The resorts have been checked, the kids’ clubs have been vetted, and you’ve bought a jumble of contraptions online that promise to make any intergenerational escape a doddle. But are you really excited about your overseas family time? We’re big fans of the occasional fly-and-flop trip, but every now and then you want to step outside your comfort zone and opt for something a little different. Below, our intrepid family travellers share their tips and tricks for the year ahead – from uber-luxe safari lodges sure to wow young minds to new museums and sure to make that holiday an education.
Wilderness Magashi PeninsulaDana Allen/www.Photosafari-Africa.net
New openings
In April, Ikos Olivia on Greece’s Aegean coast unveils a new look with redesigned rooms. Summer Ella Resorts launches its Rocrita Lifestyle Beach Resort on Crete, and JW Marriott Crete Resort & Spa opens on Marathi Beach, with farmers teaching cheesemaking. Kilchoan Estate by Dunton, on Scotland’s Knoydart Peninsula, brings Highland adventure. Lemala Osonjoi Lodge debuts with 20 suites on the edge of Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Crater – children can learn to cook and throw Maasai spears there.
In September, Wilderness Magashi Peninsula opens in Rwanda’s Akagera National Park, with villas and rooftop “star beds”. Fast forward to December, and the ski-in ski-out Kindred Resort arrives on Colorado’s Keystone Mountain. Lux pins Sharjah on the family map with two wilderness resorts: Al Jabal and Al Bridi.
Other new arrivals with opening dates TBC include Morea House, Autograph Collection, in Cape Town near Camps Bay Beach. Anantara Kafue River Tented Camp launches between islands in Zambia’s Kafue National Park.
Quechua girl with a llama in PeruJenny Zarins
Family sabbaticals
Once the preserve of corduroy-clad professors, the sabbatical is reinventing family travel. Children get to experience that gap-yah freedom; parents the chance to give their lives a reset. The trick is not to be overly ambitious and pack too much in. “We’re seeing families taking advantage of more flexible work arrangements,” says Henry Morley, founder of bespoke trip specialist True Travel. “School holidays are no longer seen by parents as restrictive, overcrowded windows but as a chance to spend uninterrupted time with their children. A client recently took their kids through Peru and Brazil for more than 24 days, to the Amazon, Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca, before hitting the beach in Brazil.”
