Planning a family getaway that'll excite your teenage son as much as your toddlers (and let you kick back and relax) feels next to impossible. But it doesn't have to be—if you enlist the experts. "The key is to find a trip that offers an easily shared experience," says Lindblad Expeditions' Sven-Olof Lindblad. "On the best trips, conflicts of interest simply disappear." These guided summer escapes are built for all ages and interests, whether you put a premium on action, culture, or wildlife. The choice is yours. Just sign up and go.
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Activity Key: Most (*****) to least (*)
1. Launch a Private Expedition on Alaska's Glacier Bay
Outfitter: Wilderness Travel
Days: 6
Action: **** Culture: * Wildlife: *****
Say goodbye to crowded Alaska cruises. Instead, imagine your family aboard your own floating base camp, nearly one-on-one with minke whales, barking sea lions, and humpbacks breaching right off the bow. A small-boat expedition with Wilderness Travel lets you explore Glacier Bay at your own pace. "On the big cruise ships you get
a lot of shuffleboard, but not much Alaska," says trip director Barbara Banks. "With our vessels you can sneak into hidden inlets and coves or position yourself near a calving glacier." And that's only the beginning. The boat is a multisport launchpad, so you can kayak or run skiffs to shore to track bears. At Dundas Bay, paddle past river otters, marmots, and moose before returning to a dinner of fresh Dungeness crab. Each vessel has its own naturalist, and "the Sea Wolf even has a Portuguese water dog," says Banks. "Boo is nuts for kayaking. For some kids she makes the trip." Details: $3,995 per person; wildernesstravel.com
2. Trek Village-to-Village in Italy's Cinque Terre
Outfitter: Country Walkers
Days: 6
Action: ** Culture: ***** Wildlife: *
On Country Walkers' six-day Cinque Terre circuit this July, families follow the Italian Riviera, hiking between fishing villages and paddling beneath the cliffs that line the Ligurian Sea. An additional perk: refueling with cappuccino and handmade gelato at each rest stop. "The villages are connected by footpaths and linked by boat, rail, and trail," says Country Walkers' Tricia Dowhan. "So you can walk two miles (three kilometers) every day—or eight (thirteen kilometers). It's easy to improvise." After your arrival in Genoa, a local guide leads you on a trek through olive groves to your seaside hotel in Monterosso al Mare. From there, you'll catch a boat to neighboring Riomaggiore, where you can explore the ruins of a 15th-century castle. The trek back follows a series of steep pathways overlooking the sea. Afternoons are free for hiking terraced vineyards or snorkeling the Mediterranean. Details: $3,098 per adult, $2,698 per child; countrywalkers.com
3. Experience Boots-on-the-Ground Yellowstone
Outfitter: Austin-Lehman Adventures
Days: 6
Action: ***** Culture: ** Wildlife: ***
The average family spends six hours in Yellowstone National Park—all of them in the car. But Austin-Lehman avoids the pavement and heads right into the Rockies via foot, bike, raft, and saddle. "We take pride in our small group size," says director Dan Austin. "It's just six days, but you get to see a whole lot of country." The outfitter's Big Sky Family Adventure definitely isn't for slackers. On day one, tackle a downhill canyon bike ride to Gallatin Valley, then trek through wildflower meadows and the Spanish Peaks for killer views from Beehive Basin. Next stop: the geysers of Yellowstone, followed by sunrise grizzly- and wolf-spotting in Lamar Valley and rafting down Yellowstone River. The trip caps off with a daylong horseback ride into the Absaroka Range. Details: $2,298 per adult, $2,068 per child; www.austinlehman.com
4. Bond on the Klamath in Northern California
Outfitter: Orange Torpedo Trips
Days: 3
Action: **** Culture: * Wildlife: **
Back in 1968, kayaker Jerry Bentley did an exploratory paddle down Oregon's Rogue River with his wife and kids. He liked it so much he convinced the Sevylor kayak company to sell him sole licensing rights to the bright orange inflatables they had used. A year later he launched Orange Torpedo Trips. Today his company designs many of its itineraries specifically for families. "We'll run inflatable kayaks, an oar raft, and a paddle raft," says marketing director Erik Weiseth. "Family members can have different levels of adventure—a spouse who wants a mellower experience can ride in a raft—while still being together." Most often, Weiseth says, those who start out rafting will want to switch to a kayak, so guides always bring extras. The Klamath is a good entry-level camping trip, suitable for kids ages four and up. Those 12 and older usually paddle their own kayaks (some as young as ten can handle certain stretches of whitewater). Before starting out, everyone gets a thorough paddling orientation, and by the second day even the youngest students feel confident. "Kids actually do best," says Weiseth. "They're lightest, so they go right through the waves." Nights are spent camping on the beach. Details: $549 per person; orangetorpedo.com
