The world’s most well-traveled baby has seen 23 countries in less than a year
It really is a suite life for this baby.
At just 11 months old, Atlas Montgomery has seen more of the world than most will see in a lifetime — as he’s already visited 23 countries with his parents Becs Lewis, 29, and Will Montgomery, 31.
“It never occurred to me that you could travel with a baby. It seemed so unrealistic, but it is not that hard,” Lewis told South West News Service.
The family of three, who live in the United Kingdom, have been traveling around Europe in a camper van since the tot was six weeks old, taking advantage of Lewis’ maternity leave until early November.
“It has been amazing — you can see every bit of his growth. It’s great being able to travel just the three of us,” Lewis added.
So far, many of Atlas’ milestones as a baby have been marked in each country: he learned to crawl while the family was in Switzerland, got his first tooth in Norway and began eating solid foods in France.
They’ve also visited Italy, San Marino, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Slovenia, Croatia, Austria, Czechia, Denmark and Norway, in addition to others.
The journey began in New Zealand and Singapore to visit her husband’s side of the family. The couple then bought a Fiat Ducato van for almost $14,000 while making a trip home to the United Kingdom for Atlas to meet Lewis’ parents, which has carried them on the rest of their travels.
Lewis said that they have “plenty of space” in the motorhome, as it includes a bathroom with a shower, ten storage cupboards for odds and ends, a sink and toilet as well as two table areas.
“Atlas has been to 23 countries so far and it will be 25 by the time we finish,” Lewis said.
“It will be exciting for him to look at all the cool stuff he has done when he is older,” she continued.
The family has been documenting the journey on their Instagram page, which they hope to show Atlas when he’s older.
Before they began traveling, the two saved up their money, selling the majority of their belongings and ending their lease in a rental home.
They have opted to travel smartly and on a budget, too, only spending about $4 per day on food.
“We’ve stuck to one meal out per destination — apart from in Italy, where we went a bit mad for all the amazing food!” Lewis said.
So far, some of their favorite destinations have been the French Alps and Luxembourg.
“Luxembourg was a surprise as we weren’t meant to go there but as we were driving through, we thought we would stop and spent a week there,” Lewis explained.
“We loved Italy because of its culture and all the history, and the French Alps were incredible.”
Although their trip has been full of fun, Lewis admitted that some of their family members were quite skeptical of the idea before they set off.
She said that their hesitations made her and Montgomery second-guess themselves.
“Mad was a word that came up a lot. We were pretty lucky that our families supported us, but they were skeptical,” she said.
“Nobody was outwardly rude but small comments like ‘you’re braver than me’ by many built to us almost canceling the trip.”
However, Lewis and her husband aren’t letting any cynics get them down and said that if anything, it’s just proved how important it is to do the right thing for your family — which was this trip.
“It proves to me that you should always do what’s best for your family – despite people’s experiences,” Lewis told SWNS.
She said she feels “quite proud” of her little family.
“We weren’t doing anything to prove a point, but we feel proud to show it is possible,” she said.