Family Travel by Bicycle
Most adults can’t quite remember the day they learned how to ride a bike. But if they have kids who are solid on two wheels, they certainly recall the glee of the first moment when each little one’s...
View ArticleDiving Back into Life (with Family)
Paul Zanelli has been a volunteer fireman and EMT for over 35 years. He’s a husband, a father and, after crushing his right foot during a home project and spending 33 days confined to a hospital bed…...
View ArticleFamily Travel in a (Tricky) New Travel Climate
“It’s a weird time to be in the travel industry,” understates Matt Villano, a U.S.-based freelance travel writer and editor. Caught between a rock (slumping travel demand in the U.S. due to new,...
View ArticleFamily Travel and Winter Experiences
“Who the heck doesn’t love to see those rosy cheeks and hear the laughter of a kid dashing through the snow?” enthuses Erin Kirkland, publisher of AKontheGO, Alaska’s only family travel resource....
View ArticleFamily Travel and Dude Ranches
One of the most meaningful comments I’ve read about family travel and dude ranches is this: Dude ranches reconnect adults to a simple and innocent part of their childhood and introduce their children...
View ArticleEcotourism and Family Travel in Costa Rica
“Ecotourism is the heart of Costa Rica’s tourism sector,” says Alejandro Castro Alfaro, Director of Marketing for the Costa Rica Tourism Board. “The country takes pride in providing unique, safe and...
View ArticleFamily Travel and Vacation Rentals
“Vacation rentals are exploding because family travel is exploding,” says Caroline Shin, CEO of Vacatia. Gail Mandel, CEO of Wyndham Vacation Rentals, agrees: “For decades, the American traveler was...
View ArticleFamily Travel Unyear, Days 6-7 (Sept 19-20): Crossing the US-Canada DMZ
OK, yes, I said our family travel would avoid cars as much as possible. But this was one of those impossible situations. After days and days of research, we had come to grips with the difficulty of...
View ArticleFamily Travel Unyear, Days 4-5 (Sept 17-18): Chicago
First thing of the day, we stopped by the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore visitor center. Our goal there was to do some situational learning with the boys. This is an important part of their...
View ArticleFamily Travel Unyear, Days 1-3 (Sept 14-16): Amtrak to Indiana
During our year of family travel, it is our desire to rely on cars as little as possible. There’s principle underpinning that desire. For decades, I have advocated for (and written about) a form of...
View ArticleEcotourism in Costa Rica Can Help You Be a More Sustainable Traveler
One of society’s most pressing issues today is climate change, the far-reaching effects of which include extreme weather, food shortages, and damaged ecosystems. In a survey of 12,000 peer-reviewed...
View ArticleThe Joys of Sustainable Travel
THIS POST IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THOMSON UK As many parts of our world become more and more accessible, so too does the importance of traveling and exploring in a way that not only respects local...
View ArticleWhen You Travel to Cuba (It’s Possible!), Help Keep Its Nature Intact
Cuba has been taunting me for two decades. Its renown, made palpably present here in the United States through its insuppressible culture (Buena Vista Social Club is just the tip of the iceberg!), has...
View ArticleA Ground Zero Tour: Lessons in Remembering
As I stare out at the 9/11 Memorial in New York City, I think back to interviews conducted with American D-Day survivors. In some of them, veterans have been accompanied to the specific beaches on...
View ArticleThe 2014 New York Travel Festival – A Transformative Experience
A lot of buzzwords out there are used to convey a sense of mindful connection with the people and places you visit when you travel: ecotourism, geotourism, responsible and sustainable travel, local and...
View ArticleHiking in Guatemala’s Mountains of the Ixil Region
Central America’s steep and often volcanic terrain abounds with hiking opportunities, but the higher-elevation scenery of the Ixil region in Guatemala offers an exciting chance to escape from the usual...
View ArticleZip Lines in Costa Rica: A Sustainable Alternative to Deforestation
This is the next in a series of portraits, long and short, of some of the people I met and places I visited during a recent trip to Costa Rica. The subjects were chosen as noteworthy examples of Costa...
View ArticleSomething in the Water and Air: Costa Rica’s Pura Vida – A Portrait of Glenn...
This is the first in a series of portraits, long and short, of some of the people I met and places I visited during a recent trip to Costa Rica. The subjects were chosen as noteworthy examples of Costa...
View ArticleSomething in the Water and Air: Costa Rica’s Pura Vida
In my mind’s eye, the lingering visions of Costa Rica are almost comically rosy, like a slideshow of carnival caricatures: There’s Glenn Jampol, glowingly avuncular as he guides his visitors through...
View ArticlePreserving Nature in Nicaragua: Ecotourism at Morgan’s Rock Ecolodge
Nicaragua’s southern Pacific coast is often considered to be purely a surf destination, but an altogether different type of ecotourism escape awaits travelers at the secluded and exclusive bungalow...
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