Statefan

Our family of 4 just returned from a nice long holiday to SA. As expected, my little ones (5 and 8) loved every minute of it. I plan to work on a trip report over the weekend in the hopes of helping others with small children.

Thanks to the frequent flier mileage ball and chain, it is now time for us to start planning next year's trip. I don't think another safari is in the mix this time as I have my heart set on Botswana and the camps/lodges there are not too child-receptive. Plus, the wife wants to do something with a little more variety.

I'm posting here because this forum seems to have a lot of well-traveled folks. Any ideas for fantastic non-US locations for family trips? Heard stories from others? Anything that keeps the kids entertained while teaching them about life (or wildlife) is of interest. We're not overly interested in beach trips b/c we get to do that quite frequently at home.

We did Australia last year (minus the kids) so that is out. I need some inspiration!

The timing would be the US summer (June, July or Aug). I think that eliminates 2 possible contenders - New Zealand and Costa Rica.

Thanks!

divine54

what about EUROPEan destinations like spain, greece or italy?
very child friendly countries.
and they offer a great variety of places for "childish" things, museums, sightseeing etc etc etc

just one thought...

div

ekscrunchy

You might investigate mainland Ecuador/Galapagos, on the Latin America board.

Statefan

We did a stopover in London on the way to SA. It went fine, but my personal opinion is the kids were a bit young to truly enjoy what they were seeing and doing (esp. compared to Africa!). A Med cruise is on the list (we did one w/o the kids) which might meet everyone's needs, but I just can't seem to get excited about it. Still on the list though.

I just spent the morning digging into Latin and South America and the Amazon in Peru + Galapagos sounds like an awesome trip to me - not sure how much younger kids would enjoy it though. Off to visit the LA board for more feedback.

In the meantime, other ideas would be greatly appreciated!

PredatorBiologist

Statefan: I had a great trip to Vancouver Island with my daughter when she was 10. You can go far up the island for excellent orca (killer whale) viewing and by boat can go east to the mainland where you can see grizzly bears. Driving around in the late afternoon there were lots of black bears. On the west coast there is grey whale viewing and an area where it is common to see wolves -- which reminds me, which 'State' does your name refer to, N.C. State by any chance?

In the main town of Victoria there were some good kid attractions like a wax museum and a miniature world. To go up the island we took a train ride and then rented our car there just to mix the experiences. It was a great vacation with a wildlife focus.

Statefan

PB - yes, NC State! I will look into Vancouver Island. We have been focusing on non-US locales to best utilize the FF mileage while I have it (and before they either get rid of the benefit or dilute it to uselessness).

PredatorBiologist

Statefan -- glad to see I'm not the only State Alum here, combine Fodors with the PackPride board and I'd have all my web surfing done in one place.

Good luck with the miles and finding a destination. A South America destination seems like a great fit but I unfortunately have no first hand experience to pass on there.

Go Pack!!

kathryn0303

greetings,

i was just wondering what your trip was like to sa? i was wanting to take my 4 year old there but concerned about vaccinations. please let me know if you have any suggestions. we took her to italy last year (she was 3)and stayed at a farmhouse in tuscany and she loved every bit of it...we flew into venice and left out of rome. we didn't do a lot of the things most tourists would do b/c of her age but your kids are a little older. i would really appreciate your input for s.a. thanks a lot. i understand about your miles..that's the only way we do family travel.

zlaor

How about the 4 day trek to Macchu Picchu.

I've done it in 1992 but I understand there are many restrictions in place now so you need to plan ahead.

cruisinred

I'd suggest someplace in Southeast Asia such as Thailand and/or Bali. Thais are very kid friendly and their are loads of interesting sites, the kids will like riding on elephants thru the jungle, and mom and dad might also like some beach time. Bali is great as well: excellent prices to rent an amazing villa, fully staffed, with chef etc. and loads of interesting sites like volcanoes, monkey temples, etc.

There have been several reports on the Asia board from families with kids who have had great trips to Southeast Asia.

Patty

Bill,
You just gave me a great idea for a wildlife trip close to home, thanks! What time of year were you there?

Statefan

kathryn - I will try to work on a trip report this weekend. My initial reaction is it really depends on your child(ren). Their interest in animals, willingness to sit still for a couple of hours at a time and the child-friendliness of the ranger all play into it from our perspective.

Out of all the places we went, we enjoyed Pafuri Camp the most (all 4 of us). I'm sure that will surprise many people on here, but we had an amazing ranger who was absolutely phenomenal with our kids.

Regarding vaccinations, we took the kids to a local travel clinic and they got a shot for something plus some malaria meds. The wife packed a bunch of insect repellent stuff, but we never even used it! There were no bugs at any of our stops - one advantage of winter in SA.

cruisinred - I have Thailand on the list, but we've stayed away from Asia to date because the rest of my family is really picky about food.

cruisinred

Statefan-
Rest assured that almost any nicer hotel or resort in Thailand would offer the usual burger, salad, pizza, spagetti type options. And the picky eaters might start slowly with Thai food like rice, noodles, etc.

