For years, the Algarve has been the destination of choice for UK families visiting the stunning Portuguese coast. However, here at Activities Abroad we think that in order to experience a truly memorable family holiday, you need to visit the locations away from the tourist trail and uncover the hidden gems instead. It’s in these special destinations where you can enjoy authentic and unforgettable experiences that you and your family will cherish for years to come.

Here at Activities Abroad, we pride ourselves on our team of Family Travel Experts. We have visited all of our destinations, tried and tested the activities and carefully crafted our itineraries to create unforgettable family activity holidays.

Having watched Dame Judi Dench embark on her wonderful adventure to Borneo, we’ve been having some serious wanderlust thoughts about travelling in her footsteps!

A family whale watching trip is one of those memories that lasts a lifetime. Nothing compares to hearing the excitement from your children as they see the spurt of water from a whales’ blowhole or a flick of the tail as these mighty animals dive down into the water. During a whale watching experience while on holiday in the Azores, you’ll explore the surrounding waters of the incredible volcanic archipelago and look out for the many different species found here.

As one of the world’s largest whale sanctuaries, you’re in with a great chance of spotting whales during your holiday in the Azores. In fact, whales and dolphins are seen on 98% of the boat trips. What’s more, you’ll be following in expert footsteps as even the BBC and National Geographic have visited the Azores due to its whale watching potential!

View our holiday in the Azores complete with whale watching here.

When we asked our clients if they had any budding writers in the family who might want to enter our Junior Expert writing competition, we didn’t expect to have some future JK Rowling’s, Charles Dickens’ and Jane Austen’s on our hands!

If you are anything like us then you have probably started to dream of escaping the cold dark days of winter and embark on a family adventure to sunnier climbs! Now it might only be January but the good news is that the some of our favourite sunny escapes are just around the corner!

Although we love the Mediterranean islands of Sicily, Gozo and Croatia, there is one destination that we are particularly excited about – Madeira! Not only is this sub-tropical location full of picturesque landscapes, fascinating culture and dramatic views but it is also home to some wonderful family activities too! However, rather than rambling on for too long we’ll let the pictures do the talking. So, sit back and prepare yourself to be inspired!

We have some great news that we are delighted to share with you all – we’ve only gone and won another award!

Activities Abroad is delighted to announce that it has been named ‘Best Adventure Specialist for Families’ at the prestigious Family Traveller Awards 2018!

If your family is anything like ours, then you’ll have been thrilled to welcome the king of nature documentaries, David Attenborough, back to your screens on a Sunday night.

There can be a lot of pressure deciding how you want to celebrate the new year, especially when you have the whole family to think about. That’s why we’ve carefully designed family new year holidays to take the worry away.

There really is nothing better to get you into the festive spirit than an appearance from good old Saint Nicholas but with all the times he’s come to us, isn’t it only right we visited him?

Lapland offers so much to families wanting to revel in all the joys that come with an escape to a winter wonderland. With so much choice, we understand that it can be hard to narrow down exactly what you want to do on your family break. So, in order to help you plan your next Arctic escape, we caught up with one of our Travel Experts, Laura to get her top three experiences to have this winter with your family:

If you are anything like us then you have probably been longing for the chance to escape the heat of summer and cool down! Now it might still be the summer holidays but the good news is that winter is around the corner and here at Activities Abroad we think that there are plenty of reasons to get excited about the colder months!

Here at Activities Abroad we have always viewed rivers, lakes, canyons and oceans as natural playgrounds. Over the course of nearly two decades, we’ve travelled the world seeking out, and, very importantly, trying out the very best water-based experiences.

This got us to thinking about which are our absolute favourites so we asked our Family Travel Experts to come up with their particular choices. This resulted in a very comprehensive list so we decided to whittle it down to one per country.

We approached Kotor along the snaking coastal road that hugs the contours of the bay on a warm early evening in September. Below were the beautiful lights of Kotor twinkling in the distance, inviting us into its beautiful streets. My excitement grew as the lights kept dipping in and out of view and we wound and twisted along the curves of the road until finally, we arrived ready to begin our Montenegrin adventure!

Having worked at Activites Abroad for almost 9 years I have always dreamt about taking my family to Lapland.  I am very lucky to be able to visit many of the wonderful destinations that we offer as part of my role as Product and Operations Manager and I consider many of our local partners as friends rather than just business associates.

We know it’s hard to make a decision about where to go on your winter family holiday, so why not take some expert advice?

We asked our Activities Abroad and here’s what they had to say: