Ideas for Mother-Daughter Trips

It’s Mother’s Day this weekend and I want to commemorate this special day with my new post about Mother-Daughter Trips. I am lucky enough to still have my wonderful mother in my life (she turns 81 this year). Although we haven’t lived close to each other for the past 38 years, we have had many visits and some awesome trips together.

I will share in this post some of the trips we’ve taken, most of them with other family members. I hope these ideas for Mother-Daughter Trips will show how you can spend special moments traveling with your mother. If you no longer have a ‘mom’ in your life, then just remember and treasure the wonderful times you had. If YOU are a mom, then maybe these ideas can be used for a fun trip with your daughter or son!

Caribbean Cruise

Have you been on a cruise in the Caribbean Sea? I’ve taken a cruise to the Bahamas and to the Caribbean, both times with my mom! My 4-day cruise to the Bahamas was with my mom and sister when I was 29 years old. We had a blast and acted like three sisters!

The Caribbean cruise was with my mom and several family members to celebrate my 50th birthday. My mom paid for me and my partner to have a luxury balcony room while touring different islands in the Caribbean. It was such a nice birthday present!

I’m not a huge fan of big cruise ships, but they offer many choices of entertainment, both on and off the boat. If you are part of a large group, each person can choose different activities or excursions. The early birds can go to bed when they are tired and the late-night owls can party throughout the evening.

The nice part of a family cruise is that you all reunite at least once a day for dinner. Most cruise ships assign your group the same table for the duration of the trip. There are usually two dinner times to choose from, for example, 6:30 pm or 8:30 pm. You will have the same servers every night and get to know them well.

I really enjoyed this vacation with my mother and other family members. Family cruises are a great way to relax, spend time together, see beautiful scenery, and enjoy fun activities.

If you are looking for a fun get-away with your mother to celebrate Mother’s Day or her birthday, think about doing a cruise. It will provide great memories.

California Road Trip

Another special trip I had with my mom was in 2010. She had never been to California and I wanted to show her the best of this state that I had visited over the years. I planned our one-week itinerary to do a roundtrip drive between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

We took my mom and our three daughters to see the highlights of the California coastline. We rented a van and had reserved hotels along the way. We started in Santa Monica and drove up through Santa Barbara, Pismo, Carmel, Monterey, and San Francisco.

We stayed at each hotel for one or two nights. If you don’t mind being on the move, it’s the best way to see a lot in a little time. If you want to hear more about the trip, check out my blog post ‘Awesome U.S. Road Trips‘.

One of the highlights was our bus tour of Hollywood. We spent some time on the famous Rodeo Drive and visited Mann’s Chinese Theatre. My mom loved acting like a celebrity while shopping and walking on Rodeo Drive.

While staying in Santa Monica, we spent one afternoon strolling along Venice Beach. It’s such an animated area and plenty of things to see!

Another fun thing we did in Los Angeles was to attend a taping of the Tonight Show, with Jay Leno hosting at that time. I had made reservations online many months ahead and we got front row seats for this show. My mom loved it so much.

As our daughters were in their teens in 2010, they were in love with Justin Bieber. We were able to get concert tickets to see him while we were in Los Angeles. Even my mother enjoyed the concert but definitely needed earplugs to protect her ears from the screaming girls in the audience!

In San Francisco, we took a hop-on-hop-off bus tour. It’s the best way to see the highlights in a short amount of time. I would recommend doing a boat tour in the bay and around Alcatraz Island. If your mom can’t walk for long distances, these are very good options.

This road trip was very memorable for all of us. I was happy that I could show my mom such beautiful scenery and be her private chauffeur for the week. She is not only my mom but my best friend. It’s a great feeling to get along well with your mom and share a fun vacation together.

Venice, Italy

Whose mom wouldn’t want to go to Venice, Italy?! It’s a dream come true! I took great delight in showing my mom this amazing city a few years ago. She came to visit me in Switzerland and I arranged a train trip to Venice for a few days. She loved every bit of it!

We had one constraint during this trip due to my mom recently injuring her foot and having to wear a shin/foot brace. We could only walk short distances, but we still managed to do and see a lot in Venice.

Venice is quite compact and the highlights are in one central location. You can take water taxis all around the island that stop at main tourist spots like St. Mark’s Square and Rialto Bridge.

We rented an AirB&B apartment for a few days which was quite close to the central square. My brother was also with us on this trip. We will never forget him singing Italian songs during our gondola ride. Although expensive, a gondola ride in Venice is a must-do. It is so peaceful to be taken through all the narrow canals with colorful buildings.

We also enjoyed our one-day excursion by boat to the surrounding islands of Murano and Burano. Murano is known for the glass blowing and is a bit of a tourist trap for selling their glass. Burano, on the other hand, is less crowded and absolutely stunning with its brightly colored buildings.

If you want to see and hear more about Burano, check out my post on ‘Colorful Places in the World‘.

I highly recommend having a Mother-Daughter trip in Venice, Italy. You’ll both love it!

Gruyeres, Switzerland

Because I live in Switzerland, I’ve taken my mom to many places in this country. One of her favorite places is the nearby town of Gruyères, known for its Swiss cheese and medieval castle (from 1270) sitting high on a hill.

While in the Gruyèress village, you can eat at one of the many restaurants that serve the typical cheese fondue of this region (called ‘moitié-moitié’ with half Gruyère cheese and half Vacherin cheese). For dessert, you must try the traditional meringues with double-thick Gruyères cream.

Gruyères village is situated up high with beautiful 360-degree views. You can take a small path around the castle to see more of the countryside. You can tour the inside of the castle for a small fee.

While in Gruyères, don’t miss a visit to the Cheese Museum to learn how they make the famous Gruyères cheese. In Broc, a small town near Gruyères, you can visit the Cailler Chocolate factory. Of course, you will get free samples of the cheese and chocolate when you take the tour!

Other Trip Ideas

Other places I’ve been with my mom include Boston, Massachusetts and Ashville, North Carolina. We had a great time visiting these places. We have also enjoyed many different trips to Florida over the years.

Why not go on an outdoor adventure with your mom? It would be a chance to bond and enjoy nature at the same time!

It doesn’t matter where you go with your mom as long as you have quality time to enjoy each other’s company. Mothers are such a gift to us. I’ve realized this more and more with each passing year.

I hope you’ve enjoyed hearing about my Ideas for Mother-Daughter Trips. Leave a comment below to share your trips with your mother!

Wishing all of you a Happy Mother’s Day!

If you are looking for assistance to plan your next trip, I am here for YOU! I love to plan travel itineraries for myself and others. For more details on how I provide this service, please check out my Itinerary Planning page and drop me a quick email at jan@janadventures.com to get started!