Ideas for adventurous family trips – Part 1

Families looking to take an adventurous trip tend to be those who wish to gain new and exciting experiences, whilst spending time together. These trips can be the highlight of the year for all the family, increasing confidence, life experiences and awareness of each individual’s strengths and weaknesses. An adventurous family trip will develop every family member in some way.

When I think of adventurous family trips I imagine exciting and unusual destinations around the world such as Africa or New Zealand. Adventurous ways of traveling, such as by overnight train or in a camper van also spring to mind. Adventurous activities whether stand alone or the basis to the holiday are also high on the list ideas for adventurous family trips.

Different destinations around the world provide adventurous trips for the family. However it’s important to recognize what you are used to, to allow you to assess how adventurous a new destination may be. For my parents in the 1980s, just making it out of the UK was adventurous. I am amazed even now, how many Americans that I meet who have never been out of the US. So to go to any other continent would be adventurous. However, if you are looking for a destination which is only open to the more adventurous traveler then high on the list would be Africa, New Zealand and Australia, Thailand, Iceland, Eastern Europe or South America. All these destinations offer a little of the unknown and require an adventuresome nature to experience what the country has to offer, ranging from adrenalin rush sports and amazing scenery in New Zealand to unusual cultural experiences and architecture in Thailand. Africa of course offers the opportunity to do a safari, South America, some unusual environments and Eastern Europe, a chance to see places where life is still relatively undeveloped and unaffected by the modern world.

Different destinations will be suited to different age ranges within a family. Whilst a safari would be an amazing and adventuresome experience for many family’s, I would not include toddlers in the age bracket to enjoy this adventure! Australia and New Zealand offer something for all the family with unusual flora, fauna and geological formations. Last year we took our three year old son to Australia (Melbourne & Sydney) and New Zealand. We all had such an adventure, we all fed kangaroos and koalas for the first time, walked on deserted black sand beaches, walked in the treetops along the great coast road and stayed on