2012 to bring more choice for adventurous families
Parents will be encouraged to dust off their spirit of adventure when it comes to filling next year’s school holidays with 28 new great-value trips introduced to The Adventure Company’s bumper 2012 Family Adventures brochure and the chance to save up to 15% on holidays.
The UK’s leading family adventure specialist has increased its range of child-focused holidays by a third for the coming year with 113 holidays for the whole brood to enjoy and prices for a week-long break starting from just £639 adult / £599 child.
New family destinations for 2012 include Madagascar, the Maldives, Portugal, Spain and the USA.
Claire Wilson, MD of The Adventure Company, said: “As a mum, I know the key to keeping the whole family stimulated while away is to combine amazing destinations with memorable activities. The educational value of opening children’s eyes to new cultures and learning something new can be enormous.
“This year we’ve therefore incorporated even more inspiring experiences to ensure that everyone returns home inspired by what they’ve seen and done. Families can now choose between learning to spear-throw in Ecuador, searching for Madagascan lemurs on night-walks and capturing precious moments on a photography holiday in Morocco or potentially spend their holiday watching the Icelandic skies come alive with the northern lights, kayaking in Andalucia’s Isla Cristina Nature Reserve or camping in the Rockies. Whatever their style of travel, adventures are the perfect way to really get to know the country you’re in and share the moment together as a family.”
Learn with the experts
Amongst the new family holidays, 11 follow a ‘learn to’ style of holiday which are accompanied by experts and designed to make developing new skills fun.
The Adventure Company has pioneered the concept of family photography holidays and will be offering five tours in this category for 2012. Catering for creative children aged five upwards, the trips combine a fun approach with practical lessons as families explore Cuba, India, Morocco, Sri Lanka and Tanzania during the school holidays. Prices start from £949 adult / £939 child for the new eight- day Kids in the Kasbah Young Photographer trip to Morocco including flights, transport, B&B accommodation and expert tuition.
Families will also be able to embark on a series of family astronomy holidays which combine adventure, stargazing and breathtaking landscapes in remote locations. From a five-day Iceland trip to enjoy the northern lights during February half term to the clear summer skies offered by Turkey’s Cappadocia and Egypt’s Sinai desert, the live planetarium shows are designed to keep children entertained. Hosted by the company’s resident ‘Galactic Rangers’ – acclaimed astronomers Dr John Mason and Nick James – the evening talks closely follow the Key Stage Three and Four curricula while days are filled with activities such as camel trekking, horse riding, kayaking and whale watching. Trips designed for children aged eight upwards. Prices start from £1,069pp for the new eight-day Active in the Sinai – Astronomy Kids teen adventure, including flights, transport, accommodation, most meals and two-nights of expert tuition.
With the chance to try new activities and experiences at the heart of every family adventure, next year children as young as six will be able to learn how to catch a wave in the new Portugal Surf Week in the Algarve. The centre-based holiday includes three full days of one-to-one instruction and, with groups limited to a maximum of ten, all levels are catered for. Prices start from £899 adult / £859 child for the new eight-day Portugal Surf Week including flights, transport, accommodation, most meals and three days expert tuition.
The adventure specialist’s range of Hands On Family Adventures, which allow holidaymakers to combine an adventurous break with spending a few days lending a hand on a local community or environmental project, remain popular amongst parents keen to broaden their children’s horizons. With two new wildlife-related Hands On trips for 2012, families can now choose to track lions and monitor elephants on a Kenyan safari experience or help protect both elephants and green turtles in Saadani National Park - the only game reserve in Tanzania where bush meets beach. Prices start from £2,249 adult / £1,749 child for the new 14-day Masai & Lions Hands On Adventure including flights, transport, accommodation, most meals and local experts.
European adventures
As low-cost airlines continue to make short-haul holidays even better value and destinations outside the Eurozone are expected to increase in popularity next year, The Adventure Company’s European portfolio has been developed most for 2012, with half of its new trips in this region.
