Travel With Grandchildren on School Holidays
Best Guided Tour Companies for Grandparents Family Vacations
Sep 19, 2008
Whether it is Costa Rica for Christmas, the “Daniel Boone Experience” in Kentucky on spring break, or London and Paris on summer holiday, there are fabulous vacations in store for grandparents who wish to bond with their grandchildren and show them a wider world.
Exploritas Intergenerational Trips
Exploritas (formerly Elderhostel) runs a variety of intergenerational trips. It that include winter- and Christmas-break tours include safaris in California, cross-country skiing and snow play in Colorado and Minnesota, and ski trips in Utah. Its June excursions include river rafting in the Grand Canyon, horseback riding in Georgia and explorations in Florida and Missouri. The Exploritas US trips generally last 4 to 5 nights and cost from approximately $600 to $1,000 per adult, and slightly less per child. Excursions to Europe and Africa are available as well. Exploritas also lists the age range for children for each trip – the most popular are for ages 9-12.
Grand Travels Tours Have Luxury Prices
Luxury outfitter Grand Travel has partnered with AARP to offer members $200 off the price of its summertime tours. Noting that it has been running trips since 1986,”Grandtravel is dedicated to enriching this unique bond through innovative educational itineraries from Alaska to New Zealand to Washington DC to Italy,” said the company’s founder Helena Koenig in a Web announcement.
Grand Travels tour prices start at $2,995 per person triple occupancy for a 7-day Washington tour that includes Arlington National Cemetery, The Naval Academy at Annapolis and Mount Vernon. Its tour dates are all July and August. Trips to Italy, London/Paris, Alaska and New Zealand cost from approximately $5800 to $6500 per person multiple occupancy.
Generations Goes to Costa Rica This Winter
Generations Touring include 9-day trips to Costa Rica in December, February, March , April, June and August. Prices for adults are approximately $2500 with a little less for each child and include the chance to meet local schoolchildren.
“This year we have 3-generation families headed to the Galapagos and Peru (Machu Picchu),” Tom Easthope, Generations president, said in an email. This type of travel is becoming popular as family life grows “more hectic, making “quality time” not always possible.” He continued. Also, “all grandparents seem to have a timeless need to have a connection with the youngest generation. They want to be understood directly (without the middle generation influencing perceptions), give the kids a sense of the family history and influence the kid’s vision of the future,” he said.
Generations puts together additional special themed tours to the Galapagos, New Orleans, Mexico, England and Scotland, and even baseball shrines like Cooperstown .
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