UnCruise Has the Best Family Vacations
Finally free to travel after over a year – that’s like at least 7 years kid time! You want to stay safe, so you’re traveling domestically, but you’re not so keen on being trapped in a car for days on end. (Are we there yet?) So what to do? Adventure in Alaska. An UnCruise Adventure is one of the best places for family vacations, especially this year.
Read how Kate Armstrong, from Family Travel Australia, explains why it was such a great trip for her and her daughter: Alaska Cruise With Kids
Our guides are terrific with matching activities to the interest and abilities of each person: grandparents, parents, and kids.
Our Kayak 101 class lets everyone learn the basics while still on the boat, including getting to sit in a kayak and see how it feels. All our kayaks are tandem (two person), so kids can sit up front and stay safe with an adult in the back. If older children show the skills and temperament to be allowed out with two kids in the kayak, that can happen too.
Hikes are also aimed at different ability and interest levels. Grandpa may want to borrow hiking poles from us – we carry a bucket full of adjustable poles at the ready. Some people, definitely including kids, love tide pooling – looking for creatures in the shallows. More energetic guests will head out for forest hikes or bushwhacks with no trails.
What to bring? It’s always a balancing act. What is enough without overpacking? Take a look at our blog post on exactly that: What to Pack For an UnCruise.
If you have family members under 90 pounds, you do need to bring a recreational PFD (personal flotation device) for those family members. Likewise, we have boots that you can borrow, but they are adult sizes only. Women’s 5 though Men’s 12, all medium width. See this good review from REI of How to Choose PFDs for Kids
The guides teach you about animals and plants along the way. What’s a moose’s favorite snack? What kind of animal left this print? Which plants will make you itchy if you touch them? Which ones can you eat? (spoiler alert – there are a lot of them!) From seaweed to berries, in this short video, our guides teach you that You’ll Never Starve in Southeast Alaska.
The same fun guides that taught you to kayak and which plants to eat know a whole lot more about Alaska. Spot a bird or sea mammal from the deck? Turn to ask a crew member about it. Every night after dinner, one of the guides will talk a bit about the area. Might be about whales, or Tlingit culture, or medicinal uses for plants you saw. It will definitely be cool.
Why It’s Important to Travel With Family: Stretching not only their arms and legs but also their minds. Trying new things, be it kayaking or vegetarian food. Spending time together during an adventure, but also over the dinner table and in the cabin at night.
Erin Kirkland is an author and founder of the website AKonthGO.com. She has also served as our Youth Adventurist on a number of departures. She explains her vision of Kids as Stewards of Alaska and why her son rates an UnCruise as one of the best family vacations they have ever had.
