I don't like to take the same trip twice. I made an exception to bring my kids to the Galápagos Islands.

The authors son takes in the view while visiting the Galapagos Islands.

Courtesy of Jamie Davis Smith.

I don't like visiting the same place twice, I like to see new places every time I take a trip.

I made an exception to return to the Galápagos with my family a few decades after I first visited.

I think our trip made just as big an impact on my children as it did on me.

I usually tell my kids they can travel to places I've already been when they are older.

I started traveling as a teenager in high school and never stopped and my travels have taken me all over the world.

In my quest to see and experience as much of the globe as possible, I am reluctant to return to the same place twice.

My approach to travel didn't change much when I had kids.

That's why they have been to off-the-beaten-track destinations like Antarctica and Panama, places I hadn't yet visited before they were born.

They still haven't seen more popular destinations like Germany or Scotland, which are fantastic, but aren't necessarily worth a repeat visit for me.

"You can go there when you're older, when you are funding your own travel," I usually tell them, "I want to see somewhere new before I am too old to travel." They don't always like this answer, but they accept it.

Nevertheless, I do make occasional exceptions.

One of those was a trip to the Galápagos Islands with my family.