The wind howls as my 13-year-old daughter and I hike along a portion of the Okstindbreen glacier in northern Norway. The frigid air nips at our noses. With each step of our crampon-strapped feet, ice crunches under us, and we work to maintain our balance. We gaze in awe at the icy landscape surrounding us in all directions.
Photography provided by Up Norway
The two of us have come to Norway in pursuit of its immense natural beauty, from expansive glaciers to narrow, dramatic fjords, but also for the pleasure of each other’s company, moments that feel harder and harder to come by back home, given our frenetic schedules. Though we miss my husband and son, this mother-daughter time feels like a gift.
It’s an idea that’s time has come, and tour operators are catching on. “This year, we’ve noticed a significant rise in one-parent, one-child trips,” notes Torunn Tronsvang, founder of bespoke travel outfitter Up Norway, who arranged our 10-day adventure. “We specialize in crafting itineraries that connect travelers to Norway’s landscapes and rich culture and foster deeper relationships among those traveling.”
Photography by Aron Klein
In recent years, I’ve traveled with each of my children individually. My son and I visited lush Kauai, spying on green sea turtles in the placid waters and taking to the sky above the craggy Napali Coast in a helicopter. A few summers prior, my piano-playing daughter and I followed in the footsteps of Mozart and Beethoven in Vienna and Salzburg. I’m immensely fortunate to have had these opportunities and have come to treasure them. And I’m not the only one.
Photography provided by Up Norway
Los Angeles–based mom Julie Bustrum also sees the value and joy in one-parent, one-child travel. “With three kids who each have their interests, motivations and stamina, it can be challenging to find activities that appeal to everyone,” she explains. In addition to vacations with the entire family, “my husband and I have begun adding in a different kind of travel: special trips with just one parent and one child that allow us to plan activities that appeal to each kid’s interests.”
A few years ago, Bustrum took her elder daughter to Detroit on an art and architecture-themed jaunt. It included tours of the Detroit Institute of Arts — which boasts one of the most significant art collections in the United States — and the striking art deco Guardian Building. She traveled with her foodie middle son to New Orleans, seeking the best gumbo, po’boys, shrimp and grits, beignets and king cake. This past summer, her husband and younger daughter explored Iceland, bonding through shared experiences like horseback riding, waterfall hikes, strolls along black sand beaches and long, soothing soaks in the Blue Lagoon.
Photography provided by Up Norway
In addition to allowing for deeper engagement in interests unique to each child, traveling as a pair can be “less hurried, less stressful and more spontaneous,” according to Bustrum. “With just one child, it tends to be easier to stay aligned on energy, pace and appetite.” She also makes a point of including her kids in the process. “These are trips they have chosen, and the whole experience is enhanced by the fact that they have been involved in the planning.”
Parents inviting their children to actively participate in the itinerary planning is another trend Tronsvang is seeing — one the 2025 Hilton Trends Report noted among 70% of parents of Gen Alpha kids (born between 2010 and 2024) surveyed. “It gives the child more ownership of the journey and, in turn, increases overall satisfaction,” she says.
Photography provided by Up Norway
That satisfaction goes both ways. Ellen McBreen, founder of Paris Muse, a company known for its expert-led museum tours in the City of Lights, has noticed how traveling as a one-parent, one-child duo can also be rewarding for the parent. “So many parents traveling with multiple kids are inevitably focused on whether all their kids are engaged,” she notes. “They can easily forget about their enjoyment.”
One-on-one travel enables parents to relax and enjoy themselves, McBreen says. “They will ask more questions and be more willing to play along and figure out the riddles to our Louvre scavenger hunt alongside their child. Without all the competing voices, our conversations about the art in front of us can be very focused. And when that happens, it’s magic.”
Photography provided by Up Norway
Having grown up with four siblings, McBreen recounts a favorite last-minute getaway she took as a child to Martha’s Vineyard with just her mother. “I saw a side of her I never got to see, doing all the things she loved. She seemed so much freer, so much younger. Seeing a mother and daughter together on a vacation in Paris reminds me of that trip. As a guide, you’re a small part of making these incredible memories.”
The benefits of travel are innumerable, but it’s no surprise that the parent-child bond is strengthened in the context of one-parent, one-child trips.
“Traveling to new places and experiencing new cultures is important for personal growth and also our ability to feel empathy toward others,” notes Dr. Julie Cederbaum, an associate professor at the University of Southern California whose work focuses on child and adolescent well-being. “One-on-one travel, in particular, really allows for focused time with and attention to that child, increasing attachment and creating shared positive memories.” Bustrum echoes that sentiment: “The dedicated time to just be together truly deepens the parent-child bond.”
