Resources to Help Plan Vacations for the Family

So what if it’s April and you haven’t begun to plan for summer vacation? The good news is that however much time and money you have for a family vacation this summer, you’ve never had so many options or places to go for planning help. Whether you want to camp in the mountains or cruise the Caribbean on a mega-ship, swap houses with an urban family across the country or kayak among whales in Alaska, resources are plentiful. Grab your phone or your computer mouse. This resource guide will get you started on your best family getaway yet:

TRAVEL AGENTS

By summer, more than 100 travel agents nationwide will have completed course work to become certified by the American Society of Travel Agents as family travel specialists. To find a certified family travel specialist near you, write, call or check ASTA’s Web site at 1101 King St., Suite 200, Alexandria, VA 22314; telephone (703) 739-2782, Internet https://www.astanet.com.

Rascals in Paradise, 650 5th St., No. 505, San Francisco, CA 94107; tel. (800) U-RASCAL, Internet https: //www.rascalsinparadise.com. Rascals sends small groups of families off to slightly off-the-beaten-track destinations, from Mexico to Australia to Bali, often with a counselor for the kids.

Grandtravel, 6900 Wisconsin Ave., No. 706, Chevy Chase, MD 20815; tel. (800) 247-7651, Internet https://www.grandtrvl.com. Grandtravel offers upscale grandparent-grandchild tours of Washington, D.C., the Southwest, Europe and Africa as well as vacations designed to bring together extended families. New European tours are being offered this summer for parents and children.

Celebration, 4120 Woodbine St., Chevy Chase, MD 20815; tel. (800) 656-4206, Internet https://www.celebrationtrav.com. Celebration specializes in multi-generational travel, whether a gathering on a cruise ship, in Hawaii or at a resort or villa, so grandparents, parents and grandkids can celebrate a special occasion.

Kids Go Too, P.O. Box 3478, Winter Park, CO 80482; tel. (800) 638- 3215, Internet https://www.kidsgotootravel.com. It specializes in organizing family trips to the Rocky Mountain states, with unique kid-tested packages that might include a stay in a Colorado tepee village or a Grand Canyon Indian reservation, or a covered wagon traveling along Yellowstone’s south border.

Escapes Unlimited, 17842 Irvine Blvd., Suite 232, Tustin, CA 92780; tel. (800) 243-7227. (No Web site.) This agency sends single parents, adventurous families and their older kids (10 and up) on affordable eco-trips to Peru and the Greek Islands, among other places.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME

Condominium Travel Associates, 33 Union City Road, Prospect, CT 06712; tel. (800) 492-6636, Internet https://www.condotravel.com. Promises it can find you a roomy condo for the price of a hotel room or less.

Hideaways International, 767 Islington St., Portsmouth, NH 03801; tel. (800) 843-4433, Internet https://www.hideaways.com. This is a travel club that offers villas, condos and suite resorts around the world at a discount. Offers a $39 four-month trial membership.

Resort Quest, 530 Oak Court Drive, No. 360, Memphis, TN 38117; tel. (877) 588-5800, Internet https://www.resortquest.com. Offers vacation rentals, from studios to private homes, throughout North America.

Paris Sejour Reservation, 875 N. Michigan Ave. No. 3214, Chicago, IL 60611-1953; tel. (312) 587-7707, fax (312) 587-9887, Internet https://www.psrparis.com. This agency promises to help you become part of a Paris neighborhood by offering 600-plus privately owned apartments for rent, from $80 a night and up.

Intervac International, 30 Corte San Fernando, Tiburon, CA 94920; tel. (800) 756-HOME, fax (415) 435-7440, Internet https://www.intervac.com. This large home-exchange agency offers access to thousands of swappers worldwide for $83.

ECO-ADVENTURES, LEARNING VACATIONS

AWE GORP Travel, 10055 W. Moor Drive, No. 1215, Westminster, CO 80021; tel. (800) 444-0099, Internet https://www.gorptravel.com. Offers scores of family adventures all over the West and Canada, among other places. Here’s your chance to ride in a rodeo or on a dog sled.

Ocean Voyages, 1709 Bridgeway, Sausalito, CA 94965; tel. (800) 299-4444, Internet https://www.oceanvoyages.com. It charters yachts with kid-friendly skippers around the world. Costs start at $125 per person, per day.

Wildland Adventures, 3516 N.E. 155th St., Seattle, WA 98155; tel. (800) 345-4453, Internet https://www.wildland.com. Sends families cruising in Costa Rica, hiking glaciers in Alaska.

Backroads, 801 Cedar St., Berkeley, CA 94710; tel. (800) GO-ACTIVE, Internet https://www.backroads.com. Tour company offers 31 biking, walking and multi-sport itineraries designed for families, from the San Juan Islands to the Loire Valley in France to Costa Rica to Maine. Kids’ bikes, carriers and trailer cycles are available.

Sierra Club, 85 2nd St., 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105; tel. (415) 977-5522, Internet https://www.sierraclub.org/outings/national. Offers more than two dozen different family trips, including a grandparent-grandchild trip near Lake Tahoe, raft trips in Utah and Dinosaur National Monument, and trips in Maine and California ideal for introducing toddlers to the outdoors.

Familyhostel, University of New Hampshire, 6 Garrison Ave., Durham, NH 03824-3529; tel. (800) 733-9753, Internet https://www.learn.unh.edu. Trips are run by the university’s InterHostel, known for its moderately priced learning trips for seniors. Go to Scotland, France, Alaska (on a cruise) or Costa Rica, staying in university housing and spending time with local families.

