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Rating Every Country We’ve Traveled To 20 The Best Country

Rating Every Country We’ve Traveled To

During the COVID-19 shut down last year, we were at home and looking for ways to stay entertained, so I asked my wife and kids to rate every country they’ve been to from 1 to 10. I added in my votes and ranked every country that had at least two votes. The goal: come up with a list of the best countries to visit, at least from our experience.

Everyone could vote based on any criteria. In general, the ratings were consistent from person to person, but there were some definite outliers – places where one person remembered things differently than the others. In a family of five, you can’t always keep everyone happy. I will say that we had some fun discussions when people disagreed!

Our Top 20 Countries (the 20 Best Countries to Visit)

In order to give you family travel ideas, here are our top 20 countries to travel to. Keep in mind that we have two girls (10 and 14) and a boy (12), and they’ve been traveling since they were infants—62 countries so far. We split our travels between cities and nature and add frequent cultural activities and cooking classes. We don’t go to a lot of museums or concentrate on history. Likewise, we don’t spend full days at the beach or shopping.

Five continents are represented in our top 20. Australia came in at number 21, and our top African country is Seychelles at 29.

Note that I’m including the average score after every destination.

20. The Netherlands (7.3)

Favorite countries - Netherlands - Keukenhof Gardens outside Amsterdam
Keukenhof Gardens outside Amsterdam

Favorite Places: Amsterdam, the Keukenhof Gardens, and the tulip fields throughout the country in the spring.

Relevant Blog Posts: None. Amsterdam is usually a 1-2 day layover for us. We love the city but I’ve never written about it.

19. Chile (7.4)

Patagonia with kids - Hiking in Torres del Paine National Park
Hiking in Chiles’s Torres del Paine National Park

Favorite Places: Patagonia, the Atacama Desert, and Easter Island. Santiago is fun for a day or two as well.

Relevant Blog Posts: Spring Break in Patagonia | Chile’s Atacama Desert with Kids | Easter Island with a 6-Year-Old

15 (tie). Antarctica (7.5)

Antarctica with Kids: Kayaking in Antarctica
Kayaking in Antarctica

Favorite Places: Antarctica isn’t, strictly speaking, a country, but it’s an amazing place to visit with or without kids. We loved it all.

Relevant Blog Post: What Befalls Your Body When You Eat Oatmeal Every Day 2022

15 (tie). Indonesia (7.5)

Bali with Kids - Swinging!
Swinging in Bali

Favorite Places: Indonesia is mainly about Bali for us, since my daughters love the island, but Borobudur is amazing as well. We want to keep exploring.

Relevant Blog Posts: Wisconsin basketball is left out of the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll 2022

15 (tie). Norway (7.5)

Disney port excursions - Running around Bergen (literally)
In Bergen, Norway

Favorite Places: We love Oslo and Bergen, especially in the summer, and Norway in a Nutshell tour is a great way to travel between them. The fjords are gorgeous as well, and Tromsø in the arctic circle is a good way to experience the midnight sun.

Relevant Blog Post: The Art World’s Catholic Problem 2022

15 (tie). Sweden (7.5)

Sweden with kids - Loved the reflections
At the Kolarbyn Eco Lodge in Central Sweden

Favorite Places: Stockholm and Gothenburg are both great cities to explore for a few days, but we love the coastal towns and the forests of Central Sweden.

Relevant Blog Posts: Exploring the Magical Forests of Central Sweden | The Icebug Xperience West Coast Trail

14. Turkey (7.6)

Best counties to visit - Turkey - Overlooking Cappadocia
Overlooking Cappadocia, Turkey

Favorite Places: Istanbul and Cappadocia. And we loved our day on a gulet near Bodrum.

Relevant Blog Posts: Istanbul with Kids | An Amazing Trip to Cappadocia with Kids | Bodrum with Kids

13. Switzerland (7.7)

Lake Lugano at sunrise
Lake Lugano at sunrise

Favorite Places: My wife and I have traveled all over Switzerland pre-marriage and loved all of the small towns – places like Interlaken, Crans-Montana and Luzern – and I recently hiked and biked from Engelberg to Interlaken. With the kids we’ve only explored Zurich on layovers and Lake Lugano on a day trip from Como. Definitely one of the best countries to visit – we just need to plan more Swiss trips with the kids.

Relevant Blog Post: Hiking in Switzerland: Engelberg to Interlaken

12. The Maldives (7.8)

Six Senses Laamu
At Six Senses Laamu in the Maldives

Favorite Places: Six Senses Laamu in the Laamu Atoll.

Relevant Blog Posts: Six Senses Laamu in the Maldives: Our New Favorite Resort Anywhere | A Return to Paradise

11. Canada (7.9)

Winnipeg Manitoba - Loved watching these two playing/wrestling from below
Polar bears in Winnipeg, Manitoba

Favorite Places: Vancouver, Banff and Winnipeg and the surrounding areas. Victoria on Vancouver Island is fun as well.

