Viator Travel Blog

To help you plan a fun and educational family vacation, here are our top picks for the best children’s museums around the world.

But China’s fourth-largest city has plenty more to offer families than the chance to cuddle a baby panda. And, while all Chinese cities can feel vast, bewildering and polluted to the first-time visitor, Chengdu is a remarkably accessible place that’s long on open spaces and short on grifters.

Welcome to the 2012 Viator Travel Awards: Family Edition! Traveling with kids is always an adventure. Seasoned parents know that staying flexible, going with the flow and always having snacks on hand are some key ways everyone remains happy on vacation. Plus, cool sightseeing and outdoor activities – no matter if your trip takes you to the city, the mountains or the beach – can help keep the entire family entertained and in good moods (until kid #2 drops his ice cream in the sand, but that’s another story).

Multigenerational travel is quite the buzz word in tourism these days, but it’s really just a fancy term for getting the whole extended family together for a trip. That’s not to say that this is easy though. Planning our 12-person, 3-generation cruise to Bermuda was one of the most difficult projects I’ve ever undertaken (and I was a Project Manager for 25 years!). But the results exceeded every expectation.

Millions of people descend on Washington DC every year to tour the White House, meet their Members of Congress and visit the world-famous Smithsonian Institution museums. There’s a lot more to the city though than the standard tourist route, including these family-friendly activities that are fun for visitors of all ages.

One great thing about a Caribbean cruise is that it is a vacation that provides entertainment for both adults and children alike. Many ships have a kid’s club, which will entertain the pint-sized passengers while parents get some alone time to explore the ship’s lounges and pools – many ships even have adult-only areas.

Onshore, however, there isn’t an easy divide of activities to separately entertain kids and adults.

I love Orlando as much as the next person. On a recent trip, my family and I rented a house and spent several fabulous days at Walt Disney World, but then we spent a few days away from the amusement parks altogether, which fortunately is easier than you may think in Orlando.

It’s every Harry Potter lover’s dream – to step into the Great Hall of Hogwarts, to climb aboard the Knight Bus, to see Professor Snape’s Potions classroom in real life.

And, at the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – “The Making of Harry Potter,” these sorts of dreams become reality.

This is the newest slogan Disney is using to promote their flagship theme park in Anaheim, California. So I figured I’d go down there and see what all the talk was about.

There are not many experiences quite liking riding an elephant. Doing it at a carnival or when the circus rolls in to town is one thing, but doing it in Thailand is entirely another!

The Phuket Elephant Jungle Trek is an hour on top one of the world’s most respected and majestic animals through the renowned regional jungles. With an insightful and friendly guide taking you around, get ready for an exotic adventure you will not soon forget.