October 2026 Newsletter

Where Does Your Family Story Take You?

October is Family History Month, and that makes it a perfect time to think about travel a little differently. Every family has a story—sometimes it stretches across oceans and generations, and sometimes it leads right back to a neighborhood, hometown or tradition you grew up with. Travel gives kids a chance to experience those stories instead of simply hearing about them.

For this month’s Family Travel Blueprint, we’re heading to Los Angeles, where generations of families from around the world have created communities that still celebrate their food, traditions, language and history. In just a few days, your family can explore Mexican-American history on Olvera Street, wander through Chinatown and Little Tokyo, experience the flavors of Koreatown and discover how immigration and migration helped create the Los Angeles we know today.

And here's the bigger idea: you don't have to cross an ocean to introduce your kids to the world—or to the stories of the families who crossed one to get here.

THE BLUEPRINT: Los Angeles — A Family Journey Through Cultures

Getting There

This is a perfect destination for JGOOT Rule #1: Go where the deals are.

Don't decide that you must fly a particular airline into a particular airport using a particular kind of points. Start by searching inexpensive cash fares and compare those against the points options available to you.

Los Angeles is especially good for this because you don't have to limit your search to LAX. Search LAX, Hollywood Burbank (BUR), Long Beach (LGB), Santa Ana/Orange County (SNA) and Ontario (ONT) and see where the deal takes you. Then consider the cost and inconvenience of getting from that airport to your hotel before declaring the cheapest airfare the winner.

If LAX wins, the LAX FlyAway bus runs between LAX and Union Station for $12.75 each way, putting you right in the middle of the area we'll explore first.

JGOOT TIP: This is exactly why we teach flexible points rather than loyalty to one airline. Search the cash price first. Then search your transferable points options and compare the value. If airfare is inexpensive, save those points for another trip where they'll do more work for you.

Where to Stay

For this trip, where you stay matters. Los Angeles is enormous, and choosing a hotel simply because it says “Los Angeles” on the listing can leave your family spending far too much vacation time in traffic. Since the first half of our itinerary focuses heavily on Downtown, Chinatown, Little Tokyo and El Pueblo, staying in or near Downtown makes the most sense.

Our Family-Friendly Hyatt Pick: Hyatt House LA – University Medical Center

Hyatt House LA – University Medical Center is our practical pick for families. It's just east of Downtown, keeping you reasonably close to our cultural explorations while offering something families often value more than a fancy lobby: space.

Families can choose studio kitchen suites with two queen beds and a sofa bed or larger one-bedroom suites with two queens, a separate living area, sofa bed and full kitchen. The hotel also has an outdoor pool, giving kids somewhere to burn off a little energy after a day of sightseeing.

The kitchen is an especially nice perk for families. Keeping breakfast foods, drinks and snacks in the room—or making a simple dinner when everyone is exhausted—can save both money and sanity.

Hyatt House LA – University Medical Center

The JGOOT strategy: Don't automatically transfer points because you see the word Hyatt. Check the cash price first, then compare it with the World of Hyatt award rate and calculate the value you're getting from your points. If LA hotel prices are high during your dates and the award rate is reasonable, points may make sense. If cash rates are inexpensive, save those flexible points for a redemption where they'll stretch further.

Our “Kids Will Talk About This Forever” Pick: Magic Castle Hotel

Sometimes the best family hotel isn't the fanciest one.

Magic Castle Hotel in Hollywood is our out-of-the-box pick because staying here is part of the experience. Next to its heated pool is a bright red Popsicle Hotline. Kids pick up the phone, order a popsicle and wait for a staff member wearing white gloves to deliver complimentary popsicles poolside on a silver tray.

And apparently that isn't enough sugar. Guests also get complimentary snacks, candy, soft-serve ice cream and drinks. Parents may be equally excited about another complimentary perk: laundry service.

Families can book apartment-style one- and two-bedroom accommodations with full kitchens and separate living areas, including options that sleep up to six.

