Enriching holiday recommendations (I hate all-inclusives!)

[FunMumNorthWest]

Hi all!

I was an avid traveller during my 20s and loved going to off-the-beaten-track destinations with my backpack. Obviously since I've had kids my priorities have changed but my love of travel hasn't! I've tried the all-inclusive thing a couple times. Putting the kids in a kids club does make things a bit easier, but I just didn't like it. I felt like we just didn't get a sense of the local culture or cuisine.

I'm looking for recommendations from other like-minded parents who have taken their families on more enriching, authentic holidays? I'd love to hear about where you went, and how you went about booking and organising it? I want to take my kids to Vietnam or Central America. I know Abercrombie & Kent and Scott Dunn do these sorts of holidays but they're so unbelievably expensive, god knows what their markup is!

Thanks :)

I build our own holidays from scratch so that we get the right mixture of culture and fun for the kids as well as me. we have been to Belize, Western Canada and Oregon.

we have done things to do with eco projects, first nations peoples etc all of which have been enriching in my view and my kids as well. we have also been on treetop safari, white water rafting etc for the fun/adrenalin bit.

I think sometimes as parents we can be guilty of trying to make travel too "worthy" and this can put kids off but I hope I have the balance right.

We also put our own trips together, although sometimes tap into local agents for particular activities.

We have been to Cuba and stayed with local families. We travelled round and did 5 locations. The last one was AI, but that meant everyone had something they wanted.

Also went to Canada, but self booking with no language barrier is easy!

We are off to Iceland next summer and self driving and staying in local B&B's and farms.

We did use an agent for Namibia, but didn't want to be cut adrift on 'Africa time' if anything went wrong.

We went to Costa Rica a couple of years back. It actually worked out cheaper to book 2 weeks AI with First Choice (they do direct flights too) and then book a load of excursions and hotels separately. I think we stayed in the AI hotel the first and last night and that was it.

How old are your dc’s? In Costa Rica the highlight was Pacuare Lodge - you have to raft to get in and out which the dc’s loves. They did brilliant nature walks which were child friendly and the food was fab. There was also a lovely waterfall with rocks round the side dc’s could jump off into the water. There’s so much to do in Costa Rica anddc’s picked up loads of Spanish too.

Mummymeister I still want to pick your brains about Belize. It sounds great and an area I'd love to go to.

Watching! I think our DC are too young for now (5 and 2) and we are sticking with resort based holidays for ease, but in a few years I hope to rediscover more independent travelling.

On my list for the first few trips:

• Cape Town, garden route and surrounds
• Thailand
• West coast US maybe

I would save the more "challenging" destinations like India and Central America for when they are even older and more likely to enjoy it - without it having to be the sanitised luxury version you'd get from scott dunn..

I book everything separately so avoid package holidays with flight and hotel included.

A few years ago I discovered that hiring a house/villa often works out cheaper than hotel and it allows us to veer slightly off the tourist traps. So one summer we stayed here link which was lovely, it had air con (essential for my young dc, private pool, access to a private beach and also could walk to a slightly busier beach with a few restaurants, but it wasn't in the touristy part of samui. Dh rented a car but actually the dc were bored easily when we dragged them out to go sightseeing and just wanted to splash in the pool.

We travelled for 12 months with our three young children (2,6 and 8 when we set off). Travelling with kids gives a totally different perspective than when you did it as a young adult!

Book accommodation through booking.com if you want hotels or alternatively use air b&b for larger apartments.

For flights try to be flexible with dates- skyscanner allows you to see prices across a month so you can avoid very expensive days/times.
If going longhaul allow a couple of days to get over jet lag. We always sleep close to the destination airport at least for the first night.

In terms of destinations I recommend SE Asia. Thailand is very easy. Cambodia was brilliant as was Laos but you would probably travel there via Thailand anyway. We also loved Penang and Kuala Lumpur. SE Asia is great as your money goes a long way, a family meal is rarely more than 8 pounds, a family room no more than £25 (often much less).

We also went to Guatemala but we stayed on one place for most of the time.

We also travelled coast to coast across the US which was arguably the best leg of our trip. The kids need to be good in a car though!

Definitely travel!

Oh, just saw Central America on your list so if you're after Mexico then this house link in a typical residential street in a not too touristy part of Yucatan and is kid friendly (air con, pool, WiFi, tv are their minimum requirements). It's quite far away from Cancun or any beaches and my dc are still too young to take to any of the Mayan sights but it's a great place to stay (plus it is about a 3 minute walk to the city zoo where all the Mexican families hang out at the weekend)

It is generally cheaper to independently book your travel but sometimes I might book a multi day tour within that with a local reputable operator.

We've done quite a bit of train travel with kids and it's pretty easy if you can travel light. If you'd rather stay in Europe, I'd recommend interrailing or somewhere like Sweden and Denmark.

Further afield, like Asia, I'd prefer not to use a tour company as it adds a huge amount to the cost. However, I remember Asia not being particularly child friendly the way we used to travel on the cheap. How about western Canada through the Rockies? Or Japan? Lots of culture but very clean and easy to get around. It depends on how old your DC are and what sort of activities they like.

We did Moscow and St Petersburg last year. Absolutely fabulous. We stayed in a hotel in Moscow, rented an apartment in the centre of St Petersburg and took the Red Arrow night train (very historic train) between the two. The passports are a faff but getting around was really easy- the metros are the most beautiful and efficient ones I have ever been on.

Morocco with children is really good too. We stayed here in Marrakech, right in the middle of the Medina. It has a family room split on two levels which was ideal accommodation for us.

www.riadnoosnoos.com/en/rooms/n3-yakout-suite

We toured Vietnam, Cambodia & Thailand in April this year with Explore Family holidays. And have done India and America with them in the past.

Not cheap holidays, but you travel with a small group of other families (perfect for my only DD), with local Guide throughout the holidays to give you real insight into how the culture, lifestyle, challenges and beauty of each country. They usually include tours, major sights, simple/basic accomodation, some food & ticket entry. There are optional extras which we always do too.

I don't have the confidence or time to organise/arrange a self tour & find this is a great way to 'travel'.