Jack Whitehall: Travels With My Father

Jack Whitehall’s fantastic new show Travels with my Father launches on Netflix on today! In the show, Jack takes his 77-year old dad on a gap year adventure through Southeast Asia discovering Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Naturally, the father-son combo get themselves into plenty of scrapes and awkward situations…

The show looks hilarious, but it got us thinking: Why not go on a gap year with your parents? What could possibly be so terrible about that?!

Here are our pros and cons for travelling with mum and/or dad:

CON: Cramping your style

Let’s start with the obvious: travelling with your parents could be SERIOUSLY LAME. Gap years are all about finding out who you are, trying out new things and partying really, really hard. No room for dad-dancing here!

PRO: Money

Why break a sweat saving money when you can rely on the bank of mum and dad? Travelling with your parents might hurt your street cred, but it certainly won’t hurt your wallet!

CON: Nagging

The ‘rents love a good nag. Whether it’s that your hair needs a trim or your clothes are too scruffy, there’s always something they’ll find to moan about. Who needs that on a holiday?

PRO: Experience

Your parents have loads of experience under their belt. They may have even done their own gap year travelling back in the day. Why not harness their experience and general worldliness to ensure you don’t fall into common backpacker traps?

CON: Inflexibility

Generally, parents like to have a plan and stick to it. Can you imagine them spontaneously jumping on a train across the border or changing their plans to fit in a mega party? No? Exactly.

PRO: Bonding

How well do you really know your parents? A trip abroad is a fantastic way to really bond, and learn new things about them. You might just come back best mates!