Then there's the hotel's namesake. Hotel guests may be able to arrange access to The Magic Castle, Hollywood's famous private club devoted to magic. Access is subject to availability and the club has its own age, dress and admission requirements, so this is one you'll want to investigate before promising it to the kids.

Magic Castle Hotel

The tradeoff: Magic Castle Hotel is in Hollywood, not Downtown, so it is not nearly as convenient for this particular cultural itinerary. You'll spend more time getting to Chinatown, Little Tokyo and El Pueblo. If your priority is maximizing sightseeing time, Hyatt House wins.

But if your family considers the hotel part of the adventure, this might be worth breaking our location rule.

After all, your kids may someday forget which hotel had the nicer thread count.

They're probably going to remember calling the Popsicle Hotline.

Day-by-Day Cultural Exploration

Day 1: Mexico + Italy — Where Los Angeles Began

Start at El Pueblo de Los Ángeles, the historic heart of the city, where Mexican and Italian-American history are surprisingly easy to explore within the same few blocks.

Begin on colorful Olvera Street, step inside the Ávila Adobe—the oldest existing house in Los Angeles—and visit LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes. Its Calle Principal exhibition recreates a 1920s Los Angeles street with the sights, sounds and even smells of the neighborhood, giving kids a much more interesting way to experience history than simply reading display panels.

LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes

Then walk over to the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles, housed in the historic Italian Hall. The museum explores the Italian immigrant experience in Los Angeles and the ways Italian Americans influenced the city and the West.

Italian American Museum of Los Angeles

For the kids: Start a four-day cultural scavenger hunt. Give everyone a small notebook and see how many languages, alphabets, foods, traditions and cultural symbols they can spot throughout the trip.

For today's challenge, have them find one thing they didn't know about Mexican-American history and one thing they didn't know about Italian-American history.

And since we're exploring family history through food too, this is a perfectly reasonable day to work both a taco and a cannoli into the itinerary. We're doing research, after all.

Day 2: China + Japan — Dragons, Anime + Tiny Surprises

Begin at Chinatown's Central Plaza, browsing the shops and markets and looking for the Dragon Chasing Pearl mural, originally painted in 1941 by Tyrus Wong, the Chinese-American artist whose work helped shape the look of Disney's Bambi.

Then head to Little Tokyo, where history meets Japanese pop culture. Explore Japanese Village Plaza, browse anime, manga, stationery and kawaii shops, try your luck at a Japanese-style claw machine and stop at the official Bandai Gashapon shop, where rows of capsule machines dispense tiny collectible surprises.

Give each child a 10–15 pop-culture budget and let them decide how to spend it. Afterward, visit the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center and its Japanese garden; October visitors can also check the calendar for exhibitions, performances and workshops.

JACCC Events & Exhibitions

Day 3: Korea + Armenia + Thailand

Start at the Korean Cultural Center Los Angeles, where October 2026 visitors through October 17 can see K-Comics Origin Los Angeles, an exhibition devoted to Korean webtoons. Then explore Koreatown's markets, K-pop shops and Korean-style photo booths. A strip of slightly ridiculous family photos makes a pretty great souvenir.

Korean Cultural Center Los Angeles

Continue to East Hollywood, where Thai Town and Little Armenia sit practically side by side. Instead of treating these neighborhoods like exhibits, encourage kids to notice ordinary life: grocery stores, bakeries, signs written in different alphabets, places of worship, restaurants and businesses. These aren't recreated cultural villages built for tourists. They're communities.

Let the kids lead some of the exploration. See what they notice, what they don't understand and what they want to know more about. Trying something unfamiliar from a bakery or market is encouraged.

Day 4: Follow Your Family Tree

We've barely scratched the surface of Los Angeles, so for the final day, let your own family's story—or simply your kids' curiosity—choose the direction.

