Senior Travel: Families Together in Trips Abroad

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Senior Travel

Families Together

Seniors Take the Whole Gang Along

By Arline Wills

A growing senior travel trend is to include extended family members in trips abroad. That way, grandparents whose earlier vacations were quick getaways now have time to enjoy sights and experiences through younger eyes. However, when a whole 3-generation family goes off together, one group may want to do the museums, another take a cooking class, and still another wants to explore caves. Havoc could reign. Mutually agreed upon plans might prevent later problems.

The first priority is to agree upon the purpose of the trip. Is it just a family vacation in another setting? An introduction to the culture, language, and way of life of other people? Here it's wise to defer to those who are bankrolling the trip, often the grandparents. It might be better to break up the group or take different family age levels at different times. While this may defeat the idea of a family reunion overseas, it may well improve family harmony in the long run.

When parents are not included, how do seniors cope with the demands of little ones on a trip? It depends on the kids' ages and interests, but one easy solution is a cruise. Many cruise lines offer on-board diversions and entertainment for children. Still, it's hard to see how children benefit from days they spend at sea.

Better options include specialty tours with combinations of language or art programs.

One of the best arrangements that we know from experience is to rent a house in an area where there's plenty of activities and attractions for a variety of ages. When we did this the first time, in Brittany, we and our children and grandchildren were about 10 miles apart, each in our own quarters but near enough to enjoy day trips and some meals together. Staying in one location, especially for the first venture abroad, makes children feel comfortable and gives them opportunities to make acquaintances and get a foot in the culture. Agents all over Europe and points beyond are eager to place you in their apartments, farms, private homes, villas, and castles.

Family Travel Guides

Before signing up for a tour with the grandkids, check out the following:

Family Travel Guides Catalog (Carousel Press, P.O. Box 6038, Berkeley, CA 94706- 0038; 510-527-5849; info@carousel-press.com, www.carousel-press.com).

Family Travel by Evelyn Kaye (Blue Panda Press) includes educational trips with children as well as houseswaps.

France for Families (A Touch of France, 660 King George Rd., Fords, NJ 08863; 800-738-5240, fax 732-738-0917;).For grandparents who want to introduce the kids to France, this program arranges hands-on activities.

How to Take Great Trips With Your Kids by Sanford Portnoy and Joan Flynn Portnoy (Harvard Common Press).

Take Your Kids to Europe by Cynthia Harriman (Globe Pequot Press). This immensely popular book, now in its 3rd printing, gives practical and sensible advice on travel with all ages.

World Pen Pals (P.O. Box 337, Saugerties, NY 12477; Tel./fax 914-246-7828). Connect grandchildren with a child of the same age and gender near your destination early in the trip-planning stage. A personal meeting may even be possible. Send $3 and a SASE for each connection and encourage the child to follow through.

Family Tours

Just about every tour company now offers some opportunity to take the kids along. Children can easily get bored hanging around with adults, so try to find just the right balance of education, interaction with people and cultures, recreation, and fun. Here are some of my favorites:

Familyhostel and Interhostel (6 Garrison Ave., Durham, NH 03824; 800-733-9753; www.learn.unh.edu). This offshoot of Elderhostel and Interhostel organizes families-only vacations in foreign and domestic locations combining learning with recreational, cultural, and social activities. You receive a reading list before you go. An average 10-day Familyhostel trip costs about $2,600 per child and $3,000 per adult including all meals, accommodations, and airfare.

Grand Travel (6900 Wisconsin Ave., Suite 706, Chevy Chase, MD 20815; 800- 247-7651, fax 301-913-0166; www.grandtrvl.com) offers travel vacations for grandparents and their grandchildren in Europe, Africa, and Australia. Guides are teachers who bring cultural experiences down to each child’s age level.

Special Expeditions (720 5th Ave., 6th Fl., New York, NY 10019; 800-762-0003; www.expeditions.com) offers a selection of trips that include learning combined with scavenger hunts and educational puzzles for kids. Small company-owned ships go to remote island locations where all generations can study wildlife and nature.

Earthwatch Institute, www.earthwatch.org. Join dozens of scientific field research expeditions worldwide for 2-3 week long teams, helping university professors in disciplines from archaeology to zoology, share field costs, field training provided. No special skills required, but any are welcome.

