Travel style

Family Travel

Q: How long should a family trip be?

Long enough to absorb one jet-lag cycle plus have real time at the destination. For trans-Atlantic from the US: 10 days minimum. For trans-Pacific: 12-14 days. For in-region: 5-7 days. Shorter trips don't work once you price in the actual fatigue.

Q: Do luxury hotels have kid-unfriendly policies?

Some do — Amanpulo famously caps children at 12+, Bulgari Hotels generally don't prioritise families. Most Four Seasons and Rosewood properties are explicitly family-focused. Always email the specific property before booking; reputation varies by location, not by brand.

Q: Is travel insurance essential for families?

Yes — medical evacuation alone can cost $50,000+ if a child needs air transport. Look for policies that specifically cover kids (most standard ones do) and that include trip cancellation due to child illness. Annual family multi-trip policies are often cheaper than per-trip.

Where our editors take their own children — six destinations that balance parental sanity, genuine interest for kids, and logistics that actually work.

By Sarah Chen · Verified April 2026

Family travel is the category publishers get wrong most often. The tropes (kid's clubs, unlimited buffets, theme parks) miss what families actually need: destinations that interest adults and children simultaneously, hotels where the staff treat parents with dignity, and trips short enough to survive the realities of jet lag plus tantrums. Our editors travel with their own children to the places below, repeatedly. None of these are the cheapest option; all of them are what we consider genuinely good.

Portugal · the Algarve and a Lisbon city break

The calmest beach-plus-culture week in Europe

Five direct flights a week from most US east-coast hubs, 4.5 hours from London, €4.50 pastéis de nata, safe beaches, kid-food friendly restaurants, and absolutely no 10 p.m. dinner pressure. Stay 4 nights on the Algarve (Martinhal Sagres family resort is the specialist) and 3 in Lisbon (the Memmo Alfama has family suites). Trams and the clifftop lighthouses keep kids engaged without force-feeding them culture.

Our 10-day Portugal itinerary →

Portugal · the Algarve and a Lisbon city break

Japan · Tokyo and Kyoto with kids

Civilised, safe, bizarrely kid-friendly

Japan is the easiest first-Asia trip with children. Supermarket food is safe to eat, trains are immaculate, kids are adored, and the cultural stimulation-per-minute (anime shops, bullet trains, temples you can climb) is extraordinary. Seven nights split between Tokyo (Shibuya or Shinjuku hotels with family rooms) and Kyoto (Hoshinoya Kyoto is the kid-welcome ryokan) is the first-visit shape. Summer is brutal; April/May or October/November.

Our 7-day Japan itinerary →

Costa Rica · the rainforest-and-beach arc

The adventure trip that actually works for families

Monkeys in the trees, sloths in the national park, white-water rafting at child-appropriate grades, zip lines long enough that grandparents brag. Arenal + Monteverde + Manuel Antonio is the canonical family week, and every lodge in those regions has been optimised for families for 20 years. The Four Seasons Resort Peninsula Papagayo is the luxury anchor; Tabacón and Nayara are the mid-tier classics.

Our 10-day Costa Rica itinerary →

Costa Rica · the rainforest-and-beach arc

Italy · Rome, Tuscany, and the Amalfi Coast

The food culture kids actually eat

Pasta, pizza, gelato, none of which requires any persuasion. Rome in 3 days with a licensed family-guide for the Colosseum and Vatican keeps it sharp (kids get bored in uninterpreted ruins fast). A Tuscan villa rental for 4 nights is the quintessential family-trip centrepiece; Amalfi for a beach close with one careful day-boat excursion (the coast road is not for kids who get carsick).

Our 10-day Italy itinerary →

Italy · Rome, Tuscany, and the Amalfi Coast

South Africa · Cape Town and a kid-safe safari

The safari trip most families rule out, wrongly

Kid-friendly lodges exist — Madikwe, Phinda, and Tswalu all take families with children from 6+ and structure game drives around shorter attention spans. Malaria-free game reserves (Madikwe specifically, and the Eastern Cape private reserves) are the parent-friendly choice. Pair with 4 nights in Cape Town (walking the V&A Waterfront, hiking Lion's Head as a family). Flights are long; the payoff is genuine.

Our Cape Town neighbourhood guide →

South Africa · Cape Town and a kid-safe safari

The Maldives · The one with a kid's club that works

Where the tropes are actually true

Overwater villas are not child-friendly (glass floors, unfenced drops); beach villas are. Six Senses Laamu, Soneva Fushi, and Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru run genuinely good children's programmes — the Soneva kid's club in particular is almost as popular with the staff who work there. A week is the minimum; jet lag plus travel-day fatigue burns the first 2 days. Our Maldives cover story goes into why this works more than it should.

Our Maldives cover feature →

The Maldives · The one with a kid's club that works

— FAQ

Family Travel: common questions

What age is too young for long-haul family travel?

Most children over 4 handle a 10-hour flight well with screens and snacks; under-3s benefit from shorter direct flights (trans-Atlantic rather than trans-Pacific). The destination matters more than the age — Portugal or Japan with a 5-year-old is far easier than Italy with a 2-year-old because of the pace expectations.

How long should a family trip be?

Do luxury hotels have kid-unfriendly policies?

Is travel insurance essential for families?