Travel with children
A long-haul trip with children is the best gift you can give your children – and yourself. As the owner of a travel agency and a father, it was only natural for me to share my passion for travel with my daughter as soon as she was old enough to understand. Her first trip was to Argentina, when she was barely 10 months old, and now that she’s 16, we can safely say she’s a seasoned expert on Latin America. Of course, that first trip with her was exciting for me too, but I soon realised that travelling with children is a truly fantastic experience – for the child, for the parents and, yes, for the people you meet as well!
Latin America is the perfect continent to visit with your family. Children are truly treated like royalty here. Whether it’s on arrival at a hotel, whilst passing through customs at an airport, or during an activity in any town or city; the receptionist, the customs officer or the guide automatically breaks into a smile. Everyone in Latin America loves children, and everyone thinks it’s brilliant to see you, as parents, letting your children experience the country they’re so proud of. We really hadn’t realised it at the time, but travelling with children is a wonderful way to enrich a long-distance trip on this continent. If only because you will, inevitably, come into close contact with the local people.
After years of experience planning family holidays, I could broadly divide them into five categories.
Read on to find out more about:
Long-haul travel with toddlers aged 0 to 5
If you’re planning a family holiday with toddlers aged 0 to 5, you still have the flexibility to travel outside the school holidays. My advice is to make the most of this! Destinations are generally quieter and prices are lower. Chile, Argentina and Costa Rica are highly recommended for toddlers in this age group. These countries are well organised, have excellent healthcare, and are ideal for travelling by rental car, allowing you to set your own pace with ease. We naturally make sure child seats are provided. And speaking of pace: with children of this age, I recommend keeping the pace slow so that they’re always well-rested. When choosing destinations, I’d also make sure you don’t have to deal with overly extreme climate fluctuations. If possible, avoid high altitudes. That slightly queasy feeling in your head or stomach when you reach high altitudes is difficult to explain to young children. Hotels with a garden and/or a swimming pool are, of course, a big hit!
Personal tip: When travelling with our daughter at this age, we always took a travel cot with us. By using this travel cot and a few of her favourite cuddly toys, we managed to create a sort of ‘home’ for her wherever we went.
Family holidays with children aged 5 to 10
By taking a family holiday with children aged 5 to 10, you’re giving your children an experience they’ll remember for a lifetime. Children of this age have a particularly open-minded view of the world, and with this perspective as a foundation, you can introduce them to completely different cultures and landscapes, which they’ll explore naturally and take in their stride. As you’ll need to take school holidays into account if travelling with school-age children, it’s advisable to start planning your trip well in advance. We recommend that you begin organising your trip at least four months before your desired travel period. The May holidays are a perfect time. These holidays usually last two weeks, and our spring is the ideal time to enjoy a wonderful trip to Latin America. For Latin America, this is generally a quiet time for travel, whilst most countries enjoy a pleasant climate during this period.
If you’re planning a trip with children aged between 5 and 10, it’s important to ensure there are activities that will interest them. It’s also advisable to include a hotel with a swimming pool in your itinerary from time to time. A jungle ranger programme, their first horse ride or a stay at a hacienda where sheep or cows are kept (and where there are always pets such as dogs and cats running about) are, for example, fun activities to plan. We’d be happy to advise you on the many options available.
Costa Rica, Panama, Guatemala and Belize are brilliant destinations for children in this age group. For young children, there’s nothing more fun than going on a journey of discovery in the jungle. Costa Rica and Panama are ideal countries for exploring on your own in a rental car, and the distances are relatively short, so you’ll reach your next destination in no time.
Personal tip: at this age, start actively involving your children in the preparations for the itinerary. When my daughter was eight years old, we took her to Guatemala and Belize. We discussed our travel plans at length and I told her all about Mayan culture. Being a keen horse rider, she was keen to ride to a Mayan site. We did just that in Belize. In the Cayo District, we rode with a guide to the small Mayan town of Xunantunich. This made it an unforgettable experience for both of us.
