We are always sad at the end of a trip. But we keep an eye out for new ways to preserve our memories, including emerging technologies that make it easy to create panoramic vistas from several single photographs and ever-easier ways to share photos online.

Today’s Family Adventure Travel tip: Reminisce Before the Trip Ends

• During dinner your last night, or while waiting to board the flight home, have everyone take turns sharing their best memories of the trip. Designate one person to take notes.
• When you arrive home, download or print your photos as soon as you can, and write in captions detailing where the photos were taken, and any associated memories.
• Share the photos with friends and family
• Share the photos with your own family before sitting down to plan your next trip!

What is your dream family adventure vacation?  It may seem too expensive, or too difficult, but I encourage you to dream.  It may be easier than you think!

Stuff happens when you travel, particularly when the trip involves overseas adventure. While the illnesses we have encountered have luckily been limited to traveler’s tummy and altitude sickness, we always plan for more serious occurrences.

Today’s Family Adventure Travel tip: Planning for contingencies on the trail

• Consider buying an insurance policy that includes a medical evacuation plan. Bring a copy of the policy and local access numbers with you on the trip.
• Find out what inoculations or boosters you need before you go, and how long it takes for them to become effective. For example, the vaccine for yellow fever, needed for many regions in Peru, takes about 10 days to become effective, and can have side effects that kick in days after the shot is given.
• Bring over-the-counter medications, especially those for stomach-related illness. See if your doctor will send you with some antibiotics, to be used only if you really need them.
• Don’t turn down the chance for a ride on the trail. When the guide on our most recent trip introduced us to our mules, we shrugged her off, saying we had done the rigorous trek to Machu Picchu and that we were sure we would hike every step of this 4-day trail. The next morning, my husband woke up feeling punky, and was very glad to have the mules to carry him. We all rode a few times, mostly to cross streams or when the terrain became too muddy, and came away with a healthy respect for pack mules.
• Make sure you and the kids have enough snacks and water in your daypacks.

What do you put in your daypack? Is there something you’ve wished you had included that you had forgotten or decided not to bring along?

Most treks start and end in cities, or in regions with lots of sightseeing. To keep the cultural tourism interesting for the kids, we break up museum visits with trips to local markets. Our boys are fascinated by open-air butcher shops, and by the local varieties of candy and comic books. They are also avid chess players, so we usually go on a hunt for interesting chess boards.

Today’s Family Adventure Travel tip: Keeping it interesting for the kids

• You can’t do enough research. We generally look through several guidebooks and scour the internet to compile a full listing of a region’s charms, including restaurants that suit our tastes and budget. Our favorite restaurant in the universe is Granja Heidi in the San Blas neighborhood of Cusco, Peru, the starting point for our trek to Machu Picchu. Run by a German couple who raise most of their food on a nearby farm, the restaurant served everything from chocolate milkshakes to excellent three-course price-fixed dinners (the cost was about $5 two years ago), and we ate every meal there that we could.
• Make sure the kids have enough breaks between sightseeing excursions. Sometimes they need an hour or so at the hotel to read, swim, or watch TV.
• Give each child his/her own camera or sketch book. We find our children stay more engaged when they are actively documenting the journey.
• Ask the kids’ help in choosing the itinerary for the day.

What are your kids’ favorite activities while traveling? Have you ever been surprised by the things they choose to do while on vacation?

One of the many lessons we’ve learned on our family adventure trips is that you can never have enough clean hiking socks, and that lightweight wool gloves and hats are a must. (In Peru, the dry season is winter.) We also bring books, travel-sized games, flashlights with extra batteries, and at least one deck of cards. One of our favorite activities after a full day on the trail is to gather at the campsite and play Scrabble.

Today’s Family Adventure Travel tip: What to pack

• Packing is easier if you don’t have to carry the gear yourself. Even so, bring the minimum you’ll need, but don’t skimp on socks and underwear, and you’ll appreciate a good, lightweight rain jacket. Depending on bathroom options (the ones we’ve found typically range from really disgusting to unspeakable), you’ll want to bring toilet paper and baby wipes. You’ll also want to think about over-the-counter pharmaceuticals. (See Day 4)
• If you have picky eaters, bring some packaged pasta or soba noodles and beef jerky with you. We also pack almonds and other trail snacks.
• There are some great organic options for freeze dried meals and snacks at hiking stores like REI or online.  These are packed with nutrition and many of them are really tastie.
• Bring duffle bags that don’t have wheels. These are more versatile than hard-pack cases. If you want to bring wheeled bags on the trip, you can tuck the other duffels inside and break them out for the trek. Most treks start and end in the same base city, so your hotel will be able to keep your extra luggage until you return.
• Don’t bring your bags stuffed full – chances are you’ll see lots of souvenirs to buy.
• Break in hiking boots before the trip, and test out any other gear you will be using for the first time.

What tips do you have for vacation packing?  Have you learned anything the hard way?

We love family vacations, and we love off-the-grid travel, especially challenging treks to ancient ruins. Our last big trips have been to Peru, multi-day camping-hiking adventures that have taken us – two adults and two teenage boys — through cloud forests, along mountain ridges overlooking spectacular valleys, and inside the walls of secluded Incan ruins. We have gotten to spend time with people who live much the way their ancestors did 500 years ago, and learned up-close how coffee beans are farmed. We have seen the well-preserved treasurers of a 2,000-year-old tomb, and watched two male llamas have a serious duel. We also rode mules for the first time, and got a whole new perspective on butterflies (some of the most beautiful species we saw eat dung. Yuck.)

While adventure travel has its rewards, it also has its challenges. Our most recent trip to the Chachapoyas region of northern Peru involved some of the most rigorous hiking we have done, and after I described the trek to a colleague, his response was, “That sounds awesome but I never want to go on vacation with you!”

Over the next few days, I’ll share tips for planning a great family adventure vacation. I know it may seem early to start thinking about vacations now (didn’t school just start?), but planning ahead is an important part of a successful adventure vacation.

Today’s Family Adventure Travel tip: Choosing the destination

• Start with climate. You’ll want to avoid the rainy season, and stay away from regions where the temperature is at either extreme.
• Balance the length of time you have to spend on the vacation with the amount of time it takes to get there and back. For instance, it took us almost two days of travel to get from New York City to the start of our most recent trek, and two days to get back, including an 11-hour layover in Lima.
• Consider jet lag, especially if you are taking a trip right before the start of school, or during spring break when students will come back to mid-terms.
• Be honest about the abilities in your group. If your route involves any technical climbing or strenuous hiking, make sure your family can handle the demands. And don’t just take the tour operator’s word for ability level required – do online research to find blogs or forum posts written by travelers who have already done the trip you plan to take.
• If you are using an outfitter, ask for references. For treks in foreign countries, we’ve found it best to choose full-service groups that provide an English-speaking guide, a cook and porters who carry the gear and pitch the tents at the end of the day. (The dollar still goes a long way in Peru and in other South American countries, and adventure tourism is welcome in the region as a growing source of employment.)
• Try to avoid overnight flights at the start of the trip. You want to be well-rested when you begin.
• Include your whole family in the planning process.  Anticipation is part of the fun!

Have you ever gone on an adventure vacation? Was it a “successful” trip? Would you do it again?