Global Volunteers (375 E. Little Canada Rd., St. Paul, MN 55117; 800-487-1074, fax 651-407-5163; www.globalvolunteers.org) encourages families to join together in short-term tax-deductible volunteer programs worldwide. Work includes healthcare, teaching, construction, and natural resource preservation. No special skills or foreign language required.

The Parker Company (Seaport Landing, 152 Lynnway, Lynn, MA 01902; 800-280-2811; italy@theparkercompany.com, www.theparkercompany.com). In addition to finding rental properties for travelers, the Parker Company arranges homestays combined with wine tours, cooking and painting classes, and creative writing programs, all in Italy. This is one of the best agencies for finding villas, cottages, castles, farmhouses, and apartments.

Property Rentals Holiday Home Pages (info@holiday-home-pages.co.uk, www.holiday-home-pages.co.uk) is an international Internet directory of hundreds of rental property suppliers, organized by country and region.

Idyll, Ltd. (P.O. Box 405, Media, PA 19063; 888-868-6871, fax 610-565-5142; info@untours.com, www.untours.com) arranges apartment rentals for families and provides local contacts for orientation.

British Travel Int’l. (800-327-6097, www.britishtravel.com) lists city apartments in Paris and London as well as country cottages in the rest of Europe. Send for their catalogs.

Rentals in Italy (800-726-6702, www.rentvillas.com) lists 800 properties in Tuscany alone.

Tuscany Now, www.tuscanynow.com, lists over 60 private villas and apartments in Tuscany, all with swimming pool.

Holiday-Rentals.com, www.Holiday-Rentals.com, is a useful web site for booking rentals directly with the owners. Listings for over 2,000 properties in 40 countries.

Home Exchange (P.O. Box 30085, Santa Barbara, CA 93130, 805-898-9660, fax 805-898-9199; admin@HomeExchange.com, www.HomeExchange.com). The largest open system Internet exchange program has no catalog, just web sites, with an annual listing fee of $30.

Italy Farm Holidays (547 Martling Ave., Tarrytown, NY 10591; 914-631-7880, fax 914-631-8831) lists about 50 working farms that offer accommodations and meals. Some provide bikes and horseback riding. Usually require 3- to 7-day stays.Great for young kids.

Friends Overseas (68-04 Dartmouth St., Forest Hills, NY 11375) is a hospitality program for singles and families who want to meet Scandinavians and perhaps foster a return visit and friendship. Send a business size stamped, self-addressed envelope. Inquire about a similar program in Australia if that’s your destination.

Hospitality Exchange (Wayne and Kathy Phillips, Editors, Box 561, Lewiston, MT 59457; 406-538-8770; hospitalityex@hotmail.com) is a traveler’s directory of people in 20 countries who offer each other hospitality in their homes. They put out two directories a year, $20 for one year and $35 for two years.

Family Cruises

Today virtually every ship includes special facilities for all ages. Investigate before you sign on, though, and be aware that on a few sailings children under a certain age may be excluded. Contacts: www.familycruises.com, 301-980-1111; www.atlastravelweb.com, 800-444-2175; www.quinwell.com, 800-339-8892.

Carnival Cruise Line (800-CARNIVAL, www.carnival.com). Ten “Fun Ships” offer a children’s program divided into four age categories. A trained staff oversees pool and playroom events and takes care of babysitting.

Celebrity Cruise Line (800-242-6374, www.celebrity-cruises.com). Children’s programs are not available on all sailings and there are no shore excursions specifically for children. Trained counselors take care of 3- to 17-year-olds in four age categories.

Disney Cruise Line (407-566-7000, www.disney.com). Probably the most child-focused sailing line around, Disney offers programs for five age groups and even a separate deck for kids.

Holland America Line (800-426-0327, www.hollandamerica.com). New this year are kids-only shore excursions in Ketchikan, Juno, and Sitka, Alaska that include canoe rides, treasure hunts, and craft sessions.

Norwegian Cruise Line (800-327-7030, www.ncl.com). Programs geared to four age groups are led by highly trained counselors. Special kids’ menus are available at every meal.

Princess Cruises (800-774-6237, www.princesscruises.com). Activities and facilities vary with each Love Boat, depending on the numbers and ages of participants on board. One of the most popular on-board programs, called “Save our Seas,” is designed to help children understand about the oceans and marine life.

ARNIE WILLS is the former Senior Travel Editor for Transitions Abroad. She lives in Lynnfield, MA.