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The New Face of Family Travel
Why leave the little ones behind?
A journey with your young jet-setters
can take you to worldwide destinations
and exotic expeditions.
BY ELAINE GLUSAC
RUpdateemember when a family trip meant packing up the station
wagon and enduring days on the highway with your siblings, a couple games of travel bingo, and frequent “Don’t make me pull this car over!” threats? Thankfully, family travel has come of age. Today, families not only travel more, they travel more exotically. A recent American Express Platinum survey found that many children are traveling internationally at a younger age than their parents did. Exploration and learning meet in hotspots like Peru and Belize, while family specialists such as Disney are branching out abroad with family- focused escapes.
Whether your family seeks adventure, education, or indulgence, we’ve compiled a handy listing of several top family travel specialists that can bring you and yours the world.
ACTIVE VACATIONS
Butterfield & Robinson
WHERE: Africa, Europe, Latin America, New Zealand, and Vietnam
FOCUS: Blue-chip operator Butterfield & Robinson offers family trips uniquely designed to align with children’s ages and interests. All ages “Homebase” trips stage from one hotel to avoid packing and unpacking and offer English-speaking day-care options. Trips for 5-and-ups and 8-and-ups send families biking or walking in the morning and include earlier meals, more guides, and kid-specific afternoon activities such as fencing lessons in the Loire Valley or pizza making in Puglia. By age 12, family trips are more active and events more teen oriented. Custom-designed “Bespoke” trips offer unique itineraries such as private chartered boating in Croatia as well as local guides.
AGE RESTRICTIONS: Varies; none for Homebase trips.
DETAILS: (866) 551-9090, www.butterfield.com
Classic Journeys
WHERE: Canada, Central America, Europe, Peru, Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Western United States
FOCUS: Classic Journeys caters to families with a dozen Family Tours around the world, exploring prehistoric caves in Provence, painting lessons in an Italian castle, and learning to fish in Belize. Itineraries offer adult options such as wine tastings and longer walks while the kids are entertained by gelato tastings and swimming. The company reports strong interest in the eco-activities of Costa Rica and the cultural marvels of Peru.
AGE RESTRICTIONS: None. The company will make child-care
arrangements for young children.
DETAILS: (800) 200-3887, www.classicjourneys.com
Country Walkers
WHERE: Costa Rica, Hawaii, and Western United States
FOCUS: The long-standing walking and hiking tour company introduced its Family Adventures in 2002, offering multi-sport days in the company of naturalist guides and overnights in family-
friendly hotels with amenities such as swimming pools. Families can also opt for Private Trips to any of the group destinations. Its Big Island of Hawaii itinerary includes a lava tube walk, snorkeling, outrigger kayaking, and lei making. In 2008 Country Walkers will add Italy to its Family Adventure portfolio.
AGE RESTRICTIONS: None. Some activities such as white-water rafting are limited to those 8 and up.
DETAILS: (800) 464-9255, www.countrywalkers.com
CUSTOM TRIPS FOR FAMILIES
Blue Parallel
WHERE: South America
FOCUS: Former New York investment banker Emmanuel Burgio founded Blue Parallel in 2002 to guide seamless and time-efficient trips for executives and their families. Specializing in Peru and Machu Picchu, the company has expanded to South America’s UNESCO World Heritage-cited locales including the Patagonian glaciers, Chile’s Atacama Desert, Argentina’s Lake District, Iguazu Falls, and the Galapagos Islands. Each trip is tailored to the client and includes a personal driver and guide on the ground. Activities for the kids may include wildlife watching, an Andean weaving demonstration, or a private concert.
AGE RESTRICTIONS: None
DETAILS: (800) 256-5307, www.blueparallel.com
Artisans of Leisure
WHERE: Asia, Europe, and South Pacific
FOCUS: Founded in 2003, Artisans of Leisure specializes in culturally focused private travel planning. Families account for 60 percent of its business, which shows in creative options that range from language lessons to treasure hunts. Destination-specific activities may include a Kyoto anime museum and kimono dress-up session with a geisha in Japan, visits to Harry Potter sites in London, watching an elephant polo match in India, and a climb up and over the Sydney Bridge in Australia.
AGE RESTRICTIONS: None
DETAILS: (800) 214-8144, www.artisansofleisure.com
KIDS COME FIRST
Adventures By Disney
WHERE: Costa Rica, Europe, and North America
Focus:
Disney, the master of entertaining children, aims to show entire
families the world with its new tour division, Adventures By Disney.
