The Adventure Travel Company

Trips designed for families

Each itinerary is specially designed to allow you a mixture of structured and free time - which will help you to explore and discover your destination. Essential cultural ‘must sees’ - places like the Taj Mahal, the Pyramids, Petra or Machu Picchu – are included, as are a myriad of natural wonders – such as mountains, deserts and rainforests. You’ll also be given plenty or free time, plus advice from our group leaders, so you can make your own personal discoveries, perhaps visiting a local market to wander at your own pace, or simply taking time out to ‘drink in’ the whole experience. Each itinerary is based on years of experience of operating adventure holidays for adults, but all trips have been specially designed to provide for the needs of youngsters – usually less travelling, usually using direct international flights, more time on beaches and hotels with swimming pools where possible. Above all, the hassle of making your own arrangements has been removed - no need to worry about booking the next hotel or finding out when the next train or bus goes. We have been strongly guided in our choice of destinations and design of itineraries by continuous feedback from families who travel with us. We love hearing from you and hope that you will continue to send us any further ideas you have.

Accommodation

You’ll stay largely in small, two or three-star hotels with local character - not too basic, but with no unnecessary frills either. The majority of these hotels will have en-suite facilities and air-conditioning, and as many as possible will have swimming pools. Sometimes your accommodation will have been chosen because of its views or because it says something about the area you are travelling in. So you might spend nights under canvas while on safari in Africa or on trek in the Himalayas; under the stars on a felucca in Egypt; in a jungle lodge in the Amazon basin; a Bedouin tent in the Jordanian desert; a camp in the jungle in Sri Lanka; or in a tribal family house in the forests of northern Thailand. Rooming is generally in twin, triple or family rooms (this is covered in more depth on page 59 of this brochure). Breakfast will be included at most places. Evening meals are generally not included because part of the fun of travel is exploring local restaurants, and hotel food is rarely as good. This is a great opportunity for children to try different foods and our feedback has shown this, while sometimes a concern beforehand, turns out to be an extremely popular part of the trip. The exact number of meals included is shown under each itinerary inside and on the relevant Trip Dossier.

Moving Around

Each trip is designed to minimize, as much as possible, the amount of time spent on long journeys. And you’ll travel in a variety of ways to gain an ever-changing perspective of your destination. The most common form of transport is likely to be a small bus – a comfortable and informal way of getting from A to B. Where roads are not so good you might travel by 4WD vehicle or on foot – and sometimes walking forms part of the journey. You’ll also experience all the colour and flavor of local transport where it’s appropriate: perhaps a horse-drawn carriage or a felucca sailboat in Egypt, a rickshaw in India or Vietnam, a dugout canoe in Botswana, an elephant in Sri Lanka, or a dogsled in Finland ... Travelling as local people do is a big highlight - one which you will remember for years to come.