Laura Begley Bloom

A leading travel expert, Laura Begley Bloom is the Chief Content Officer of Family Traveller, overseeing brand strategy, the U.S. edition of the print magazine and other multi-platform initiatives. Laura is also the mother of an intrepid 5-year-old who has a lot of stamps in her passport and is an aspiring travel journalist herself.

Favorite vacation destination: Tough one! It’s always the last place I’ve been. In this case, a road trip along the Oregon coast. I love the mix of rugged landscapes and charming beach towns. One of the highlights was catching Dungeness crabs off a dock on Nehalem Bay and eating them around a bonfire.

First vacation with my daughter: Lucy was just 6-weeks-old when she got her passport and 10-weeks-old when she took her first vacation to Negril, Jamaica. My husband and I got married at the Rockhouse in Negril, and though it’s adults-only the rest of the year, they allow kids around Christmas and New Year’s. We couldn’t wait to bring Lucy to this special place. It’s no wonder her first favorite song was Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds.”

What would you take on a desert island? My daughter and my husband, of course. Throw in a few sarongs and a lot of sunscreen and we will happily live off the land. And if I can choose, can we please make it a desert island in the South Pacific?

Family vacation wish list: The list is long! I can’t wait to take Lucy to explore the Galapagos, go cruising in Alaska, check out the temples in Myanmar and visit friends in Tuscany. And I want to introduce her to some of my favorite spots: Easter Island, South Africa (Cape Town and safari), Japan and Buenos Aires because I know she will love to tango.