The Bucket List Family: Travel YouTubers, Destinations, Videos and Family Style

Quick facts

Who are The Bucket List Family?

The Bucket List Family are Garrett and Jessica Gee, an American couple who have traveled the world with their children Dorothy (11), Manilla (9) and Calihan (6, ages per The Times, January 2024) and documented it online for a decade.

Jessica is originally from Denver, Colorado; at 21 she served a church mission in Vladivostok, Russia, where she learned a deep love of serving others and experiencing new cultures. She graduated and worked as an online marketer and web developer — for two years supporting the family while Garrett worked on his ventures. Garrett built an iPhone app he later sold to Snapchat — a $54 million buyout per The Times — then pivoted from app design to photography and videography.

In August 2015, with two young children (Dorothy was three, Manilla not yet one), they sold as many possessions as they could — car, couch, clothes, fancy chinaware and dishes in a yard sale raising about $45,000 (around £28,000) — and left Utah for the world. Their rule, in Garrett’s words: they would not spend any money from the Snapchat acquisition; that goes to savings and investments for the future, and travel uses only yard-sale money.

What began as a single trip quickly grew into years of learning, traveling, and discovering what matters most through different lifestyles across cultures. They call themselves family travel journalists, sharing through Instagram and YouTube. Jessica’s role is running the main social media and working with sponsors and business collaborations; Garrett films and edits. She describes herself as the one who gets the ship safely to shore — with a wink that Garrett may wear the captain’s hat — and both parents say Dorothy, Manilla and Calihan have their whole hearts and they would do anything for them.

A decade on they earn money promoting brands — GoPro cameras (over $135K in sales in 30 days), Land Rover (UK and US launch events attended), Disney’s 30 Stays in 30 Days (nominated for top social media collaboration in 2017) — within their content, plus hotel partnerships and bucket-list expeditions: 50 high-end paying guests hosted on safari at TAASA Lodge, Tanzania in 2019, 2021 and 2023, tickets sold out in 48 hours.

Their YouTube journey

Three phases from official and media sources:

1. Yard-sale adventure (2015–2017). Pacific and Asia trip vlogged for friends and family; Garrett had been producing a video blog mostly for that circle. First year breaking even, spending a lot of time persuading hotels that free accommodation would be worth the exposure. The professionalization decision: if they wanted to keep traveling, Garrett would have to grow this to working with airlines, destinations and hotels to continue the lifestyle. Influencer culture was still nascent in 2015 — they were early, before the playbook existed.

2. Profit-making family media (2017–2021). Weekly 40–50 minute films — deliberately not the short, snappy daily YouTube game, as Jessica puts it: they don’t play the YouTube game. Manilla’s head shaved by a Bhutanese monk, Calihan surfing in the Seychelles clinging to Garrett’s back, Dorothy making pizza in Florence in a big white chef’s hat. Tanzania becomes the signature: TAASA Lodge about 2 kilometers outside the infamous Serengeti — all perks of the location with wildlife plus extras like off-roading, super-early game drives and night drives — elephants, hippos, giraffes and lots of hungry lions, plus a boma visit with their guide Seketo, a Maasai warrior. Then hosted expeditions for 50 paying guests, with promotional follower offers and a potential giveaway. The Times profile captures the envy-and-awe effect: every photo freewheeling, joyful and perfect, making ordinary family holiday snaps look like war reportage.

3. Hawaii base and slowdown (2021–2026). Settled in Hawaii; kids in a private school understanding that they regularly jet off during term time. Tanzania returns, Caribbean islands, natural settings preferred — they say they can live without Las Vegas and Dubai, and without some Caribbean islands, simply preferring natural settings. Coping with constant confinement together — long-haul flights, hotel rooms — by ensuring every morning both get solo time to exercise. January 2024 Times interview: posting will wind down and may stop altogether as kids reach an age of awareness — coming home asking what a subscriber is, hearing they have a million subscribers — and may one day say they don’t want another plane but staying home with friends. The parents say they will honor those wishes, though it will be hard. Really hard.