Families with Indian or South Asian roots can head to Little India in Artesia, where Pioneer Boulevard is lined with sari shops, Indian jewelry stores, markets, restaurants and sweet shops. There's an unexpected bit of family history here too: before the area became a center of Southern California's Indian community, Artesia was known for dairy farms established by families with Portuguese and Dutch roots. The neighborhood itself is a lesson in how communities change as new generations arrive.

Families interested in European immigration can head toward San Pedro, where Italian, Croatian and other European families played an important role in the history of the waterfront community. Pair the history lesson with some time exploring the waterfront so the day doesn't feel like another museum excursion.

Other branches might lead you to Historic Filipinotown, Little Ethiopia or Leimert Park, each offering another window into the communities that have shaped Los Angeles.

Whichever direction you choose, finish the trip by pulling out those scavenger-hunt notebooks over dinner. Talk about what surprised everyone, which neighborhood they'd like to revisit and whether anything they saw made them curious about their own family's history. Then ask one last question:

If we planned a trip around our family story, where would it take us?

Grandma's hometown may turn out to be the beginning of your next adventure.

Industry Trends: Travel Is Getting More Personal

One of the more interesting travel trends for 2026 is a move toward trips that feel personally meaningful rather than simply checking another famous destination off the list.

Booking.com surveyed more than 29,000 travelers across 33 countries and territories for its 2026 travel predictions and found that travelers are increasingly interested in using their own memories, relationships and personal histories to inspire where they go. One of the more unusual findings: 66% said they would consider using technology to identify the location of an old photograph or memory and then traveling there.

Expedia Group's 2026 travel research points in a similar direction. Based on its own travel data and a survey of 24,000 travelers across 18 countries, Expedia found growing interest in trips shaped by individual interests, identity and cultural experiences rather than a one-size-fits-all vacation.

For families, that's a good reason to change the question from “Where should we go next year?” to “What do we want our kids to know about our family?” Pull out old photographs, call the grandparents and look at the places that keep appearing in your family's stories. You may discover a destination you hadn't considered before.

Then apply the same JGOOT flexibility you would to any other trip. If your family history leads to Sicily, for example, that doesn't mean you have to wait for the perfect airfare to Sicily. A great fare or points redemption somewhere else in Europe may get you across the Atlantic for far less, leaving you to connect from there.

Your family story can choose the destination without dictating how you get there.

Educational Opportunities: Bring the Trip Home Before You Go

A little preparation can make these neighborhoods much more meaningful to kids once they arrive. Instead of assigning homework, try one or two hands-on activities that connect family history with the cultures you'll encounter in Los Angeles.

Build a Family Story Map. Print a world map and have the kids mark where they, their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents were born. Draw lines showing how the family moved over time, and don't worry about leaving a few question marks where the story gets fuzzy. Let each child choose one place on the map they'd like to visit someday.

Interview the family historian. Have the kids call or video chat with a grandparent or older relative and record a short interview. Ask where they grew up, what foods they remember, which traditions their family celebrated and what place from their childhood they'd most like the kids to see. You'll get trip inspiration and preserve a family story at the same time.

Try origami before Little Tokyo. JANM's family resources include origami projects kids can try at home, while the Smithsonian Learning Lab has demonstrations and background on the art form. Let everyone make one creation before the trip, then see how much Japanese art and design they recognize once they're exploring Little Tokyo.

JANM Family Activities

Smithsonian Origami Activities

Explore Chinese-American history before Chinatown. The Chinese American Museum offers educational resources and activities that can give kids some context before they arrive. Choose one together, then challenge them to find something during the trip that connects to what they learned at home.

Chinese American Museum Education

Make one family recipe. Ask relatives for a recipe connected to your family's history and cook it together before the trip. While you're eating, find its place of origin on your family map and talk about who made it, how it was passed down and whether the recipe has changed over the generations. If nobody knows an old family recipe, that's useful information too: perhaps this is the year you start one.

Don't forget - you get to ask us any questions you want on this month's LIVE Q&A session: Oct 26, 9:00am PT/12:00pm ET. Click here to join the livestream.

Julie, Anthony, and Katie

JGOOT Family Experts