Travel for Kids (travelforkids.com), published by Globetracks, is a popular online family travel guide for planning vacations with children in Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Africa. Travel for Kids combines fun things to do with practical tips, plus travel resources and staff recommendations for children's books all over the world. Travel for Kids is geared towards helping families create memorable trips, making good on our tag line "Your best choice for family travel."  
  Unlike other travel Web sites, Travel for Kids goes far beyond the "top ten" lists and provides information so that families can easily find out about places they'd like to visit, and also discover new places to explore with kids.  
  Launched in 2000, Travel for Kids is used by parents, teachers and children worldwide as the top family travel site and is recommended by travel industry experts. Travel for Kids has received raves from readers who say they are encouraged and inspired to travel with their kids. Here's what one family said, "We will be going to Italy and France this summer and I have read many guidebooks which are written for adults and focus most on churches, more churches and museums. Thanks so much for providing specific information relevant for families. You have saved me so much time and energy!"  
fun things to do
 
  Travel for Kids online guide includes where to go and what to with kids in over thirty countries, and dozens of cities, such as London, Paris, Munich, Madrid, Rome, Amsterdam, Berlin, Helsinki, New Delhi, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Mexico City, Vancouver, Los Angeles, San Diego. For the complete list of countries, click here .  
  Destination write-ups on Travel for Kids are presented clearly and simply, unlike wordy travelogues with one or two pearls of real information. Here's a sample:  
  Rome – Old Appian Way  
  The Old Appian Way Park is a perfect spot for a picnic (or a place to go on Mondays when the museums are closed). And it's a great place to escape the noisy city – here it's open countryside, green fields and forests, working farms with horses and goats, and it's quiet and peaceful.  
  Rent bikes (kids bikes are available) at Via Cecila Metella. Bike north on the paths through the Valle della Caffarella, or go south on the dirt paths next to the Via Appia Antica (the road itself is pretty bumpy for bikes).  
  Catacombs – The catacombs are a coolest places (quite literally) on the Appian Way. To visit the catacombs, it's guided tours only (tours are in multiple languages) but the guides are friendly to kids and encourage questions. Some of the catacombs are closed during the lunch hour, so check the schedule.  
  Travel for Kids has information for places families really appreciate, such as the Wells Fargo Museum in San Francisco, the best playground in Puno on Lake Titicaca, how to touch the sky in the Canadian Rockies, where to fly kites in Rajasthan, the best ricefield walks in Bali, horseback riding in Hyde Park, pedal boating in St. Petersburg, or where to find Germany's fairy tale road.  
travel tips
 
  On Travel for Kids, our Tips articles are chock full of practical tips for families, from the seasoned traveler to the first-timer – planning your trip, what to take, advice before you go and while you're there.  
  Articles include "Traveling with stuffed animals," don't leave home without them, "Tips for traveling with preschoolers," encourages parents with young kids to take long trips, "Baby's first flight," insider secrets for flying with infants, "Eating out with kids in Paris," fun restaurant experiences for everyone in the family "Packing for your trip – Bring the right stuff" and much more. Safety issues are also addressed in three articles: "Country politics and natural disasters," Cities in foreign countries," Outdoor activities in unfamiliar territory."  
     
family hotels
 
  Travel for Kids has always had plenty of fun things to with kids, but now we also have fun places to stay. We now offer our own list of family hotels, in the United States and Europe. For example, here's our listings for Paris, London, Florence, Barcelona, New York City, Washington, DC and California.  
  Travel for Kids hand-picked list of family hotels are all styles and price ranges, in neighborhoods that are near to fun things to do with kids. Hotels are selected for amenities such such as fresh-baked cookies, cribs and babysitting services, swimming pools, suites with kitchens, on-site restaurants, and more.  
     
travel tools
 
  Travel for Kids not only provides in-depth destination information, but we also research the best travel resources for families. Planning to sightsee in Paris, London, Dublin, Florence, San Francisco, Toronto, San Diego, Boston, or southern California? Purchase city passes online, and there's no waiting in lines and cost savings for the whole family, e.g. the London Pass, Go Boston Card, tickets to Legoland, or San Diego Zoo or Vatican Museums. What about a treasure hunt in the Louvre or sailing cruise in San Francisco?  
     
family tours
  
  We have staff recommendations for over 50 different family tours. While planning a family trip can be fun, there are times when a tour is an easier, better route. Family tours on Travel for Kids are associated with a country or region, so it's easy to find them on the site.  
  Tours range from wildlife tours in Costa Rica or the Galapagos Islands, to adventure vacations in Peru or Egypt, luxury-oriented holidays in Provence, family-oriented tours in Tuscany, to private tours in Israel.  
     
trip planner
  This is our staff picks for useful sites we use to plan our trips:
    Currency converter – Get a clear picture of prices in your home currency
    Cheap flights – Selection of schedules and prices for your destination
    Family tours – Editors' choice for family tour companies
    Cruises – Cruises for every intinerary and budget
    Train tickets – Book those tickets to ride
    Family Hotels – Choices for accommodations
kids' books
 
  We review fun kids' books to go with our destinations on Travel for Kids. Our reviews of over 1,000 children's books include fiction and non-fiction for ages ranging from toddlers to teens board books, picture books, easy readers, chapter books and teen reading, plus selected audio CD's and activity packs. And we are always adding new books.  
  Reading about other places and times is fun for everyone in the family, and is especially exciting when you're going to a new destination. For busy adults, children's books provide quick historical overviews too. One of our staff writers said, "Before we went to India, I read the Ramayana out loud to my boys. And when we were in India, we kept seeing the story everywhere – in paintings, in sculpture, in temples, in dance."  
  We group book selections by locale, and you'll find books to suit the age and interests of your children. For example, in Venice, choose a fantasy adventure, The Thief Lord, or a sparkling historical novel of a teenage girl in 16th century Venice, an easy reader, Carnival at Candlelight, or an illustrated history of the city. Toddlers with get a kick out of Gaspard's kayak trip on the canals, and everyone will enjoy Zoe Sophia's Scrapbook.  
  Kids' books appear throughout the site, keyed to each country, region or city, and are available for purchase online from Amazon.  
what's new
  Travel for Kids is always changing, as we add new destinations, fun books, family tours, city tickets and travel tips. Check out What's New to find our write-ups of new places, the latest kids' books, our most recent additions of family tours, and more advice in our travel essentials articles.  
   
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