Relevant Blog Post: Manitoba, Canada with Kids. All of our other Canada trips were before I started writing about our travels.

10. Croatia (8.0)

Best family holidays Europe - Croatia - Plitvice Lakes National Park is stunning!
Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia

Favorite Places: Zagreb and Plitvice National Park. We still need to get to Krka National Park and Dubrovnik.

Relevant Blog Posts: Croatia With Kids: Zagreb and Plitvice Lakes

9. Brazil (8.3)

Amazon Rain Forest with Kids - Mirante do Gavião
Mirante do Gavião Lodge in Brazil

Favorite Places: The Amazon Rainforest and the Rio Negro. Manaus is worth a day or two as well. We haven’t been to Rio yet.

Relevant Blog Posts: The Amazon Rainforest with Kids: A Magical (Unplugged) Expedition

7 (tie). Laos (8.5)

Best countries to visit - Laos - At the top of Phousi Mountain in Luang Prabang, Laos
At the top of Phousi Mountain in Luang Prabang, Laos

Favorite Places: We’ve only been to Luang Prabang and loved it. We need to explore the rest of the country.

Relevant Blog Post: Asia with Kids: A Crazy Three-Week, Six-Country Itinerary

7 (tie). Japan (8.5)

Kyoto with kids - At Kongoji Temple
At Kongoji Temple in Kyoto

Favorite Places: Tokyo, Kyoto, Naoshima Island and Hiroshima

Relevant Blog Posts: Kyoto to Hiroshima, a 10-Day Journey | 10 Places Not to Miss in Tokyo | Tokyo with Kids Made Easy | Kyoto with Kids

6. Portugal (8.7)

Best countries to visit - Portugal - Cascais
Cascais, Portugal as seen from our hotel room

Favorite Places: Lisbon, Cascais and Sintra. Still haven’t visited Porto or the Douro Valley.

Relevant Blog Posts: None. Definitely one of the best countries to travel to, but our trips have largely been focused around weddings.

5. New Zealand (8.8)

Favorite countries - Driving around New Zealand's South Island
Driving around New Zealand’s South Island

Favorite Places: The South Island. We’ve explored it far more than the North Island, even though we’ve visited Auckland several times.

Relevant Blog Posts: None. We need to go back and see more, and I’ll write about it next time!

3 (tie). Faroe Islands (9.0)

Faroe Islands - Oda making sure my son didn't plummet to his death
On Mykines in the Faroe Islands

Favorite Places: Torshavn, Tjørnuvik, Saksun, Gjógv, Mykines

Relevant Blog Post: An Amazing Week in the Faroe Islands (with Kids)

3 (tie). France (9.0)

Paris on a Budget - At the Louvre
At the Louvre in Paris

Favorite Places: Paris, Provence

Relevant Blog Posts: The Best Things to Do in Paris with Kids | Tips for Visiting Paris on a Budget | 10 Tips for a Perfect Family Vacation in Paris

2. Italy (9.1)

Val di Fassa - Photographing from the hiking viewpoint
Photographing in the Dolomites: Val di Fassa
Florence - San Miniato
Photographing in Florence (shirt from Unbound Merino)

Favorite Places: Florence, the Dolomites, Venice, Cortona, Cinque Terre, Rome, Lake Como, Ravenna, San Gimignano

Relevant Blog Posts: Florence with Kids: What to Do and Where to Stay | Our Favorite Restaurants in Florence | How to Visit Cinque Terre | Positano Italy (and the Amalfi Coast) | Why You Should Never Do a Day Trip to Florence or Rome | A Week in Florence without Kids | A Perfect Trip to Florence with Kids | Venice in High Season with Kids | Italy Unplugged: A Week in Emilia Romagna | Hiking the Via Francigena Through Tuscany | Kid-Friendly Adventure in Trentino’s Stunning Val di Fassa | Adventures with Kids in the Dolomites: Trentino’s Val di Fiemme | Two Weeks on Lake Como with Kids | A Villa in Tuscany for a Month

1. Greece (9.8)

Paros Greece - Another evening in Naoussa
In Naoussa, Paros

Favorite Places: Naxos, Paros, Santorini (or pretty much any Greek island in the summer, unless it sees a lot of cruise ships)

Relevant Blog Posts: Naxos Greece: Our Favorite Island | Three Weeks on the Greek Island of Naxos with Kids | A Day Trip from Naxos to Santorini | Paros Greece with Kids

The Best Countries to Visit: Your Turn

What are the best countries to visit from your family’s experience? Do you agree/disagree with our ranking? Would love to hear your thoughts on the best countries to travel to in the comments below.

And I should note that a lot of people are finding this post when Googling “coolest countries to visit”. So I did a separate post on the coolest countries!

Travel Insurance

We never used to travel with travel health coverage, or even trip cancellation insurance, but we regretted that when my wife broke her knee traveling recently. I write about it here. I highly recommend purchasing insurance – either on an annual basis if you travel a lot, or for individual trips. We went with G1G based on price and what they offer.

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