The 14 new European trips take the total number of European family adventures to 35 (a 66% increase), with prices for 2012 starting from just £639 adult / £599 child for the new week-long Mallorca Experience trip. Designed for children aged 10 upwards, this active break includes a day spent horse riding before a sunset BBQ back at the ranch, the chance to float down-river over rocks along the island’s east coast as well as canyoning and trekking in the mountains. Prices start from £639 adult / £599 child for the new eight-day Mallorca Experience including flights, B&B accommodation, transport and an experienced local leader.
Travel tailored to every family
To give families freedom to choose their own adventure, The Adventure Company has also introduced a Created for You ‘modular’ option of activities and experiences within popular destinations. Covering Brazil, India, Kenya, Morocco, Tanzania, Thailand and Turkey, the ‘mix and match’ approach will allow families to create a personalised holiday that works best for them.
Mindful that family trips need to be inspiring but also affordable, the travel specialist hopes that its new Pure and Simple range of holidays will help parents keep costs down while travelling. With flights, transport, B&B accommodation and the services of a group leader included, activities on these trips are selected and paid for locally. This approach will ensure families can choose to do as little or as much as they want and can tailor their itinerary to their needs while abroad, with options varying from an eight-day Active Turkey trip (from £839pp) to a 12-day Thailand Adventure (Tropical Island Paradise from £1,469 adult / £1,299 child).
The 2012 brochure also features a new Tour and Stay range of holidays, which offer families the chance to unwind after an exhilarating adventure and ensure they return home truly refreshed after indulging in an exotic beach extension. Options include a four-day Maldives extension after a Sri Lankan adventure (from £630pp), a seven-day beach extension in Tamarindo on the north west coast of Costa Rica (from £450pp), an eight-day Croatian Coastal Adventure, where the last few days are kept free for families to relax at leisure (prices from £949 adult / £679 child) and a six-day Zanzibar Island Extension while travelling in Tanzania (from £700pp).
Teenage kicks without a fight
Teenage adventures continue to prove a popular concept with parents attracted by the opportunity to travel with children of a similar age to their own. The Adventure Company has therefore introduced five new teen trips, increasing the total number of teen adventures to 21. In addition to this, 27 additional family adventures offer departure dates specifically for families with teenage children.
New teenage holiday highlights include the chance to get hands on in the Galapagos, combining the chance to kayak through jungle in search of wildlife, hike up a volcano, snorkel in the clear bays and camp in rainforests with the opportunity to join an eco-tourism project with the Huaorani community and find out through a ‘toxic tour’ how oil exploration has damaged the region. Prices from £2,899pp for the new 13-day Rainforest & Evolution Hands On Teen Adventure including international and domestic flights, accommodation (eight nights’ hotels & three nights jungle camp), most meals, transport and an experienced local leader.
Another new teen trip takes in the diversity of the USA’s western national parks, exploring the Grand Canyon, Yosemite and Zion National Parks on foot and by bike, learning about the Native American culture and camping along the way. Prices start from £2,249 adult / £1,749 child for the new 15-day Canyon Discovery Teen Adventure including flights, transport, accommodation, some meals, activities and an experienced local leader.
Claire Wilson, who is also the mother of a teenage boy, said: “Those turbulent teenage years are hard enough as it is without throwing the thorny issue of who wants to holiday where, with whom and doing what into the mix. Variety and flexibility are both key to holiday success and our teenage adventures combine the best of both worlds, allowing kids to get active with their peers while also building in some time together with the parents and ensuring there are no younger kids to cramp their style.”
Save up to 15% off a family holiday
Families can save up to 15% off their holiday with a series of combinable discounts:
- 5% discount on 10* selected new family trips booked onto by 1 December 2011
Alpine Experience
Andalucía Adventure
Canyon Discovery
Complete Turkey
Greek Island Hopping
Indian Wildlife Adventure
Land of the Lemurs
Portugal Surf Week
Spirit of the Incas
Treasures of Tuscany
- 5% off trips booked up to six months before travel
- 5% off for returning customers
For more information on this special offer, visit adventurecompany.co.uk/specials
