My older daughter's first word wasn't Mama or Dada. It was Gus. Gus was our cat. Never mind my bruised feelings; there's a profound connection between kids and animals. I'm not just talking little kids; I'm talking teenagers, too. All three of my children put swimming with dolphins in their top ten favorite vacation experiences. They've also held alligators, parrots, and (really big) snakes (not in my top ten); they've met memorable goats, burros, potbelly pigs, and wolves. Kira, who visited Egypt with me when she was eight, still remembers Pepsi Cola the camel but shockingly few historical facts; in Baja, Molly, at six, got close enough to a 40-foot whale to recall vividly that whale breath is really bad, and to yearn to do it again ever since.
We share the planet with many creatures, some four-footed and furry, some finned, some winged. Some are beautiful, some not so much. Without getting preachy, I believe animals have the capacity to teach us something about the universe, about compassion, about ourselves. Even if I'm wrong, that doesn't change the fact that kids and animals are a natural combo, which is why there are so many cool places and programs that bring them together for a can't-miss vacation or activity. Need suggestions?
Through the Looking Glass: Matala Beach, Crete (Nicholas Pitt/Digital Vision)
It's impossible to head to Greece and not show the kids the famous columns of the Parthenon atop the lofty Acropolis, but after that you've earned your ticket out of Greece's dusty, chaotic, and hot capital city. And if you're smart, that ticket should put you on a flight to Crete. This 156-mile-long island offers the quintessential Greek experience, where a lengthy history merges with the mountains and beaches of a glorious landscape.
Stay in Chania, a northern port town nestled between hillsides and the Med. Narrow streets wind from the waterfront to buildings still standing from Venetian times. The Creta Paradise hotel has its own petting zoo, though you won't need one in May and June, when turtles swim back to the beach to lay their eggs. Families with older children should opt for the daylong hike through 11-mile-long Samaria Gorge, the longest gorge in all of Europe.
Visit Away.com's European Family Vacations Guide for more of the best place to visit across the continent, from the outdoor wonders of the Scottish Highlands or Swiss Alps to world-beating cultural capitals like London or Rome.
The white-sand wonders of Roatán, Honduras (Nathan Borchelt)
Sun worshippers rejoice! Away.com has just launched its new sun-splashed Beach Travel Guide, featuring extensive coverage and highlights for the top 50 beach locales in the Caribbean and Central America. Destinations covered include popular wave-lapped oases like Montego Bay and Barbados, as well as more remote, adventurous locales like Roatán in Honduras or the little-known, privately owned Mayreau Island in the Caribbean.
Not only a great place to get inspired and informed about your next beach vacation, the guide includes sport-specific reviews and features for activities including scuba diving, snorkeling, surfing, and sailing. Seasoned regional experts, with bylines in premier travel guidebooks for Lonely Planet, Fodor's, and Moon Handbooks, have contributed beach-specific reviews for hundreds of hotels, tourist attractions, outfitters, and uncharted beaches. Check back in the coming months for comprehensive coverage for over 100 other top U.S. and Mexican beach destinations.
My daughter, Kira, came to Mexico with me when she was 10, 12, and 20. Molly visited at four, six, and ten, Hutch at nine. I've probably even forgotten some trips. Point is, Mexico is a great destination for every age. It offers family-friendly hotels, history, nature, adventure, and unique culture. But the single best reason to head south of the border is that Mexican people adore kids. On our Baja whale-watching trip, Molly, at six, didn't want to sit in the boat twice each day—understandable given that we sometimes floated for hours without getting close to a whale (but when we did, Wow!). The all-Mexican camp crew voluntarily took her under their wing, making her whale-shaped pancakes, letting her help in the cook tent, and taking her on beach walks to find shells. The morning we left, the head of the crew picked her up to say goodbye and they both cried.
When it comes to reading about a Maya ruin or seeing its astonishing engineering firsthand, there's no contest. The best school report Kira ever did was on Tulum, south of Cancun. Her teachers were unhappy that I took her out of school to go to Mexico, but she brought Mayan civilization to life for her classmates and has never forgotten the magic of Tulum.
