Caribbean - Pitstops for Kids

Educational travel: hotel programs that teach while vacationing

September 11, 2015 By Amy Hagstrom

Will you be pulling your kids out of school this year for travel? You can admit it here…we do it too! While we believe that travel aids a child’s education, we also value the lessons they’re learning in school. Therefore, when we do take kids out of class, we try to find museums to visit or hotel programs for kids that offer classes, lessons, or special programming. Below, our favorite hotel brands for families, and what they’re offering kids this autumn:

Appalachian Mountain Club lodges, Vermont:

For families planning a fall foliage getaway or a winter trip into the outdoors, AMC’s Highland Center offers eco and educational programming for kids as young as three. Located in the White Mountains on the Appalachian Trail, their L.L. Bean room comes stocked with family-friendly equipment and their staff offers nature walks and hikes geared toward families. Plus, the Highland Center won’t break the bank: rooms are affordable and meals are communal.

Select Ritz Carlton hotels:

Select Ritz Carlton hotels offer Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ambassadors of the Environment program. We reviewed their Laguna Niguel snorkeling excursion last summer, and are pleased to see the program offered in several locations, including Maui. Kids begin their Ambassadors of the Environment program in a classroom–don’t worry, it’s fun–where they see a slideshow about the marine animals they will encounter and learn about the unique environment local to the hotel. Guides then take kids (and parents too, if they sign up) off-site to snorkel, take a beach walk, or explore local flora and fauna in another capacity. Water bottles and snacks are included, as well as a photo CD of the experience.

Dar Les Cigognes, Morocco:

This boutique hotel converted from a wealthy merchant’s home offers private cooking classes which can be booked by visiting families. Amanda Mouttaki of Maroc Mama tried out a cooking class with her child, and loved how the class was completely customizable (great for food allergies). Traditions in Moroccan food were explained, and of course, the final product was happily consumed.

Gleneagles Hotel, Scotland:

Travel writer Jen Miner of the Vacation Gals experienced authentic, wild falconry with her kids during a family visit to this well-known hotel. The British School of Falconry was established at Gleneagles, which means the kids were taught this ancient sport by actual professionals in the field. Gleneagles also offers a wide array of additional sports and outdoor activities for families, including archery. Note: not up for an international trip? Falconry is also taught to families staying at the Woodstock Inn, Vermont.

Masseria Torre Coccaro, Italy:

This working farm-turned hotel in Puglia, Italy allows kids to cook with the resort chef before eating their creations, including pasta and pizza. Families learn about the olive groves in this part of the country, and the mills that produce food. Learn more on Global Mouse Travels about their stay and culinary adventures at Masseria Torre Coccaro.

Turtle Beach Resort, Barbados:

At all-inclusive Turtle Beach Resort, Barbados, kids can take dialect lessons –children on the island speak with Bajan accents–and learn a few words of island slang. Pastry classes are also offered, where kids use local ingredients such as noni flour and cactus, and families can play beach cricket with hotel staff…an island favorite. Best of all for animal lovers and budding marine biologists, kids staying at Turtle Beach can learn from Turtle Pioneers, experts on the dozens of turtles that nest here each year.

Preferred Hotels (international):

We love the Preferred Hotels brand so much, I contribute to their Preferred Family website, dedicated to family travel. It’s easy to see at a glance which Preferred hotels are kid-friendly on the Preferred Family site (criteria for the distinction includes kids’ clubs, kid-friendly dining, and kids’ programming). The best Preferred properties will offer an array of classes for kids from golf clinics to scuba lessons. Send the kids to the tennis courts or to the nature trail with Preferred the next time you book Preferred!

Mountain View Grand Resort, New Hampshire:

This luxury mountain property is all about bringing kids to the outdoors, and the outdoors in. According to Luxe Recess, the Mountaineering Club is where kids gather for screen-free activities ranging from frog races to cardboard box races in the pool. Best of all, this programming is free during the day time hours. Mountain View also hosts a ‘meet the farmer activity’, during which guests can collect eggs and interact with sheep, llamas, cattle, and alpacas.

Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort, Fiji:

Lucky enough to be headed to Fiji? Last year, we told you about Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort‘s Learn and Play programming, outdoor and hotel programming designed for families and school-aged kids. Kids 6-12 even help out in the hotel kitchen, assisting the resort chef to create a meal start to finish. This year, the resort has added their Connect with Kids program, a unique and culturally educational travel experience for children and their parents staying at the resort. This new program allows families to head off-site to visit a local primary school to meet children of similar age groups in their classroom and participate in that day’s curriculum.

Atmosphere Resorts and Spa, Philippines:

With an in-house biologist and a marine sanctuary right at its doorstep, this property in Dumaguete is a natural choice for families looking to educate themselves during vacation. The resort offers kids’ classes in marine biology and art, all in a relaxed atmosphere. Read more on Globetotting.com.

The American Club, Kohler, Wisconsin:

This five-star resort is known for golf, but they start ’em young. In addition to more mainstream children’s programming, parents can sign kids up for private golf session that include video and swing analysis software. The crew at Road Trips for Families tried it out, noting that families can group siblings together in one lesson, a nice cost-savings.

Want to find educational pit stops in addition to educational opportunities at hotels and resorts? Check out Trekaroo’s Road School series!

Photo credit: Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort, Fiji and Amy Whitley

Warm weather vacations to book now

February 6, 2015 By Amy Hagstrom

Ready to get away from cold winter weather, but a ‘lie on the beach’ vacation isn’t quite your style? The following warm weather vacations at family-friendly resorts offer some of the best snorkeling and scuba diving for kids and teens. Stay active, be warm!

Casa Marina, A Waldorf Astoria Resort, Key West, Florida:

Tucked away on Key West’s southern edge along the largest private beach on the island, Casa Marina, A Waldorf Astoria Resort provides a family-friendly dive location with ease of access to a North American living barrier reef. Offering both a non-certified divers resort course and a full PADI certification course, the resort tailors to aspiring divers who do not yet possess scuba diving certification. Through the resort’s non-certified divers course, participants begin with a pool work lesson in the morning followed by a two-tank reef dive in the surrounding reefs with a certified dive instructor in the tranquil Gulf of Mexico waters. For an exhilarating escape for every family member, Casa Marina provides a large array of awe-inspiring activities in the stunning natural beauty of Key West.

Azul Beach Hotel, Riviera Maya, Mexico:

Families can’t go wrong with Azul Beach Hotel, which is an all-inclusive, luxury boutique hotel just 20 minutes from Cancun. The largest reef outside of Australia sits just feet from the beach at Azul, an easy water taxi ride away. Young kids will love snorkeling here, but everyone will find plenty else to do, including swimming at pools that span right to your suite, kids’ club activities, and beach games with Azul staff. Read more about Cancun-area activities.

El Conquistador, A Waldorf Astoria Resort (Fajardo, Puerto Rico):

Dramatically set atop a 300-foot cliff on the eastern tip of Puerto Rico with its own private tropical oasis set off the mainland, El Conquistador Resort, A Waldorf Astoria Resort provides a waterside haven for families. And did we mention the private island? A luxury catamaran sweeps families off to Palomino, the resort’s 100-acre private island where snorkeling among rainbows of coral, or a scuba discovery program waits. After an hour scuba skills orientation practice, families who have never tried diving before can experience the thrill of breathing underwater in the clear waters of the Palomino reef among small reef fishes.

The Condado Plaza Hilton (San Juan, Puerto Rico):

Home to the stunning Condado Lagoon Reef, the lagoon-side setting of The Condado Plaza Hilton in Puerto Rico makes it the perfect plunge point for families to snorkel azure blue waters through a guided snorkeling reef tour. Led by a member of the Condado Lagoon Reef Restoration Project, the tour allows families to explore the nearby eco-friendly reef featuring more than 300 varieties of fish via the resort’s beach. As the only hotel to boast uninterrupted views of both the Condado Lagoon and Atlantic Ocean, The Condado Plaza Hilton provides countless opportunities for family fun including Puerto Rico’s only saltwater pool among three other oasis-style pools throughout the resort grounds.

Tip: Remember, families don’t need passports to visit Puerto Rico!

