GeoEx Family Travel Stories
Our travelers dispel the myth that spending time with family means staying home. Time and again, they pack up their kids, grandkids, or the whole brood and fulfill their travel dreams together, bringing home incredible connections and lasting memories.
We’ve been crafting multigenerational trips since 1982, many of which celebrate milestone occasions and family reunions. Hearing back from our guests about the bonding and learning moments they shared reaffirms our belief that with GeoEx at your side, your family can be the reason to travel. Here’s what some travelers have shared after returning from a GeoEx Family Adventure.
We are full of great stories, memories, and photographs. Thank you for making it such an effortless and seamless vacation for our family.
Anne and Colin L.
Hours and hours of research time have been saved by having someone to work with who knows the region inside and out. And the GeoEx experts can offer tips and suggestions!
Christy Becker
Christy’s Family Trip to Guatemala
Why Guatemala
We only had about a week to travel, so I wanted a destination that was easy to get to. It was also extremely important to me to visit a country with a rich and diverse culture—I want to offer my kids the opportunity to see more of the world and open their eyes. I like to visit places and do things that are out of the norm, places off most people’s radars! GeoEx is great about asking a lot of questions regarding what interests our family has and what is important for us to see and do, and then coming up with travel options. We had many conversations (even up to the week of our departure) about what would work for our family. We as a family have a very diverse range of ages, interests, and levels of physical ability. GeoEx listened, dug deeper, then came up with a sample itinerary for us to discuss and agree upon.
Trip Highlights
Each of us had a different memorable moment.Two of the kids both thoroughly enjoyed the visit to Antigua, seeing the coffee plantation, and the chocolate tour. We all really enjoyed Lake Atitlan and all it had to offer, from mountain biking and hiking on Mayan trails to seeing the indigenous people using the paths. We truly felt like we were part of their lives. Each of the boutique hotels was phenomenal in their own way. We got to experience a wide variety of things in Guatemala that we would not have been able to do without GeoEx. We had lunch in two villages (one with the coffee farmer and one in one of the villages off Lake Atitlan). We were able to see how people live, see kids in school, and visit a community with a local guide. We saw so much and stayed in fabulous places. None of this would have been possible without GeoEx.
Next on Our Bucket List
I polled my family and got many different answers. David, my husband and Ellie are pushing for Australia and New Zealand, Jack is hoping for Machu Picchu or South Asia (Bhutan or Nepal), and I’d like some place with adventure, hiking, being active, and lots of cultural diversity—maybe Patagonia or South Asia. David and I are also very curious about Cuba.
Melanie’s South Africa Family Adventure
We Had Some Broad Ideas, but Needed Help Narrowing it Down
We Had Some Broad Ideas, but Needed Help Narrowing it Down
Last summer GeoEx put together a trip of a lifetime for us to South Africa. We had some broad ideas of what we wanted to do, but we needed help narrowing it down. We had some things on our list—definitely a safari, a city with great culture, and a variety of activities and excursions—and we needed lots of flexibility since we were traveling with three kids.
Starla was a great listener right from the get-go. She quickly understood that our style of travel was more off the beaten path with a preference for immersion into the local vibe. The trip she put together for us was absolutely perfect, all the way down to the restaurant suggestions and packing tips for kids. We sure did appreciate the level of personal attention we received along the way—from beginning to end.
Words Can’t Express How Happy We Are with the Trip GeoEx Put Together for Us
Traveling with our three kids for an extended period of time in South Africa was priceless—and something that we will all cherish forever. The beauty and culture of Cape Town, the meaningful township visits, and the adventurous, lively safari experiences combined to make a trip that was simply perfect!
Aidan’s Trip to the Galápagos
I Am 9-Years Old
I live in San Francisco with my mom and my sister Mila. I am going into fifth grade next year. I love baseball, my Guinness Book of Records book, hip-hop dancing, riding my scooter, and playing with Legos. I love science, especially experiments. I travel a lot. I go to New York to visit my dad in the summer, and have gone with my mom to Orlando, Palm Springs, and Los Angeles on vacation, and to visit her family in El Salvador. I have also been traveling with my yaya (my grandmother) since I was little. Yaya loves to travel very, very much. She has gone around the world and has been to more than 50 countries. She will go to the most remote places, but she does not like camping. Last summer, she took me to the Galápagos.
I Loved my Trip to the Galápagos
I liked the animals I saw: the hotel in Quito had peacocks and llamas, and the Galápagos had blue-footed boobies, sea lions, snakes, iguanas, turtles, tortoises, whales, dolphins, and lots of pretty fish. I played with sea lions and followed tortoises. I liked that the guides gave me special jobs on each island: I helped find snakes and land iguanas, name the birds, and drive the panga. It was really cool. Every day we would go to a new island where we would see new and different things. Sometimes when my yaya would go snorkeling, I would go with a guide in the glass-bottom boat to see fish or would stay aboard the ship with my friends playing or doing arts and crafts. My friends and I had dinner together every night, which was really fun, and after dinner we would watch a movie.
