28 Jan 5 Crazy Things to Add to Your Family Travel Bucket List
Most people I know choose their vacations by destination. With Costa Rica, Japan, or the Grand Canyon firmly in their sights, they begin to plan specific activities. In this as well as many other things, kids take a different point of view. For them, the activities are the trip. My daughter, for example, longs to take a river rafting vacation, while my son wants to see hippos in the wild. If you’re looking for something extraordinary to do on your next family vacation, consider these five activities in which location is really secondary:
1. Snorkeling with beluga whales
Manitoba, Canada
© Lin Adler
Forget peering through the glass at a theme park, on Natural Habitat’s Churchill: An Arctic Summer, families can suit up in masks, fins, and neoprene and snorkel with friendly beluga whales. If that sounds a little too crazy – not to mention chilly – kayaks and Zodiac boats get almost as close. You’ll also explore the coast of Hudson Bay in search of caribou, arctic fox, snowy owls, and polar bears.
2. Try a natural water slide
Flagstaff, Arizona
© Image courtesy of Off the Beaten Path
Before there were manmade water slides, there were smooth rocks in swiftly-flowing rivers. Join Off the Beaten Path on their Unforgettable Grand Canyon and you can splash in the pools and sandstone chutes of Oak Creek Canyon at Arizona’s Slide Rock State Park. You’ll also explore the Grand Canyon and Sedona and see what the sky looks like this far from city lights.
3. Bike among elephants
South Africa and Botswana
© Greg Courter
If you dream of a safari in Africa, why not think outside the jeep? On Backroads’ South Africa & Botswana Multisport, guests can bike among elephants in Botswana, zebras in the Cederberg Mountains, and penguins on South Africa’s Cape. If that doesn’t get your heart racing, jump in a Land Rover at Sabi Sand Game Reserve and keep an eye open for the Big 5.
4. Soak in a natural hot spring
Idaho
© Justin Bailie
With OARS as your guides on the Main Salmon River, you’ll experience exciting rapids, wide sandy beaches, perfect trout holes, and natural hot springs. Add in wildlife, new friends, and gourmet food and you’ll never want to travel any other way. Early prospectors may have nicknamed this stretch of wilderness the River of No Return, but you and your kids will want to come back every summer.
5. Make your own chocolate
Peru
Image courtesy of GeoEX
Most people do not travel to South America to make chocolate, but you are not most people! On Geo Ex’s Peru Family Journey, you’ll fly across the Andes to Peru’s Sacred Valley of the Incas for three days of river rafting, village visiting, mountain biking, salt mine exploring, and ruin discovering. Next you’ll board a train to Machu Picchu, the world’s most famous lost city. Finally, back in Cusco, you’ll explore archeological sites on horseback and try your hand at chocolate making at the ChocoMuseo.
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