If there's a silver lining to families sequestered at home for a while, it's that everyone appreciates the great outdoors more than ever before. Throughout the spring and this summer, we've found ourselves lingering outside longer than usual, whether it be playing in the backyard, sitting in our driveway, taking bike rides around the neighborhood or venturing further out to nearby hiking trails and the beach.
And with our kids getting older (3, almost 8, and 9), they are getting more confident with their biking and hiking skills. Which naturally has us thinking about what adventure-based trips we can take with them soon.
Yet even if you've done adventure trips on your own before, adding in family members makes it a different type of trip. Whereas you might be rather easy going and willing to roll with the punches if things don't work out, weather is bad, accommodations are sparse, or the food is so-so, traveling with your kids can put you in different mind-set entirely.
Since we're all about pressing the Easy button here, consider using an expert adventure company to plan out your family's adventure. Here are a few that come highly recommended:
Backroads is a popular, family-friendy adventure company with trips and itineraries all over the world (although some of these have been suspended because of Covid-19.) The tours vary wildly, but most include two to five hours a day of hiking and biking, or hiking and walking, or other active ways of getting from point A to point B.
By day, you're fully escorted by expert trip leaders and at night, you're housed in luxe accomodations and along the way you'll stop for wildlife and cultural encounters. For bike tours, children need to be older than 7 to have their own bike and 16 and older to have their own electric bike. (Yes, e-bikes are offered!) Children under 7 can ride on a special adult-child tandem bike or in a bike trailer, similar to the one you probably already have.
What's great about Backroads, aside from their extensive itineraries in many regions, is that they specialize in family trips that are broken down by age groups from 4-12, teens, and early 20s. Typically, you would book a Backroads trip as part of a larger group, giving you the opportunity to make friends with other families. But if you've got a large enough family or just want to keep things small, you can book private custom trips as well.
If you're a family of bikers, Trek Travel has loads of great biking tours to explore. You can choose guided tours, solo tours, ride camps and custom trips. And like Backroads, Trek Travel has a lengthy list of where they operate from right here at home to Europe, Japan and Chile.
Yet while it may look like a serious cyclers only operation, it's actually quite family-friendly too. Children must be at least 6 years old to travel and 9 years old to have their own bike. Using the Custom Trip Consultant option will allow you to tailor your tour to exactly what your family wants and needs. We also like their A Lá Carte service where you can book a bike tour or a car rental or a private villa.
Of course, much of their offerings have been impacted by Covid-19, but here's a full update on where they are servicing and what the cancellation policies are.
Not keen to bike? Austin Adventures has many family tours that can be done the old-fashioned way—by foot. Take a peek at the itinerary for their Yellowstone tour to see what we mean, largely hiking, zipling and whitewater rafting. We're also loving this Costa Rica itinerary which includes hiking, canyoning, kayaking, birding, and surfing.
While Austin Adventures has tours and guides all over the world (they even offer small cruise ship experiences), the family vacations are slightly more limited. But just slightly. And like Backroads and Trek Travel, they too have been impacted by Covid-19 and have posted their full policies here.
SOME TIPS TO KEEP IN MIND:
+ These are usually all-inclusive tours so the total amount might seem high for each trip but this includes lodgings, meals, transportations during the trip (sometimes you can't bike everywhere!) and experiences. Again, this all depends on what type of tour you book.
+ If you are picky about lodgings, inquire about other hotel options as all of these companies have a variety of hotel partners they work with. While most hotel partners for certain trips are set, there are often more luxury options available, although that will increase your trip cost.
+ Be specific about what you do NOT want to do. Things that are non-negotiable for you and your family like certain types of hike or activities (say, someone is afraid of heights and ziplining is planned for half of the day), should be outlined up front during planning so there are no surprises or setbacks during the trip. If you book with a travel advisor, versus online, I can help communicate these requests directly to the company, as well as ensure that you've got what you need during your tour.
+ Read the FAQs on each company's website. They are extensive (addressing concerns about fitness and non-riders, for example) and most likely, you'll find out what you need to know. If not, reach out to me as my travel agency works directly with these companies and we've sent numerous families on their tours.
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