14 of the best family adventure holidays

Visitors on a donkey-drawn tour in Petra (Alamy)

1. Channel Indiana Jones in Petra, Jordan

Emerging from a narrow canyon into the elaborate ruins of a lost Nabataean kingdom in Jordan is a moment of drama that will make families feel like they’re starring in their own action-adventure film. After exploring Petra, it’s on to the deserts of Wadi Rum, a dead ringer for Mars, where you’ll overnight at a Bedouin camp. Spend the day bouncing around the dunes in a 4×4 before enjoying a traditional family meal around the campfire, stars dazzling overhead. The final stop is the Dead Sea, where you can float in the saline waters or wallow in a mud bath before returning to the swimming pools of the resort.

Price £

Visitors at Excelsior Geyser Crater in Yellowstone National Park (Getty Images)

2. See geysers in Yellowstone National Park, US

Parents will fall for the all-American views at Yellowstone, one of the most spectacular national parks in the US, and little ones will love the foreground, where boiling water shoots into the air. There’s also an opportunity to swim in a hot spring before exploring the neighbouring park of Grand Teton. Highlights here include a float trip along Snake River and the chance to see wildlife including moose, beavers and bears. Round things off with a cowboy-themed night out in Jackson, where a shoot-out in the town square is followed by a cowboy-style chuckwagon dinner.

Price ££

• Best national parks in the US

An orangutan in the Sepilok rehabilitation centre (Alamy)

3. Spot orangutans in Borneo

Sharing 97 per cent of our DNA, orangutans are homo sapiens’ flame-haired cousins — and there’s nowhere better to see them than on the Asian island of Borneo. Covering 40 sq km of rainforest, Sepilok’s sanctuary allows visitors to watch the primates in their natural environment and learn about the work being done to return orphaned or injured animals to the wild. No one-trick wonder, this trip also includes a boat safari on the Kinabatangan River, a few days on Gaya Island’s perfect beaches and a farm stay where you can master cooking local dishes — as well as how to blow a dart pipe.

Price £££

Walking at sunrise in Levi (Getty Images)

4. Hunt for the northern lights in Finland

Staying up past bedtime is virtually guaranteed at the village of Levi, where the photogenic wooden cabins come with a partial glass roof to maximise chances of sighting the aurora borealis. But even if the northern lights don’t put on a show, no-one will come home from Finland disappointed as there are so many other memorable experiences up for grabs. Guests can choose from a wide range of activities — from cross-country skiing to a husky safari, snowmobiling to reindeer rides — and you needn’t fork out on multiple sets of thermals and salopettes as cold-weather clothing is provided for the whole family.

Price £

activitiesabroad.com

• Best northern lights tours

Learning about Samburu culture at Saruni Samburu

5. Go on safari in Kenya

Anyone who’s ever enjoyed a David Attenborough documentary has a family safari on their bucket list and Masai Mara in Kenya is a pretty unbeatable destination for one. A huge expanse of grassland, this is the African savannah of your mind’s eye, where gigantic herds of wildebeest and zebra roam across its famous reserve and beyond. You’ll stay in the traditionally styled tents of Little Governers Camp, heading out on guided morning and evening drives to search for the Big Five in an open-sided jeep. A two-for-one trip, this itinerary also takes in northern Kenya’s Saruni Samburu, a lodge carved into the rock face with endless views and a great range of wildlife and cultural experiences.

Price £££

farandwild.travel

• Best Kenya safaris

Sunset at Espadilla Norte Beach in Manuel Antonio (Alamy)

6. Explore the jungles of Costa Rica

Fast emerging as the most family-friendly destination in Central America and a pioneer of eco and adventure travel, Costa Rica has something for everyone. As well as offering exceptional wildlife — particularly in the cloud forests of Monteverde — it’s a good pick for an activity holiday. You can go ziplining through the canopies of the jungle, riding in the nearby hills, or paddleboarding and kayaking at Lake Arenal. Finish up with some time on the rich coast that gives the country its name — at Manuel Antonio, tropical vegetation meets perfect beaches, where you can take a surf lesson or just flump onto the sand.

Price ££

• Best places to see wildlife in Costa Rica

Blue-footed boobies perform their mating dance in the Galapagos (Alamy)

7. Follow in Darwin’s footsteps in the Galapagos

Charles Darwin’s discoveries in this Pacific archipelago helped him formulate his game-changing theory of evolution, and a trip to the islands is part-family holiday, part-science field trip. The human footprint here is minimal and consequently the Galapagos are spectacularly biodiverse, home to everything from sea lions to giant tortoises, iguanas to blue-footed boobies. The islands belong to Ecuador, and you’d be mad to come all this way without seeing more of this mercifully compact country; this trip also includes a visit to an indigenous Amazonian community and a stay on a ranch in the Andes.

