What's Included in your exclusive Family Vacation.
Sit back and relax. Our distinctive family vacations encompass all of your needs, from three daily meals, to internal flights, deluxe small lodges, and the services of the worlds-finest local guides.
All participating families receive custom ground travel arrangements and transfers, expert and full time local guide services, a trip travel manager, all adventure and educational activities and supplies, three gourmet meals each day, and deluxe hotel and lodge accommodations. Earth Explore also supplies extensive pre-travel documents and materials, including a program guide, packing 
list, detailed itinerary, as well as Earth Explore caps, luggage tags and other items. Air transporation between your home airport and your destination is not included.
Do I need to handle any meals?
On the arrival day, the first meal provided is normally the evening welcome banquet for all of the arriving families and guides. That means you will need to bring along, or purchase meals only through lunch on the arrival day. 
After that, all meals are included, right through breakfast on departure day. This also includes snacks and drinks provided by the guides throughout the day.
Our breakfasts and dinners are scheduled at the elegant lodge dining room on most days, while lunch may be taken at the lodge, or packed along depending on the activities scheduled for that day. Have specific food needs? Don't worry. Our partners are able to accommodate a variety of food choices and special needs.
What are the hotels like?
We are fortunate to use exclusive lodges, most owned and operated by our partner organizations. These high end four star properties provide elegant and comfortable accommodations that are top rated by Trip Advisor. Rooms have balconies or lanais, and open into stunningly beautiful tropical scenery.
All families have one or two rooms of their own, and each lodge in Hawaii and Costa Rica is surrounded by tropical gardens that are a haven for wildlife and a destination in their own right. In fact the grounds of the Tortuga Lodge on the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica is the 
home of a troop of howler monkeys, who wake up lodge guests each morning. In Monteverde, our lodge is adjacent to the Cloud Forest, and the gardens surrounding the lodge are home to howler, white-faced and spider monkeys, as well as hundreds of species of colorful tropical birds including the scarlet macaw and resplendent quetzel.
How does air travel work?
We provide your trip dates and you are free to book your own air transportation to the arrival city, once the trip date is confirmed, which is usually in January. Any internal flights, if needed, are included in the trip cost.
On our Hawaii trip the arrival city is Hilo, Hawaii. On our Costa Rica trip it is San Jose, Costa Rica. During the arrival day, an Earth Explore meet and greet representative will be on-hand to welcome you at the airport, and provide a shuttle to the first night's hotel. On the departure day, our staff will provide shuttle service to the airport as well.
What about extensions to the trip?
As a family you are free to add additional days to your trip at the beginning or end. Our requirement is that you join the group on the arrival date, and at the city scheduled, and leave the group on the departure date, and from the city scheduled.
| Explore our Family Trips |
| Learn more about traveling with your family on an educational and exciting EE Adventure. |
| What's Included |
| Find out what is included in our family trips, and why Earth Explore is the best value in educational travel. |
| Sample Itinerary in Hawaii |
| Discover all that you will do, from coral reef explorations, to outriggers, to volcano hikes with experts, and Hawaiian culture with real elders. |
| Sample Itinerary in Costa Rica |
| Guided by expert naturalists, learn why our Costa Rica trip for families gives you the best lodges, the best learning, and the most exciting and fun activities. |
| Host a Family Meeting |
| Find out how you can host a family information meeting, and receive discounted travel. |
| Frequently Asked Questions |
| Find answers to some of the most common questions about our Family Trips. |
| Costs and Dates |
| Information about costs and dates for the 2011-2012 season. |
