Three chocolate tours for the kids

Easter is coming up and you can bet chocolate will be involved somewhere. Give the family an even bigger treat with one of these Wonka-style factory tours.

1 Cadbury WorldBournville, Birmingham, UK

Yes, we have our own Cadbury World right here in New Zealand, but the original is in Bournville, a suburb of Birmingham, just two hours north of London. This visitor centre was opened in 1990, has regularly expanded and is now one of Birmingham's most popular tourist attractions with more than 500,000 visitors each year. Although you won't get to tour the whole factory, the visitor centre has 14 different zones to explore, from The Cadbury Story to The Aztec Jungle; a chocolate-making experience to the world's biggest Cadbury shop. Keep an eye on the website to find out about special events happening throughout the year.

2 Hershey's Chocolate WorldHershey, Pennsylvania, USA

Chocolate World, Hershey Park, Pennsylvania. Photo / Getty Images

As well as free 30-minute tours through the factory — where sweet treats like Hershey's Kisses and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are made — Hershey's Chocolate World has plenty to keep the family entertained. Drop into the bakery, the chocolate-tasting experience, the icecream and milkshake shop, and the giant candy store, before settling into the auditorium for a "4D chocolate mystery" — a digitally animated show where viewers can interact with characters to help solve a mystery, which has more than 100 possible variations. You can also create your own chocolate bar, personalised from ingredients to wrapper — an ideal keepsake, if you can convince your children not to eat it on the way home.

3 Charley's Chocolate Factory Mission Beach, Queensland, Australia

A good way to teach the kids that chocolate doesn't just arrive fully-formed and pre-packaged at the local dairy, is to take them to Queensland's Charley's Chocolate Factory. Tours will show not only the chocolate-making process, but also give you the chance to see cocoa trees — both in a tree nursery and a mature plantation — and witness a pod being opened, with the chance to taste the cocoa nibs. The tour also includes chocolate making, followed by the all-important tasting session. Probably one suitable for older children — the website states Charley's is "NOT a theme park" — but a good opportunity to educate your family about where food comes from.

Purple cocoa pods growing at Charley's Chocolate Factory, Mission Beach, Queensland. Photo / Charley's Chocolate Factory

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