our fav excursions with kids
Once the flights, lodging and transport is booked, now we can get into the really fun part! The tours, the classes, the activities, AKA the excursions.
I love to plan excursions! It’s a great way to get in everyone’s “must haves” in a fun and accessible way. Also a tour guide means the family planner (Mom, for us) gets to relax and the kids get to follow someone else around and ask THEM questions.
To search for and book excursions, I use: Viator and Get your Guide.
how to book kid-friendly excursions
To make sure an excursion is kid friendly, I will check for:
Age limit exclusions, this frequently impacts us since we have a toddler and some activities cut off below age 6.
Time of day: we prefer excursions that start in the morning and end after lunch with a planned stop for food. After that, we turn into pumpkins. We cannot do afternoon tours and I wouldn’t recommend them for families in general.
Length of activity: We prefer HALF day. Actually, full day was a “must not do” for kid #2 so that’s totally out.
Reviews from other families: I will search for the word “kid” or “family” in the review to see if other families have done this tour.
some of our fav excursions with kids
Here’s some of the BEST excursions we have taken with all three kids!
Iceland: Snaefelles Peninsula: Otherworldly, forever my favorite excursion. If you have a car, do the drive and stop in Borganes. If you don’t, arrange a tour from Reykjavik, like this one.
Arizona / Utah: Guided Antelope Canyon (near Page, Arizona) tour, either lower or upper. Since this is on Navajo land, you need to book a tour. I can’t recommend it more.
Miami: Little Havana Food Tour: GREAT value for money. We ate a ton of delicious food and the kids got to experience so much Cuban culture!
Iceland: Perlan Museum: MUST stop. Really explains the wonder and nature of Iceland in a kid friendly way.
Puerto Rico: cave tour (this is a full day): incredible scenery and palpable history at the Cueva del Indio in particular.
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico: Food Tour: We really liked the Pitallal food tour but there are lots of neighborhoods and options.
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico: Vallarta Botanical Gardens: Wildly beautiful but hard to get to. If I would do it again, I’d arrange for Uber drop and pick up or book the shuttle on the site.
Iceland: Free Walking Tour of Reykjavik (tips appreciated).
San Diego: Birch Aquarium at Scripps. It’s tiny but a GREAT addition to your day in La Jolla. Visit with the San Diego City Pass.
San Diego: Balboa Park Museums. Take two trips so you can enjoy the Zoo and then museums on separate days. Our fav museums were: Natural History, Museum of Art, and the Fleet Science Center. Grab the San Diego City Pass to stretch those dollars.
Iceland: Secret Lagoon: A great, less crowded alternate to the Blue Lagoon and friendly for all ages.
Iceland: Whale Watching: We love a boat tour as long as it’s short and animal filled with snacks on board.
Iceland: Settlement Centre: We have been here twice. It’s a little creepy so I’d recommend for older kids. The gift shop and buffet are incredible. Head to the local pool afterwards. Great stop on your way to the Snaefells peninsula.
Other ones I would have booked but either we didn’t have time or my kids didn’t meet the age limits. I have my eye on these for future trips!
Iceland: Katla Cave
Iceland: Laugarvatn Fontana Thermal Baths and Bread Baking (they bake rye bread in the volcanic heated GROUND, it’s super cool!). We stopped for lunch but didn’t have time for the baths and baking experience.
Iceland: Lava Show!
Puerto Rico: Guided tour of El Yunque
La Fortuna, Costa Rica: Coffee / chocolate farm tour
La Fortuna, Costa Rica: Guided Night Jungle Tour
Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica: Guided Park Tour
Monteverde, Costa Rica: Ziplining