends going traveling

These broad choices of countries were actually a blessing for me, as they had the effect of involving me more in the process. I realized that the ‘where’ is actually when the Niece Project journey begins for me, at the decision point of narrowing down an itinerary. I’ve been more actively involved in the travel decisions than I had expected – but in a good way.

Narrowing things down

niece project

“I want to go to Australia and New Zealand,” Lindsey said with excitement. I was happy that she had an answer, but at the same time, I knew there were a few challenges with that answer; namely, that it was a huge area that she was choosing!

Australia is as big as the entire US, and New Zealand is further away from Australia than one would think; it’s a big country on its own. And then there was the issue of seasons. I normally always took the nieces on their trips in the summer, as that’s when they have the most free time and we don’t have to worry about school.

“That’s great, however, our summer is their winter,” I reminded her, “do you want to go in their winter?”

As we went through this conversation, we started to narrow things down; she wanted to go when it was warm there, which meant that we’d have to go in December and work around school and the Christmas holiday. This also meant that we would only have about 2 weeks of time, which wouldn’t be enough to do both countries; she’d have to choose one.

“New Zealand,” she said with a grin.

Niece Project 5.0 was decided; we are going to New Zealand this December!

The Decision

We decided to do the New Zealand North Island Explorer with Intrepid Travel over her Christmas break from school. It’s one of the busiest times in New Zealand, so I was thrilled to leave all of the logistics to Intrepid so we could simply enjoy our time together, making memories and ticking off bucket list items on the North Island.

Not only would this be the furthest I had traveled with a niece so far, but it was also the first time I’d be traveling with them in December. And that meant this was the first time Lindsey would be away from home and her immediate family for Christmas!

What is the Niece Project?

As a woman who never wanted kids, I wanted to form bonds with my 6 nieces. After all, they would be my lifelines as I age. I decided to stop getting them gifts for their birthdays or holidays or even graduation. I didn’t want to bring more meaningless stuff into their world, but instead I wanted them to see the world. I wanted to awake their wanderlust and thirst to experience new cultures and ways of doing things. So the answer was easy…I would give them the gift of travel.

I told each of them that once they turned 16 years old I would take them anywhere in the world they wanted to go. Originally my thought was that it would give them something that I never had – a passport and a chance to travel internationally. However once I announced this mission and it settled in, I realized that it was giving them more than that – it gave them the chance to make their own decision. It got them thinking about the world and considering their own desires.

niece project
Me and my six nieces and I are going to Colorado this summer

Niece Project 1 to 4

Where did the nieces go?

One of the biggest surprises of the Niece Project project is that each seems to try to outdo the other. I was thrilled to see the variety of places they chose and how brave they all were to go into new cultures!

Bethany -> Italy
Evie -> Vietnam
Megan -> Peru
Allie -> Belize
Lindsey -> New Zealand
Erin -> India

New Zealand with Intrepid Travel

On December 16th, Lindsey (now 17 and a senior in high school) and I will be boarding a long flight from Minneapolis to Auckland, New Zealand. A trip that will take us nearly 28 hours total with two connections. I never expected when I started this that I’d be flying halfway around the world with my nieces, but I love their adventurous spirit.

The adventure only begins with the flight, as the Intrepid Travel New Zealand itinerary is full of heart-pumping adventures! Some that I’m a bit nervous about, and some that I’m really excited about! Sea kayaking and snorkelling in the Bay of Islands, black-water rafting in Waitomo, bungee and jet boating in Taupo, as well as mountain biking and kayaking in Nelson, and hopefully I’ll finally get to do the Tongariro Crossing!

We start in Auckland on the North Island and head to the Bay of Islands, Waitomo, Rotorua, Taupo, Mt. Ruapehu, Wellington, Nelson, Kaikoura, and end in Christchurch.

New zealand travel map

See the full itinerary here

Intrepid Travel specializes in small group cultural travel and they have trip styles for everyone – backpackers, solo travelers, family travel and yes, that even includes niece-aunt travel. I’ve worked with Intrepid Travel on past Niece Projects as well as my own solo trips and I’m so thrilled to partner with them again this year on this massive trip! Nothing makes me happier than continuing to work with companies I’ve used throughout this decade of travel.

Packing and travel prep

The prep for this trip now is in full swing! I just talked to Lindsey today who was working on her calculus homework as I was trying to plan out logistics – I’ll take logistics planning any day over high school calculus. I can tell she’s really excited as we talk about how we are packing and what gear we need to bring. It will be summer in New Zealand, but the average temperatures will only be in the 60s to 70s, so layers will be important.

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I went to my favorite travel clothing company, Exofficio, to figure out a layering strategy. Their lightweight, wrinkle-free clothing with bug, sun and water protection are perfect for New Zealand. We’ll be outside a lot and we’ll be moving every day to a new town, so it’s important that we try to pack light and efficiently.

Next, I have to start working with my sister and brother-in-law to get all the paperwork, communication plan, and insurance in order! Since this is niece #5, this process of traveling with other people’s kids is starting to become second nature! However, even though the prep process of traveling with my nieces is predictable, the actual travel portion is never predictable.

Being ready for anything

I never really know how we will get along, what new responsibility curve ball they will throw my way, what new things I’ll learn, and if they’ll think of me as a peer or a parental figure. That’s what makes the journey with them so fun, I never know what’s going to happen!

And after writing this whole article today, going through old stories of Niece Project’s past, I have to say, I’m giddy with excitement to leave on this journey with Lindsey! I remember traveling with her as a young 7-year-old in Asia. My sister and her family lived in Singapore for 5 years, and I traveled with them often.

I also remember sharing the bottom bunk of Lindsey’s bunk bed frequently and looking up at her glow-in-the-dark stars on her ceiling, and us talking until we both fell asleep. I remember watching Little Women with her and us all joking around that she was like Amy March, and would have to be my ‘companion’ when I was old and alone. There are so many old memories with Lindsey, and so many more to come. This is going to be a special trip – I can feel it, and I can’t wait.

Niece Project surprises

After embarking on this Niece Project journey, I realized that there are a few other goals that I developed for it. I was hoping the girls would become interested in the world and its cultures, and maybe, just maybe, it would turn them into travelers themselves. I was hoping that as they made choices in their adult life for school and work, maybe the world would call them and they’d study abroad, or work abroad, or simply have a thirst to see more.

They are all still pretty young (teens and young twenties), but they are on that step to adulthood where they are making their own life decisions now. Some of the best news I had all year is when my niece, Evie, messaged me and said that she was going to go back to Vietnam for her college spring break and was taking some friends with her!

This aunt was bursting with excitement and a little pride to see her decide to do this herself and bring others with her to pass on the gift of travel! Most college students go to Florida or Mexico for their spring break, and she’s going halfway around the world…best spring break ever!

In another surprise, I have heard from many other aunts and uncles (single or not), around the world that have started their own such ‘projects’. And that was one byproduct that I never expected. I wanted to inspire my nieces; I wasn’t expecting to inspire other aunts and uncles. I’m so happy about this, that I do regularly take guest posts from people who want to share their own niece or nephew project and write their story on my blog.

We were guests of Intrepid Travel on this Niece Project adventure. Check out their great family travel opportunities. Family doesn’t always have to mean the conventional family; it is also for aunts and uncles! I’m also partnering with Exofficio to provide us some comfy and innovative travel clothes, a brand I’ve been wearing and gushing about for years! As always, all opinions expressed on the site are my own.

Disclosure:

We will be guests of Intrepid Travel on this Niece Project adventure.  Check out their great family travel opportunities. Family doesn’t always have to mean the conventional family, it is also for aunts and uncles!
I’m also partnering Exofficio to provide us some comfy and innovative travel clothes, a brand I’ve been wearing and gushing about for years!
As always, all opinions expressed on the site are my own.

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16 Comments

  1. I’m officially in three years with my niece project…meaning, I’m putting money into their account for savings until I can take them somewhere. I’ve recently bought them world travel coloring books to maybe start to get them excited about going. My sister-in-law talks to them about it and my older niece changes from Egypt to Hollywood to Disneyworld to Paris. So, we shall see. My other niece (who is autistic) will be more of a challenge and not sure that she gets it just yet at six.

    But I’m super excited to see where they pick. I think when they get to be 12-13, I might sit them down and talk about choices and the world and country. I’m also looking at buying them journals at some point so that they can write down places they hear about as options.

    I’m not sure you will have this blog in 10 years, but if so, I hope to submit a guest post.

    1. I adore the range of Egypt to Hollywood! Congrats for already planning on it. It definitely takes prior planning and saving. Most people think that the ‘project’ starts when you get on the plane – but it doesn’t…it starts way before that…and the decision on where to go is a hard one. But I love it – it teaches them to dream a bit and I think that’s great for any kids! Good luck and yes – you can definitely guest post!! And if you ever want to do a post simply about how you are preparing financially and with your sister in law or your nieces years in advance – I think that would make a great story to share too!!

  2. Sherry, I think that’s a great idea. I will look at writing something up for you. I put other money in than just for their birthdays and Christmas.

  3. I love this idea so much! I can only hope that I have the means and parental approval when my nephew and niece are old enough! I’m already asking at what age they’ll be allowed to fly to visit me…I had a younger cousin who flew to Seattle on his own from Chicago at the age of 10 and we had so much fun!

  4. Sherry you are definitely the cool aunt. New Zealand sounds like a great place to visit with your niece. I don’t plan on having kids and I’m not an aunt (maybe one day), but if I ever become an aunt I would love to do a niece/nephew project like this. Showing your nieces that travel is possible and there world is out there for them to explore and discover is a wonderful gift.

  5. Loved learning about your niece project and sharing my own version with you…such a lovely coincidence and so much we have in common! I am still waiting for niece #2 to decide where she wants to go on her trip. And I look forward to seeing the places my nephews choose. I never thought to write about them but after seeing your blog I may just do that!!

  6. HI SHERRY,
    Thanks for the wonderful sharing your “Nice project 5.0 travel decisions”. After reading your informative post I have known that you are very experienced women about make a travel decision. Will you share about your next nice project travel decision? I really love it and return to read it. Thanks in again.

  7. I’m doing something similar. Taking my nieces on a trip for their 13th bday. I ask them to provide me 5 options and then I pick one. We go someplace in the US. I took my f1st niece to DC last year. The 2nd is turning 13 next year. I need some ideas as she has no idea what / where she wants to go. She’s not into museums like her sister.

    1. I think the hardest part for them is to make such a big decision…it’s really hard! All of my nieces had trouble with the decision process. Some more than others.

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