Original Travel and Sharky & George have taken their partnership one step further to create three new add-ons, designed to revolutionise family holidays 

Tailor-made tour operator, Original Travel and one of the UK's leading party and events planners, Sharky & George have put their heads together to create three NEW ways to make family holidays as seamless as possible.  

As well as the Sharky & George-designed inflight activity packs - which every child travelling with Original Travel already receives, each one tailored to the holiday destination – Original Travel can now offer parents three NEW bookable Sharky & George add-ons. These game-changers in family travel are:  

• A 'Mind The Pack' experience*, where one of the Sharky & George team will come to a client's home and keep the kids entertained while the parents crack on uninterrupted with packing, cancelling the milk delivery, writing instructions for the pet-sitter and everything else that needs to be done before the holiday can begin. The service is also available for your return, so you can get all the laundry, food shop etc done. Game-changer!  
• A Personal PIC** (Partner-in-Crime) who can join for some or all of the family holiday, keeping the little ones occupied so parents can enjoy some downtime. They can even fly out and sit with the children on the plane, fielding all requests for snacks, and coming up with creative ways to pass the hours on board. In destination, the PIC will keep kids endlessly entertained with challenges, adventures and that all important 'stealth learning', where they teach children about the destination without them even realising. Think of them like a mobile, one-(wo)man kids' club. Another game-changer! 
• Bespoke on-holiday immersive adventures where the Sharky & George team can create an unforgettable experience for the whole family as part of their trip. Think pirate treasure hunts in the Caribbean, complete with walking the plank, water fights and jet ski chases, or a Race Across the World style adventure filled with challenges and tasks. Final game-changer! 

Tom Barber, Co-founder of Original Travel says: 'Family holidays should be amazing from start to finish, but in reality they can be fraught for the parents trying to manage expectations and overwhelm, not to mention changes in routine and of course all the travmin involved. As a father of four myself, I know all too well what the flashpoints can be. Thanks to our partnership with the brilliantly creative Sharky & George, I'm thrilled we can now offer our clients new ways to avoid those flashpoints and enjoy an entirely seamless and memorable holiday.' 

George Whitefield, Co-founder of Sharky & George says: 'In my mind, the dream family holiday is one in which there is something for everyone. In particular if the children are happy, the adults generally relax and enjoy themselves. As much as we'd all love to prepare special family sports tournaments, make a holiday music video or arrange an amazing location specific treasure hunt, in reality it rarely happens. The idea of having one of the Sharky & George team on an Original Travel family holiday is to make all that happen for the children and for you to dip in and out as much or as little as you please, so you get to have fun as a family all together and don't have to worry about planning the fun.' 

For more information, visit www.originaltravel.co.uk/our-partnership-with-sharky-and-george. 

* Mind the Pack experience is available in the London and Bristol regions on weekends and home counties and wider during the week. Prices from £350 for up to four hours. 

** Partner-in-Crime from £390 per day, plus expenses. 

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Notes to Editors:  

Original Travel curates tailor-made itineraries, crafted by destination experts, to 77 countries worldwide from Anguilla to Zimbabwe. Celebrating its 21st anniversary this year, the company has created over 50,000 itineraries since its launch in 2003, each one unique and adhering to the company ethos that “Life is in the Detail”.  

Original Travel also has its own specialist dive division. Original Diving is the world's only luxury dive travel outfit.  

11 of our consultants are recognised as Conde Nast Traveler's 2024 Travel Specialists – more than any other tour operator for the 2nd year running. Our specialists are: Co-founder, Tom Barber (family travel and sabbaticals), Jacqui Brooks (Indonesia) and Oliver Rodwell (Mexico), Ben Williams (Egypt) Kate Little (Romania), Isabel de Galleani (Morocco), Frances Mavor (India), Harriet Harford (European Wine Regions), Holly Barber (Cambodia), James Back (Tanzania), Lucy Bailey (Oman). 

Original Travel clients enjoy a wealth of additional services they would not find with any other UK tour operator, including:  

• Access to a network of 70-plus Concierges who live locally, know their destinations inside and out and are extremely well-connected. They lend fantastic ground support, offering insider recommendations, facilitating any last-minute changes and troubleshooting. 
• A brace of additional services designed to make departure easier than ever. Every Original Travel client, regardless of whether they're off on a city break, or a multi-destination sabbatical, is checked in on all flights – outbound, domestic and inbound - with boarding passes uploaded to the Original Travel app; will have UK airport meet and greet, fast track UK check-in, fast track UK security*, lounge access and pre-booked flight seats. Thoughtful details include wifi routers or e-sims, destination specific book and music lists and children's activity packs. There are also upgrade options to include: a luggage transfer service from your home to the airport; fast track check-in and security and lounge access on your flight home; fast track through immigration on your return to the UK. 
• The knowledge that not only will Original Travel absorb the carbon footprint of their international flights, but also - in an industry-first - car-hire and transfers, and other flights (even if booked independently).  Clients can also be advised on which flight options have the lowest levels of emissions, thanks to an industry-leading and world-first carbon calculator which can compare the levels of emissions generated by each flight, using data compiled from flight plans, aircraft type, the cabin class, direct versus indirect flights and the target occupancy rate.
• The knowledge that they are contributing to Our Foundation, which supports nearly 100 humanitarian projects in 30 developing countries. To date, nearly £1.5 million has been invested to support five key areas: child protection, vocational training, economic development assistance, preservation of cultural and natural heritage and safeguarding the lifestyles of indigenous peoples.