It can be difficult coming up with the perfect family holiday solution. Often you’re trying to please people with wildly different tastes and interests, and it can be hard to strike a compromise.
Thankfully, there are some tried and tested options that offer something for everyone.
Best travel experiences for families
There’s a reason beach holidays appeal to families: kids can amuse themselves with snorkelling and watersports for hours while parents chill out and read a book. Similarly, ski holidays, camping in national parks and road trips with stops at different towns along the way can keep everyone amused.
Ask the kids where they want to go on holiday and most will say Disneyland. You can now visit the happiest place on Earth in Paris, the US and Tokyo.
Anything involving wildlife is usually a hit. Going on safari to see the animals of Africa first-hand, spotting monkeys in Bali and exploring the jungle in Thailand or Borneo will offer everlasting travel memories for all ages.
Best ways to travel with kids
A couple of the simplest ways to tackle a family holiday are by choosing a cruise or a family-friendly resort, where everything is taken care of and included (so you don’t have to have a nightly debate about where you’re going to eat). Settling into a resort or a cruise also means you’re not travelling about and exhausting everyone, and there are plenty of activities provided to keep the whole family occupied.
Read up on tips in advance to help take some of the pain out of travelling with small children – especially on long-haul flights – and why not make your holiday a multigenerational one? You’ll have an extra set of hands to help with the kids and the memories you make will be all the richer when shared with grandparents.
Best destinations for families
Some destinations are a better all-ages pick than others.
Bali can be an easy choice, partly due to the short flight time and partly because there’s plenty of spacious villa-style accommodation that comes with a private pool and child-minding options. Fiji is another destination that is well and truly geared to families, with a wealth of outdoor activities on offer for young and old.
Japan’s big cities are full of colour and lights and there are plenty of weird and wacky things to amuse little people (Hello Kitty Café, anyone?)
Both Hawaii and Dubai have a huge number of attractions that will appeal to children, including theme parks, natural wonders and mind-boggling shopping malls.
New Zealand won’t be a huge culture shock to sensitive little ones. The fact that it is easy to explore in a campervan and there are plenty of adventure activities on offer (from white water rafting to skiing) makes it a strong choice.
Samoa is fast becoming a hot destination for families – there are loads of enticing activities, like swimming with turtles in the peaceful waters of a lagoon, enjoying the natural waterslides at Papaseea Sliding Rocks or playing a spot of kilikti (Samoan cricket) with the local kids.
