Best family vacation destinations

Lesley Schofield, from our supplier All Points East, shares her tips on traveling in Thailand with kids: “Thailand is the most fantastic destination for children. It’s comparatively safe, there are good standards of food hygiene, people absolutely love kids and will interact with them. The standard of English is reasonable – but it’s also good for our kids to discover that everyone doesn’t speak English particularly well. In some villages they have a much more rural existence. They’ have satellite dishes – but on their huts. They drive round in pickup trucks – but that’s because they haven’t got roads. So they’re not backward by any means, but they are living a much more simple life than we are. And while that still exists in the world, and it exists somewhere that’s safe and pleasant, I think it’s brilliant to get kids out there to discover it.”

Christine Kieffer, from our supplier Itinerance Trekking in the Mercantour National Park, France, is the perfect person to give self guided walking vacation advice to families: “Go with a donkey. These affectionate animals have been part of our family for as long as we can remember. Each one of them has their own individual personality, their own life, their own specific tastes. They love the company of humans, especially that of children, who they will encourage to keep on walking without sulking”.