While you probably will need to dial back the intensity of adventure in your trips at the beginning of parenthood, it won’t be long before you can consider having family adventure vacations with your kids. Whether you incorporate just a little bit of family-friendly adrenaline-boosting activities into your trip or plan a full action-packed adventure trip, here is some inspiration for planning family adventure vacations.
Hot Air Ballooning
There are lots of different places where you can book a hot air balloon trip throughout the United States. If taking a hot air balloon with kids, you’ll want to make sure they are old enough. Most companies have an age minimum, and you’ll want to wait until your kids are old enough to stand still for a while and not be afraid of heights.
Ziplining
Ziplining is another fun thing to do with kids during your family adventure vacation. We’ve been several times, and there are usually several different options for families.
Kayaking
Kayaking is something that you can do almost anywhere there is water. Sea kayaking, or kayaking through mangroves (like I did in Sarasota) can be more adventurous than other types.
Adventure Parks
One of my favorite things to do with my family is to visit an adventure park. Many popular ski resorts offer adventure parks in the summer after the ski season is over. Activities may include ropes courses, mountain coasters, and alpine slides.
Snorkeling
If you are visiting a beach location, snorkeling and/or scuba diving can be a fun adventurous activity on your vacation. My kids love scuba diving, and we often bring along our own equipment during our family beach vacations. The best thing about snorkeling on vacation is that you can take it at your own pace.
Tubing
Tubing is an activity that can be done in the water in warmer weather and on snow in the winter. We first went tubing in Upstate New York, and my kids loved it. Snow tubing became a bit of a winter family tradition because my kids enjoyed it so much.
Hiking
Hiking is an inexpensive and easy way to add some adventure to your family vacation. You can find some very mild hikes when traveling with younger kids, or may consider going on a guided hike.