Thompson Family Adventures, 347 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02139; tel. (800) 262-6255, Internet https://www.FamilyAdventures.com. It specializes in sending well-heeled families on safari to Tanzania, trekking in Nepal or snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef. Also has programs in Egypt, Costa Rica and Turkey.

WEB SITES

The Family Travel Forum, 891 Amsterdam Ave., New York, NY 10025; tel. (212) 665-6124, Internet https://www.familytravelforum.com. A place to trade tips with other traveling parents, find family-friendly travel agents and links to sites providing everything from passport information to health tips.

The Family Travel Network, 7926 Jones Branch Drive, Suite 570, McLean, VA 22102; tel. (703) 905-9858. The largest online site devoted to family travel will soon have its own Web address. Take virtual vacations or get the skinny on bargains.

The Assn. of Science-Technology Centers Site, 1025 Vermont Ave. N.W., Suite 500, Washington, DC 20005; tel. (202) 783-7200, Internet https://www.astc.org. Offers links to science and technology museums around the country where you can take a virtual tour before you visit.

The American Zoo and Aquarium Assn., 8402 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, MD 20910; tel. (301) 562-0777, Internet https://www.aza.org. Helps you plan times to talk to the animals around the country.

EXPEDIA.com/daily/family, 133810 S.E. Eastgate Way, No. 400, Bellevue, WA 98008; tel. (800) EXPEDIA, Internet https://expedia.com/daily/family. The site has a comprehensive and very popular family area, which includes special deals, travel news and the chance to join family travel chats. The site’s airport survival guide is great for anyone planning to spend a couple of hours in an unfamiliar airport awaiting a connection.

About.com, 220 E. 42nd St., 24th Floor, New York, NY 10017; tel. (212) 849-2000, Internet https://travelwithkids.about.com. A wonderful site in which people can read other families’ opinions, get specific information about hotels and even countries and link to dozens of other sites to make your family travel planning simpler.

Gorp.com, 22 W. 19th St., New York, NY 10011; tel. (212) 675-6555, Internet https://www.gorp.com, is packed with information for a family interested in heading outdoors to camp, hike, sail or river raft, among other things. It’s a leading Web site for adventure travel, with plenty of family-specific content.

CRUISES

Most cruises are booked through travel agents. Two large cruise-only agencies offer substantial discounts and are knowledgeable about which ships are best for kids:

The Cruise Line Inc., 150 N.W. 168th St., North Miami Beach, FL 33169; tel. (800) 777-0707, Internet https://www.cruiseline.com. I used them to book an upcoming multi-generational trip for my family.

World Wide Cruises, 8059 W. McNab Road, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33321; tel. (800) 882-9000, Internet https://www.wwcruises.com.

Disney Cruise Line, 210 Celebration Place, Celebration, FL 34747; tel. (800) WDW-CRUISE, Internet https://www.disneycruise.com. The line has unveiled its second ship, added nurseries for infants ($6 an hour) and plans to begin seven-day Eastern Caribbean cruises late this summer. It offers the best kids’ programs anywhere, plus the chance to play on the beach with Goofy on its four- and three-day sailings. Prices start at $180 per day for kids up to age 17 and under $500 for adults.

American Hawaii Cruises, 1380 Port of New Orleans Place, New Orleans, LA 70130; tel. (800) 765- 7000, Internet https://www.cruisehawaii.com. This line is touting cruise-for-free deals for kids 17 and younger (except for port charges) this summer when they’re in a cabin with two paying adults.

Windjammer Barefoot Cruises, P.O. Box 190120, Miami Beach, FL 33119; tel. (800) 327-2601, Internet https://www.windjammer.com. The company is promoting its special summer kids’ activities. One child 6 to 12 accompanied by two parents goes free; with two adults and two kids, the kids go at half price. Single parents also get discounts on their children’s fares.

DO-GOOD VACATIONS

Global Citizens Network, 130 N. Howell St., St. Paul, MN 55104; tel. (800) 644-9292, Internet https://www.globalcitizens.org. A nonprofit organization that sponsors building projects in Central America and elsewhere, with children as young as 7 participating.

Crow Canyon Archeological Center, 23390 Road K, Cortez, CO 81321; tel. (800) 422-8975, Internet https://www.crowcanyon.org. Sponsors special family weeks for parents and children 12 and older on a working archeological dig near Mesa Verde.

The Appalachian Mountain Club, P.O. Box 298, Gorham, NH 03581; tel. (603) 466-2721, Internet https://www.outdoors.org. Sponsors volunteer trail-building efforts in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

Earthwatch Institute, 3 Clock Tower Place, Suite 100, Maynard, MA 01754; tel. (800) 776-0188, Internet https://www.earthwatch.org. Sends parents, grandparents and teens over 16 on research projects, such as studying dolphins in the Bahamas or exploring Mammoth Cave in Kentucky.

WHERE TO GET GADGETS AND GIZMOS

Family on Board, P.O. Box 513, Antrim, NH 03440-0513; tel. (800) 357-0212, Internet https://www.familyonboard.com. Offers about 350 products to make travel easier, such as rolling backpacks and a device designed to help ear discomfort on planes.

Survive the Drive, 66 W. Eagle Road, Havertown, PA 19083; tel. (800) 573-6018, Internet https://www.survivethedrive.com. Will rent you age-appropriate Game Buckets with $100 of the latest electronic games for $15, or a TV/VCR for your car for under $100 a week, including a couple of movies.

Sealed With a Kiss, P.O. Box 2063, Rockville, MD 20847; tel. (800) 888-7925, Internet https://www.eswak.com. Will put together a package of half a dozen or more toys and games based on your young traveler’s interests for $30 plus shipping.

Eileen Ogintz writes the Taking the Kids column for the Travel section.