Key insights:
- More families are traveling together across generations, with 57 percent planning a multigenerational trip in the next year, according to the Family Travel Association.
- Multigenerational travel creates natural opportunities to share values, such as through volunteer work or visiting family heritage sites.
- Funding family trips can be a form of lifetime gifting, moving assets out of the grandparents’ estate and allowing them to witness their wealth’s impact on the next generation.
- Younger relatives can share in the planning by having them research and pitch trip ideas within a specific budget, building excitement and financial confidence.
- For families who want multigenerational travel to become a recurring tradition, factoring those costs into a long-term wealth plan helps “Givers” spend with confidence and with intention.
Family vacations are evolving, as more families are organizing trips that bring grandparents, parents, children and even extended relatives together for travel experiences that are both meaningful and memorable.
According to the Family Travel Association, 57 percent of families plan to take a multigenerational trip in the next year, and nearly half plan to include extended family members such as aunts, uncles and cousins.
“Many families are scattered around the country, and the world,” says Angie O’Leary, head of Wealth Strategies and Solutions at RBC Wealth Management–U.S. “These trips are a way to have a family reunion in a curated environment.”
Multigenerational travel makes values easier to share
An RBC Wealth Management survey found that high-net-worth “Givers” (older generations planning to leave a future inheritance) want to pass along family values as well as their wealth. Yet only 52 percent have had conversations about those beliefs with their intended beneficiaries.
Traveling together creates an opportunity to broach certain subjects in a more relaxed and organic way. For example, visiting a place tied to your family’s history can connect younger relatives to their roots, while a trip built around volunteering can show what your values look like in practice.
Bobby Lovgren, head of Wealth Planning at RBC Wealth Management–U.S., experienced this firsthand with his wife’s family’s legacy planning. Through the guidance of his father-in-law, the family—parents, siblings and spouses—came together and created a family mission statement centered around giving back, humility and spirituality. They later put those values into action when the family traveled to Tijuana, Mexico, to build a home for a mother and her two daughters. The entire family contributed to the project, including children as young as five. “Everyone put their heart and soul into it,” Lovgren says.
Family travel can be a wealth transfer strategy
Multigenerational travel can also be a form of giving while living. Rather than waiting to pass down wealth as an inheritance, parents and grandparents can use their wealth now to pay for the family’s travel expenses, allowing them to witness the impact of their wealth during their lifetime.
In the RBC Wealth Management survey, 86 percent of younger generations said an inheritance would enable them to travel more, while 80 percent said it would allow them to spend more time with family. Funding a multigenerational trip can provide beneficiaries with both those experiences now, while the Givers are still there to enjoy the gift.
Five tips for planning a multigenerational family trip
A multigenerational trip can be challenging to coordinate, especially when it includes multiple households, age groups and interests. These tips can help make the experience smoother and more meaningful for everyone involved:
- Choose a versatile destination. The best multigenerational trips offer enough variety for both relaxation and activity, so family members can choose what fits their needs. O’Leary says cruises work well because they keep the family together, while still offering plenty of options for different ages and mobility levels.
- Create anchor experiences. On a large family trip, not everyone will spend every moment together, and that’s understandable. Schedule a few group gatherings, such as a dinner, excursion or volunteer activity to foster shared memories, while leaving time for individuals and small groups to do their own thing.
- Invite everyone to help with planning. Even if one person or couple is paying for the entire trip, giving other family members a say can build excitement and make it more enjoyable for all. O’Leary has seen families give younger relatives a budget and ask them to research and pitch trip ideas to the group. Not only does that exercise teach younger generations about the cost of travel, it also helps take some of the planning pressure off the person funding the trip.
- Be clear about costs and expectations. Clarify up front exactly what each family member will cover. If some expenses will be shared, discuss the plan early so money questions do not create tension or arguments during the trip.
- Use outside support when needed. For larger groups or more complex international trips, luxury travel advisors and concierge services can coordinate logistics and arrange personalized experiences. These experts specialize in organizing multigenerational family travel, so everyone can focus on enjoying the journey.For philanthropic travel, a nonprofit or local organization can structure the volunteer work and explain what your family should expect before they arrive. Lovgren recommends vetting the group carefully before committing. “We picked a group that others in our social circle had traveled with before,” he says.
Make family travel part of your wealth plan
For Givers who want to make multigenerational trips a recurring family tradition, those costs should be factored into your overall wealth plan. Your advisor can model the long-term impact of funding regular trips and show how consistent travel gifting fits within your broader finances and wealth transfer strategy. Doing this calculation beforehand can help Givers feel more confident about spending generously, O’Leary says. “You want to be intentional about it—not just booking the trip, but understanding how it fits into the larger picture of what you’re trying to accomplish for your family.”
Funding family travel may also have estate-planning advantages. The 2026 federal annual gift tax exclusion allows individuals to give $19,000 per recipient, or $38,000 per recipient when given by a married couple, without incurring gift tax. For Givers with multiple adult children and grandchildren, those gifts can add up to a substantial annual travel budget for the entire family. At the same time, paying for trips moves assets out of the Giver’s estate over time, potentially reducing future estate and inheritance taxes.
The trips that become part of the family story
Travel can become part of a living legacy for families, one that older generations get to experience alongside the people they love. With families often spread across states and time zones, shared experiences require effort and intention to create. A volunteer project completed together, a new country visited for the first time, a dinner where three generations shared stories and meaningful conversation—these are the memories that last long after the trip ends. “Your kids and grandkids will still be talking about these trips when they’re 75,” Lovgren says.