What Kind of Travel Place Should Visit with Family
Planning a family vacation, like many aspects of parenting, is a fine art. With so many people to please, the stakes are high when plotting the perfect break. How to ensure your holiday hits the high notes? Start by choosing the destination carefully and then look for hotels that not only welcome but also encourage and entertain younger travelers. You don’t need to sacrifice comfort and style for family-friendly programming, either. Whether you’re embarking on the first adventure with a swaddled addition or you’re in transit with a teen, these family vacation spots across the globe should inspire to get you going. In this article, we cover the best places to travel with family
Why Travel with your Family?
There are numerous benefits to family travel. Some may be obvious and others less so, but they are all important reasons to keep in mind when considering a family trip.
Traveling with family can enhance the relationship between its members, from grandparents to children.
Even if a family holiday offers plenty of opportunities to have fun and relax, research suggests that family travel offers unparalleled opportunities to strengthen family bonds. Shared experiences can encourage a sense of unity. Additionally, it can promote closeness among family members.
Traveling, and even more so as a family, broadens horizons and helps to develop empathy. Exposing both adults and children to different cultures, languages, and ways of life can nurture an appreciation for new perspectives. This results in broadening their views of the world and even enhancing social skills.
Board Games or Card Games The best games for family fun in travel are easily portable and versatile. While card games are easier to engage kids during road trips or flights, board games are my favorite once you reach your vacation spot. Board games can make family travel super fun
Last but not least, family travel can stimulate communication skills between individuals. While traveling families are exposed to new environments that invite them to work together to understand unfamiliar surroundings, make decisions, and compromise.
The 10 best places to travel with family in the world to try this year
Travel-averse toddlers, kinetic kids who won’t stop moving, screen-obsessed tweens, or teenagers who want to be as far away from you as possible, we’ve got the break that you need. These are the very best places for a family holiday in the world right now. Happy travels!
Best family vacation destination
Sani Resort, Greece
The key to a successful family holiday is finding a place that offers something for everyone – and Sani Resort has all bases covered. There are cabanas overlooking the beach, pools for seemingly every occasion (kid-friendly, adults only, indoor, outdoor, private, infinity), opulent spas, and a plethora of restaurants and bars. But Sani goes beyond the usual holiday staples. Sporty kids can enrol in the football or tennis academies (in association with Chelsea FC and Rafa Nadal respectively) while the adventurous can throw themselves into the Bear Grylls survival camp or around the on-site Go Ape-style rope course. There’s a complimentary ‘Babewatch’ on-beach babysitting service plus birdwatching and even beekeeping sessions around the vast nature reserve the resort calls home. Sani also hosts its own music and food festivals every summer. It all adds up to a genuine haven for families looking to reconnect without once hearing the two words all parents dread – ‘I’m bored.’
Best for: Energetic families looking for something to agree on.
Center Parcs Les Trois Forêts, France
Everything about this Sylvan retreat is geared towards wholesome family enjoyment, from the beautiful woodland setting and the myriad invigorating activities to the brilliantly designed accommodation and the gourmet restaurant (complete with its own soft play palace). Leap aboard a golf buggy and cruise around the resort, where you can hop on thrilling flumes in the aquatic center, get a massage at the spa, play mini golf with your kids, or watch them whizz through the treetops on zip-wires. The stunning natural backdrop will leave you in a laidback and chipper mood, as will the bill, which is likely to be surprisingly low.
Best for Families in desperate need of a break from the city.
Blackberry Wood, UK
It’s easy to see why securing a summer booking at this boutique campsite on England’s south coast can be a little like getting your hands on a Glastonbury ticket. But while the photogenic woodland plots are a draw, it’s the highly coveted unusual lodgings – which range from a converted Routemaster and a grounded 1960s helicopter to a ‘curvy cabin’ and a pair of twisted, Disney-worthy treehouses – that will get your brood grinning. Activity-wise, a schlep or cycle up Ditchling Beacon from Blackberry Wood offers the reward of a striking Sussex panorama, while the Jolly Sportsman pub does a nice line in attentively cooked Sunday roasts.
Best for: Hardy, transport-mad youngsters.
Pangkor Laut Resort, Malaysia
Malaysia is blessed with clear waters and white sand beaches that draw tourists in droves to the likes of Thailand or Fiji, yet the country remaind under the radar of many holidaying families. On the small island of Pangkor Laut is the eponymous Pangkor Laut Resort, which feels like a haven from the modern world. Villas climb up the hilltop or sit on stilts over the water, while throughout the resort fruit bats dangle, hornbills flit, and sea eagles circle. The games room, sports courts, infinity pool, and water sports all provide welcome distractions, but this is really a place to unwind on the sand or explore the island (70 percent of which is untouched rainforest). A day spent on the horseshoe-shaped Emerald Bay followed by an evening in the magnificent Chinese Malay restaurant Uncle Lim’s Kitchen will have you torn between taking to the socials to tell the world what an amazing time you’re having, or keeping this secret for yourself.
Best for Crowd-averse families looking for a beachside break.
Wilderness, Botswana
The Okavango Delta in Botswana is the largest inland delta in the world. Its vast water networks are home to crocodiles and hippos, while lions and cheetahs hunt on its plains. It is also where sustainable, locally-run safari company Wilderness runs a handful of luxury camps. Each one caters to families keen to experience the joys of a safari both on land and on the water. With one of the best chances of seeing the Big Five in Africa, this is a once-in-a-lifetime, awe-inspiring destination that will become the stuff of family legend.
Best for: Nature-loving families looking to create collective memories before the kids fly the nest.
Windjammer Landing, St Lucia
Climbing up a steep, rainforest-studded hillside on the island’s northwest coast, Windjammer Landing may well be the best family-friendly resort on St Lucia. Accommodation options run the gamut from conventional rooms to palatial villas with private infinity pools and views out over the Caribbean Sea. The sprawling setting means that whatever option you go for, you get the privacy of secluded surroundings as well as access to Windjammer’s extensive facilities. There’s an in-house reef for snorkeling and water activities including water skiing and paddleboarding. Or you could always take a cable car into the rainforest and zipline back out if you and the fam are feeling adventurous.
Best for: Water sports-loving junior beach bums.
San Diego, United States
With sunny beaches, fantastic theme parks, and the world’s largest comic book convention, there’s no such thing as bored children in sunny San Diego. Plus, like a good Pixar flick, the best kid-friendly activities work brilliantly for adults too. We promise parents will love mingling with exotic animals, splashing through waterfront fountains, and marveling at towering Lego sculptures right alongside the kids. Avoid rowdier crowds and embrace calm waves alongside other families at Mission Beach, Coronado Beach, or La Jolla Shores.
Best for: Best-of-both-worlders looking to mix urban thrills with some beach time. And good for traveling with kids.
Glamping Villa Hanz, Japan
Yamanashi prefecture, on Japan’s main island of Honshu, boasts bubbling hot springs, the iconic Mount Fuji, and the Fuji Five Lakes resort area – and Glamping Villa Hanz is the ideal location for exploring them all. This place is all about reconnecting, not just with nature but also with your family. With no on-site restaurant, you pick your food box from a menu and then barbecue the contents yourself under the stars. The onsite onsens and barrel sauna will introduce you to Japanese bath culture, while the activities – including bike riding, archery, forest walks, and unforgettable canoe trips on Lake Kawaguchiko – will keep everyone entertained. And, of course, there are the spectacular views of Mount Fuji. Combine with a few nights in Tokyo (Shinjuku station in the heart of the city is just over an hour’s train ride away) and you’ll have a holiday to thrill even the hardest-to-please family members.
Best for Teenagers, teenagers, and parents determined to encourage a screen break.
Villa Lena, Italy
Midway between Pisa and Florence, Villa Lena is a Tuscan hilltop estate that’s become a stylish hotel and artists’ residence. Hotel guests stay in one of three rustic-chic outbuildings (there are also a couple of full houses for larger groups or families) and roam the gorgeous grounds at will, including popping in to see artists at work in the studios or main villa. Cots and high chairs are available in every room, though the Renacchi Apartments are particularly family-friendly with their kitchens, pool, and play garden, and there’s an English-speaking nanny available in case you want a night off. The excellent San Michele restaurant does high chairs, crayons, and huge plates of top-notch pasta for kids, and it’s right next to the main pool, with its own toy-equipped toddler splash zone. And don’t miss out on a walk around the estate’s rambling woodlands and vegetable and flower gardens.
Best for Younger kids with parents in search of art, nature, aperitive hour, and a chance to slow down.
Padma Resort Ubud, Bali