Language is English. No dubbed channels officially listed.

What kind of travel content do they make?

Based on actually published videos and pages:

• Long weekly family films. 40–50 minutes, one destination deeply covered, kids as protagonists rather than props. Every frame freewheeling and joyful.
• Safaris and wildlife. Tanzania TAASA weeks are the flagship: game drives at dawn, night drives, off-roading, boma culture with Seketo. Safari is Jessica’s favorite experience in the whole wide world — heaven, in her words.
• Culture through children’s eyes. Monk encounters in Bhutan, cooking in Florence, surf in Seychelles — wonder as storytelling engine, cuteness measured in kilotons.
• Food and stays. Family-friendly restaurants, lodges and hotels tested by five people, including Disney collaboration content and Land Rover event coverage.
• Practical kids-travel wisdom. Jessica’s NatGeo book tips: sit at the rear of the plane if you want kids to sleep (ambient engine noise helps nodding off); parents are allowed stress provided they take turns; couple survival through morning solo exercise each.
• Hosted expeditions. Paying-guest safaris and hotel partnerships, tickets selling out in 48 hours, giveaway mechanics, follower promo offers.

What they do not do: silent walks, budget challenges, country counting, or fast daily vlogs. Their value is proof that slow family travel works — and honest signals about when it should pause.

Countries and destinations covered

No official count goal; coverage spans a decade. Representative selection with texture.

Africa

• Tanzania – Serengeti, TAASA Lodge. Signature destination; elephants, hippos, giraffes, lots of hungry lions; Maasai boma with Seketo; hosted expeditions 2019, 2021, 2023. Special follower offers and expedition giveaways documented on their Tanzania page, which the site frames with Jessica in heaven.
• Seychelles. Surfing with kids clinging to Garrett’s back; beach family life; kiloton cuteness off the islands.

Asia

• Bhutan. Manilla’s monk head-shaving; Himalayan monasteries; family altitude travel and Buddhist hospitality.
• Russia – Vladivostok. Jessica’s mission past; service-culture roots informing the channel’s ethos.
• Japan, Thailand, Bali circuits. Early Pacific-Asia trip legs. Pair Tokyo with Tokyo Silent Walk and Bangkok with Bangkok Silent Walk.

Europe

• Italy – Florence. Dorothy’s pizza-making in a chef’s hat; family city breaks with cooking classes. Pair with Venice Silent Walk.
• United Kingdom, France legs. Land Rover launch events attendance; automotive-travel crossovers.

Americas

• Hawaii. Home base, private school, island life between trips; morning exercise routines; the slowdown setting.
• Utah. Origins and yard-sale farewell; family foundation narrative with parents and siblings.
• Caribbean islands. Preferred natural-setting islands over Dubai and Vegas for family travel.
• USA parks and hotels. Disney 30 Stays in 30 Days collaboration circuit.

Oceania and Middle East

• Pacific islands. Early voyage legs of the first trip.
• Dubai. Visited but deprioritized vs natural settings — stated preference, not avoidance.

A thumbnail alone is never proof of a visit here — only described videos and official texts are used.

Videos to discover

A selection, not a Best-of without criteria. Start from official hubs; exact titles via channel search.