Price £££

journeylatinamerica.com

• Best cruises in the Galapagos

Lake Wanaka on New Zealand’s South Island (Getty Images)

8. Take a road trip through New Zealand

Providing the pastoral greens of the Shire and the epic mountains of Mordor, the landscapes of New Zealand are central characters in the Lord of the Rings franchise and they do not disappoint in real life. The relentless beauty means you’ll immediately forgive the 24 hours it took you to get here — but stay for two weeks, minimum, to do the country justice. You’ll drive yourself from top to tail, beginning with beachside swims in the subtropical Bay of Islands and ending with a scenic train journey through the Southern Alps — exploring everything from rainforests to hot springs in between.

Price ££

coxandkings.co.uk

• Best things to do in New Zealand

Time for pizza in Rome (Getty Images)

9. Eat your way around Italy

Topping the charts of most child-pleasing global cuisines, Italy is the country that brought us ice cream, pizza and pasta. You’ll try all of the above — and learn how to make the latter — on this grand tour of its greatest cities. Instead of full days of sightseeing, this trip features ample downtime and is tailored to engage the interests of younger travellers — a day trip to a museum or a private tour of the Colosseum will be complemented by more interactive family activities, such as a mask-making workshop in Venice or a ride around Rome on the back of a vintage Vespa.

Price £££

audleytravel.com

• Best things to do in Rome

Kayaking in the Firth of Forth (Alamy)

10. Kayak the Scottish coast

You need not travel to the ends of the earth to have a proper adventure holiday — the Highlands are quite far enough. This guided four-day trip begins in a sheltered bay on the mountainous west coast, and is suitable for absolute beginners as well as pro paddlers. Moving quietly through the water in either a double or single sea kayak, you’ll stand a good chance of spotting marine wildlife such as otters and dolphins. As your skills improve, you can explore sea lochs and venture south to explore the atmospheric ruins of Castle Tioram, which sits on a tidal island.

Price £

wildernessscotland.com

• Best hotels in the Highlands

A keeper with his dromedary in the Agafay desert near Marrakesh, Morocco (Getty Images)

11. Ride a camel in the Moroccan desert

Though only a short flight away, Morocco brings plenty of bang for your adventure buck. You’ll witness scenes that seem lifted from the pages of a storybook — chapter one is Marrakesh’s night market Djemaa el Fna, workplace of snake charmers and henna tattooists; chapter two is the moon-like Agafay Desert, where you’ll overnight at a posh camp and take a sunset camel ride. Families can also opt for a walk in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains, hiring a beast of burden to spare little legs and stopping for a lunch with a Berber family. The epilogue is seaside Essaouira, a former pirate hideout now home to a community of artisans and a windswept beach.

Price £

stubbornmuletravel.com

• Best villas in Morocco

A polar bear rolls in fireweed near Churchill (Getty Images)

12. Watch polar bears in Canada

A trip to Churchill, in Manitoba, Canada, the polar bear capital of the world, delivers not only an exceptional wildlife experience but a one-off ride that petrol-heads will love — the mighty tundra buggy. As gleamingly white as the surrounding snowy plains, these custom-built all-terrain vehicles allow visitors to safely observe Canada’s mighty predator during the short October-November viewing season. This good-value trip includes three such tours and you’ll also spend a separate day with an expert nature guide, searching for other well-camouflaged creatures including arctic foxes, snowy owls and ptarmigan birds.

Price £££

wildlifetrails.co.uk

• Best things to do in Canada

Rafting on the Noguera Pallaresa river in the Spanish Pyrenees (Alamy)

13. Go whitewater rafting in the Pyrenees

Every day provides a new adventure on this multi-activity holiday in the Spanish Pyrenees. Families will be based at the same hotel all week, so time saved on packing and repacking can be spent hiking and picnicking among the peaks of Aiguestortes National Park and off-road mountain biking in the Montgarri Valley. The highlights of the trip are the white-knuckle watersports — though the Noguera River is one of Europe’s safest, it still a thrilling place to ride a raft, especially over the notorious “washing machine” rapid. Adrenaline junkies needn’t stop there, as canyoning and abseiling are also on offer. Teenagers will get the most out of this trip, though it’s suitable for kids as young as seven.

Price £

Bollywood film extras in Jaipur (Alamy)

14. Visit tigers and temples in India

Children are prone to moan when dragged along to a sight of historical interest, but no-one is unmoved by the Taj Mahal. Situated in Agra, a stop here is easily combined with other destinations in India’s Golden Triangle, and this trip ensures cultural insights are well-balanced with family adventures. You’ll see old Delhi from the back of a rickshaw and the two days spent in Jaipur feature a visit to a local school and tickets to a Bollywood movie. Breaking free from India’s frenetic cities, there are also two tiger-spotting drives in Ranthambore National Park — home to real-life Shere Khans.

Price ££

keadventure.com

Additional reporting by Richard Mellor

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Times Travel has partnered with Tourhub to bring our readers a wide selection of escorted tours from trusted travel partners. Here’s a selection of some of the best family tours from our Times Travel partners.

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