A family adventure holiday can be an incredible bonding experience for your family, packed with memories that will last a lifetime. You’ll be teaching your kids how to find joy in stepping outside their usual comfort zone while learning more about themselves and each other. Regardless of the ages and stages in your family, an adventure holiday can work for you – it just requires a touch of daring and the right planning.
A family adventure holiday combines active, outdoor or cultural experiences with family-friendly planning. It allows travellers of all ages to explore new destinations in an engaging, immersive and often physically active way.
When planning a family adventure holiday, start by considering your children’s ages, interests and energy levels. Younger children may prefer shorter, low-intensity activities, while teenagers are often better suited to more adventurous experiences.
If you have younger children, you can ease them into the concept of an adventure holiday by planning some short, gentle hikes – maybe to a beautiful beach or lake where they can enjoy some free play.
If you’re travelling with teens, you can challenge yourselves to try more adrenaline-fuelled activities such as white-water rafting in Fiji or kayaking around the cliffs of Halong Bay. You could also sign up to a shared cultural experience such as a cooking class. The secret is to involve the entire family in the planning and decision-making process.
There are several key factors to consider when choosing where to go for your family adventure, starting with travel time and the logistics involved in reaching your destination. Maybe you’ve always dreamed of taking them to see lemurs in the wild, but can they handle the multiple flights and long travel time involved in getting to the wilds of Madagascar?
Whether you’re heading to the mountains of British Columbia, the islands of Komodo National Park or the waterways of the Mekong Delta, you’ll need to figure out how to balance bucket-list experiences with practicality and safety.
You’ll also need to consider the best season to visit your chosen destination. If you take advantage of Australia’s long summer break to go husky-sledding in a snowy forest in Finland, you could also explore some of Europe’s most magical Christmas markets and visit the home of Santa Claus – now that’s a Christmas break to remember!
In a nutshell, the best family adventure destinations combine safety, convenience, kid-friendly activities and a welcoming culture.
Aside from the obvious expenses like flights, transport and accommodation, you’ll need to budget for activities, tours and meals. An adventure holiday is the perfect opportunity to prioritise experiences over luxury, and ziplining over a waterfall in Costa Rica or a sunrise camel ride at Uluru will be far more memorable than a fancy hotel room.
Your Personal Travel Manager can help you find family packages that offer greater value for accommodation and activities. Remember to allow for a little extra in the kitty to cover spontaneous activities that weren’t in the original plan, but you learned about during a casual conversation with other adventurous travellers.
Whether you’re designing your holiday around a bucket-list experience (seeing the Big 5 in Africa) or destination (New Zealand’s adventure capital of Queenstown), be sure to leave space for a little flexibility and just the right amount of free time.
If possible, it’s a smart idea to lock in your must-do adventures prior to departure to avoid missing out, especially if they are highly popular. By alternating between high-energy and slower days, you’ll have time to really immerse yourselves in the destination.
You’re planning a family holiday that will take you out of your comfort zone, but that doesn’t mean you have to forgo comfort entirely. It’s essential to have somewhere comfortable where you can relax and reflect on each day’s adventures.
Interconnecting rooms are a fantastic way to ensure that everyone has some space to unwind, while self-contained apartments provide an added level of freedom and independence in the form of kitchen and laundry facilities.
Many of the world’s best adventure destinations offer unique accommodation options that will add an extra touch of wow to your holiday, including eco-lodges, house boats and treehouses. Ask your personal travel manager to provide recommendations that will suit your family’s needs.
Packing for an adventure holiday with kids requires a focus on practicality and comfort. Essentials include:
Children can carry their own daypacks with snacks, water bottles and entertainment for longer journeys.
For Australian families travelling internationally, it’s also important to consider travel insurance and destination-specific health requirements.
Even with the best laid plans, you can expect that things will occasionally go sideways, from flight delays to tummy bugs. If you set aside the need for seamless perfection and focus on shared experiences (even the less fun ones), you’ll be teaching your kids to embrace the unexpected and develop resilience.
Pro tip: give yourselves permission to occasionally forget about the itinerary and seize unexpected opportunities to create memories together – how about a spontaneous playground afternoon or an after-dinner gelato hunt?
When it comes down to it, the best part of a family adventure holiday isn’t about ticking off every imaginable activity (although you certainly can try!). It’s about shared moments, shared laughter, and collecting stories that you’ll be retelling for years to come. When you’re ready to start planning, your Personal Travel Manager can help bring it all together.
TravelManagers respects and honours the Traditional Custodians of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and future. We acknowledge the stories, traditions and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on the lands where we work and gather, and those we visit.
