You dont need to know how to sail to take the family on a yachting trip but it's a lot more fun, more adventurous and better bonding time if you do. Photo / Getty Images For Travel - Feb 28
Kids won’t remember their best day of Netflix. But come their 21st, or their 71st, they’re sure to remember that time their family decided to turn off the screens and get out into the real world – together.
It’s never been easier to find an off-the-beaten-track adventure – overland, through jungle or on the high seas. Here are some of the best ways to make the most of your family holiday time together, and some of the more far-out destinations that you haven’t considered.
Many expedition lines cater for kids, parents and grandparents on the same cruise. Don’t expect kids’ clubs or kid-specific activities on board; expect active experiences on and around smaller, custom-built ships.
Lindblad Expeditions founder Sven Lindblad suggests 5-6 as the youngest age parents should consider taking their kids on an expedition cruise; others suggest Antarctic and Arctic departures are better suited to 12 and older.
Lindblad has family programmes designed for places like the Galapagos and Alaska which give kids the chance to learn about scientific research and exploration. It also offers “smart fun” - kids learn how to drive Zodiacs, navigate and keep a daily science journal. Scientific research, exploration basics and storytelling are adapted to participants’ ages.
Hurtigruten has a similar programme on its bigger Norwegian-based ships, aimed at ages 7-13. Onshore experiences offer the chance to sleep outside under the stars, go crab fishing, sleep in a snow hotel and taste local food.
Most executives agree: Galapagos is the best place to introduce children of almost any age to the untamed world, as it’s so tame.
Kids of pretty much any age can thrill to an African family safari but it does take careful planning and leaning on the experts for advice. Rule 1: don’t try to cram an entire continent, or even several countries, into one trip. Rule 2: before you go, invest time in discussing where you’ll stay, what you’ll see and what activities are involved.
Experts suggest 7 as a good starting age; many safari camps won’t take kids under 5. If you are travelling with pre-schoolers, South Africa is your best bet, and look for a camp that includes activities beyond the animals, such as a swimming pool or playtime with other kids, because it won’t take long before they’ve seen one elephant or lion, seen ‘em all.
For 7-11 year-olds, consider Kenya’s private conservancy parks. Unlike national parks, these privately-run camps and lodges offer flexibility – they can tailor activities to your family’s wishes. Many are run by families raising their own kids in the bush. Zambia has open-air bush camps in uncrowded parts of game parks; Zimbabwe’s World Heritage sites are stunning, and for way more than wildlife or landscapes like the Victoria Falls.
Now we’ve hit Gen TikTok. Don’t expect us to help you placate a phone-addicted teen with virtually no Wi-Fi and too much quality time. You might consider some of these as recovery therapies:
Sleeping in the bush under a flysheet with no walls separating them from the great outdoors (including snuffling hyenas) or starry skies; racing across Botswana’s salt pans or Namibia’s desert-scapes on a quad bike (usually 16+); taking part in cultural activities like competing with Maasai people for the highest jump or learning traditional methods of vibrant beading. There’ll be many opportunities to join conservation education and activities.
…aka, “self-reliant travel to remote destinations where the journey is the principal goal, typically with off-road-capable transport (from bicycles to trucks), where the principal form of lodging is camping, often lasting for extended lengths of time and spanning international boundaries.”
From the off – well, several months and important considerations like schooling, the mortgage and the ageing dog before the off – this is a deeper family commitment to getting off the beaten track than a couple of weeks in a Taupō holiday park.
Best to start small – go away for a weekend, camping for a night or two, in a good family-size tent with comfortable inflatable mattresses. For the real thing, Australia is the obvious starting point – and the most respectful, because this is where the whole craze kicked off, decades before the US and other nations cottoned on.
You’ll need a 4WD with enough room for the luggage, supplies and family. Then, in theory, you just drive into the sunset. However, it’s a good idea to have a rough idea where you’re going and what you want to see and do, and how you’ll cope if something goes wrong in the middle of the Nullarbor Desert.
Surprise: you don’t need to know how to sail to take the family on a yachting trip. No surprise: it’s a heck of a lot more fun, more adventurous and better bonding time if you do.
In any of the great sailing destinations – Queensland’s Whitsundays, Fiji and other Pacific islands, the Med, Turkey or the Caribbean – sailors can book a “bareboat” charter (i.e., sail it yourself), allowing the freedom to go where you want. Landlubbers can book a crewed boat or a learn-to-sail holiday where part of the family trip will be learning to sail.
For a family sailing trip: you decide what you see and change your itinerary as you sail; cook onboard or eat out in port; it’s relaxing; you’ll travel with all your gear and comforts; the family will spend time together with time off-boat to give everyone some space.
Against: sailing on a small boat is not for everyone; on a bareboat charter, you’ll need to spend time before and during your trip managing the boat; if you have a captain, you’ll be sharing close living space with someone you’ve never met; you’ll have small living quarters and primitive bathroom set-ups. And your holiday is particularly weather-dependent.
But, hey… when you’re lying on the deck at day’s end, looking up at millions of stars, slap of water against the hull and slurp of G&T in the glass…
From camping beside wildlife to trekking through jungle villages, here are nine ultimate off-the-beaten-track adventures for families:
For a safari experience like no other, Botswana’s Chobe National Park (personal recommendation), staying in a tent lodge around a waterhole, learning bush trekking and survival skills, going on game drives. Namibia is another option, combining marine, bird and land wildlife.
On the Galapagos Islands, get close to giant tortoises, rare penguins and blue-footed boobies, stay in family-run lodges, kayak the islands and explore the Amazon Basin by boat.
Go snowshoeing to see the Northern Lights in Finland and learn survival skills like digging snow holes, snow fishing and building fires, husky sledding and meeting reindeer with the Sami people.
Sri Lanka is great for families - it packs diverse scenery and varied activities into a small space. Bike or trek to villages, meet and eat with locals, whitewater rafting and elephant safaris.
Vietnam is another biking and boating destination. Explore traditional areas not easily reached by car, stay in a longhouse in a hill-tribe village, take a river raft or cruise and look for bears, leopards and other wildlife.
Kerala is perfect for experiencing India at a slower pace; perhaps a homestay, learning to cook the famed cuisine, cruising the rivers in a houseboat appreciating culture at temples, processions and dance performances.
Much of Europe is over-touristed but Corsica is a breath of fresh air, an island of bays and beaches, valleys, forests and hilltop villages. Zipline or canyon in the mountains or get into rock climbing and water sports.
The Philippines is a world of its own: from forest treks to some of the planet’s best snorkelling, climbing a volcano, stand-up paddleboarding or canyoning a river.
And for aspiring Ed Hillarys, there are kid-level Himalaya adventure tours in Nepal, going into the foothills, rafting and canoeing while looking out for rhinos, crocodiles and monkeys, and staying in traditional villages.