Features correspondent
Child-friendly trips have increasingly joined the ranks of such fads as glamping and staycations in recent years, and the demand for adventurous destinations is greater than ever.
You can say many things about the travel industry, but it is not slow to fill a niche. Hot on the heels of glamping, staycations and a dozen other irritating neologisms is the (as yet not portmanteau’d) trend for adventurous holidays the whole family can enjoy, in destinations as diverse as Morocco, Borneo and Costa Rica.
While not
new, family adventure holidays are growing quickly in popularity, and there are
at least half a dozen specialists in the market. Some have been offering these
trips for more than a decade, and all say demand is rising fast. There are also
signs that big operators are adding adventurous elements to family holidays,
for instance offering mountain-bike excursions or including surf waves on
cruise ships.
The reasons
are clear according to Claire Wilson, managing director of the Adventure
Company, the family offshoot of Intrepid Travel: ‘Traditionally, most families
have taken a bucket and spade holiday, where they’ve stayed in one resort or
destination. Increasingly, families are looking for more memorable ways to
spend their holiday time, with activities that they can share and enjoy
together, such as travelling on a felucca down the Nile, getting up close to
incredible wildlife on safari or camping out under the desert stars.’
The growth
in this type of holiday can be attributed to parents’ attitudes as much as
anything else. With gap years and backpacking adventures behind them, there
isn’t the perception that having kids is a barrier to further explorations. That
said, the security and help with planning offered by an experienced operator
can help to win over a sceptical partner.
There are
other advantages, says Helene Cooper, content manager at Imaginative Traveller. ‘On a small group trip, with two or more families,
the kids babysit themselves and parents are happy because they get to go somewhere
they’re interested in.’