Check your passports – are they valid for 6 months after your trip date? Begin the process of renewing them or filing for a new passport for your children if necessary. You need to begin this process at least 6 weeks prior to traveling to give ample time. For more information, visit the State Department Passport Website.
Make sure you have any necessary vaccinations for the country and regions you will be visiting. For more information on recommended and required vaccinations, visit the Centers for Disease Control Website.
Double check that you do not need to obtain a tourist visa prior to your arrival in the country. Call the local consulate office for the destination you will be visiting to inquire. Note: US, Canadian, and Western European citizens do not normally need to apply for a visa in advance.
If another legal guardian for your child is staying in the US, you should obtain a notarized letter from that parent granting permission for you to leave the country with the child. The other guardian may have this notarized with their signature at a local bank before mailing it to you. Bring this with you on your trip.
Make sure you will have medical insurance coverage. Contact your medical insurance provider to see what your coverage will be out of country. Consider purchasing traveler's insurance for out of country coverage as well as other coverage for things such as trip delays or lost or stolen luggage. Call us for more details.
Review the packing list information. Make sure to purchase or obtain any items that you do not already have at least a week in advance. Ensure as well that all new clothing fits and that shoes are worked in! See our Adventure Gear page.
If you have chosen an active trip – begin to practice the activities before your trip. If you are doing a trek, go for an overnight hike on a previous weekend. Example: if you are kayaking, go out in a canoe or kayak on a lake to get the feel for balancing and paddling.
Read up on the destinations you will be visiting with the whole family. Pick one or two local attractions that you would like to include during any free time in each area. The easiest way to do this is to purchase a guidebook. We most recommend Lonely Planet and Insight Guidebooks.
Read your Adventure Life trip planning information packet that will arrive in the mail to you! This will have more particulars specific to your trip!
Compile your own packing list of essentials for your family. Follow one recommendation: if your kids can live without it, then leave it off the list! You’ll likely be grateful for the lighter bag as well the opportunity to try new things. See our tips for family packing additions.
Cruse ship was great. Fantastic food and service. Cruise itinary got changed so not what we expected, but not an major issue. Japan portion was great. Drivers/guides arranged by 80 Days were great. Hotels were mostly ok. Did not know that most hotels outside of major cities do not allow shoes to be worn in the hotel. again a minor inconvenience. Overall a great trip. Adventure Life communications were timely and much appreciated as far as changes/requests.
Peter Goff
1 day ago
We were a group of three that initiated our research by independently searching for the best agency to help us in the somewhat complex experience of traveling to the Galapagos. We chose adventure life because they were the most responsive in the website provided the most comprehensive overview of the trip. Their reviews were also very good.
Adventure, life splits up its booking process in two parts. First Jeff, the booking agent helped us decide which experience best suited are interests. We chose a small 14 to 16 group sized yacht. Once the booking was made with Jeff, we were handed off to Coleene, who oversaw the complex process of assembling all of the necessary documents and making sure we had everything we needed to make the trip go smoothly. The adventure, life website, then becomes your personal place of reference for all things related to your trip from door to door. It’s a lot of information to assemble, especially for three travelers, but the website makes it easy and Colleen‘s gentle reminders kept us on track. In all, from the beginning, we had four months from the time we started our research till the time we departed. We felt that was, a good amount of preparation time and don’t think it would be wise to do it in less than four months. Mostly because I think you have more options with that amount of time. There were others on our trip that took six months and more from the time they started planning.
The trip itself was outstanding. We ended up on an excellent yacht (Galapagos Angel II) with a great group of guests that we were able to connect with and put together a really nice google photos album to share.
Jed
1 week ago
Mary was very helpful. Quick to reply with helpful information and closure on arrangements.
Nicola Maxwell
1 week ago
Mary Curry and Elma are always so responsive and nice to deal with.
Michael
1 week ago
I enjoyed working with Jess to put together a private N.Z. trip. Jess has been my go-to person at Adventure Life over the past several years. She listens to what my husband and I want in a trip, and is always responsive to questions. Nothing seems to be too much of a bother for Jess.