Original Travel unveils six brand new Ultimate Family Holiday itineraries, based on their own in-depth research into what children truly want from their holidays.

Original Travel have conducted research* into exactly what children want from a family holiday and used those results to create six perfect trips away en famille; one for each of the school holidays and half-terms throughout the year. 

Having identified six key holiday types to correspond to the number of half terms and holidays throughout the annual school calendar (Beach, Snow, Watersports, Wildlife, Adventure and City Break), the family specialists then gathered a group of 'Guinea Kids' to ask a series of questions specific to those themes ('Where would you like to stay on a Snow Holiday? Treehouse? Igloo?...' and so on). Several key themes emerged, from which six Ultimate Family Holidays – representing the ultimate year's worth of family travel – were created. 

Introducing New York for New Year, Swedish Lapland for Feb half-term, Easter in South Africa, Portugal in May half-term, Indonesia over the summer and October half-term sunshine in Morocco. Combined, the trips offer everything the children wanted in their family holidays, namely: seeing wildlife, learning new skills, staying somewhere super-cool, hanging out at the beach and last – but by no means least – just spending lots of quality time together. 

Tom Barber, Co-founder of Original Travel and Conde Nast Traveler anointed family specialist, says: 'We are firm believers that children know what makes a family holiday work better than anyone, so it's with great pleasure that we unveil this ultimate family holiday calendar based on what the junior travellers we spoke to said they wanted. We then tailor-made those wishes and desires into these brand new itineraries. Of course you'd need deep pockets and a very understanding employer to take all these in one year, but plan ahead and tick these off over the next few years and you'll be creating some pretty special lifelong memories. We hope these suggestions take some of the legwork out of researching family holidays, as parents can know that each of these is child-approved. I can certainly vouch for that, as my family have done four of them already!' 

Explore the Ultimate Family Holiday Calendar below:  

The Ultimate February Half-Term – A Family Adventure in Swedish Lapland 
Winter time can be blue, but February half term allows for an exciting break for a family mood-boost – even better, it's the perfect opportunity to fulfil several of the childhood holiday dreams as revealed in our research; skiing and sledging (both on the wish list for 30% of our respondents) plus the chance to stay in a treehouse hotel (which topped the charts of fun places to stay). On our Family Adventure in Swedish Lapland, you can also mush your own teams of huskies on a dog-sledding adventure, meet Sami herders and their adorable reindeers, snowshoe, cross country ski and toboggan through snow-clad forests and – mittened fingers firmly crossed – see the magnificent Northern Lights in all their glory.  
Starting from £2,800pp for a five-day trip, based on a family of four sharing. Price includes flights, transfers, a range of activities, a day learning Sami tradition and four nights hotel accommodation. Original Travel, 020 3582 4990, www.originaltravel.co.uk.    

The Ultimate Easter Holiday – A Family Wildlife Adventure in South Africa 
Turns out bigger is better; it's the big cats and the big five that most children want to see on a wildlife holiday, with 35% of the overall votes. Start your ultimate family wildlife trip in captivating Cape Town with a boat trip around the Cape Peninsula for sightings of fur seals, sea lions and cheery dolphins, then head along the Garden Route to visit a series of sanctuaries for rescued animals and birds before a Big Five safari in the Eastern Cape with meerkats thrown in (not literally) for good measure. Finish in the Waterberg for riding safaris (no experience needed, brilliantly) and the chance to see an admirable rhino conservation project.   
Starting at £5,600pp for a 17-day trip, based on a family of four sharing. Price includes flights, transfers, a range of activities and 15 nights' accommodation. Original Travel, 020 3582 4990, www.originaltravel.co.uk.   

The Ultimate May Half-Term – A Portuguese Family Beach Adventure 
When asked what makes the ideal beach holiday, the simple pleasures won, with swimming, jumping the waves and burying someone in the sand being picked the top three things to do. And let's not forget the upmost priority... grabbing an ice cream. You can do all this and much, much more over May half term at the beautiful (and snappily-titled) Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park in Portugal, home to some of Europe's most gorgeous beaches. The children (and you, go on, give it a go!) can learn to surf with private instructors, walk a short section of a lovely long-distance trail, go for a horse ride on the beach, paddleboard in a lovely river estuary and, of course, just muck around on the beach.   
Starting from £1,800pp for an 8-day trip, based on a family of four. Price includes flights, transfers, rental car, guided boat tours, a range of activities and 7 nights' hotel accommodation. Original Travel, 020 3582 4990, www.originaltravel.co.uk.   

