If you have a family of budding Indiana Joneses, adventure holiday specialists can help. Many run tours designed for families, packed full of experiences that both parents and kids will enjoy, moving at a realistic pace and staying in accommodation suitable for the age range specified. And with small group sizes, they’re a great way for like-minded families to meet, too.
Explore’s Family Adventures brochure has five new trips to Costa Rica, Egypt, Israel, Nepal and Nicaragua. Explore managing director Ashley Toft says: “Whether it’s a late night kahwa (coffee) with Bedouin tribesmen, sleeping in beehive huts in Swaziland or getting up close and personal with India’s tigers, our itineraries cater for all tastes and budgets. The tours and activities are specifically designed around giving kids a great time – because happy kids mean happy parents!”
The minimum age on most of Explore’s family adventures is five years old. There are also 17 teenage tours and three toddlers tours (in Turkey, Morocco and Egypt), which kids as young as two can join. And because Explore’s breaks only depart during school holidays there’s no confusion as to when families can travel, or price hikes during the vacation period.
The Adventure Company also has a dedicated family brochure with new itineraries to Botswana, Iceland, Mexico and Vietnam. Most children on the trips are aged between eight and 13, but the brochure highlights holidays suitable for younger kids, and includes teen-specific itineraries, and teen departures of general itineraries, so kids are likely to find friends of a similar age.
There are also dedicated single parent departures. Coded icons help you to identify at a glance whether the focus of a trip is activity, culture, or nature and wildlife, and some include the chance to help out with local community projects.
Neilson offers a range of exciting options, including a three-day Family Survival Adventure in Snowdonia for those who want to make like Ray Mears. They can camp with or without tents, forage for food, and prepare it over an open fire – all with the help of an ex SAS-trained survival guide. Further afield, there are trips to Dracula’s castle in Romania, dog-sledding in Sweden and three toddler-friendly tours in Andalucia, Morocco and Egypt.
The Exodus Family Adventures brochure has 12 new trips including holidays in Bulgaria, Laos and Bosnia, plus new infant trips that cater for families with children as young as six months. An infant trip to the Austrian Tyrol offers walking suitable for older kids and crèche facilities for the younger ones.
European cycling and walking specialist UTracks has active holidays to suit kids as young as two. On many of its self-guided cycling tours it will arrange bike trailers that can carry up to two children to a maximum of 60kg, and trail-a-bikes (attachments creating a tandem child seat) for four to nine-year-olds.
Its walking holidays are suitable for kids aged eight and over, and discounts are usually available for children under 12 when sharing with two adults. New itineraries for this year include Danube Cycle Adventure for Families, Catalonia by Bike for Families and Holland Family Bike and Barge.
Gap Adventures offers 11 family-tailored trips, intended to capture the spirit of its classic trips, while making them accessible for kids as young as five. They have fewer long days, and include private transport and child-friendly accommodation and activities. New this year is the 10-day Galapagos Family Adventure.
Activities for kids
If you’ve got adults desperately seeking relaxation despite their hyperactive brood, a beach holiday with an extra element is the option to choose. Kids’ clubs are the norm, but some are more extensive than other, and some resorts run events and camps during school holiday periods to offer something extra to keep younger guests occupied.
The Caribbean is rife with these opportunities. The Barbados Sports Camp runs from August 2-26, offering free football, cricket and netball coaching for 100 kids per day. The events run from 10am until 2pm at the University of the West Indies.
St Kitts Tourism Authority has launched a new programme called Kids r VIPs, which offers discounts and deals on a range of activities in St Kitts and Nevis, including learning to sail, cook Caribbean food, or play the steel pan, hiking in the rainforest, cricket coaching, and even doing a night patrol to find sea turtles. As yet, agents can’t earn commission on the activities, but drawing a client’s attention to what’s on offer could be the clincher to a booking.
If you’ve got clients with one child glued to Match of the Day and another obsessed with the X Factor, suggest Buccament Bay Resort. This new property opens in April on St Vincent and has no fewer than three academies – the Pat Cash Tennis Academy, the Liverpool Football Soccer Club and the Harlequin Performing Arts Academy, which features masterclasses from West End and Broadway professionals from Phantom, Wicked and Hairspray. The Soccer School is directed by ex-Liverpool striker David Fairclough and provides coaching for kids aged five and above.
Beaches Resorts offer an array of child-specific activities, including junior golf clinics and private instruction and scuba diving activities. The Bubblemaker experience introduces them to scuba diving in the pool, and the Padi Seal Team programme allows children of eight and above to take part in an exciting range of AquaMissions, where they learn to dive with flashlights, and master underwater photography as well as learning the basics of diving.
Many resorts are upping the game with kids’ activities. Half Moon in Jamaica offers golf lessons for the whole family, a riding school and a summer tennis academy.
The Ritz Carlton Grand Cayman has an Ambassadors of the Environment programme that uses fun activities to introduce younger visitors to the island’s rich nature and wildlife. With different activities aimed at younger kids and teens, and even a range of experiences to involve the whole family, the choice is wide, from night snorkels and iguana feeding to investigating rock pools and baking.
Clients can find similar options closer to home, too. Many Club Med resorts are tailored to families, with a host of free academies to choose from, including golf, horse-riding, sailing, skiing and tennis. The kids’ club activities on offer are wide-ranging too, from surfing and beach volleyball to circus school.
La Manga Club in southern Spain has world famous sports facilities, used for training by national teams. The resort also runs junior academies during the school holidays, teaching football, tennis, cricket and golf. New this year is the Lee Westwood Junior Academy, with instruction designed by the world number two golfer. Two five-day programmes run from August 1 and 8 and cost €250 per child for guests staying in resort. lamangaclub.com
Sample product
Neilson’s three-day Family Survival Adventure in Wales starts from £250 per adult and £135 per child. It includes two nights’ camping, all meals and a professional instructor.
Book it: Neilson agent zone, 01273 668982
Explore’s nine-day Costa Rican Escape teenage tour starts from £1,772 including flights, transfers, seven nights’ B&B, some meals and a tour guide.
Book it:Explore agent zone, 0844 499 0904
Caribtours offers seven nights’ all-inclusive at Buccament Bay from £6,450 per family of four, including all flights and transfers.
Book it:Caribtours agent zone, 020 7751 0660
