Family & Kids | Viator Travel Blog

In Praise of Summer

4. July 2009

Swimming in a lake for hours on end. Cooking pulled-pork on a barbecue grill in 90-degree heat. Water skiing. Tubing. Wake boarding. Sitting on a porch with four generations of the same family. Coolers overflowing with cans of ice-cold beer. The blaring of cicadas at dusk, outboard motors at dawn, air-conditioning pumps all night long.

Cancun Now?? Yes!

7. May 2009

1 Comment

The US State Department has not yet updated its Mexico travel advisory (as of May 7), but we're seeing news reports and hearing from travelers on the ground that arrivals in Mexico are up. We're also hearing that Mexico's tourism authorities are (belatedly) getting the news out that, as of today, there are still no confirmed swine flu cases in the beach resort areas of Cancun, Cozumel and Puerto Vallarta. Plus it's a safe bet that airfares to Mexico are cheaper than they've been in a long time.

Ghosts, Ghouls and Haunted History Tours

29. April 2009

1 Comment

Ghosts, Ghouls and Haunted History Tours

Next time you’re planning a trip, think about taking an excursion to the dark side… Who needs to hang out with the living, when you can go and visit the dead? There is a fabulous and fascinating itinerary of ghosts and gravestones, haunted histories and underground vaults to be explored, from Memphis to the Orbs [...]

Disneyland, Happiest Place on Earth?

9. April 2009

3 Comments

Disneyland is many things to many people. It's memories past and future. It's magic. It's expensive. It's a good walk spoiled. Wait, that last one is golf, but still, there's a lot of walking. Disneyland used to be one man's dream - the original magic kingdom, but it has since morphed into something much bigger, and though purists may disagree, perhaps better. Remember that when you're standing in line behind crying kids and screaming parents. It's the spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down, and quite frankly, it's pretty magical.

Melbourne: 10 Things to Do in Summer

6. April 2009

0 Comments

I’ve just spent a couple of months in Melbourne catching up with family and friends. And I have to admit I’d forgotten what a fab town it is. I was born and raised there, and sometimes it's hard to really see your hometown, but a few years away gave me fresh eyes. So here’s my Top 10 of things I did this Downunder Summer in Melbourne.

Sydney Harbour Week

1. March 2009

1 Comment

If you find yourself in Sydney next week (March 7 - 15), you're very luck indeed. The city is celebrating its annual Harbour Week Festival, with more than 350 events in, on, around, over and even under Sydney's iconic harbour. The big events are the Sydney Harbour Regatta (March 7 - 9), when more than 350 yachts compete and thousands of spectators gather harbour-side to watch (the event is free to watch).

London on Ice Skates

25. February 2009

1 Comment

I moved to London. And winter came. Sadly the Thames did not freeze and the Serpentine in Hyde Park looked unlikely to hold my weight, with or without skates. But Londoners are an ingenious lot so they’ve created their own winter wonderlands for skating. Outdoor ice rinks in some of the most fabulous, historic locations in town.

San Francisco’s Academy of Sciences

12. February 2009

5 Comments

Do you have kids? I have one. His name is Emmett. He's nearly three years old. He loves penguins. And fish. And butterflies. And snakes. And jellyfish. And alligators. Most of the time we only get to experience these things in books. Which is why I was super-duper excited to check out the newly reopened California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.

Alcatraz Confidential

16. January 2009

1 Comment

When I was 11 years old (nearly 20 years ago), in May of 1989, I took my first tour to Alcatraz Island. My elementary school was a two-hour drive from San Francisco, and this was our big field trip of the year, Alcatraz and the San Francisco Zoo. In retrospect I think that part of the reason we went to Alcatraz and not say, an art museum, was perhaps meant as a cautionary tale.

Remembrance of Beach Holidays Past

12. January 2009

1 Comment

While some people head for the hills, others hit the bars, and some prefer museums, stargazing or visiting the wildebeest, for me the ultimate holiday involves crashing waves and glistening sands. That's right, I can never go past a trip to the beach. It started with Elvis and clambakes, in all those 1950s musicals with pretty girls in polka-dot bikinis and beefy boys in tight shorts, having an innocent sing along around the fire. I am fortunate to have grown up in Sydney, a city with some of the worlds most beautiful beaches,