As a 13-year veteran of National Geographic 2008/2009, Rainer Jenss put his professional expertise and personal passion to the ultimate test and traveled around the world for over a year with his wife and two young sons. During the yearlong journey, Rainer reported for National Geographic Traveler's award-winning Intelligent Travel Blog, posting a weekly column about the experience and offering an inside look at life on the road traveling together as a family. Simultaneously, his sons Tyler and Stefan sent their own dispatches about the trip to National Geographic’s Kids website under the “Global Bros.” pseudonym. In 2010 and 2011, the Jenss Family Travel Blog was recognized as one of the Top 25 Family Travel Blogs by Babble.com.

   Having now traveled to over sixty countries in his lifetime (about half of which were with his family), Rainer is an authority on the subject of family travel and how it can be used as a learning tool. He has spoken around the country and overseas at several conferences, including the Adventure Travel Expo and Family Travel Expo. Rainer recently signed a deal with Scholastic to direct a new editorial initiative called Smart Family Travel where he will write about family vacations that "go beyond the ordinary" in every issue of Parent & Child magazine starting in February, 2013.

   Rainer continues to report on family travel as a Special Correspondent for National Geographic Traveler’s Intelligent Travel Blog and has contributed to Global Traveler, The Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor and The Hook magazine on family travel. He is also a regular family travel contributor to Galavante.com. He lives in Nyack, NY with his wife and two young boys.