Forget stressfuls “are we there yet” and tedious jet-lags…travelling with kids to high end destinations is possible. And the rewards can be endless! There is an abundance of family-friendly holiday options just waiting to be discovered. These are our top 5 family getaways to stimulate the imagination of the little ones.

 

Foto courtesy of The Telegraph 

 

Forget stressfuls “are we there yet” and tedious jet-lags…travelling with kids to high end destinations is possible. And the rewards can be endless! There is an abundance of family-friendly holiday options just waiting to be discovered. These are our top 5 family getaways to stimulate the imagination of the little ones.

 

Adventures in Mongolia

This exotic journey promises to stimulate adventurous young travellers, offering them a wider perspective of the world they live in.

Children will get the opportunity to look for fossils in the region where the most important group of dinosaur eggs was excavated, a site once filled with predatory tyrannosaurs and plant eating dinosaurs. If this doesn’t get them excited, parents can take them to the capital Ulan Bator, where 80 million-year-old skeletons can be seen in the Museum of Natural History.

Other activities include camel riding, kayaking, fishing or sand surfing in the Gobi Desert. To gain insight into the culture, kids will also have the opportunity to visit nomadic families and stay in traditional yurts.

Steppes Travel offers nine days in Mongolia including flights, transfers, accommodation, most meals and guides from from £4,595 per adult and £3,775 per child under 12 years.

More information: http://www.steppestravel.co.uk/

 

Little chefs of the world 

Belmond

Foto courtesy of Belmond.com

 

An exciting option to get the little ones inspired (and exhausted) is to enrol them at La Petite Ecole, the junior cookery school at Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in Oxfordshire. 

Open to children aged from seven to 16, these day-long courses not only cover cooking lessons, but also encourage children to think about what they eat and inspire families to bond by cooking together. Parents are invited to join the children and enjoy the fruits of their labours at afternoon tea. 

Children’s courses run until August 29 and prices are £285 per child or from £555 per adult and child; in July and August a room for a family of four costs from £855 a night for b & b.

Info: http://www.belmond.com/le-manoir-aux-quat-saisons-oxfordshire/cookery_courses

 

Magical Africa

cape town

Foto courtesy of Scottdunn.com

 

Cape town has been voted the tourist destination of the world a number of times. Among its virtues is the variety of breath-taking, malaria-free safaris conveniently positioned within close reach of the Mother City. Kids will be in touch with nature like never before, spying on the Burchell’s zebra and the countless antelope species in horseback safaris or elephant back rides.

While the bravest head out in search of the Kalahari black-maned lions of Tswalu, others can spend an afternoon on the Mount Nelson’s lush lawns after a morning out exploring the city.

Scott Dunn offers per person based on a family of 2 adults and 2 children sharing, including domestic flights, accommodation and private transfers starting from 

Info: https://www.scottdunn.com/luxury-tours/family-safari-and-cape-town

 

The Toy Hotel 

Hotel del juguete 2

Foto courtesy of Hotel del juguete

 

Shrieks, jumps and laughter is the general reaction of kids once the open the door of this hotel. If they ruled the world, all hotels would be like this ‘Toy Hotel’. Here, soap bars smell like candy, desserts are served with gummy bears and each one of the 21 rooms of the hotel have a different theme dedicated to an old favourite toy. From Playmobil or Lego, to the more contemporary Invizimals or Pocoyo. 

The hotel is situated in Ibi, 43 kilometers south of Alicante, in the ‘Valley of the Toy’, an area full of factories and toy-related museums. That is why one of the rooms is saved for the Three Wise Men (and Santa Clause), so they can rest during the year before they set off from the valley at Christmas, full of toys.

Info: http://www.hoteldeljuguete.com/en/home.html

 

“Beach-athlons” for the whole family

The body holiday

Foto courtesy of thebodyholiday.com

 

“Give us your body for a week and we’ll give you back your mind”. This is the exciting promise of this resort situated in one of the most beautiful islands of the world, St Lucia. What makes the Body Holiday different from other Caribbean luxury resorts is it’s fully focused on fitness and well-being. 

It’s latest add on is the the resort’s Wellfit Families programme, which motivates younger visitors to engage in healthy habits, with the help of world class athletes such as the England rugby player Alex Goode to Sharron Davies or the 2012 Olympic rowing champions Katherine Grainger and Anna Watkins. The fun will be served as families participate in challenging parent vs child competitions, boot camps and the final guest “beach-athlon” challenge.

The Wellfit Families programme runs until August 31 and a seven-night all-inclusive holiday for a family of four in August costs from £10,581.

Info: http://www.thebodyholiday.com/

 

 

If you could design a perfect vacation, where would you go?