Question about kids on ABD trips

[WClayton]

My DW and I are looking into a ABD trip to China in 2011. We are 40 year old DINK's. My question is - how many couples go on this trip without kids? It appears that most people take ABD trips with kids based on many of the discussions I have read. We like reasonably well behaved children, but we don't want to end up on a trip full of spoiled whining brats either. What has been the experience of other DINK's on ABD trips?

Thanks.

 

[Diskidatheart]

Since you don't have kids, one option, if it is available next year, is to do an Adults Only trip. The other option is to do a trip in May or September when most kids are in school. There still may be some kids on these trips, but it will be less than in the middle of summer. The adults only trips aren't any different than the regular trips except they don't have Disney movie nights and other activities catered specifically to the children.

 

[Pakey]

We had a wonderful time on our adults only ABD that we took last year. The one we wanted to take this year didn't offer any adults only but ABD was able to tell me how many children were signed up for each of the tours so that I could make my decision as to whether or not I wanted to join those groups.

 

[Bobo912]

If an adults only trip doesn't work for you, try to pick a date when schools are typically in sessions and your likely to have fewer kids. And as Pakey said, ABD will tell you how many kids and the age ranges for anyone already booked. This probably isn't typical, but on our Alaska ABD in July, 2009, there were only 5 kids out of 30 travelers. Since I have a child, my fear was the opposite, that we didn't have enough kids, especially since we had two sets of siblings and my only child, but it worked out perfectly and we all had a great time. I'm sure there are excecptions, but on our two ABDs the kids have been very well behaved. Hope you find something that works for you!

 

[Icemann]

We had 5 children or young adults on are trip last year and their were the best kids anyone could ask for.We are DINKS also and we never have had a problem with the kids.Our nex tABD is in July and they told us their are six young adults with this trip.I don't ever remember anyone saying any thing about kids being a problem on any of the trips.You should be fine

 

[kristilew]

Just for full disclosure, the kids on our SWS trip last June were not the most pleasant to be around.

The main problem was that the average age was pretty young. I think you will be fine on the China trip, but I agree with the others: pick a time school is in session, or go on an adults only.

OTOH - the kids on the Peru ABD were fabulous. They were mostly teens, though, and really just young grown ups.

 

[glassslipper2004]

We've taken two ABD's in August (kids not in school) and have had no problems at all with the kids in our groups. Generally speaking I think the kids were pretty good themselves, and the adults with them (and older siblings at times) made sure that they were on good behavior. The kids in the group got along better with each other that we ever expected.

 

[smep013]

We are DINKS in our 30s and just returned from the Enchanted China trip which had just one other DINK couple. All other families had kids, ranging in age from 5-16. We were not really concerned about this, because either way, we were going to enjoy ourselves. But the kids ended up being awesome, no worries at all, and really, were a highlight of the trip.

I guess you ARE taking a chance if you are even the least bit concerned. The kids could turn out to be little nighmares! The guides made us feel just as welcome/special and we did not feel like we made a poor decision at all.

 

[sjlsk8r]

We just got back from Peru (me-30, DH-45 with no kids). There were a total of 15 kids on our trip and they were great. Two boys were a little wrestless at times, but they were only 7 and it turns out that they really just wanted to hang out with DH. They thought he was their cool uncle. Yes, somethimes the walks got long for the kids, but I heard just as many complaints from adults. I would not be worried about the kids if you like kids, their energy, and their unique points of view. For us, having the children there really enhanced the trip and did not take anything away. DH's best friends on the trip were a man in his mid- 60's and this guy's 13 year old grandson.

 

[kjd469]

I agree with the op who said to go during school times. My DH and I did the ABD Peru in October 2009, and just because of the time of year, there were no kids in our group of 23....the guides told us this is common in September and October, as most people are reluctant to take their kids out of school so soon after starting. However, any of the trips we have been on with kids, the kids have not been a a problem at all

 

[abdmom]

My DW and I are looking into a ABD trip to China in 2011. We are 40 year old DINK's. My question is - how many couples go on this trip without kids? It appears that most people take ABD trips with kids based on many of the discussions I have read. We like reasonably well behaved children, but we don't want to end up on a trip full of spoiled whining brats either. What has been the experience of other DINK's on ABD trips?

