Traveling as a family offers an invaluable opportunity to strengthen ties across generations and share unforgettable experiences that can shape relationships for years. Guided adventures provide travelers with an exciting journey into unknown territory.
Road Scholar offers intergenerational trips ranging from rafting excursions in Utah and train tours across Europe to safari excursions that allow families to identify big game and discover African culture.
1. G Adventures
G Adventures provides small-group tours around the globe. Their emphasis on sustainable travel appeals to eco-minded customers. Their varied travel offerings also make G Adventures an excellent choice for families seeking variety in their tours.
G Adventures provides tours that cater to every interest, such as active trips, cultural treks, rail tours, local living tours and marine adventures. In addition, National Geographic Journeys with G Adventures provide special itineraries that combine National Geographic content and their signature adventure travel experience offered by G Adventures.
Each trip offers its own distinctive itinerary and experiences, with Classic trips being particularly popular due to their combination of must-see highlights, cultural exchanges and insider access – in addition to unbeatable value and spontaneous adventure that make any journey truly memorable.
G Adventures also offers 18-to-30-Something Tours for young travelers with an adventurous spirit and sense of discovery. These tours typically move faster through each destination, often being shorter than classic tours and covering more ground quickly.
At the conclusion of your trip, it is customary to tip your CEO. G Adventures guides are known as CEOs; these individuals are responsible for much of the behind-the-scenes work necessary for making sure everything runs smoothly on each tour.
G Adventures is committed to sustainability and actively works to reduce their environmental footprint. Their efforts focus on energy efficiency; hybrid vehicles are used wherever possible, while more fuel efficient engines have been installed on ships and generators replaced with new ones – this has helped cut CO2 emissions by about 15%. They have also partnered with Planeterra so each customer that travels with them gets one tree planted as part of their trip experience.
2. National Geographic
National Geographic partners with G Adventures to offer family-friendly trips that inspire both children and adults alike to see the world with new eyes. Each trip features activities reflecting National Geographic’s expertise in photography and storytelling, wildlife conservation, history & culture exploration & more. On G Adventure’s Discover Egypt journey for instance, you’ll gain insight into current discoveries at Cairo’s Grand Egyptian Museum while discovering iconic archaeological sites like Abu Simble Temple & Philae Temple before relaxing down the Nile on a felucca before having dinner in Nubian family homes along its course – making for an incredible trip indeed!
National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions offers ships specifically tailored for families, as well as expeditions led by professional guides that offer immersive, educational and enjoyable experiences for everyone in their group. Their new National Geographic Delfina ship debuted in 2022 with 26 cabins tailored specifically for accommodating families that sail year-round in Galapagos.
As soon as you book a trip with National Geographic Travel, you will gain access to custom resources aimed at both children and adults that will help document your trip and share stories back home with family and friends. These resources include My Shot photography tips on composition and shutter speed as well as Storyteller’s Toolkit that teaches how to tell engaging travel stories.
National Geographic expeditions aim to foster empathy between creatures on our planet and humans alike. On many trips, you’ll meet local wildlife while having hands-on conservation experiences that provide information and inspiration on how best to preserve the earth long after returning home. Furthermore, such activities provide an opportunity to appreciate local cultures through language, music, art and architecture, cuisine, clothing and more – thus deepening appreciation of what makes each culture unique.
3. Austin Adventures
Since 1985, this Montana-based company has provided outdoor adventures to travelers throughout North American national parks and beyond. Offering fully guided small group tours tailored for families with over 25 countries worldwide covered through Active Adventures sister company Active Travel Group tours.
Austin Adventures family trips aim to strike a balance between physical activity and comfort, providing guests with plenty of opportunity for sleep and recharge throughout their journeys. Austin Adventures guests enjoy meals from authentic local restaurants while staying in accommodations which give a true local experience.
Experienced guides are trained in first aid, while tour groups are limited to 12 for Adult Adventures and 18 on Family Adventures. Furthermore, customizable trip options are also available for private groups of 10 or more. With its Family Adventures tours, a pre-trip planner assists families in packing, activities and other details often overlooked during tours.
One feature that sets this tour company apart is their openness to feedback from customers and staff alike. They regularly survey guests about what they thought of their trips, using that feedback to enhance them further and deliver an experience that’s both fun and educational – resulting in its immense popularity among travellers.
Custom trips from TourRanger are the ideal adventure package for travelers seeking something more tailored. These itineraries can be as challenging or relaxing as desired; their team of knowledgeable specialists will turn your vision into reality. Additionally, you will receive pre-trip phone calls from an expert as well as access to a dedicated concierge who can make flight arrangements for you in advance of the trip’s host city.
4. Intrepid Travel
Intrepid Travel was one of the pioneers of adventure-style guided trips, pioneering this genre through small group sizes (typically 10 travelers). You’ll experience life off-the-beaten-path as part of their small group excursions by riding boats, buses, trains and eating at family-run restaurants as well as staying at homestays or traditional accommodations; an engaging way to see the world from local perspectives.
This company provides an impressive selection of family-oriented trips, ranging from food tours and cycling adventures to polar expeditions and wildlife holidays. In their itinerary are family-oriented activities like cooking classes and nature walks as well as cultural experiences like visiting markets or attending performances.
Their family-friendly trips are all led by an English-speaking local guide who serves more as a resource than traditional tour leader. Furthermore, this company prides itself on responsible tourism so you can rest assured that your visit will have a positive effect on its destination.
Intrepid is known for creating unforgettable, authentic travel experiences. They do this by pairing you with an expert local leader from each destination you visit who can share their knowledge about it all – be it dining with local families in Thailand or connecting with people while on an India train journey – which make your trip truly stand out.
Intrepid is a Certified B Corporation dedicated to sustainable travel initiatives around the globe. Their carbon emission offset program covers transportation, accommodations, meals, activities and staffing carbon emissions while they collaborate with their suppliers to reduce environmental footprint. Furthermore, Intrepid stands by responsible and ethical business practices.
5. Thomson Family Adventures
Thomson Family Adventures crafts truly unforgettable travel experiences that engage, entertain and educate young and old. Specializing in multigenerational trips across the globe – from trekking across Morocco’s High Lands to exploring Egypt’s Great Temples or zip lining through Costa Rican Rainforest – Thomson Family Adventures ensures families can create lasting memories together through unforgettable travel adventures.
Austin Adventures keeps group sizes small and provides experienced guides who are kid-friendly, striving for a 6:1 guest-to-guide ratio and carefully chosen for charisma. Tours typically range from 8-13 days long and focus on active exploration – National Park trips being Austin Adventures’ specialty; Europe, New Zealand and Latin America also featured among their offerings.
Thomson Family Adventures also provides cultural exchange through “Friends Across Borders.” On each trip, a local “rafiki” joins the travel team to facilitate meeting new friends and connecting children with them; whether that means playing soccer with local children or helping to plant trees in communities they visit – Thomson Family Adventures encourages children on each adventure trip to make a markful contribution that leaves a markful imprint in each locale they visit.
Tour packagers offer travelers an easy and stress-free way to plan a vacation by handling every aspect of the planning themselves, with special perks for booking through them. Abercrombie & Kent and Tauck Bridges both provide special itineraries tailored to families with teens; additionally they may try and match travelers up with children of similar ages within one group. Moo Bishop of Thomson Family Adventures notes that using family tour operatorss “takes all the hard work out of trip planning for busy families; all these travel packagers do just this so all travelers need do is relax and enjoy their vacation!”
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