ATV adventures and snorkeling with Punta Venado

January 20, 2014 By Amy Hagstrom

There are as many Riviera Maya eco-tours as there are amazing natural wonders along this part of the Caribbean, and each offer something a little bit different. We’ve reviewed the fast-action activities with Alltournative, but for a change of pace, a day with Punta Venado offers both ATV adventures and snorkeling, plus relaxation.

Don’t worry: the kids will still be highly entertained with Punta Venado, located on almost 2000 acres and along 2.5 miles of pristine private beach. But you’ll enjoy some downtime as well. The eco-park is comprised of two sections: the Punta Venado ranch, with activities ranging from horseback riding, ATV-riding, and snorkeling, to the Blue Venado Beach Club, which sits on pristine white sand and offers a lovely open-air restaurant, cabanas, and miles of coastline. Families looking to get the most of their stay will take advantage of both.

We started our day at Punta Venado with an ATV tour through the jungle. Since we experienced a brief downpour during our tour, the dirt paths were nice and muddy…perfect for some messy fun! The ATVs seat two, and adults must drive (age 16 and up). A guide takes your through the jungle to a dry cenote cave, where you get off the ATVs to explore a bit. If you’ve been swimming in cenotes earlier in your trip, this field trip isn’t too big of a thrill, but still fun. We then continued on ATVs to a cenote pool, where we jumped into the fresh water to cool off and wash the mud off our legs from the drive. This pool was very fun for the kids to explore, as it included a small creek-like waterway at one end, surrounded by jungle.

We rode on to Punta Venado’s private beach (as pretty as any along the Riviera Maya) where their snorkel and dive shop team outfitted us to snorkel on the Mayan Reef. The reef sits only feet off the shore at this location, making Punta Venado the only place we knew of in the Riviera Maya to snorkel the reef directly from shore. Even though the water was choppy after the morning storm, we were able to reach the reef area fairly easily (we were given fins and life jackets in addition to snorkels and masks), and our guide offered recycled water bottles filled with soggy tortillas…perfect fish food! The tropical fish surrounded us to access the food (which is squeezed from the bottle), making for a very impressive showing.

On a calmer day, we could have accessed more of the reef, but even in not-ideal conditions, we saw hundreds of fish. We swam back to shore to ride the ATVs back to the ranch area.

When booking a Punta Venado tour, families can choose between a menu of options: in addition to ATVing and snorkeling, we opted for lunch at the Blue Venado Beach Club, a short dirt road drive away. This private beach club is directly on the water, offers bathrooms, showers, a restaurant, a bar, and beach cabanas. After lunch, you’re invited to stay as long as you’d like. If you have your own snorkel gear, you could certainly snorkel off the shore here as well, and if not, the body surfing is great.

Tip: Eco-tours are expensive: if you want a more economical day, opt for the beach club only. Access is free: we were told the only requirement is to buy $20 worth of food or drinks per person from the restaurant. At $20/person, this is the cheapest excursion in Riviera Maya. If you have a car or rent a taxi, access to the beach club is directly off the coastal highway linking Cancun to Tulum.

Date last visited:

August 2013

Cost:

Punta Venado ATV tours are $83/per person. They also have an option called All In, which includes everything on offer for $150/per person.

Directions:

Look for the Punta Venado and Blue Venado Beach Club sign right after Calica on the Riviera Maya.

Disclaimer: we experienced Punta Venado as guests of the tour company, for the purpose of review. All opinions are our own.

A day with Alltournative tours: Tulum and Jungle Maya adventure with tweens and teens

January 13, 2014 By Amy Hagstrom

Mexico’s Riviera Maya is rich with geological and cultural excursions for active families. It’s system of cenotes (underground rivers) and abundance of Mayan ruins are accessed by many tour operators, but which one to pick? We spent the day with Alltournative Tours, a leading eco-archaeological guide service specializing in active, adventurous tours.

Like most local tour companies, Alltournative works with Mayan property owners and archaeological sites to gain access to some of the most impressive (and most fun) sites along the Yucatan peninsula. We opted for their Tulum and Jungle Maya tour, which offers a history lesson at ancient Tulum and explorative fun in the jungle in their Mayan eco park.