1. Tanzania TAASA safari weeks

• Destination: Serengeti, Tanzania
• Subject: TAASA Lodge game drives, elephants, lions, Maasai boma with Seketo
• Why watch: The signature series; Jessica’s favorite experience on Earth, with follower offers attached.
• Start: thebucketlistfamily.com/tanzania, then matching YouTube films at https://www.youtube.com/@thebucketlistfamily

2. Bhutan with kids

• Destination: Bhutan
• Subject: Monasteries, monk head-shaving, Himalayan family travel
• Why watch: Best culture-through-kids episode; wonder-first filmmaking.
• Search exact title on @thebucketlistfamily

3. Seychelles surf family

• Destination: Seychelles
• Subject: Surfing with Calihan on Garrett’s back, beach life
• Why watch: Joyful proof of adventure with small children.
• Search exact title on @thebucketlistfamily

4. Florence pizza with Dorothy

• Destination: Florence, Italy
• Subject: Cooking class, old-town family days in chef hats
• Why watch: European city-break template for parents.
• Search exact title on @thebucketlistfamily

5. Disney 30 Stays in 30 Days

• Destination: USA parks and hotels
• Subject: Nominated social collaboration with Disney
• Why watch: Shows the brand-partnership craft behind the lifestyle.
• Search exact title on @thebucketlistfamily

6. Hawaii home-base life

• Destination: Hawaii
• Subject: School, island routines, morning workouts between trips
• Why watch: The honest slowdown chapter; family priorities over content.
• Search exact title on @thebucketlistfamily

7. GoPro partnership films

• Destination: Various adventure spots
• Subject: Action-camera family adventures that drove $135K in 30 days of sales
• Why watch: Creator-economy case study inside travel content.
• Search on @thebucketlistfamily

8. Early Pacific-Asia trip vlogs

• Destination: First-year voyage legs
• Subject: Yard-sale budget travel with a three-year-old and a baby
• Why watch: The origin story; humblest production, biggest dream.
• Search on @thebucketlistfamily

If a link is dead, search the exact title on @thebucketlistfamily.

Planning a TAASA-style family safari

For readers who want to follow the Gees’ most famous footsteps, their Tanzania content doubles as a planning blueprint. TAASA Lodge sits about 2 kilometers outside the Serengeti: close enough for wildlife density, with extras a national-park lodge cannot offer — off-roading, super-early game drives and night drives. Their films show why each matters: dawn for big-cat movement, night for nocturnal species, off-road for positioning the vehicle where animals actually are.

The cultural layer is the boma visit with their guide Seketo, a Maasai warrior — presented not as a show but as a hosted conversation, consistent with the channel’s permission-visible ethos. For families considering the hosted-expedition format, the facts are public: 50 high-end paying guests per edition (2019, 2021, 2023), tickets sold out in 48 hours, with special follower offers and an expedition giveaway announced on their Tanzania page. Traveling with kids the Gee way means copying their logistics, not just their destination: rear-of-plane seating for engine-noise naps, parents taking turns on stress, and non-negotiable morning solo exercise each — the three rules from Jessica’s NatGeo book that make confinement survivable. School-term timing from a Hawaii base is the other half of the model: safaris happen in breaks, school stays sacred.

Travel style

Observable facts vs editorial reading:

• Narration: Warm parental voiceover plus kids’ unscripted moments. Fact: weekly long edits, sponsor segments clearly integrated, Jessica’s humor in captions and about-page winks.
• Rhythm and editing: 40–50 minute films, slow arcs, payoff in wonder. Interpretation: built for family evening viewing, anti-algorithm by design.
• Camera: Polished family videography; Garrett’s app-design eye in thumbnails and pacing; GoPro action integration.
• Interactions: Guides (Seketo), monks, chefs, hotel teams. Respectful, permission-visible encounters; service background shows.
• Culture: Natural settings first; wonder over controversy; serving-others ethos from Jessica’s mission years.
• Food: Family-table tastings, kid-approved dishes, lodge dining, Florence cooking classes.
• Transport: Flights with kids strategies (rear seats, engine noise); safari vehicles; US road legs; term-time jetting from Hawaii.
• Accommodation and budget: Yard-sale origins to hosted luxury; five-person logistics always visible; school fees and savings discipline underneath.
• Storytelling: One place per film, kids’ growth as serial arc across a decade.

Difference from Global Silent Walks: they narrate family days with love; a Silent Walk removes all talk so you hear the place itself.

