Animals and Ocean Life

On a recent trip to Riviera Maya, Cancun on the Mexican Caribbean seashore, my family of four (two children ages 3 and 6) had the extreme pleasure of visiting Xel-Ha (pronounced shell-hah) and Xcaret (pronounced eesh-ca-ret). Even though we spent a full day at each location, we barely scratched the surface of fun activities. My advice to families who are planning a visit to Xel-Ha and Xcaret, treat it as you would Disneyland: give yourself at least two days per park.

Impact on aquatic ecosystems begin with activities that inspire children to learn and take care of the environment and the creatures who reside there.

When my daughter asked questions about lions and tigers, we brought her to a big cat rescue. When she asked about whales and dolphins, we took her off the coast of California for a whale watching excursion. It is a bit trickier to bring dinosaurs to life. When she became fascinated with them, I immediately went on the hunt for ways to bring a little bit of life to our picture books and Google searches. Here is what I found.

Get to know the animals in Southeast Asia while you take your whole family on a unique animal encounter vacation to Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia.

Introducing my kids to the South, my sister (living in Atlanta), loaded up the 6 of us and took off. This is how to road trip Charleston SC to Savannah GA.

To make the most of your weekend in Jekyll Island, there are certain things that I consider must-dos for every family that visits the island.

Why we travel is the hope that years later, our children will fondly remember the seeds of love and adventure sown in those wild woods of wonder.

Grenada also has the distinction of being a quieter island with none of the huge mega resorts at some of the other Caribbean islands. In fact, the whole island has perhaps 1,200 or so hotel rooms. That’s it. Yet what it doesn’t have ends up being one of its biggest assets -a lovely paradise that is uncrowded, friendly, and a great destination for families.

The peninsula of small coastal villages and white clapboard houses with names like Egg Harbor and Fish Creek attracts families looking for outdoor adventure and a slower-paced vacation.

Visiting Glacier National Park with kids both now and then was just as unforgettable: incomparable mountain scenery, bountiful wildlife creatures, overwhelming peace and solitude.

The road to Bahia Magdalena is lonely. Towering cardón cactus and scrubby, half-dead looking shrubs dominate the barren desert landscape in a stark yet beautiful way. As we headed down …

Boasting five area lakes, over 260 parks, and over 120 miles of shared-use trails and paths, nature is just waiting to be explored. Plus, don’t forget about the cultural offerings, unique restaurants and shopping. One thing is for sure – Madison is a family friendly college town!

We’ve scoured the web and polled expert family travelers on their top beaches for families. Read on for our top picks to visit in 2015.

Can you imagine traveling 10,000 miles just to give birth? Gray whales do it every year. After spending the summer in the Arctic, the whales embark on an epic migration as they travel from Alaska’s Bering Sea to Baja California’s breeding lagoons. As they skirt the North American coastline, us humans hop on boats, kayaks, and peer over cliff’s edge in hopes of catching a glimpse of these peaceful creatures on their incredible journey. We bring our kids with hope that they will join us in collective awe and respect for nature, learning more in two hours on that boat than they could during a week’s worth of science classes. Plus, it’s fun! Ready to go whale watching with kids but don’t know where to start? Trekaroo to the rescue!

On many family trips we have scouted out places where her thirst for more insect and spider knowledge can be quenched. Along the way our other two children, as well as us phobic parents have learned much about the subject.

With all of the appeal of the temperate rainforest and a much smaller population than Anchorage, Juneau has an offering the size of the ocean for families looking for fun.

Sun, fun, sand, and sea – if this is what you think of when you envision the US Virgin Islands, you’re not alone. In spite of the stunning (and I’m not kidding when I say stunning) beaches, there is so much more for families to do on these beautiful destination islands.

Explore the temperate rainforests of Alaska with your kids; you’ll learn science skills as you investigate and discover in tide pools, rocks, and forests