I really liked our room. We had comfy beds and every night they would make animals like elephants and rays out of our bath towels. My yaya was very happy on this trip because we had never done anything like this before and we really liked being together. I hope she takes me on another trip like this very soon.
My Yaya Says, “GeoEx Makes Planning Easy!”
Since I am only 9, I had her explain this part: “One call to get the information on the trip, one call to finalize dates, one call to confirm flights, and one call to get some details on packing. Because they know me and remember what I like, it was very fast. I’ve traveled with GeoEx for more than 20 years having amazing experiences like a safari in Tanzania, whale-watching in South Africa, riding horses in Argentina, climbing to the Tiger’s Nest in Bhutan, sailing in Egypt, and taking a train across Siberia. On my trip with Aidan to the Galápagos, I loved that GeoEx had taken care of every detail. I didn’t have to worry about anything.”
The Poleshuck Family’s Anniversary Celebration in Kenya
For our 50th wedding anniversary, my wife and I celebrated by traveling across Kenya for 12 days with nine family members. We were thinking about places to go that would be memorable and interesting for all of us, including five children ranging in age from 8 to 13. Kenya fit the bill. It was wonderful to spend almost two weeks all together. Traveling with just our group brought us closer as a family, and the adventures with the animals and the cross-cultural events shine in our memories. Our timing was just right for the Great Migration, during which literally hundreds of thousands of zebra and millions of wildebeest migrate from the Serengeti to the Mara following the rains and the grasses. Unbelievable.
Lisa’s Multigenerational Galápagos Voyage
As a Wildlife Photographer, I Am Perpetually Searching for Interesting & Dramatic Wildlife
Having lived and traveled throughout sub-Saharan Africa, my family and I are attracted to exotic and unique destinations. Now as a resident of California, I have a renewed interest in exploring the Americas. It wasn’t long before the allure of the Galápagos Islands took hold. The hardest decision being not where to go but whom to go with.
The Benefits of Getting Professional Advice Are Clear
My job takes me on the road for at least two months out of the year, which makes booking travel a daunting task. While wading through the plethora of travel company options for the Galápagos, GeoEx rose to the top. My list of requirements was rigid. I wanted a comfortable boat, good representation of the islands, and naturalists who are the best in the business.
This Trip Exceeded our Expectation by Leaps & Bounds
The ship lived up to my expectations and more. It was the perfect combination of intimate yet spacious, small enough to not get lost in a sea of passengers, but large enough to have space to move about very comfortably. The naturalists were more than guides, they shared with us in-depth information about the natural history of the Galápagos and made every request a reality. They were professional, thorough, and passionate about protecting the islands and its wildlife. The ship amenities were impressive with no detail spared. More like a floating five-star hotel, every day delivered sumptuous meals, new islands to explore, and inspiring evening lectures to whet our appetite for knowledge about the unique landscape and wildlife.
Whether swimming with curious sea lions, being nose to beak with a pelican, or waking up to a pod of dolphins swimming alongside our boat in the morning light, this trip exceeded our expectation by leaps and bounds. I felt well taken care of from the moment I inquired about the trip through Natalie Crow at GeoEx, to the people she set up to greet us in the mainland of Ecuador and the Galápagos. Thank you for making this truly a trip of a lifetime!
Aimee’s Family Trip to Bhutan
(With Husband, Mother & 10-year-old Twins)
15 Days, Including 3 Days of Trekking
Tsewang, one of our guides, is a walking Bhutanese encyclopedia and was wonderful with our twins and had the patience of a saint. On Halloween he found a large pumpkin and had it carved and waiting for us at the dinner table. He also prepared a Halloween treasure hunt. You cannot imagine the delight Tommy and Cricket felt when they realized that they didn’t have to miss Halloween after all.
On Trek We Could Not Have Wanted for Anything
We had a shower, a seated toilet, a carpet in our tent, hot chocolate, warm sleeping bags, darts, archery, grazing horses, warm and delicious meals, and the scenery…it doesn’t get much better than the rooftop to the world. Although the trek was a moderate one for GeoEx, it pushed our little family to the limit. When it got tough, Tsewang was there with encouragement, nuts, water, and a break. He was incredibly patient with us—we lowland folk were not used to the reduced oxygen levels, so it was slow going. Tsewang, who has the lungs of a yak, slowed his pace and made us all feel like Olympians.
Jigme Attended to my Mother like a Devoted Disciple
Jigme, our other guide, was also much loved by our crowd, especially my mother. He anticipated every possible need she could have had and was ready and waiting when that need arose. The only time he left my mother’s side was when he took the twins to the park for the afternoon so that Greg, my mother, and I could go and look at art in Thimphu. We feel so lucky to have had him assist us.
Bhutan Is an Amazing Country
Thank you for arranging this beautiful trip for us. Incredible memories were made that will be with us for the rest of our lives!
