500 family holiday ideas

Planning adventurous family holidays where everyone gets to see new places and has experiences they will not forget can be hard work, and revisiting an old holiday haunt can seem like a much simpler option.

However, a new guide, 500 Places to Take Your Kids Before They Grow Up, offers holidaymakers a lengthy list of inspirational trips that put children's experiences first, making it easier to try something new.

Cleverly broken down into types of holiday experiences, rather than by destination, the book lists places where families can go to see some of the world's most exciting scenery, go on fun train and boat rides, visit the best zoos, museums, castles and theme parks, as well as top attractions in family-friendly cities.

The emphasis is very much on North American holidays (it is written by a New Yorker), so families planning to visit Canada and the US will find the book much more useful than those planning to visit Asia or Africa.

UK readers may also find the Americanisms annoying, but if you can get over the cheesy "Why they'll thank you" section, which offers reasons such as "Just like the movies - only more so" for Monument Valley, and "Nothing between you and America but sea" for Ireland's west coast, there are a lot of great family holiday ideas to consider.

As well as lots of fact-heavy, bite-size holiday ideas, the guide has the added benefit of being surprising light, so if you want to take it away with you it will not push up your baggage allowance too much.

Also, the guide always gives an age for each different holiday idea, making it easier to gauge whether the experience is right for your family.

Holiday ideas from 500 Places to Take Your Kids Before They Grow Up

Scenery: Cross the Golden Gate Bridge on foot and take in San Francisco's amazing skyline.

Cities: Visit Stockholm and get into Viking culture.

Animals: The child-friendly and huge Toronto zoo has a special kids area.

Ancient sites: Bring Roman Britain back to life in Bath.

History: Discover Joan of Arc's story in Rouen and Orleans.

Battlegrounds: Learn about American civil war at Gettysburg National Park, Pennsylvania.

Holy sights: See the largest Buddhist monument in the world in Borobudur in Java, Indonesia.

Outdoors: Cycle the rim of Crater Lake in Oregon and take in the panoramic views.


XXX