Taking the kids: Here’s to new shared adventures and experiences in 2025

Maybe your kids have never seen snow. Maybe your grandkids have never seen the ocean or the Statue of Liberty or ridden on a cable car.

In this new year, there are many opportunities to expand children's worlds through travel without spending more than you can afford. Invite grown children along and extended family, as long as you get along.

We are already talking about a Thanksgiving 2025 reunion of sorts with our family in Sedona, Arizona, which will please the hikers and mountain bikers in the family, as well as those who simply love the desert.

With our partners at Family Travel Forum and Little Family Adventure, we have put together a guide to Fun in the Snow and Winter Getaways that will give you some new ideas.

See the newly arrived pandas at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. The San Diego Zoo made a new commitment with China Wildlife Conservation Association and welcomed two pandas once again – YU Chuan and Xin Bao – who live in the zoo’s Panda Ridge. The newly refreshed and expanded area takes inspiration from the breathtaking, lush landscapes in and around giant pandas’ native habitats in Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces. Atlanta Zoo has four pandas. Any of those cities would make a terrific winter getaway with discounted hotel rates and fewer crowds.

Opt for Fun in the Snow off the slopes. Door County, Wisconsin, offers a variety of fun and exciting winter family activities. From skiing, snowmobiling and ice fishing to snowshoeing, sledding, and tubing, Door County has something for everyone. For those wanting to explore beyond the snowy terrain, visit any of Door County’s state parks for hiking, guided tours, or educational programs.

Go see the Northern Lights in Alaska, Iceland or Norway as we recently did on a Hurtigruten cruise (kids often are half price). Taking curling lessons from locals o n Gondwana Ecotours’ eight-day Alaska Northern Lights Adventure Iceland is as popular in winter as in summer for views of the Northern Lights and the chance to soak in geothermal hot springs, explore ice caves and glaciers, as well as plenty of other winter sports.

According to the 2025 Virtuoso Luxe Report, Antarctica has surged in popularity with Norway and Iceland also ranking in the top five. The report also noted that family travel, celebration travel and multigenerational family travel are top 2025 trends.

Opt for Sierra Club outings to explore the Boundary Waters by Dogsled or an introduction to back-country skiing in Utah, among the offerings. Visit Yellowstone National Park in winter, as we did, seeing Old Faithful without the crowds and coming face-to-face (safely) with a bison.

Instead of the Caribbean or Mexico, cruise this winter in Europe – an especially good bet with grown kids as more river cruise companies and major cruise lines are positioning more ships in Europe. It may be cold, but you won’t fight the crowds and the fares are lower. The New York Times recently reported that summer heat and over tourism have encouraged the appeal with off- season departures increasing over 20 percent in the past few years. Cruise on the kid-friendly MSC Cruises, or with older or grown kids on a smaller Windstar ship sailing between Rome and Barcelona or Rome to Venice. Plan ahead for a Christmas Markets river cruise for 2025 like those offered by Croisi Europe in Alsace, Uniworld in Germany or AMA Waterways along the Danube.

Invite your grown daughters, nieces, sisters and best friends for a women-only adventure trip like those offered by Backroads (perhaps a four- day Palm Springs and Joshua Tree walking and hiking tour?) and REI Adventures. (Perhaps, a hiking trip in Sedona?)

Opt for a winter festival, like Montreal en Lumiere (Feb. 27 to March 9) with great eats, many free outdoor family-friendly activities, music and Nuit Blanche with more than 100 cultural activities across the city for one night. Pigeon Forge Winterfest lasts into mid-February with lights tours (how about from a helicopter?) The Steamboat Springs Winter Carnival (Feb. 5 to 9) celebrates 111 years of winter and western tradition while North Lake Tahoe Snowfest (Feb. 28 to March 9) is the largest winter mountain festival on the West Coast, supporting local nonprofits. All are a great way to enjoy the snow without venturing onto the slopes!

Be among the first to see Egypt’s long-awaited new Grand Egyptian Museum, ultimately the largest archaeological museum in the world. (Abercrombie & Kent has announced a new Egypt in a Week itinerary, which includes a visit to the new museum.)

Don’t forget Florida. Even in pricey towns like Key West, chain hotels like Hilton Garden Inn and Fairfield Inn have beautiful pools, fitness facilities, easy access to local attractions, outdoor dining and good rates all winter. Just south of Orlando, Kissimmee is a great bet for those seeking affordable vacation rentals inland, many with their own pools. Local real estate management companies often have better rates than places listed on Airbnb. There are also 22 18-hole golf courses to keep your golfers busy when the theme parks wear you out.

Take a road trip, like Scottsdale to the awe-inspiring Grand Canyon. One of the best parts is finding so much less traffic than you would during the busy summer season. How about an RV adventure? Blacksford offers premium RV rentals, including a five-day itinerary from Phoenix to Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park.

Mellow out in a hot springs, as we did at Sky Lagoon in Reykjavik, complete with sea views, or closer to home in Saratoga, Wyoming. There are more than 250 developed hot springs in the U.S., according to Hot Springs of America. (You can search based on location.)

Here’s to happy winter adventures in 2025.

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(For more Taking the Kids, visit www.takingthekids.com and also follow TakingTheKids on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram where Eileen Ogintz welcomes your questions and comments. The fourth edition of The Kid’s Guide to New York City and the third edition of The Kid’s Guide to Washington D.C. are the latest in a series of 14 books for kid travelers published by Eileen.)