Family holidays with children aged 10 to 18
Is travelling with children aged 10 to 18 a challenge? It doesn’t have to be, especially if you all agree on the arrangements at home and ensure that the trip includes activities that are interesting for everyone. Depending on your children’s personalities, you’ll want to ensure the trip is varied for this age group too, and organise activities they’ll enjoy. You might also want to take them out of their comfort zone with a slightly more adventurous programme, such as a long day’s hike through the mountains or an exciting canoe trip. A chocolate-making workshop, a treasure hunt with challenges in Buenos Aires or releasing baby turtles as part of a sea turtle conservation project could be experiences your children will never forget. If you’d like to include an educational element in your trip, why not consider visiting a local school or an indigenous community in the Amazon?
In this age group too, you’re tied to the holiday season. Particularly if you want to travel during our summer months or at Christmas, it’s important to plan your trip at least 6 months in advance; for Christmas, 8–10 months’ notice might even be a better idea.
Suriname, Colombia, Ecuador and the Galapagos are considered fantastic destinations by children in this age group. Encountering wildlife in the jungle is always a particularly exciting experience; in Suriname, you also have the advantage of a Dutch-speaking guide. In Colombia, you’ll find beautiful, colourful cities, long sandy beaches where you can go surfing, and the chance to go on fascinating whale-watching safaris. Being able to get up close to animals and snorkelling with sea lions and turtles makes the Galápagos Islands, in my view, the ultimate destination for teenagers.
On our website, you’ll find an account of a trip to Suriname that we took with Emma when she was in her final year of primary school. Among other things, we went on a really fun treasure hunt in Paramaribo with Emma and visited the jungle from the Kabalebo Lodge.
Read the Dicke family’s account of their trip to Mexico here.
Family holidays with children aged 18 and over
In my view, a family holiday with children aged 18 and over is the ultimate way to strengthen family ties! This is particularly true for this age group: discuss your travel wishes thoroughly with one another beforehand and tailor your travel plans accordingly. If you’d like to come to our office to discuss your travel plans, please do bring your children along! This often leads to some surprising ideas being put forward, which we then try to incorporate into the trip in creative ways; afterwards, it’s often these very elements of the trip that are most appreciated. In our experience, planning a ‘back to basics’ activity creates some truly memorable moments. Think, for example, of a multi-day trek through the jungle, including an overnight stay in hammocks and dining around a campfire.
Family bonding can also mean: father and son cycling down a volcano on mountain bikes, whilst mother and daughter go on a canoe trip through a mangrove forest. That evening, we’ll organise a cosy family dinner so you can share the day’s experiences with one another. Latin America is home to many fascinating world cities, which you can explore in a unique way. Cycling along the Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro, a street food trip in Lima, a local taking you to small, authentic samba bars, or a salsa workshop in Cali are just the tip of the iceberg.
Vibrant cities that appeal to young adults include Medellín, Bogotá and Cartagena in Colombia, and Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Salvador de Bahía in Brazil. What’s more, these countries offer a wide range of varied activities and incredibly diverse landscapes. This is certainly true of Peru, where you can soak up the culture in the Inca city of Cuzco by day, and dance the night away in one of the city’s many nightclubs in the evening.
Read the story of the Verlinden-Cuppers family in Brazil here, or the story of the De Leeuw den Bouter family in Guatemala and Belize.
Anniversary or three-generation trips with (grand)children
We’ve been organising this sort of trip for some time now, but particularly in recent years we’ve noticed that three-generation holidays and anniversary trips are becoming increasingly popular. And rightly so, because what could be better than celebrating, say, your 30th wedding anniversary with the whole family in a stunning location?
Our tip: start your preparations in good time! Organising a trip like this is often quite a complex undertaking, and the sooner we check availability for such a large group, the better.
Organising such a unique family holiday offers some truly fascinating possibilities. How about, for example, chartering a small cruise ship in the Galápagos, which you would then have all to yourselves? Or a wonderful stay in a private villa in Costa Rica or Colombia, with plenty of activities for everyone to enjoy? In countries such as Costa Rica, Belize, Guatemala or Colombia, you can further personalise your trip by using small aeroplanes or helicopters to reach your destination quickly and easily. If we may offer one final tip: make sure all activities are arranged in advance as far as possible, naturally in consultation with all family members travelling with you. This avoids having to make decisions whilst on the trip, leaving you free to simply enjoy yourselves!
Read the story of the van Lanschot family’s anniversary trip to Ecuador, the Galápagos and Panama here.
Read the story of the Berlijn family’s trip to Costa Rica here.