Travel 45
“When will we get a chance like this
again?” So up we climbed, through the
steamy jungle, to spend a thrilling hour
being clipped from line to line, whizzing
through the canopy as we zigzagged down
across a steep valley. The kids whooped,
I screamed, and my dad, who’s pushing 80
and has murderous knees, got a round of
applause at the end from the guys helping
us through the course.
Then there was the boat trip, another
unanimous vote, on a huge catamaran
to Moyenne Island, part of the Sainte
Anne Marine National Park and so mani-
cured it looked like it was dreamt up by
Pixar. It didn’t look real, and it turned out
it’s not, really.
Brendon Grimshaw, a former news-
paper editor from Yorkshire, bought the
island in the 1960s and planted 1,000
tropical plants and trees, creating a
botanical garden in the ocean. There were
fruit bats frolicking in the treetops,
and ludicrous beaches, and a Creole
restaurant where a band played while we
ate curried fish.
It was an extraordinary week, and I’ve
not even mentioned the giant tortoises.
They breed them on Moyenne Island, and
there was a tortoise enclosure in our
resort, with afternoon feeding sessions. So
off we went — “When will we get a chance
like this again?”— all of us, and stood
proffering leaves and vegetable scraps into
the snapping mouths of the hulking, leath-
ery creatures.
The largest, Dusty, was 111 years old and
liked to raise up his body so you could
scratch his armpits.
“Yup,” said the 12-year-old. “Seriously
weird.”Eight more multi-generational winter sun getaways
Island seclusion
in Vietnam
Children are well catered for at Six
Senses Con Dao, a luxurious resort set
on a former prison island off Vietnam’s
southeast coast. Activities for children
include spotting flora and fauna, T-shirt
designing, Vietnamese language lessons
and hands-on local cooking classes.
Parents, meanwhile, can lounge in the
cracking spa, while for the whole family
there are boat trips and snorkelling in
the marine park.
Details Seven nights’ B&B in
a two-bedroom ocean-view villa
from £3,800pp, including flights
and transfers (scottdunn.com)Active Morocco
Fairmont Taghazout Bay is a slick
new resort on Morocco’s Atlantic coast,
a 17km drive from Agadir, with a spa,
27-hole golf course and clubs for kids
and teenagers offering surf lessons,
basketball, football and a mini theatre.
There are yoga lessons on the beach,
horse riding and various immersive
activities locally, including visits to
Berber families and hikes in the Atlas
mountains.
Details B&B doubles from £282
(fairmont.com). Fly to Agadir with
easyJetFamily fun in
the Maldives
The family-owned Emerald Maldives
Resort & Spa has a strong focus on
children’s activities, with one of the
largest kids’ clubs in the region and a
selection of two-bedroom family beach
villas with private pools and direct
beach access. The Emerald spa even
offers treatments for children, including
a chocolate clay body wrap and the
“Treat the Little Feet Ritual” that
includes a scrub, mask and massage.
Family cooking classes and children’s
yoga sessions add to the fun.
Details Seven nights’ all-inclusive in
a two-bedroom family beach villa
from £3,205pp, including flights
and seaplane transfers
(kenwoodtravel.co.uk)Laid-back luxury
on Bequia
The Bequia Beach Hotel, on the
tiny island in St Vincent and the
Grenadines, has just opened two
lavishly equipped villas overlooking
Friendship Beach. Both have private
pools and access to all the facilities ofthe hotel. Bequia itself is all about
exploring hidden beaches, jungly hills
and sleepy villages, while the hotel has
a private yacht for visiting neighbouring
islands. Children will love snorkelling,
stand-up paddleboarding and visiting
the local turtle sanctuary.
Details Seven nights’ B&B in a villa
sleeping ten from £3,249pp,
including flights and transfers
(elegantresorts.co.uk)Beach break in St Lucia
Windjammer Landing is all
about making the most of
the sea, with a large
crescent-shaped
beach and
complimentary
windsurfing,
Hobie Cat sailing,
kayaking,
snorkelling and
paddleboarding.
Children will be
entertained in the
Jacquot Fun Club,
while teenagers can
try beach cricket,
volleyball and banana-boat
rides. There are also six pools
and a wide choice of restaurants and
bars, should multi-generational families
want to go their separate ways.
Details Seven nights’ B&B in a
one-bedroom family villa with pull-out
sofa from £1,364pp, including flights
(britishairways.com)Conservation in
Thailand
Tongsai Bay, the first five-star property
built on Koh Samui in the 1980s, offers
suites, villas and cottages, and all sortsof complimentary sports, including
tennis, windsurfing, snorkelling and
canoeing. Surrounded by 28 acres of
verdant tropical gardens that are home
to 66 species of birds including mynahs,
Indian rollers and sunbirds, the resort
is big on teaching young guests about
conservation. There are wildlife walks,
nutrition lessons in the resort’s organic
garden and fruit-tasting sessions that
teach children about the local produce.
Details Seven nights’ B&B
in a one-bedroom pool villa
from £1,529pp, including
flights and transfers
(trailfinders.com)Mexico’s
Riviera
Maya
With a long
stretch of white-
sand beach,
lagoon-side suites
and multiple
restaurants and bars,
as well as golf,
Rosewood Mayakoba
will keep the different
generations happy. There
are daily boat tours through the
mangroves, as well as pizza-making and
Mayan storytelling in the kids’ club.
Parents, meanwhile, can chill out in the
adults-only beachfront restaurant, Aqui
Me Quedo, known for its fresh ceviche
and mojitos served under the palms.
Details Seven nights’ B&B in two
interconnecting lagoon suites from
£1,899pp, including flights and
transfers (clevelandcollection.co.uk)Activities for all ages
in Mauritius
In a private nature sanctuary on the
east coast, the all-villa Four Seasons
Resort Mauritius stretches onto an
11-acre private island. There are four
swimming pools, a golf course, tennis
courts and an overwater spa as
alternatives to lounging on the white-
sand beaches. The Hobbit Village Kids’
Club, meanwhile, comes with a bakery
where younger children can learn
how to bake dodo-shaped cookies.
Teenagers can hang out in the Karokan
club, with a DJ booth and dancefloor
for evening get-togethers.
Details Seven nights’ half-board in
a two-bedroom garden residence villa
from £2,499pp, including flights and
transfers (turquoiseholidays.co.uk)Francisca Kellett and
family were guests of
Fishermans Cove, which
has B&B family suites
from £340 (fishermans
cove-resort.com). Seven
nights’ half-board in a
two-bedroom villa at
Constance Ephelia costs
from £3,290pp, including
flights, transfers and a
catamaran cruise through
the Sainte Anne Marine
Park (originaltravel.co.uk)
Need to
know
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tBequia Beach HotelFour Seasons Resort MauritiusEmerald Maldives
Resort & SpaCONSTANCE EPHELIA; GETTY IMAGES