Wildland Adventures - eNews Archive

We recently gathered a group of parents together who had been on Wildland Family Adventures to ask them about their experiences and why they and their families keep coming back to Wildland. They had a lot to say:

"With Wildland Adventures, we can take our kids on a real adventure into foreign places to meet new people, take certain risks and personal challenges together... knowing that it is all within just the right margin of safety, always in great comfort, and in a way that cares for the people and places we visit!"

For over 20 years, we've been a part of many families' adventures. The following are just some of the additional ways we make sure that your family has the richest of experiences and a true Wildland Adventure:

#1. Following localfootpaths and country roads through villages andfarmlands allows you to be a part of a local family life far different from your own. We walk with locals, visit farms and schools, arrange meals and sometimes overnights in local homes.

#2. A family vacation should engage each member of the family in fun and enriching experiences. We realize, however, that this often means something different to each family member. We make sure that activities are planned around your younger child's interests and plan wilder adventures for your teens or college students!

#3. Our family guides are often parents or teachers who share your children's desire for fun, spontaneity, discovery and exploration. They engage everyone according to their age, knowledge and attention span (and, when needed, empathize with tired or hungry kids too!)

#4. Our pre-departure packets for kids include colorful and engaging information such as laminated wildlife guides and picture books of the local culture. We try and include items that will pique a child's curiosities in anticipation of arrival in a new land (also included, of course, are packing lists so that everyone is prepared!)

#5. We plan hikes and activities with specific goals in mind such as arrival at a waterfall and swimming hole or discovery of an ancient ruin buried in the jungle. Other activities like climbing to the top of an ancient temple in the jungle or successfully descending a white-water river are not only great fun, but confidence inspiring accomplishments as well.

#6. We plan activities in which any family member can participate and learn together. Some of these focus on discovering an inner source of strength, cultivating a new skill or stepping outside your comfort zone. Especially popular activities are ones where the kids excel and can show their parents or grandparents a thing or two!

#7. We often invite young people from the local area to join us on a walk, play soccer, or we may stop at a local home for lunch or dinner.

Costa Rica Family Vacation
Join other families on this fun and educational tropical adventure! Witness the thundering Arenal Volcano, explore the Los Angeles cloud forest and the tropical rain forest of Manuel Antonio NP. 9 Days. Recommended ages 5+. Adults from $1995, children under 11, $1295.

Galapagos Family Adventure
Our Wildland chartered vessel visits major wildlife sites where you'll walk among tortoises and marine iguanas as well as snorkel with sea lions. Visit remote Genovesa island and hike along lava flows to visit black and white sand beaches. 11 Days. Recommended ages 8+. From $4195.

Serengeti Family Safari
Discover the famous parks of Northern Tanzania and meet the WaHadzabe and the pastoral Maasai. Track a stalking lion or lumbering herds of elephants, go bow and arrow hunting with nomadic Bushmen and bead with Maasai women. 10 Days. Recommended ages 10+. Adults from $3995, teens 12-18 from $3450, children under 12 from $3195.

Belize Family Vacation
Canoeing, caving, snorkeling. Jungle lodge and beach cabana. Canoe in the Barton Creek Cave, and imagine the Maya at the ruins of Xunantunich. Relax at a Caribbean beach lodge with time to snorkel. 8 Days. Recommended ages 5+. Adults from $2295, children under 12, $1595.

See All Family Trips!

Kurt and Anne Kutay
Family Adventure Gurus

"Family Travel Pros" and "Family Adventure Gurus" are two names we've been called in the national media recently, and we like that kind of name calling! These recent designations by National Geographic Traveler and Adventure Magazines identify Wildland founders and co-directors, Kurt and Anne Kutay, as industry experts answering questions about family travel, and designing and leading family adventures. They met front stage at an outdoor salsa concert in Seattle, and Anne remembers Kurt "like a jaguar in the jungle stalking his prey." And, as Seattle writer Francesca Lyman described it in a feature story about Anne and Kurt in Seattle Metropolitan Magazine, "that first dance became a rumba around the world."

Kurt had worked for the Costa Rica National Park Service and started Wildland after a long backpack trip through South America. Anne had been working at Yellowstone National Park in the summers and had been guiding vehicle caravan tours throughout Mexico. So, when their son Tarek turned 5 they started designing Wildland Family Adventures each year to a new destination in Central America, South America, Africa and Turkey. When their son became a teen we revamped our entire family travel program keeping the great trips for young kids, but to adding a whole new line of active, multi-sport trips that appeal to more adventurous young adults. Now that Tarek is away at college in Switzerland these new Wildland Trips draw him back into the family fold to continue sharing lots more adventures! Kurt continues to serve as a respected leader in the adventure travel industry as an advisory board member of the Adventure Travel Trade Association, the International Galapagos Tour Operators Association, and all our trips continue to support conservation and community development projects throughout the world.