Now in its third year, the company added eight new trips in 2007 and
plans to further expand next year, including tours in China, Peru,
Australia, Germany, and Spain, for a total of 19 guided tours. The
trips include activities from zip-lining in Costa Rica, riding a horse
cart in Ireland’s Killarney National Park, and white-water rafting in
Yellowstone National Park, to special behind-the-scenes access to
treats like London theater, Venetian mask makers, and the Vienna Zoo.
“Cities of Knights and Lights,” for example, is a popular tour covering
London and Paris highlights like Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace,
Tower of London, Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and Versailles.
Hotels are first-class (Renaissance Chancery Court in London and Hilton
Arc de Triomphe in Paris), and the Disney folks wisely build in some
free time for families to venture out on their own (requisite afternoon
tea at the Ritz London or a parents-only visit to the legendary Le Bar
at Plaza Athénée in Paris perhaps?). Adventures By Disney is a crowd
pleaser, catering to everyone from grandparents to “Junior Adventurers.”
AGE RESTRICTIONS: Age 4 and up; some activities restricted to those age 6 and up.
DETAILS: (866) 242-8740, www.adventuresbydisney.com
TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH, TOGETHER
Intrepid Travel
WHERE: India, Egypt, Europe, Thailand, and Nepal
FOCUS: Small, socially and ecologically aware group travels that are off the beaten path, Intrepid Travel aims to replicate independent travel without the hassle of planning. The company’s Family Adventures range from 13 days in Thailand during which kids get to ride an elephant through the jungle to 15 days in India with a castle stay and a camel trek. For families with younger kids or those who prefer to travel individually, Intrepid’s Independent trips privately arrange solo itineraries that span the beaches of Thailand and the pyramids of Egypt.
AGE RESTRICTIONS: Ages 6 to 17
DETAILS: (866) 847-8192, www.intrepidtravel.com
Nomadic Expeditions
WHERE: Mongolia
FOCUS: A pioneer of group adventure travel, Nomadic Expeditions offers two family-oriented trips. One is a 13-day journey to Mongolia that features horseback riding through the mountains and camel trekking in the Gobi Desert. The other, Dinosaurs of the Gobi, spends 16 days fossil hunting.
AGE RESTRICTIONS: Age 6 and up
DETAILS: (800) 998-6634, www.nomadicexpeditions.com
Robin Pope Safaris
WHERE: Zambia
FOCUS: This safari operator caters to families at three of its facilities adjacent to the game-rich South Luangwa National Park in Zambia. In addition to offering family game drives, staffers will arrange nature walks, visits to a local school, papermaking, and cooking projects. Lodging options range from the two-bedroom Robin’s House and whimsically designed four-bedroom Luangwa Safari House (both houses come with their own chef, guide, and safari vehicle) to the six-chalet Nkwali Camp.
AGE RESTRICTIONS: All ages are welcome. Children must be at least 7 at Nkwali.
DETAILS: 011-260-62-46090, www.robinpopesafaris.net
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INNOVATIVE RESORT-BASED PROGRAMS
High-end resorts have long championed family travel. New programs at the following three prove just how creative the diversions have become.
THE RITZ-CARLTON,
GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS
The resort’s Ambassadors of the Environment (pictured above left) program designed by Jean-Michel Cousteau explores the natural world in activities such as swimming with stingrays (pictured above right), reef expeditions by submarine, underwater photography, and experiencing a blue iguana sanctuary. Its extensive menu of activities keeps kids busy exploring the wonders of the Caribbean from morning till night, and appeals to the child in everyone. For families, The Reserve suites, featuring one-, two-, or three-bedroom accommodations with concierge service and chef’s kitchens, are ideal. (800) 241-3333 or (345) 943-9000, www.ritzcarlton.com
GRAND WAILEA RESORT HOTEL & SPA,
MAUI, HAWAII
Kids in the spa? Believe it. This resort’s Spa Grande (pictured right) performed over 6,000 spa treatments on kids age 6 and up in 2006. The new Family Spa Suite pampers one and all side by side. When they’re done with their spa treatments, kids will want to venture over to Camp Grande, a 20,000-square-foot facility designed with fun in mind for the resort’s 5- to 12-year-old guests. (800) 888-6100, www.grandwailea.com
THE VILLAS AT GRACE BAY CLUB,
PROVIDENCIALES, TURKS AND CAICOS
With likely the most pristine strip of beach on Turks and
Caicos, it’s no wonder the Grace Bay Club’s children’s program takes advantage of all things aqua-related. Young guests (pictured above) of the resort’s Kids Town can join guides for snorkeling, kayak eco-tours, glass-bottom boat rides, and a visit to an iguana-populated island, among many other activities. On Monday evenings, a “Junior Cocktail Party” with kid-friendly hors d’oeuvres and drinks is followed by s’mores and stories around a beach bonfire. (800) 946-5757, www.gracebayclub.com
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