5. Sail a Three-Masted Schooner Through the Greek Isles
Outfitter: Aegea Adventures
Days: 8
Action: **** Culture: **** Wildlife: *
Book with Greece specialists Aegea Adventures and this July you'll have a crewed, 90-foot (27-meter), three-masted schooner all to yourselves. It comes with its own fleet of toys (kayaks, bikes, fishing rods, and snorkeling gear) too. Aegea's fleet plies the blindingly blue waters of the Argo-Saronic Gulf, which harbors 9,000 miles (14,484 kilometers) of coast and 1,400 islands. You'll trek the Greek ruins on Poros and Hydra Islands, as well as the third-century B.C. theater in the city of Epidavros. "Kids go wild running up and down the steps at Epidavros," says Colleen McGuire, Aegea Adventures' managing director. "The acoustics are so dead-on that if you stand on the stage and whisper it's like talking into a microphone." For a bit of two-wheel action, take the hybrid bikes off your yacht for a spin on the 15-mile (24-kilometer) loop around Spetses Island. Additional must-sees on the Peloponnese Peninsula: the 3,000-year-old Mycenae beehive tomb of King Agamemnon and the 999-step Palamidi fortress. After a full day of island-hopping, take a dip off your boat into 75-degree (24-degree Celsius) seas and dig into a feast of calamari and eggplant meze, souvlaki, fresh grilled fish, and homemade baklava. Details: $4,296 per adult, $3,437 per child; www.aegeaadventures.com
"Confiscate Game Boys and iPods for the week. Before you know it, kids are actually engaged in the trip. Whatever happened to looking out the window?"
—Michael Kaye, Nicaragua Expeditions
6. Kayak Among White-Tipped Reef Sharks in the Galápagos
Outfitter: Lindblad Expeditions
Days: 10
Action: *** Culture: ** Wildlife: *****
"I made my first trip to the Galápagos in 1966 when I was 16," says Lindblad's president, Sven-Olof Lindblad, whose late father, Lars, pioneered outfitted expeditions to remote destinations. The trip obviously made a lasting impression. "It's unlike any other adventure vacation on Earth," he says. "The animals have grown up with zero fear of humans. You can be sitting on a beach and a sea lion pup will come up and sniff your toes." Lindblad Expeditions (a National Geographic Society partner) has such a long history with the islands that Ecuador's national park service even named a newly discovered Galápagos moth Undulambia lindblad in Sven's honor. Lindblad's philosophy is that vigorous and respectful adventure travel can help sustain and repair a region. Still, the government of Ecuador recently asked UNESCO to add the Galápagos to its roster of endangered places, which could mean restricting the number of visitors. Bottom line? Get there while you can. Lindblad has two ships to choose from: the 48-passenger NG Islander and the 80-passenger NG Polaris. Zodiacs launched from either vessel take you to reefs where you can snorkel with 306 species of fish or to beaches where giant tortoises roam freely. Each excursion is customized according to the group's age range and ambition level. You could hang with motionless marine iguanas on lava rocks or paddle alongside white-tipped reef sharks—it's your call. Focusing the trip on up-close-and-personal interactions, rather than physical activities, provides common ground for everyone. "There's something endearing and comical about having a mockingbird undo your shoelaces, whether you're four or 40," Lindblad says. Details: $4,320 per person; expeditions.com
7. Bushwalk With Zambian Guides in Southern Africa
Outfitter: Wildland Adventures
Days: 11
Action: ***** Culture: **** Wildlife: *****
