Great family vacation deals to Thailand, Japan, China, Vietnam and more Last summer I booked a custom private guided tour to Thailand with Kensington Tours.  It was everything a family vacation should be: fun, exciting, safe, and –yes!– modestly priced. The highlight of the trip was Chiang Mai, but we saw a fair bit of [...]

Written by Jamie Pearson

How to pack for a family vacation.  Or any vacation. When Condé Nast Traveler asked me to join their Family Travel Bloggers Panel as an expert, I didn’t hesitate.  After all, it’s a subject I know inside and out.  Along with a handful of other family travel writers, I hopped on board. The first topic [...]

Written by Jamie Pearson

Expert answers to family travel questions about Adventures by Disney and Scotland: A Brave Adventure Last month, my kids and I were invited to sample Adventures by Disney’s newest itinerary, Scotland: A Brave Adventure – a 9-day ramble around Edinburgh, Loch Ness, a couple of islands, and the Highlands. When planning a family vacation, I [...]

Written by Jamie Pearson

A lot more luxury that you’d expect, and way less… mouse “So, what do you think so far?” whispered my fellow travel writer. It was a perfect spring day with Adventures by Disney and the two of us were exploring Dunnottar Castle, a ruined medieval fortress on Scotland’s Aberdeenshire coast.   Our children were playing a [...]

Written by Jamie Pearson

Vacation in Costa Rica and scream your head off A few years ago when families started emailing me for the best place to take their 8, 5, 3 (!) year-old kids ziplining in Costa Rica, I thought they were crazy and surely it was a fad that would soon pass.  I couldn’t imagine wanting to [...]

Written by Jenny Jensen

If you struggle with fear of flying, you might want to get help now In a widely reported article on climate change, British scientists are predicting that by the middle of the next century the frequency of turbulence over the North Atlantic will increase by 170% and the intensity will increase by 40%. This is [...]

Written by Jamie Pearson

How to survive an overnight flight with children Whether you’re going across the country or around the world, sooner or later you’ll probably wind up taking the dreaded red eye. Overnight flights are bad enough for adults traveling alone, but with kids they’re about a hundred — no, make that a thousand — times worse. [...]

Written by Jamie Pearson

Visiting the shelling capital of the world with kids Are you the kind of person who gets a little bored just sitting on the beach?  Do you also not really love swimming in the ocean for hours on end (but your kids do)?  Have I ever got the family beach vacation for you: a week [...]

Written by Jamie Pearson

Stress-free camping for lazy parents.  Okay, not totally stress-free. Last weekend, my 13-year-old daughter spoke aloud the words that strike fear in the hearts of parents everywhere:  let’s go camping. (In my defense, let me point out that this was in February.  I’m not a total grinch.) Against my better judgment, I agreed to one [...]

Written by Jamie Pearson

Island Vibes half day snorkel tour cruise (http://www.islandvibestours.com/packages.asp) in the exquisitely beautiful Turks & Caicos. This tour consisted of snorkeling, exploring an uninhabited island, dancing on deck, eating fresh conch and finally having a ‘pool party’ at sea. If it was just hubby and I we would have opted for the full day cruise, but with 3 kids this 4 hour sidetracked adventure fit just right.

Written by Julie Breitigan