Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Quiero viajar a ese país con mi familia. - I want to travel to that country with my family.

Quiero is the yo (I) form of querer.
So Quiero viajar… already means I want to travel…
Adding yo (Yo quiero viajar…) is grammatically correct but usually only used for emphasis or contrast:
- Yo quiero viajar, pero mi hermano no. – I want to travel, but my brother doesn’t.

Is quiero too direct or rude in Spanish? Should I say something softer?

Quiero is perfectly normal and not rude in most everyday contexts, especially when talking about your own plans, like Quiero viajar a ese país….

However, when asking for things (in shops, restaurants, etc.), quiero can sound a bit direct. In Spain people often prefer softer forms:

Me gustaría viajar a ese país… – I’d like to travel to that country… (more tentative, polite, hypothetical)
Quisiera viajar a ese país… – very polite/formal, more common in Latin America than in Spain
Tengo ganas de viajar a ese país… – I feel like traveling to that country… (natural, informal)

For talking about your own wishes/plans, Quiero viajar… is completely fine.

Why is the verb after quiero in the infinitive (viajar) and not conjugated?

After verbs of desire, intention, or planning like querer, poder, necesitar, ir a, etc., Spanish usually uses an infinitive for the second verb, just like English uses to + verb.

Quiero viajar – I want to travel
Quiero comer – I want to eat
Quiero aprender español – I want to learn Spanish

You conjugate only the first verb (quiero), and the second stays in the infinitive (viajar).

What’s the difference between viajar and ir in this kind of sentence?

Both can be translated as to go in English, but there is a nuance:

viajar a ese país – to travel to that country
- Focus on the journey/travel itself, often over a longer distance.
ir a ese país – to go to that country
- More neutral; just focuses on the idea of going there.

In your sentence:

Quiero viajar a ese país con mi familia. – Emphasizes the trip/travel experience.
Quiero ir a ese país con mi familia. – Slightly more general: you want to go there (not necessarily stressing the travel as an activity).

Why is it viajar a ese país and not viajar en ese país or viajar por ese país?

The preposition changes the meaning:

viajar a ese país – to travel to that country (destination)
viajar en ese país – to travel in that country (movement inside the country)
viajar por ese país – to travel around/through that country (covering different areas within it)

Your sentence focuses on the destination, so a is the right preposition: viajar a ese país.

Does a here have anything to do with the personal a?

No. In viajar a ese país, a is just the normal preposition to indicating destination.

The personal a is used before a direct object that is a person (or pet), e.g.:

Veo a mi familia. – I see my family.

Here, ese país is not a person, and viajar doesn’t take a direct object in this sentence; a ese país is a prepositional phrase showing destination, not a personal a.

Why is it ese país and not este país or aquel país?

Spanish demonstratives roughly reflect distance (physical or mental):

este país – this country (close to the speaker, or “this one we’re talking about as if it’s close”)
ese país – that country (a bit further, or previously mentioned in conversation)
aquel país – that country over there (far away, often more distant in space or in the conversation)

In practice, ese is very common in Spain for a previously mentioned or known country, not necessarily physically close or far.
You could choose another demonstrative depending on context:

Pointing to the map in front of you: Quiero viajar a este país.
Talking about somewhere distant, almost abstract: Quiero viajar a aquel país del que siempre hablan en las noticias.

Why is there no article like el before país? Why not al país?

Here you have a demonstrative adjective (ese) instead of the definite article el:

ese país – that country
el país – the country

You don’t combine them: you choose one or the other.

The contraction al only happens with a + el:

a + el país = al país

But with ese (or este, aquel), there is no contraction:

a ese país (correct; you cannot say a ese = ase or anything similar)

How does ese agree with país? What would it be with a feminine noun?

Demonstratives agree in gender and number with the noun:

Masculine singular: ese país
Feminine singular: esa ciudad – that city
Masculine plural: esos países – those countries
Feminine plural: esas ciudades – those cities

So if the noun were feminine, you would say, for example:

Quiero viajar a esa isla con mi familia. – I want to travel to that island with my family.

Why is it mi familia and not mis familia?

Spanish possessive adjectives agree with the thing possessed, not with the possessor.

familia is singular → mi familia
familias (families) is plural → mis familias

Some examples:

mi hermano – my brother
mis hermanos – my brothers / my siblings
mi casa – my house
mis casas – my houses

Is familia grammatically singular or plural? How would a verb agree with it?

Familia is grammatically singular in Spanish.

Mi familia es muy grande. – My family is very big. (singular verb es)

In spoken Spanish (especially in Spain), you sometimes hear plural agreement when thinking of the family as the people in it:

Mi familia son muy divertidos.

Both occur, but singular agreement is more standard:

Mi familia vive en Madrid. (standard)
Mi familia viven en Madrid. (colloquial, focusing on the members)

Can I change the word order to Quiero viajar con mi familia a ese país?

Yes, that word order is perfectly correct:

Quiero viajar a ese país con mi familia.
Quiero viajar con mi familia a ese país.

Both are natural. The change is very slight:

a ese país at the end → tiny extra emphasis on the destination.
con mi familia in the middle → small emphasis on with my family.

But in everyday speech, both are practically interchangeable.

Could I say Voy a viajar a ese país con mi familia instead of Quiero viajar…?

Yes, but the meaning changes a bit:

Quiero viajar a ese país… – I want to travel to that country… (desire)
Voy a viajar a ese país… – I am going to travel to that country… (plan/intention, more decided/arranged)

So use quiero when talking about what you want, and voy a viajar when it’s more of a firm plan or near future.

How do I pronounce quiero, viajar, and país correctly?

quiero
- Sounds like: “kyeh-ro” (one syllable kie- with a glide, not “kee-eh”)
- The u is silent; qu
  - ie = /kje/.
viajar
- v is pronounced very similar to a soft b in Spanish.
- j is a harsh h sound (like in Scottish “loch” or German “Bach”).
- Stress on the last syllable: viaJAR → /bja-ˈxaɾ/.
país
- The written accent makes it two syllables: pa-ís.
- Stress on ís: pa-ÍS → /pa-ˈis/.

Is there any difference between Quiero viajar a ese país con mi familia and Me gustaría viajar a ese país con mi familia?

Yes, mainly in how strong or direct the wish sounds:

Quiero viajar a ese país con mi familia.
- Direct: I want to travel…
- Clear, straightforward desire.
Me gustaría viajar a ese país con mi familia.
- Softer: I would like to travel…
- More hypothetical or polite; it doesn’t say whether you think it will actually happen.

Both are correct and common; choose quiero for a more definite, strong wish, and me gustaría for a more tentative or polite tone.