Adventure Vacations

Off the Beaten Path Family Travel

Last updated 14th December 2017

Off the beaten path — travelers all over the world increasingly talk about it and seek it out. But what is it? And, more critically, where is it? Does it really even exist (a modern Shangri-La) or is it more a state of mind? And is off-the-beaten-path family travel appropriate, in body and/or spirit, as more and more parents travel with their kids in search of powerful learning experiences anchored in pristine nature, “authentic culture” and opportunities for direct communication with people of foreign lands?

Off-the-beaten-path family travel in a boat in the Ibera Marshland of Argentina

Off-the-beaten-path family travel in a boat in the Ibera Marshland of Argentina. Photo courtesy of Say Hueque

It’s Perfect for Family Travel

“Off-the-beaten-path travel is the ultimate family adventure,” enthused Carrie Buss, a co-founder of Along for the Trip, a blog teaching parents how to get out and see the world with their kids. “We think [of it as] experiencing places with our kids that will inspire them to try new things and will ignite their passion for exploring.”

Diego Andrade, Marketing Manager of Pure! Travel Group, a boutique tour operator for Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, agreed: “Families should head off the beaten path because of the unique and different world they will experience.”

Overall, there was a strong emphasis on “out-of-the-box travel experiences,” as described by Mauricio Castro, Business Development Director of Nature Air, an airline and “flying tour” operator in Costa Rica.

Whatever the definition, the end goal, of course, is the sometimes elusive memories that “stay with a person as long as they live,” reminded Felipe Castro, Director, North America of Australis, an expedition cruise company specializing in trips at the bottom end of South America.

It’s Both a Place and a State of Mind

One thing was clear from the advice received: off-the-beaten-path travel defies easy explanation, as it is both a search for little-trodden lands and a desire to indulge in activities outside one’s normal daily routine.

“I really don’t think any [off-the-beaten-path] destination or experience is typical because every traveler is unique, and as such, his or her experiences will be so as well,” commented Erin Kirkland, publisher of AKontheGo, Alaska’s only family travel resource.

That being said, some experts do see going off the beaten track as getting to a certain type of place, one that “tourists cannot find on their own and it’s a window into [its] true life and culture,” suggested Bryan Jáuregui, the founder and owner of Todos Santos Eco Adventures, a leading tour operator in Baja California.

Sunset prairie of South Dakota

A gravel road… where adventure begins. Photo courtesy of the South Dakota Department of Tourism

It “conjures up images of destinations located along a dirt road…. Your adventure starts when the pavement ends,” added Kelly Burns of Geronimo Trail Guest Ranch, located in the Gila National Forest of southwest New Mexico (USA).

And it can even be whole countries that allow “for an amazing opportunity to get away from the crowds, but to be in communities that are welcoming and genuine,” observed Andrea Ross, the founder of Journeys Within, a boutique Southeast Asia tour company.

Going off the beaten path is also a way to travel, one increasingly out of fashion in this day and age of relentless connectivity and instant access to up-to-date information. “What happened to plotting a route on paper and ‘going with the flow’?“ wondered Katlyn Richter of the South Dakota Department of Tourism.

Whatever the case, “It means doing something out of the ordinary,” summarized Florian Craanen, Head of International Development for Family Twist, which organizes private, luxury family holidays and activities in Europe.

It’s About Culture and Nature

A top desire of many traveling families is to encounter people from different cultures and learn about their lives. “I think anytime that your children have the opportunity to interact with other children – even when they don’t speak the same language – it’s a meaningful and eye-opening experience,” said Shellie Bailey-Shah, the editor of KidTripster, a family travel website that informs and inspires families traveling anywhere in the world.

Buss of Along for the Trip concurred: “We think of of-the-beaten-path travel as purposely immersing ourselves in a new culture.” So did Ross of Journeys Within: “I think visiting local families is always an amazing way for families to connect with the countries they’re visiting.”

