Travelling with kids can be stressful. In the best-case scenario, mum and dad will find a resort with an amazing kids club offering experiential activities that entertain and educate, and the children return home inspired and enriched by the experience. The worst-case scenario is best summed up by author Alain de Botton in his 2002 work, The Art of Travel: “How quickly the advantages of civilisation are wiped out by a tantrum.”
UK and US-based travel company Black Tomato has taken family travel to the next level with the launch of ‘Take me on a Story’, a collection of itineraries inspired by classic children’s literature designed with the whole family in mind. Dreamed up by Black Tomato co-founder and new dad Tom Marchant, the programme has launched with five wanderlust-inspiring itineraries, including one in Alaska and one in the Caribbean.
‘Take me on a Story to the British Virgin Islands: A trip inspired by Treasure Island’ has all the makings of a once-in-a-lifetime, swashbuckling adventure, based on the classic novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. From a dreamy base at Rosewood Little Dix Bay, families will acquire the skills they need to hunt for buried treasure through sailing lessons, sword fighting instruction and (non-alcoholic) rum-making classes at Pirate School, before chartering a boat bound for uninhabited islands to look for buried treasure and taking a catamaran cruise to the Dog Islands. Back at the resort, youngsters will learn how sailors navigated the Seven Seas using the stars as guidance at a beachfront bonfire, embark on underwater treasure hunts and take a cooking class at the resort’s sustainable farm. The seven-night adventure starts from £5,500 (US $7,680) per person.
‘Take me on a Story to Alaska: A trip inspired by Call of the Wild’, takes families on an epic journey through the wilderness immortalised in Jack London’s most famous novel. Travellers will rely on helicopter and floatplane transfers to reach three remote lodges over the course of this nine-night journey, where survival experts and historians will help hone the outdoor skills needed to navigate this vast landscape and share stories about gold-panning and conservation. From navigating glacial rivers by raft to ice climbing, rappelling and dog mushing, this one has plenty to offer for active families and older kids. Starting from £28,000 ($39,100) per person.
Other itineraries based on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Oxfordshire, UK), Journey to the Centre of the Earth (Iceland) and Arabian Nights (Morocco) are all equally luxurious, with accommodation in first class hotels and unforgettable experiential activities. More itineraries will be introduced in due course; meanwhile, Black Tomato travel experts are up to the challenge of creating bespoke story-themed escapes based on whatever stories fuel your wanderlust.