We started the day at Tulum, the beautiful Mayan ruins on a cliff overlooking the Caribbean Sea. (Alltournative will pick up from most Cancun and Riviera Maya hotels.) Right away, we knew our bilingual guide, Robbie, would be fantastic: a native of Mexico City who is part-Mayan himself, Robbie was passionate about the Mayan culture, knowledgeable about their history, and great about tailoring the educational content to kids. Tulum is open to the public and easy to access on your own, but once on-site, we saw the value of a guide: many of the sites have little information in English to explain their significance. Without Robbie, we wouldn’t have known what we were looking at most of the time. We toured the sites for approximately 45 minutes, then Robbie left us to explore on our own for another hour. We opted to take a much-needed dip in the ocean at the beach on-site (voted by National Geographic as one of the most beautiful in the world!) then took advantage of some photo ops.

We rejoined Robbie and the Alltourative transportation and drove the short distance to the Sac-Actun xenote cave system. Located on Mayan property at a small eco park run by Alltournative, we were given lockers, took showers to rinse off, then met the Mayan family who owns the property for a short purifying ceremony in the Mayan language. (The cenotes are spiritual to the Mayans, and treated with upmost respect.)

We were then led to an opening in the underground xenote system, where we rappelled down to swim in the cool, fresh water. Popping out through a cave entrance a few meters away, we climbed into the back of a Mercedes Benz all-terrain truck called an Unimog and enjoyed a bumpy ride through the jungle to Alltournative’s series of zip lines.

I expected this jungle ride to be merely a means to an end (the park is divided into two sections), but instead, it was one of the kids’ favorite parts, due to driver Willi’s sense of fun. Willi took the Unimog along the pot-holed dirt road at a rolling pace, to the delight of the boys.

Once we’d departed the vehicle, we were outfitted for zip-lining (still with our faithful guide Robbie) and shown how to climb the steep ramps to the zip line towers. We took two lines across the jungle, then were surprised by an entirely new-to-us zip-line experience: zipping into water. The last line concluded in the cool water of an open xenote, which was all kinds of fun. We swam to the shore, then grabbed snorkels and masks for a swim through the Nohoch Nah Chiich cenote cavern. Note: If this itinerary seems whirlwind, that’s because it is! We recommend Alltournative to families who have active kids looking for fast-paced outdoor fun.

The Nohoch Nah Chiich is renown to divers (scuba is offered at this location for cave-certified divers), but for snorkelers, it’s a pretty easy swim through open-air caves with the guide. The swim takes about 15 minutes, and stalactites and stalagmites are pointed out along the way, in addition to hanging bats. Using your mask, it’s an unique experience to see the cave bottom as well as look up at the ceiling.

By this time in our day, we’d worked up quite an appetite. Last but not least, we were shown to the Mayan dining area and kitchen on-site, where the family owning the land prepares authentic Mayan cuisine. Tables as communal, and food is buffet-style, with a traditional Mayan soup, empanadas, beans, rice, chicken, and tortillas. Beware the hot sauce…it’s truly hot!

After the meal, guests are returned to the first section of the park to retrieve the items in their locker, offered a MAYArita (their version of a margarita), and invited to rest a while in the many hanging hammocks and lounge chairs dotting the landscaped jungle space.

Alltournative has photographers who shadow you during your tour, and they ask you to view your photos on computer stations before leaving. The photo packages are expensive, but if you don’t have your own underwater camera or video camera to capture the action, they may well be worth it. (You can always take your own photos.)

A word about sustainability and ecotourism: We were impressed by how well the flora and fauna were cared for at the Alltournative eco park site, and liked hearing how our ecotourism aided the Mayan people who owned the land. The xenotes here are spotless, and while they don’t have a completely ‘wild’ feel due to being part of a tour, they are clearly authentic (as opposed to aided by human construction at the large eco parks along the coast). If you have dive experience, you can certainly seek out more isolated xenotes on your own, but for an introductory family experience in a safe environment, Alltournative will fit the bill nicely.

A note about Coba: Alltournative also offers a tour of Coba, the Mayan ruins further inland. This tour does take longer, with a longer drive, which is why we opted to tour Tulum instead. However, it is still possible to climb the ruins in Coba, which can be a draw to families.