Summer's here! Plan your vacation!

 

Dear Family Travelers:

 

Looking for an adventure this summer?

 

Think a water fight from your raft as you float down a river, watching dolphins and Orcas on an expedition ship in Alaska, or eating lobster cooked over an open fire on a Maine island. Or maybe learning to fly-fish in a mountain stream after a long horseback ride. 

 

There are plenty of adventures your family can have on lakes, the ocean, rivers and in the wilderness, we found in researching our #Best Summer section.

 

I've tried these six:

 

HOUSEBOATING IS EASY, economical and a great option when you want to share the adventure with family and friends like we did on Lake Powell. This western lake is huge, with more than 1900 miles of shore line starting in northern Arizona and extending into southern Utah. The kids have been asking to go back ever since!  They jet skied and wake-boarded, pushed each other off the  boat's waterslide and sat around campfires on the beach making S'mores.

 

SAILING YOURSELVES around a Caribbean Island, Florida, Maryland or the Med. We have "bareboated" more than once -- think camping on water -- but you can have a more luxurious experience with a captain and crew from a company like Moorings. You are on no one's schedule but your own and can snorkel or laze on a beach whenever you please.

 

The cozy lodge at Vista Verde

FAMILY TIME AT A DUDE RANCH: Vista Verde, a luxury guest ranch located just north of Steamboat Springs, CO, offers traditional week-long stays, combined with the amenities, service, and culinary options of a luxury resort. Families with children 6 years and up come to spend a week trying out exciting adventures, meeting new friends, and relaxing and reconnecting. The top notch riding program provides in-depth horsemanship, cattle-working clinics and adventurous, scenic trail rides.  The ranch also offers extensive mountain biking, hiking, fly fishing, rock climbing, photography, wild yoga, cooking classes, wine tasting, and an engaging kids and teen program.

 

TIME TRAVEL back on a Windjammer cruise in Maine where you sail on a historic schooner-the Maine Windjammer Association boasts North America's largest fleet of historic schooners.  Stop to explore tide pools or berry pick at unspoiled anchorages. The kids can help sail if they like.

 

RAFT on the Green River through Desolation Canyon in Utah or the Salmon River in Idaho.  You can't help but get unplugged because there isn't cell service and you'll relax because the guides do all the work, entertaining the kids and preparing amazing meals. Besides rafting, you might hike in deserted canyons, fish or have water fights on the beach. Companies like OARS offer special family trips, some suitable for kids as young as five. Here's what I wrote about rafting on the Yellowstone River.

 

GET CLOSE TO NATURE on a small expedition ship in Alaska   on a special family Un-Cruise adventure complete with polar plunges, rope swings  and most important, the chance to see amazing wildlife. Lindblad-National Geographic Expeditions offer the added plus of National Geo photography teachers on board to help you make sure you bring home the best images you can whether you are in the Galapagos Islands, or the Arctic.  

 

Ready for the adventure?