Move over Botswana. On Wildland's Ultimate African Adventure, Zambia takes center stage. Top-notch animal-viewing, a relatively undiscovered outback, and small group sizes make this trip one of the best deals going for a complete Africa experience. "Zambia is comparable to Botswana for wildlife, but with far fewer people," says program director Lyndsay Harshman. "It's the ultimate Africa adventure for active teens." The first stop on the tour is Victoria Falls, where you can raft the Zambezi River's Class V rollers or plunge toward the spray on a group bungee jump. From there, you'll head into South Luangwa National Park for a three-day walking safari with local Zambian guides. You'll spot creatures you'd never see from a vehicle—whether as small as a dung beetle or as heart-stopping as a pride of lions. Bed down at Puku Ridge, a traditional tented safari camp overlooking a valley full of elephants, leopards, giraffes, wildebeests, and impalas. The game-watching is hard to beat, but the private island camp in Lake Malawi National Park comes close: Fully furnished safari-style tents—with fire-warmed bucket showers—welcome you after a day of secluded kayaking and beachcombing. "Malawi and Zambia aren't on most safari travelers' radars," says Harshman. "So now is definitely the time to go." Details: $5,995 per person; www.wildland.com
8. Play Hide-and-Seek Deep in the Southwest
Outfitter: Backroads
Days: 7
Action: **** Culture: ** Wildlife: *
Backroads' multisport loop through Bryce, Grand Canyon, and Zion National Parks is the ideal family primer to the American Southwest. The all-hike-and-bike itineraries quickly get you into the high-desert landscape beneath hoodoos and rock spires—and except for a few shuttle points, you're on your own power the whole way. On day one, you'll hike out of Bryce Canyon into a maze of arches, walls, and pinnacles to Inspiration and Bryce Points. Then you can choose between visiting an 80-acre (32-hectare) elk preserve or joining a 32-mile (51-kilometer) out-and-back biking trip through blue spruce and Douglas fir forests to Rainbow Point, Bryce's highest lookout, at 9,115 feet (2,778 meters). "We have terrific van support," says trip planner Holly Woolard. "So older kids can pedal ahead, and younger ones can shuttle out to the Point and ride back one way." The next day, a Backroads van will leapfrog you on to your next park: the Grand Canyon. There, you'll ride mules along steep, winding paths in the shadow of the red-rock Elkheart Cliffs. Then it's on to Zion, where kids can scramble slots and adults can tackle steep climbs to Angels Landing, a sheer rock wedge looming 1,500 feet (457 meters) above the valley floor. Depending on what your clan is up for, nights are spent either camping out under the stars or traveling from inn to inn—where a massage or a swim in the hotel pool is on the roster. Details: $1,798 per person for deluxe camping, $2,198 per person for casual inns; www.backroads.com
9. Track Spider Monkeys in the Jungles of Nicaragua
Outfitter: Nicaragua Expeditions
Days: 8
Action: *** Culture: *** Wildlife: ****
Nicaragua today is like Costa Rica was 30 years ago: a pristine Central American country that's easy to reach—and virtually empty. It doesn't have the vast national parks of its neighbor, but you won't find the crowds either. (Costa Rica had 1.9 million visitors in 2007.) "Nicaragua is supersafe, and you won't see all the American kids you would in Costa Rica," says Michael Kaye, who founded Costa Rica Expeditions three decades ago and Nicaragua Expeditions in 2004. Highlights of Kaye's Nicaragua Multisport tour are a van-supported 40-mile (64-kilometer) bike ride to the UNESCO World Heritage town of Old León and a guided paddle through Lake Nicaragua's 365 islets to see caimans, turtles, and spider monkeys. And since Nicaragua is still so affordable, you can extend your trip with a private guide for as little as $180 a day. Details: $1,998 per person; nicaraguaexpeditions.com
10. Go for the Real Outdoors in New Hampshire
Outfitter: Appalachian Mountain Club
Days: 6
Action: **** Culture: ** Wildlife: ***
The Appalachian Mountain Club is launching a new family program this July, staged along the Appalachian Trail at the base of 6,288-foot (1,917-meter) Mount Washington. The Joe Dodge Lodge Family Adventure Camp, geared toward nine- to 12-year-olds, includes a backcountry overnight at the 1914 Carter Notch Hut. You'll hike four miles (six kilometers) into hardwood and boreal forest to reach the classic stone structure, set at 3,288 feet (1,002 meters) between Wildcat Mountain and Carter Dome, then work up an appetite for the four-course dinner climbing an impressive jumble of rocks at the Ramparts. In the morning, after the AMC's famous blanket-folding skit, you'll hike back down the mountain to the lodge, your base for the rest of the week. Choose from animal tracking, night hikes, and owl-calling lessons. At this all-inclusive price, AMC Family Camps are a steal. Details: $450 per adult, $320 per child; www.outdoors.org.
"Over the years we've learned how crucial it is to pair up families with
similar-aged kids. Now we literally comb through our bookings to match kids' ages. Everyone's happier."
—Dan Austin, Austin Lehman Adventures
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