Family Tour Boom
Family tour operators are developing new programs to meet demand

PHOTO: Tauck Bridges has launched a new tour called Olé, Olé, Olé! providing immersion into Spanish culture.
Abercrombie & Kent is offering a Family Kenya Safari for 2015 in its Luxury Small Group Journeys series with a maximum group size of 18. The nine-day program features an A&K Young Explorers Guide, specially trained to cater to travelers of all ages. The itinerary includes a visit to Sheldrick’s Orphanage, where rescued elephants interact with people; the Giraffe Center, where people can get up close and feed the giraffes; the chimpanzee sanctuary in Ol Pejeta Conservancy, which is also a rhino sanctuary; and a chance to meet and interact with local Samburu people, who teach skills such as fire starting without matches or lighters, spear throwing, animal tracking, and bead and leather crafts. See www.abercrombiekent.com.
Adventures By Disney has a new Ecuador package that combines the Galapagos Islands with the Amazon. Both places are rich in wildlife and vastly different from each other. Naturalist guides lead families on excursions of discovery. In the Amazon, clients travel by riverboat or motorized canoe and visit people who live in a remote community and will teach them secrets of crafting jewelry. In the Galapagos, families can ride mountain bikes and go snorkeling among sea lions and the fish of the coral reef habitat. In mainland Ecuador, in the city of Quito, cooking classes are offered. See www.adventuresbydisney.com.
Alexander and Roberts (formerly General Tours) offers multigenerational programs that focus on history, culture and nature in exotic places. Its Small Group Journeys, with groups of 16 or fewer guests, are ideal for multigenerational families. For this company the surge in demand for family travel has dovetailed with the increased interest in private tours. It offers a selection of 66 Private Journeys to destinations around the world and they are ideal for multigenerational travel. They are flexible, can be ordered for departure any day and can be customized to personal requirements and preferences. These programs can be taken with groups from six to 16 passengers. The company’s Luxury Tenting in the Serengeti is a nine-day package that features stays at luxury safari camps in remote areas of Tanzania and participating in game drives with expert safari guides. See www.alexanderandroberts.com.
Austin Adventures has reworked its popular Yellowstone Family Adventure, which is designed to give people of all ages an enjoyable experience of Yellowstone with the help of expert wilderness guides. The tour was designed by Dan Austin, president of Austin Adventures, and his wife and partner in the business, Carol. “As parents of two (now young adults), my wife Carol and I have spent more than 30 years perfecting the formula for family travel,” says Dan Austin. “Whether trekking across a glacier in Alberta, tackling Wyoming’s finest whitewater or savoring s’mores around a bonfire in Alaska, we believe wholeheartedly there’s no better place to create lifelong memories than on the trail with your children. Because when it all comes together – the scenery, the activities, the guides, gear, hotels, and restaurants – trust us when we tell you, it’s magic.” The six-day/five-night tour is priced from $2,298 per adult, $1,838 per child. See www.austinadventures.com.
Avanti Destinations offers independent travel packages built to order based on each individual family’s needs, with sample packages as guides. A major portion of the company’s business now comes from multigenerational travel. The company offers flexible independent travel for families throughout Europe and Latin America. Travel dates can be adjusted to coordinate with school vacations or any other requirement. Avanti’s Costa Rica Eco-Discovery is especially designed for families. The seven-night package features Corcovado and Manuel Antonio parks. The program offers the opportunity to explore the rich wildlife with naturalist guides and includes one night in Costa Rica’s capital of San Jose. See www.avantidestinations.com.
Big Five Tours and Expeditions is offering a Northern Kenya and Masai Mara program as its ultimate family travel experience. The program includes safari lodges that welcome families and children, such as the Sabuk Lodge, which has no minimum age and offers activities especially for children and earlier meals for children. Big Five also features a family program at Serian Camp, the home of the Mara Predator Project research base. The property has a special treehouse known as The Nest on a limb in a Warburgia tree overlooking the Mara River a short walk from the main lodge. The lodge is located on a 1,500-acre conservation area on the border of the private Mara North Conservancy. See www.bigfivenavigator.com.
Collette’s family product line now includes eight tours: three to Europe, three in the U.S., one in Canada and one in Costa Rica. New for 2014 is the Ireland Family Discovery, a nine-day trip designed to immerse families in Irish culture and landscape. The tour includes a visit to King John’s Castle with guides who take visitors on a trip into the medieval past, a scavenger hunt in Dromoland Castle’s walled gardens, dinner at Bunratty Castle, a Viking Splash tour of Dublin on an amphibious vehicle, a ride through the Gap of Dunloe and a walk into one of Ireland’s oldest caves, Aillwee Cave. The package is priced from $2,149 per person. See www.gocollette.com.
G Adventures is offering seven new trips in its family catalogue, bringing the collection to 24 in total. One of the new trips is the Burma Family Adventure, which visits Yangon, the Shwedagon Pagoda, and the limestone caves of Pindaya, and includes biking around Bagan, chilling at Inle Lake and hiking in the hills around Thandwe. Another new family trip is the Namibia Family Adventure, which lets parents play in the sand with their kids at the tallest sand dunes in the world at Sossusvlei. The trip also includes time for flamingo watching at Walvis Bay and cheetah watching at Etosha National Park. See www.gadventures.com.
For 2014, the Globus Family of Brands is offering several Globus family vacations in Europe and North America. North American programs include Canyon Country Family Adventure, Patriot’s Passage Family Vacation and Wild, Wild West Family Vacation. In Europe, Globus offers a program specially for families called London and Paris: A Tale of Two Cities. It first visits major sites such as Big Ben, the River Thames, Westminster Abbey, Piccadilly Circus and Buckingham Palace, and includes a trip on the Thames River to the London Eye. A ride on the high-speed Eurostar train then takes the family to Paris, where they ride the elevator to the top of the Eiffel Tower, tour the city with a local guide, visit Notre Dame and more. The company also recommends its Monograms independent packages for families. Monograms, which are basic independent packages with accommodations and a few essentials, are perfect foundations for taking the Great American road trip or traveling in Europe. See www.globusfamily.com.
SITA World Travel’s Friends and Family journeys are designed to enhance the time that families have together. Its Friends and Family Thailand program includes visits to temples combined with opportunities to zipline through rainforest canopies, experience whitewater rafting or mountain biking or spend time with elephants at the elephant conservation center. The price for adults starts at $3,140 per person. Prices for children under 11 start at $2,490. See www.sitatravel.com.
Tauck Bridges introduced its first family itinerary to Spain, called Olé, Olé, Olé! It’s designed to provide immersion into Spanish culture and history presented in ways that will appeal to clients of varying age groups. The eight-day program begins in Madrid and includes an insider’s tour of the home stadium of the Real Madrid soccer team, led by former Real Madrid goalkeeper Francisco Buyo. Also included is a kid-friendly tour of the Prado museum, a bike tour of Madrid, visits to a popular chocolateria and a gourmet food market; a ride on the high-speed AVE train to Seville, explorations of the city on foot, bicycle and horse-drawn carriage; and more. The trip is priced from $3,676 per person, triple accommodation, land only. See www.tauck.com.
Trafalgar’s European Wonderland is a family program with a focus on food. The 14-day road trip from London to Rome is punctuated with foodie experiences, such as learning how to spin pizza dough with an expert chef and a gelato tasting designed to make connoisseurs of all participants. City guides present their historical information with a culinary spin. With its heaviest concentration in Italy, the itinerary includes stops in Rome, Venice, Florence, Siena, Bologna, Verona, Paris, Lucerne and concludes with two nights in London. See www.trafalgar.com
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