Who is the channel for?

• Parents traveling with kids: Naps, stress turns, school-term travel, honest ages-and-stages advice from a decade of practice.
• Safari dreamers: TAASA model for family-friendly expeditions, including hosted group options with promo offers.
• Slow travelers: Weekly depth over daily noise; decade-long backlog to binge.
• Brand-curious creators: Partnership craft (GoPro, Land Rover, Disney) done transparently with sales figures.
• Families pausing: The Hawaii slowdown story for parents whose kids outgrow full-time travel.
• Silent walkers: Inspiration and logistics here, street immersion in our Silent Walks.

No score or ranking — just fit.

Destinations inspired on Global Silent Walks

After watching the family in a city, re-explore it on foot with us, no commentary, 4K natural sound:

• After Florence kitchen days, hear Italy: Venice Silent Walk.
• After Tokyo-region Asia legs, walk quietly: Tokyo Silent Walk.
• After Bangkok markets, try calm: Bangkok Silent Walk.
• After Marrakech-region Africa stops, hear the medina: Marrakech Silent Walk.
• After Kyoto-region Japan legs: Kyoto Silent Walk.

The Bucket List Family does not recommend, sponsor or use Global Silent Walks unless officially stated. Independent editorial bridges.

Explore the destination differently

Watching the Gees is like joining a joyful family table abroad — envy and awe included. A Silent Walk is the opposite exercise: same streets, no talking, no music, just steps, light and ambient sound.

Practical use: watch them to decide whether a place suits kids and what a family day costs in effort, then open a Silent Walk to feel how it sounds at 7 AM — Venice without crowds talk, Tokyo without narration, Marrakech without haggling. For photo spots, stroller terrain, accessibility or walking distances, 20 silent minutes beat 20 edits.

Start with World Destinations, France Guide and Paris Guide.

Official socials

Only official accounts. Counts 2026, change over time:

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thebucketlistfamily — ~1.52M
• Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/thebucketlistfamily
• Website: https://www.thebucketlistfamily.com/
• About: https://www.thebucketlistfamily.com/about
• Media kit: https://www.thebucketlistfamily.com/media-kit
• Tanzania: https://www.thebucketlistfamily.com/tanzania
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebucketlistfamily — ~3M
• Facebook: The Bucket List Family page

No other accounts listed here to avoid fakes.

In pictures: The Bucket List Family

FAQ

Who are The Bucket List Family?

American couple Garrett and Jessica Gee traveling with kids Dorothy, Manilla and Calihan since August 2015; family travel journalists working in long-form English video, funded first by a $45K yard sale.

How many subscribers do they have?

About 1.52–1.53M on YouTube and close to 3M on Instagram per 2026 sources, plus 2021–2022 influencer-of-the-year titles. Check live channels for today.

How did they afford it?

$45,000 yard sale funded travel; the Snapchat app fortune stayed in savings and investments. Later, profitable brand partnerships (GoPro $135K/30 days, Land Rover, Disney) sustained the lifestyle.

Are they still traveling?

Hawaii-based for school with term-break trips; YouTube output slowing and possibly ending as kids grow, per the January 2024 Times interview.

What is their best destination?

Tanzania’s TAASA safari is Jessica’s stated favorite experience worldwide.

Where to start watching?

Start with the Tanzania safari films, then Bhutan and Seychelles family episodes, plus Jessica’s NatGeo book for parents.

Sources

• Official site: thebucketlistfamily.com, about, media kit, Tanzania
• Official YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thebucketlistfamily
• The Times January 27, 2024 by Ben Machell (yard sale, Snapchat, Hawaii, slowdown)
• SocialBlade March 2026: 1.52M subs, channel created July 5, 2015
• ReachRanking: 1.53M subs

Data verified September 27, 2026. Subscribers and social counts to refresh regularly. Recent videos to check on the official channel.

Last verification: September 27, 2026.