When we joined the Trailblazer program by Boundless Life, we were intrigued. An adventure of an entire school year where our teenage daughters could learn through experiential, place-based education, where we could live in beautiful destinations around the world, work remotely, and build a community with like-minded families?

It sounded like a dream, but we didn’t quite know what to expect. As a family that has been traveling full-time over the past 7 years, we’re used to adventure. But this was something different, a structured experience where our teenage daughters could grow, learn, and connect with others, while we as parents could be part of a global community.

Now that our journey with the Trailblazer year 2024-2025 has come to an end, after nine months across Indonesia, Greece, and Montenegro, and countless memories, we can confidently say: it was more than a dream. It was life-changing. It’s hard to put into words how much this journey has meant to us. But we’ll try, in the hope that other families might feel inspired to join the path we’re so grateful we took.

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A New Way of Learning, Living, and Growing

If you are completely new to the concept of what we did, let me explain a bit more. The Trailblazer program is a unique educational offering from Boundless Life, designed for tweens and teens aged 13 to 14.

It blends academic learning with a project- and place-based curriculum based on local culture and nature, personal growth, creativity, and building community. Kids work on personal and group projects, go on frequent field trips, and participate in outdoor adventures, all while building independence, resilience, and friendships.

For the parents? It’s a dream setup. Remote work from great coworking spaces, shared experiences in beautiful countries, a supportive community of like-minded families, and the chance to share this lifestyle with others who truly understand it.

Each time, all the families stay for 3 months in a destination, and then move together to the next country. We all traveled to Bali (Indonesia), Syros (Greece), and Kotor (Montenegro). We weren’t just visiting three different countries. We were living in them and learning from them, together.

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What Made It So Special?

As a full-time travel family, we’re no strangers to change. But when our daughters, Yuna and Hanne, reached their teenage years, we felt they needed something deeper, a chance to form lasting friendships, grow independently, and engage with the world beyond just sightseeing. The Trailblazer program gave us exactly that.

Looking back on this experience, it’s hard to choose what stood out most. Were it the many field trips and projects at school, surfing in Bali, the Greek Carnival celebrations in Syros, or the yoga each morning by the Bay of Kotor?

Or was it something more subtle, the confidence we saw growing in our daughters, the late-night conversations with other parents at the square or on the beach, or the way each destination slowly became a home?

We can confidently say the Trailblazer Program created the perfect balance for our family: education, adventure, work, and community around the world.

And beyond all of this, there were the small, beautiful moments: sharing meals, celebrating birthdays, writing letters to our teens during their overnight trip in Durmitor, dancing on the beach at potlucks, and simply watching our girls and ourselves grow together with our friends.

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What We Learned Along the Way

This program wasn't just about traveling or the adventure. It was about growing together as a family, as individuals, and as a group. Here's what we’ll take with us:

• Community is everything: being part of a cohort that grows together over time creates deep friendships. We’ve laughed, cried, and celebrated with people who were once strangers but now feel like family. And this is exactly what we didn’t have when we traveled the world just with the four of us.
  
  
• Kids thrive with autonomy: Boundless encouraged our daughters to explore their ideas, make mistakes, and lead their own projects. And the places we visited also allowed them to have more freedom to explore with their friends. The result? A new level of motivation and maturity that they are very proud of.
  
  
• Slowing down deepens the local connection: spending three months in each place allowed us to live like locals, understand a culture beyond the tourist lens, create friendships with the locals, and build lasting memories.

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What Did We Do in Our Last Month in Kotor?

Being back for summer in Belgium, our home country, I can’t even believe I am writing about the end of our Trailblazer journey. But if you have been following our journey and previous monthly blog articles, we also owe you a recap of what our last month in Kotor was like.

Inside and Outside of the Classroom

At school, the kids were wrapping up their final assignments for their Boundless and place-based projects, and preparing for the end-of-cohort ceremonies. They finished their sanctuaries based on Montenegrin legends, reflected on their personal growth during the cohort, and completed the work on their Boundless projects.

They also had two more amazing field trips to explore Montenegro. The first one was a big hike to Vrmac Fortress, and although the sun was strong, the panoramic views of Kotor Bay and the ruins of Ford Vrmac were more than worth it. The other field trip was to Lipa Cave, one of the largest cave systems in Montenegro. The kids had a guided tour and were fascinated by the underground chambers and dramatic formations.

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Life in Kotor and Beyond

As the days got hotter, our daily rhythm slowed down. During the warmest hours, we stayed inside to work or study, while the cooler mornings and evenings were for walks, doing yoga, going on an early-morning birding trip to Lake Skadar, more birthday celebrations at the beach, and one last community potluck dinner, a classic boundless tradition, where everyone brings a dish to share.

But the sense that this journey was coming to an end was also starting to sink in for all of us. So, this third month in Kotor wasn’t just about ticking off more places on the map. It was about pausing to appreciate what this whole experience has meant. After traveling with this community for so long, it’s no wonder that emotions were sometimes high, but above all, filled with gratitude for this incredible journey.

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An Unforgettable Moment: The Graduation Party

One of the most emotional and unforgettable moments of the entire nine months was the graduation ceremony we organized in the beautiful setting of the old town of Kotor. There were speeches by teacher Emily, founder Rekha, a few parents, and Trailblazers. And we watched a video Yuna and Jonah created about the entire Trailblazer year.

But what made it truly special was the realization that these weren’t the same kids we had started this journey with. They had grown, not just academically, but emotionally, socially, and personally. And we had grown right alongside them.

The ceremony wasn’t just a goodbye. It was a celebration of everything we’d built together: friendships, memories, and a new perspective on life.

And to celebrate all of this, we also threw a great graduation party for the kids, with balloons, a DJ, food, and a graduation cake! It’s a night that nobody will forget.

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The Final Goodbye, but Not the End

As mentioned above, the final month in Kotor brought powerful emotions. As we attended the graduation ceremony, watched our girls present their projects during the learning celebration, and said our tearful goodbyes during the farewell dinner and the following weekend, we realized: this was more than a program. It was a transformational chapter in our family’s story.

Our daughters started this program with excitement and a bit of nervousness. They left it with confidence, resilience, independence, and friendships that will last a lifetime.

They learned things no textbook could teach, like how to navigate new cultures, live in community, and express themselves creatively. They hiked to remote fortresses, interviewed local artisans, launched tiny businesses, and presented their ideas in front of peers and parents.

Looking back, this wasn’t just about travel or education. It was about growing as a family, finding a tribe, sharing our lives with an inspiring group of families from around the world, and watching our daughters thrive in a way traditional schooling never offered.

And although we said goodbye to the other families and team members, this is not the end. We are sure we will see so many of them again, around the world!

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For Any Family Considering the Trailblazer Path...

And to any family out there considering the Trailblazer program, we say this: if you're looking for something more, beyond the traditional system, if you’re ready to let go of the ordinary, to immerse yourself in new cultures, and to give your children a truly meaningful experience: this is it.

The Trailblazer program is not just about worldschooling or slow travel. It’s a fully supported, intentional experience that offers growth, connection, and transformation for the entire family.

Would we recommend the Trailblazer program? Absolutely.

Would we do it again? In a heartbeat.

To Boundless Life and the other Trailblazer families: Thank you! For the vision, the support, and for changing the way we see the world, together.

Curious to learn more about our journey?

We’ve documented each month throughout our Trailblazer journey, so check these blogs for more information on our time in Bali, Greece and Montenegro.

You can also visit our Instagram – The Global Wizards, or our family travel blog, or our latest travel blog dedicated to Syros, Greece.

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions, and thank you for following along our journey!

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