People flock to the Caribbean to sift their toes in the pearly white sands. But in Dominica, the attraction is not the relatively few beaches, but a
verdant mountainous interior ripe with every tropical fruit and vegetable imaginable, a place so inundated with water that around every bend is another raging waterfall, serene swimming hole, or hidden hot spring in which to soothe your weary body after a day in the outdoors. Indeed, this island has become an affordable haven for families who yearns to hike through jungle-like forest, scuba dive and snorkel on living reefs, and sea kayak in sheltered coves with little, if any, boat traffic. Sure, you can still lounge with a good book, but it won't be on an overdeveloped strip of sand. You'll be high up in the hills on some small eco-resort balcony sipping fresh passion-fruit juice and listening to the waves of the Atlantic crash onto the rocky shores below.
It would take you weeks to drive down to Belize from the United States, so it's good to know that this small Central American country, tucked away between Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala, is only a two-hour flight from Miami. But frankly, it doesn't matter how you travel to this off-the-beaten-track Caribbean destination: just get here.
Belize has rainforests, the longest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere, and a remarkable collection of Maya ruins, still largely unrestored. Head to San Ignacio to explore the Mountain Pine Ridge on horseback or canoe along the wild Macal River. You'll swim under waterfalls and very likely spot toucans. Also be sure to visit the Maya ruins of Caracol with a guide. Kids will be amazed at the sight of the Sky Palace, which reaches 140 feet high.
The allure of Barbados has always been its stretches of pristine white sand that serve as a soft welcome mat for the warm aquamarine waters of the Caribbean Sea. Hotels line the shoreline north and south of the capital, Bridgetown, appealing to a predominantly British clientele who are content to while away their hours with thick books in one hand and some version of the storied local beverage, rum, in the other. But it's the ecological wonders in the northern and eastern section of the island, namely the Barbados Wildlife Refuge, Andromeda Botanic Gardens, and Harrison's Cave, that differentiate this country from its neighbors.
Having your own snorkel gear means no waiting in line for rentals, disavowing snorkels that have been in the mouths of who knows how many strangers, and knowing that your masks fit before you leave home (leaky masks bring kids to tears). U.S. Divers makes compact travel sets in adult and youth/small adult sizes (fits ages six to 12 and petite adults). The company also makes kids' sets for ages three to five, but not specifically for travel. I tested an adult set with excellent results (once I fiddled with the mask). I liked the shorter fins—in my luggage and in the water—and the kit didn't weigh my suitcase down. Find them on www.usdivers.com and check the store locator for your nearest retailer. You can also try online outlets like Costco.com, Dick's Sporting Goods, or Campmor.com, which offer various combo sets (including mask, fins, snorkel, and carrying cases) from U.S. Divers for between $20 to $40.
From the coves of La Jolla to the vistas of the Golden Gate Bridge at San Francisco's Baker Beach, California's shoreline deserves its legendary stature. Well, now you can add the sleepy hamlet of Avila Beach to that list of must-sees. My family and I had just driven a little over three hours north of L.A. when we veered off Highway 1 to grab a bite. Three days later, we were still here soaking up the sunny bliss. It wasn't the white-sand beach that seduced us, nor the mountains that hem in this small community. It was the utter lack of humans.
Living in Huntington Beach years ago, I had come to the conclusion that if you really wanted to savor a sublime stretch of Californian coastline, you had to share it. This is especially true in the warm summer months. That hidden beach south of Dana Point spoken only in secret circles among surfers would surely be overrun by that same tribe at sunrise. The rocky shores north of Laguna, favored by seals, are also a popular retreat for seal watchers, binoculars in tow.
My older daughter's first word wasn't Mama or Dada. It was Gus. Gus was our cat. Never mind my bruised feelings; there's a profound connection between kids and animals. I'm not just talking little kids; I'm talking teenagers, too. All three of my children put swimming with dolphins in their top ten favorite vacation experiences. They've also held alligators, parrots, and (really big) snakes (not in my top ten); they've met memorable goats, burros, potbelly pigs, and wolves. Kira, who visited Egypt with me when she was eight, still remembers Pepsi Cola the camel but shockingly few historical facts; in Baja, Molly, at six, got close enough to a 40-foot whale to recall vividly that whale breath is really bad, and to yearn to do it again ever since.
Sun worshippers rejoice! Away.com has just launched its new sun-splashed 