The Ultimate Family Summer Holiday: Watersports in Indonesia 
Summer calls for making a splash and Original Travel's findings reveal that children are especially fond of watersports. Surfing, boogie boarding, diving, snorkelling, and even joining in marine life conservation topped the list for favourite summer holiday activities — the younger generation are more sustainability-conscious, after all. Indonesia ticks all these boxes, making it an ideal, far-flung choice for the long summer holidays. On Original Travel's ultimate island-hopping family adventure, families can learn to surf and dive (children as young as eight can take their first dive), snorkel over vibrant reefs, enjoy boat trips and white-water rafting, stroll along pink sand beaches, participate in a turtle conservation project, and encounter the mysterious Komodo dragons at the Komodo National Park. 
Starting from £3,900pp for a 15-day trip, based on a family of four sharing. Price includes flights, transfers, a range of activities and 13 nights' private villa and resort accommodation. Original Travel, 020 3582 4990, www.originaltravel.co.uk.  

The Ultimate October Half Term – A Family Adventure in Morocco 
With many schools now moving to a two-week half-term, this break is swiftly becoming the prime opportunity for extended adventures. A perfect example is an October half-term holiday to Morocco, an ideal destination that ticks all the boxes for a thrilling family getaway. According to Original Travel's findings, the top adventure choices for children include camping, climbing, riding (whether that be horses or camels – take your pick), zip-wiring and walking trails - activities that form the foundation of Original Travel's nine-day October half-term Family Adventure in Morocco. This exhilarating trip features a luxury camp out in the Agafay Desert (think al fresco dining beneath the stars), an adrenaline-fuelled desert buggy ride, camel treks and waterfall hikes through the stunning Ourika Valley before time on the coast to try surfing and kitesurfing. 
Starting £2,100pp for a 9-day trip, based on a family of four. Price includes flights, transfers, private tours, a range of activities, 1-night desert camp stay and 7 nights' hotel and B&B accommodation. Original Travel, 020 3582 4990, www.originaltravel.co.uk.  

The Ultimate Festive Family Holiday – New York at New Year 
Spending quality time together somewhere new turns out to be the top requirement when going away with family, receiving nearly 40% of the total vote – and where better to do that than in the city that never sleeps (although hopefully your children will)? Ice skating rinks, the Rockefeller Centre Christmas Tree, Broadway shows, snowy Central Park... New York becomes truly magical during the Christmas season and the perfect place to enjoy quality family time together. On our New York at New Year Family Escape, you can enjoy all these iconic moments, plus indulge in tasty bagels, tacos and top-notch pizza on a Williamsburg food tour. But the crowning jewel of your festive getaway is, undoubtedly, the thrilling family helicopter ride over the city itself. 
Prices start from £2,700pp, based on a family of four sharing. Price includes flights, transfers, a range of tickets including a Broadway show of choice, helicopter tour, city tour and five nights' hotel accommodation. Original Travel, 020 3582 4990, www.originaltravel.co.uk.   

Of course we are all about tailor-made travel, so we can tweak, adapt, amend and build from scratch any family holiday itinerary, but we hope these Ultimate Family Holidays provide some fun inspiration for you and the children. And worth noting, these will work best for children aged eight and over, when they are able to do most/all of the activities. 

 *Responses were gathered from over 100 children at a live event in July 2024, with further surveys completed online between July –September 2024. 

-Ends-  

Follow us on instagram @originaltravel for more travel inspiration and for more information contact: press@originaltravel.co.uk; 020 3582 4990

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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). 

• In October 2024, Original Travel was ranked among the top five Tour Operators in the country in the prestigious Conde Nast Traveller Reader's Choice Awards.  

• 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.