Thanks.

We went on the ABD China trip in 2008. Even though it left in May, there were no adults without kids on the trip. The group consisted of about half "kids" and half adults. Some of the "kids" were late teens though. The minimum suggested age is 8 and that was spot on. The youngest child was 8. She did just fine as did the other kids in the 9-12 range. I think I got crankier than any of them did.

ABD was able to tell me the number of kids in each age range. Since they've been running the trip for 3 years now, they should be able to give you a good idea of what season might be best to avoid the youngest kids.

 

[TDC Nala]

I loved the adults only tour in Australia but I am signing up for Egypt now (which is probably a time during school Christmas breaks so there will be kids) and since there are no adults only Egypt tours I'm hoping it works out for those not bringing kids - they do have a recommended age of 8 and up.

 

[AddictedtoTravel]

For me, a single parent with a child, the reason I looked at ABD was that I wanted my daughter to meet other children and the tour to have a kid friendly element. We went on Flavors of France last year and 17 of the 33 were children. It was an absolute joy to travel with others that embraced the joys and yes sometimes challenges when traveling with kids. It was the most important factor in our choosing ABD. The trip was amazing, the kids got along great and as I result I have booked two other ABD trips.

If you are concerned, I would recommend an adults only trip. I think ABD recognizes that not all want to travel with kids and so have added the adults only option.

It can be difficult for parents and kids to travel in a group with whinny spoiled adults as well.

 

[Sharkbyte]

One of the reasons why I book ABD trips IS for the experience of other families traveling with their children as well. I enjoy alone time with my family and you can have as much alone or group time as you want. If another family is on the trip, they most likely have the same interest in adventure and traveling with their children. The two ABD trips we took (Costa Rica and Southwest Splendors) were wonderful and the children on these trips were awesome. That was our experience.

 

[tksbaskets]

Last summer we went on Quest for the West as a graduation trip for our sons who were 18 at the time. We were the only all adult family on the trip. The trip was fabulous overall so my following comments are our observations not a denigration of the trip.

While the kids on the trip were pretty well behaved, they did typical kid stuff (loud on the bus, running around playing after dinner, a couple of snits). Most of the trip we were all together as a large group. The kid antics bothered our sons more than us. I spent a bit of the trip telling my older boys to ignore the kid behavior because they were just like that as kids themselves.

Unlike DCL where there are plenty of children but you can avoid them, on an ABD trip they are with you the entire trip.

We did get to do a few things just as an adult family (our own trail ride where we were probably the only family singing/quoting lines from Blazing Saddles with our ABD guide and wrangler)

Our overall opinion was the family/children focus on the trip is best enjoyed when you have a child on the trip too. (Getting the kids together for photo ops for example)

Some 'family' activities were a bit less enjoyable as adults only or parents with adult children. (No one really wanted to pick our family for the scavenger hunt when the children got to pick the groups)

If we do another ABD we will book an Adult Only trip if at all possible.

 

[TDC Nala]

Are all persons on the tour expected to take part in family activities? Can we opt out of those? Or are they an integral part of a tour with children? I've only done the adults only. Going as a solo adult and I don't want to be picked in a team for a scavenger hunt or anything like that, I just want to see Egypt.

 

[tksbaskets]

Are all persons on the tour expected to take part in family activities? Can we opt out of those? Or are they an integral part of a tour with children? I've only done the adults only. Going as a solo adult and I don't want to be picked in a team for a scavenger hunt or anything like that, I just want to see Egypt.

For us our Scavanger hunt was 'optional' but there wasn't any other activity in place of it. We didn't want to miss out on an educational activity. Most of our activities were 'group' destination activities.