Family Travel That Actually Works: What 35 Years Has Taught Us

Family Travel That Actually Works: What 35 Years Has Taught Us Here is the truth about family travel that most travel content doesn't tell you: it is almost always harder than traveling as a couple, and it is almost always more worth it. The family memories that last — the ones that children grow up and describe to their own children — almost always involve travel. The safari where they saw a lion for the first time. The beach in the Caribbean where the water was so clear they could see the fish from the surface. The moment in Iceland when the northern lights came out and everyone went quiet. Start With the Right Destination For families with younger children, we often recommend all-inclusive Caribbean resorts. Beaches Turks and Caicos is our top recommendation — eighteen restaurants, a waterpark, a kids club, and Grace Bay Beach right outside. For families with older children and teenagers, we recommend trips that treat the kids as real travelers: safaris, national parks, Italy, Japan. Age Matters More Than Most People Acknowledge A 9-year-old in the Colosseum is a very different experience than a 14-year-old in the Colosseum. For families with teenagers, the single most effective thing is finding what the teenager actually cares about and building the trip around it. Food. Music. Sport. History. Gaming — yes, Tokyo. Whatever it is, it's the hook. Japan converts almost every teenager who goes. The food, the technology, the train system, the combination of ancient and ultramodern. Kenya converts them too — it is almost impossible to remain unimpressed by a lion. Disney World, done right, is extraordinary. Done wrong — in August, without reservations, with overtired children — it is a particular kind of misery. We know how to do it right.