ADVENTURE HOLIDAYS WITH THE KIDS
Taking the kids on an adventure holiday
is not as difficult as you may think.
When kids come along, parents reluctantly gather up their old trekking boots and scuba diving gear to place into a rubbish bag. Suddenly white-water rafting in Nepal seems just a little too adventurous to do. And that’s when parents find themselves looking through the Club Med brochures for a family resort with a good babysitting service.
But with a little imagination, we’ve found that parents need not throw away their gear or sit by the baby-pool this summer. Adventure travel is perfectly possible to do with the kids. In fact, many tour operators have packages specifically designed for parents who miss a jazzing holiday. There is a myriad of travel packages designed for families, from wildlife or heritage tours to sports travel, that many tour operators now offer.
Adventure travel agents and tour operators noticed a decline in bookings from clients in the 35+ age-group. When these clients began having babies, they also began to opt for other types of holidays whose itineraries were more tolerant to the needs of a young child and less expensive per person. So, to avoid loosing clients, adventure travel operators, like A&K, came up with alternative itineraries designed to cater to the new requirements of their older clients – family-oriented travel packages.
Itineraries, which included long drives, have now been cut to include an overnight break, or replaced the long drive with a flight. Et voila, a two-week hiking and sightseeing holiday in Nepal is now perfectly accommodating for families with young children.
Parents can delight in watching their children experience things previously reserved for adventurous, healthy and single people. Hiking in Nepal, skiing in the Andes, following the elephants in Namibia, walking the rain forests of Brazil, or camping out in one of Thailand’s islets is now something the whole family can experience together and are phenomenal experiences for the young.
The first adventure holiday
For the first adventure holiday, parents tend to ease their young ones gently into travelling by choosing a package with just a pinch of adventure included, such as riding the camels in Egypt, boating along the Amazonas river in Brazil, a short drive into the Sahara in Morocco, a flight over Nazca in Peru, crossing lake Titicaca to Bolivia and seeing the monumental Iguassu Falls in Argentina.
For the second outing, the level of adventure increases, possibly with a trek in Egypt to the pyramids, a visit to the Valley of the Kings and snorkeling on the Red Sea, while nights are spent outdoors in a Bedouin tent.
Tracking the elephants
While Africa is still the destination of choice for families who wish to show their kids the elephants and other wildlife, India is another choice. Parents can take their kids to the monumental Taj Mahal, visit bustling Delhi, Mumbay and Calcutta, ride on the back of the elephants in the Andaman.
Ecuador is another option for families lucky enough to get a hold of a license to visit the Galapagos. A one-week stay on a boat with daily outings to the islands to view up-close the giant tortoises, promises to delight.
The first taste of real adventure
As kids grow, the level of adventure can be increased. Parents can now choose such adventures as white-water rafting with longer drives and camp-outs in the Pyrennes, treks in Nepal’s Annapurna, or exploring Iceland on a snowmobile. Seeing the penguins in Antartica is another possibility, and so is horse-riding and camping in the open valleys of Mongolia.
Cultural tours
By the time kids reach their teens, such eye-opening holidays have prepared them to appreciate more culturally oriented vacations, such as exploring the old castles of Romania, Slovenia or Hungary. A visit to the wailing wall in Jerusalem, a day out in Athen’s Acropolis, Italy’s Colosseum, or Machu Pichu in Peru.
Resorts for families
Ski resorts that previously prepared their off-piste activities specifically for single thirty-somethings, now offer teen discos, babysitting facilities with highly qualified personnel and rooms specifically for families with small children. Read more about Skiing the Andes
The same can be said for beach resorts around the world. You can even get superb discounts for children under 14 years of age.
So before throwing away your trekking boots, think again and wait until you speak to your travel agent. As we have demonstrated, a little imagination this summer can mean a memorable, eye-opening experience for your entire family.
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