Family Travel Expert Shares 2 Overrated and Underrated Destinations

Monet Hambrick, 36, is a travel blogger who has visited over 35 countries with her family.
The Hambricks enjoy going on trips that immerse themselves in the local culture.
Hambrick was blown away by Madeira, Portugal, but couldn’t say the same about Dubai.

Monet Hambrick likes to say, “If kids live there, kids can visit.”

The full-time travel blogger documents family trips to far-flung destinations with her husband, James, and their two daughters, Jordyn, 10, and Kennedy, 8, on her Instagram handle, @thetravelingchild. She doesn’t just preach the motto; she practices it.

Hambrick fell in love with traveling back in high school when she spent a summer staying with a host family in Botswana. She learned about the culture there, she told Business Insider, explored Chobe National Park, and camped in the Okavango Delta.

Looking back now, that summer “truly made an impact on how I choose to travel now with my family,” she said.

Hambrick is making every effort to impart her love of traveling to her two daughters, whom she began traveling with as newborns. So far, the kids have been to over 35 countries, while Hambrick has visited 50 herself.

Whether with her family or not, every trip has taught Hambrick what she likes when she travels — and what she doesn’t. She has no shame about wanting to see major landmarks or tourist hot spots but also enjoys immersing herself in the local community of every destination.

Here, Hambrick shares destinations she felt were overrated, alternative suggestions, and two places she loves that she feels are highly underrated.