If your kids love to get active on vacation, consider one of these destinations where you can find exciting and educational camps designed especially for young travelers. Whether it’s a family surf adventure in Costa Rica, or a clothing-design camp for your fashionista-to-be, these 10 kids camps offer something for the whole family.
Young Voyagers sailing into the sunset — Photo courtesy of Broadreach
1. Young Voyagers Camp
St. Barths, Caribbean
The new Young Voyagers Camp from Exclusive Resorts, on the Caribbean island of St. Barths lets kids age 10 to 16 join a week-long program to cruise the Caribbean, learning to sail, dive, and kayak aboard a spacious catamaran.
Coral restoration at Kids Sea Camp in Bonaire. — Photo courtesy of Kids Sea Camp Inc.
2. Kids Sea Camp
Bonaire, Caribbean
Every summer, Family Dive Adventures and the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) offer their week-long Kids Sea Camp on the Caribbean island of Bonaire. Home to one of the Caribbean’s oldest marine preserves, it’s the perfect place for families and children to learn how to scuba dive, and get firsthand experience with ocean preservation through a coral restoration program.
Golf lessons from PGA professionals — Photo courtesy of Silverado Resort
3. PGA Jr. Golf Camp
Napa, California
Kids can improve their golf game with lessons from PGA professionals when they sign on for full- or half-day sessions of the PGA Junior Golf Camp at the Silverado Resort. And each week, the resort hosts a golf competition that lets kids and parents show off their skills together.
Exploring the California backcountry — Photo courtesy of Peter Morning/ MMSA
4. Backcountry Camp
Mammoth Mountain, California
Adventurous kids can spend five days in the backcountry of California’s Eastern Sierras, through Mammoth Mountain’s backcounty summer camp program. Activities include rock climbing, wilderness survival training, and overnight backpacking.
Sea turtle nests on Sea Island — Photo courtesy of Sea Island
5. Junior Naturalist
Sea Island, Georgia
The junior naturalist program on Sea Island lets kids get an up-close, naturalist-led look at all the ecosystems of Georgia’s unique barrier islands. Every day has a different theme, including opportunities to see protected sea turtle nests and use plankton nets to discover microscopic sea creatures.
Learning about science and space — Photo courtesy of Space Center Houston
6. Science Camp
Houston, Texas
Kids passionate about science and outer space won’t want to miss the chance to attend one of the space camps at Space Center Houston. There are programs available for ages four to 14, including ones like astronaut training and model rocketry.
Campers at an archaeological dig site — Photo courtesy of Crow Canyon Archaeological Center
7. Crow Canyon Archaeology Camp
Cortez, Colorado
Give your kids the chance to explore back in time by taking part in a real archaeological dig near Colorado’s Mesa Verde National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Crow Canyon Archaeology Camp lets them excavate a site where Anasazi Native Americans lived more than 1,000 years ago.
Surfing in Playa Tamarindo, Costa Rica — Photo courtesy of JarleNaustvik via Flickr
8. Family Surf Camp
Playa Tamarindo, Costa Rica
Kids and parents learn to hang ten together at the family surf camps offered by the Costa Rica Surf Institute in Playa Tamarindo. Lessons include a week of surf and wave theory, water safety and instructor supervised surfing lessons.
Learning to sew at Fashion Camp — Photo courtesy of Fashion Camp. Create. Design. Sew.
9. Fashion Camp
Orange County, California
If your young one is destined to be a fashion designer, give them a head start at Fashion Camp. They can pick from beginner design and sewing camps, or a more advanced summer camp during which they’ll conceive and create their own outfit.
Kayaking Mayakoba Resort — Photo courtesy of Mayakoba Resort
10. Yucatan Rangers
Riviera Maya, Mexico
On Mexico’s Riviera Maya, the Mayakoba Resort sits amid wild mangrove forest and placid lagoons where kids age 12 to 17 can join the Yucatan Ranger program to learn about local birds and wildlife while kayaking and hiking with biologists.