Right up there with culture, however, is the rising emphasis families place on nature. “I don’t believe getting off the beaten path necessarily requires absolute solitude in a true wilderness setting,” though, reflected Dan Wulfman, President of Tracks & Trails, a company focused on western driving experiences. “I think what most of us crave, whether we’re in touch with it yet or not, is a connection with nature.”

Of course, the trick with connecting with nature and with communities with a deep commitment to their indigenous culture is the risk of abusing them. Identifying AND preserving pristine landscapes and groups that practice “authentic” culture should be a consequential part of the thinking about off-the-beaten-path places.

“Remaining hidden from large groups can be an advantage for natural destinations, as it translates into less destruction and less pollution,” noted Andrade of Pure! Travel Group.

Dancing and drumming on an off-the-beaten-path hillside in Rwanda

Dancing and drumming on an off-the-beaten-path hillside in Rwanda. Photo courtesy of World Fusion Tours

Importantly, It’s About Respect

“Off-the-beaten-path travel is an education and experience for all parties involved – this is NOT ‘one-way tourism’,” emphasized Katina Goussetis, Director of World Fusion Tours, which offers customized family adventures across East Africa and India.

A chosen off-the-beaten-path travel experience necessarily involves (or should involve) volunteering, learning projects by working side by side with locals, or contributions of material or funding to the economic development of local communities. The pride and profit local communities can take away from showcasing who they are is not to be diminished. In fact, it is to be accented.

“Everyone benefits from this kind of tourism and that makes it meaningful and sustainable,” continued Goussetis.

There’s No One Right Way to Do It… or Need to Do It

In parallel with the broad agreement — albeit sometimes in the loosest of terms — of what off-the-beaten-path travel is (or should be), so too was there consensus that “The concept of ‘off the beaten path’ does not and should not imply ‘risky’ or ‘expensive’ for families…,” advised Kirkland of AKontheGo. “It’s the right destination if it’s right for your family, and sometimes you have to experience something or somewhere to find out.”

That should involve all the same trip planning involved in more mainstream travel, especially if any off-the-beaten-path travel involves remote locations or communities with different material values. Parents should think about “the youngest age considered safe for off-the-beaten-path travel,” pointed out Goussetis of World Fusion Tours. “It really depends on the activity being undertaken. It is also about the parents and their parenting style.”

Importantly, it’s vital “to be tuned in to the family as a whole, as well as each member,” counseled Rafa Mayer, Founder and CEO of Say Hueque, which specializes in customized tours to independent travelers in Argentina and Chile.

After all, “Off-the-beaten-path travel is not for every family, despite the beauty and unique experiences,” said Andrade of Pure! Travel Group.

And Yet!

Remember that off-the-beaten-path travel isn’t just about “very remote places with difficult access… where you experience new feelings and there’s adventure everywhere,” noted Nicolas Caram, Marketing Coordinator of Australis. “You are used to thinking that what is close to home is easy to get to” and therefore might not qualify as off the beaten path.

Plainly that isn’t true. “There are plenty of off-the-beaten-path places to see in our own backyards,” urged Buss of Along for the Trip. Right at home is a great place to experiment with how it can feel to challenge your travel expectations.

Father ands son in Yosemite

It’s great to get away from the grind, as this family did in Yosemite. Photo courtesy of Tracks & Trails

Whatever the case, rich travel experiences like those available when one goes off the beaten path “are the stories worth telling,” concluded Richter of the South Dakota Department of Tourism. “The stories that always start with a bit of fear and uncertainty, but are, in the end, the stories that you say you wouldn’t have changed your plans for. It feels good to take the exit that no one else is taking, to feel like you’re exploring uncharted territory and to come home with stories that not everyone comes home with.”

Originally posted on our partner’s website, the Family Travel Association explores off-the-beaten path and continues this story with real-life experiences from families who have taken the path less traveled. Click here to read more.