Trafalgar, South Africa’s leading provider of escorted holidays, has reinvented a staple leisure activity: the family holiday.
“All too often these days, a ‘family’ holiday means a family travelling to the same destination – and then everyone going off to do their own thing,” says Trafalgar managing director Theresa Szejwallo.
“With us, gone are the days of dads sloping off to play golf, moms sunning themselves on the beach, the teenagers doing anything that doesn’t involve the parents and the little ones being consigned to supervised kiddie clubs.
“What we’ve done is put together a selection of exciting overseas holidays for families to enjoy together. And the experiences and adventures we’re offering are the stuff of lifelong memories.”
Trafalgar’s 2012 Family Experiences tours contain a plethora of once-in-a-lifetime experiences, from the 16th century Oxford dining hall that inspired Hogwarts Hall of Harry Potter fame to the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu.
There are cowboy trails, active volcanoes, castles, glaciers, tempting culinary adventures such as chocolate-making, world-famous historical sites, gladiator training, breathtaking natural sights, dance lessons, exotic wildlife galore… the list of fabulous places to see and things to do goes on and on.
“Every single thing we offer on our Family Experiences tours is designed to be fun and exciting, unlike anything you’ll find at home. And there’s a strong focus on the educational aspects of the holidays we offer – who would ever have thought that a family holiday could be so enjoyable and an unforgettable, interactive learning experience?” says Szejwallo.
Interestingly, she adds, the concept of “family” is in itself a fluid one.
“For us at Trafalgar, ‘family’ does not necessarily mean only mom, dad and the kids. We have noticed a trend where kids travel with a grandparent or grandparents, or a single parent.
“The old-fashioned notion of a nuclear family unit is only one of several different family combinations these days, and we see them all on Trafalgar tours. What’s most important is that they go on holiday together, and stay on holiday together,” she says.
Best of all, Szejwallo adds, booking a Trafalgar Family Experiences tour is a quick and easy process – as she discovered when she took her daughters on the Monkeys, Jungles and Volcanoes holiday to Costa Rica.
“One of the biggest highlights for me was that I booked my holiday within five minutes, and I could start looking forward to my holiday with my girls. And on the trip, I didn’t have to stress or waste time making arrangements and booking side trips or find things to do as it was all basically done,” she says. - Saturday Star
l For more about the various Trafalgar Family Experiences tours and booking info, see www.FamilyTravelExperiences.com.