longhorn55

Even though you and your wife have been to Australia, I still think it would be a great place to take your kids. (Personally, I can never visit Australia too often. There's always something/someplace new to see.)
June, July and August are great months to visit the northern parts of Australia. The kids would love all the flora and fauna of Far North Queensland. Yes, you say you're not interested in beach trips, but this is a trip to an area with two World Heritage Sites--the Great Barrier Reef and Daintree National Park. Your kids will certainly be old enough for a snorkeling trip to the reef and they can enjoy short hikes in the rainforest at Mossman Gorge or in Daintree. The Rainforest Habitat at Port Douglas is a great place to see birds flying, roos hopping, emus walking, etc.
Another great area that will be warm in those Australian winter months is the Top End of the Northern Territory. In Darwin the kids can hand-feed fish at Aquascene; swim in natural pools and see giant termite mounds at Litchfield National Park, and see more native animals at the Territory Wildlife Park. At Kakadu N.P., you can take a boat ride and see hundreds of native birds and probably a croc or two. There's also a big Aboriginal influence there so that would be a good learning experience for all.
Finally, while overseas travel is great, I hope you won't discount domestic travel. I just read a great trip report on this site by a woman who took her 5 and 8 y.o. children to the Black Hills. Wow, what exposure they got to great scenery, wildlife, history and Native American culture! We made that trip with our kids when they were those ages and although they are now 17 and 20 y.o., they still remember that as one of their favorite vacations.

LyndaS

Patty-

You & Mark have reservations in the 'Africa Room' at the Swain Hotel when you book that trip to Vancouver Island!! No if's, ands or buts - we will pick you up from the airport in Vancouver (10 min away from us, wine & dine you with one of Jim's famous steaks on the deck (or whatever if you don't like steak), give you a good home for a couple of nights while showing you our lovely city & boring you with Africa pictures and stories, and then put you on a ferry to the island to go and find wildlife!!

A done deal - no arguments!!! (pick July or August because it's always beautiful here in those two months - May was cold & rainy this year)

Patty

You're on, Lynda! We both love Vancouver, even in the rain! Thanks for your generous offer!

A few other Australia wildlife ideas are Tasmania and Kangaroo Island. I haven't been so this is just from research for our trip next month and I know it'll be cold but we don't mind (but maybe you do). We're going to Cairns as well and will do a snorkel trip and a Tablelands wildlife tour there. Kakadu was also in the itinerary at one point but something had to be cut.

LyndaS

Oh sorry, Statefan, didn't mean to leave you out - I agree with PB that Vancouver Island, and Vancouver would be a great trip for the kids (and it is non-US), but if you want to use those ff miles, I can see why you'd want to go further.

My 1st best wildife viewing place (and I'm a kid at heart, so I qualify) is of course East Africa, but you said not a safari, so, back to the drawing board.

My 2nd best wildlife viewing place was Alaska, but again that's the US.

My 3rd best wildlife viewing place was Australia, but you have been there you mentioned recently, so that's out.

So, I'd have to say the next best would be Peru/Ecquador - not that I've been to Ecquador (probably can't even spell it) but we just got back from Peru in March and I loved it. We did see some wildlife (llama's and Lima has a great zoo full of SA's indigineous animals). Lima has some nice beaches (not SPECTACULAR, but nice!) plus the zoo I mentioned, incredible food, and a short flight to Machu Picchu. Although I am not sure that kids would 'love' Machu Picchu I think they would 'like' it at least. It's a lot of history that they wouldn't get and to them it may be just slightly on the boring side. But they would at least like the train ride from Cusco! And they could look for condors, although you would have to keep a close eye on them, it is on the side of a mountain after all! And then of course the Galapagos would be GREAT wildlife viewing.

Or, yes, as someone else mentioned the Far East - Thailand in particular, we saw lots of monkeys when we were there, and as mentioned there are elephant treks etc that can be done.

You have a really tough decision ahead! There was another poster on this board that took her then 5 yr old twins everywhere (Heather), I'll see if I can contact her and see what she would recommend.

PredatorBiologist

Patty: We went to Vancouver Island the start of August but to view grizzly bears you are much better off to go late August, even early September but due to school schedule we had to go a little early. I think the stay in the 'Africa Room' at Lynda's really puts that destination over the top.

It doesn't help Statefan at this time with the need to use miles but for others with kids longhorn is absolutely right that the Black Hills is a fantastic destination. It was the first place I took my daughter and since I have done a lot of owl work there we have been back many, many times and it is always great fun.

LAleslie

I'd add my thumbs up for Vancouver Island. On the north end of Vancouver Island is a little town called Tofino that's great. You can go out in boats and see bears come down to the shore with their cubs (I believe we went in May or June) to look for food, and look for eagles in their nests. Or go fishing. Plus the broad, windswept beaches there are some of the world's most beautiful. We rented a car and took the ferry from Vancouver, and drove about 3 (?) hours through gorgeous mountain and lake country. A bit of a drive for kids, though (you can fly over on a float plane too; great fun). We stayed at the Wickinninish, a gorgeous Tofino hotel on the beach, with fabulous cuisine, but pricey.
Leslie

Statefan

Thanks to everyone for all of the comments and suggestions. I am reading up about all of the options now.

Our thought process is to focus on the more exotic trips while I have the FF mileage and while the kids are younger (i.e. cheaper to bring along!). Plus, exposure to different cultures and lifestyles really makes everyone in our family appreciate how good we have it at home.

cruisinred - to add perspective, my crew barely survived in SA on the food!

longhorn - we visited most of the areas you mentioned in FNQ. We will go back one day, but for now we're in "been there, done that" mode for Aussie-land. Another factor is it is really expensive to get around to the different areas - not like hopping in the car for a few hours' drive. I really want to go to New Zealand though and it is still on my list.

Right now, I'm really feeling Peru and, possibly, a jaunt over to the Galapagos. The latter is so expensive, however, it may have to wait. I'm going to explore Thailand/Bali tomorrow.

The wife is pushing Hawaii. Can't seem to get excited about that either (what is wrong with me?).