Kids SPRING
MEET SNOW MONKEYS
JAPAN
A snow monkey taking a soak in a thermal bath; a sport that requires a daily intake of up to 20,000 calories; ancient shrines to emperors; a teen culture that takes neon to new levels; and a cuisine that fuels one of the world's oldest living populations: few places blitz the senses quite like Japan. Even the public transport would be in a theme park elsewhere, with bullet trains connecting the country at speeds of up to 322kmph.
Past, present and future rub shoulders on the family-friendly 11-day itinerary from G Adventures that takes you from Tokyo to
Kyoto. En route you'll take a whizzy bullet-train trip to Nagano to visit its Jigokudani snow monkey park and a 7th-century Buddhist temple.
Food is a key part of Japanese culture. There'll be hands-on cookery classes in Okinawa
– the southern prefecture with the highest proportion of people over 100; you'll visit a wasabi farm; and, when you arrive in the former Imperial capital of Kyoto, you'll sample its famed street food and make your own ramen. The packed itinerary also includes a sumo-wrestling masterclass and a visit to a samurai castle.
THE DETAIL The ten-night Japan Family Journey tour costs from £3,279pp (ages 7-11 from £3,151). gadventures.co.uk
PEDAL PAST THE PYRENEES
SPAIN
In a race where Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas could only muster a fifth-place finish between them (Wiggins, 2012), you have to go back to 1985 for the only time a Brit conquered Catalonia's famed Volta a Catalunya race (Robert Millar, 1985). But the stunning landscapes that take you from rolling countryside and the foothills of the Pyrenees to sandy-stoned medieval villages have made the region a bucket-list destination for cyclists of all levels.
Inntravel's six-night self-guided Bikes, Back-roads and Beaches tour allows you to indulge in the best the region has to offer, while having your luggage transported ahead to the next overnight stay at an agroturismo or seaside hotel – all of which have a pool to soothe tired limbs. The route takes along country lanes, down tracks and quiet back roads from the Gavarres mountains to the Mediterranean, allowing plenty of time for long, lazy lunches and stops at places such as the Gala-Dalí Castle museum and Figueres' Toy Museum. Time is even allowed for a spot of scuba diving, snorkelling or perhaps a boat trip to explore Illes Medes, an archipelago of uninhabited islets. THE DETAIL The six-night tour costs from £835pp (children from £665), including accommodation and rail travel. inntravel.co.uk
GET STARGAZING
CANADA
Little sparks a child's imagination like the stars, gazing into the endless galaxy and pondering the countless possibilities of what lies beyond. Few places on the planet are better to witness the night sky glitterati than Canada's eastern province of Nova Scotia, where North America's first Starlight Reserve is found. Situated across the Argyle, Clare and Yarmouth municipalities, the area is one of only four in the world to have been certified by the Unesco-supported Starlight Foundation. With no air or light pollution and swathes of uninhabited forest, the region is even home to the world's first starlight hotel, Trout Point Lodge, which has its own stargazing platform in a riverside meadow surrounded by forest.
Across the region, there are myriad ways for visitors to enhance their experience, including the Deep Sky Eye Observatory, with its telescope housed within a 2.7m dome, and Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site, where children can learn how to navigate the stars. Daytime visitors get to explore not only the great outdoors, but also the culture of the indigenous Mi'kmaq people. THE DETAIL Trout Point Lodge offers packages including cooking and stargazing. Doubles from £336. troutpoint.com novascotia.com