Welcome to our family travel blog!

Welcome to the Flashpacking Family travel blog. We’ve been a travel family since Ernie – our eldest – was three months old, but only started this family travel blog five years later. We’re playing catch up and have lots of great content coming soon (Jordan, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Canada to name a few). Have a browse around our posts below for some inspiration and be sure to check back regularly to see more great family travel-related content.


South Africa's best family-friendly safari options

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Having been on safari in quite a few countries across eastern and southern Africa, we know that South Africa is a great place to go on safari with your family for a few reasons. South Africa has it all. From the Big Five – lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and Cape buffalo – to antelope, zebra, hippo, giraffe, hyena and a wide variety of bird and marine animals...

The perfect 14-day family-friendly Sri Lanka itinerary

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There are so many beautiful sides to Sri Lanka. What makes it special is primarily the friendliness of the Sri Lankan people, but also the rich culture and diverse topography - all within a relatively small island. 14 days will give you a good amount of time to do a loop of the south coast, taking in pristine beaches, animal encounters on safari, colonial tea country and all while sampling delicious Sri Lankan food.

Top family-friendly activities in South Africa

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South Africa is easily one of our favourite places to travel with kids. It is vast with an incredible variety of landscapes and wildlife, so it is somewhere we can go back to again and again and still find somewhere new to visit or something new to do. It is absolutely breathtakingly beautiful with the sun-soaked white sandy beaches of Cape Town overlooked by Table Mountain, the wild and rugged beaches of the Eastern Cape...

Family friendly wine tasting in South Africa

The wine regions of South Africa are truly stunning and worth a visit for that reason alone, but of course you shouldn't visit without popping in to one or two of the gorgeous wine estates. Wine tasting has moved with the times and become a family friendly activity. We'd put it near the top of the list of fun things to do in South Africa as a family.

Tea tasting & tea estates in Sri Lanka's Hill Country

No trip to Sri Lanka would be complete without spending a little time in the Hill Country where you will see rolling hills blanketed in luscious green tea plantations. And it is all the more exciting if you’re a tea lover. Hill Country (or Tea Country) is arguably the most scenic part of the island and is also quite a bit cooler than the coastal areas due to its elevation.

The 5 best family-friendly South African wine estate picnics

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When in South Africa, enjoying a picnic or two at one of the many beautiful wine estates is a must-do activity to keep both the kids and parents entertained.

Half-day safari in Udawalawe National Park

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Udawalawe was created in 1972 to provide a habitat for animals displaced by the construction of the Uda Walawe dam. The park is now famed for its elephants and has the largest population of Asian elephants of all of the national parks in Sri Lanka. With around 500 resident elephants, if you want to do some elephant-spotting, Udawalawe would be a good choice with sighting all but guaranteed.

What to take on safari

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Ever heard the saying ‘less is more’? This couldn’t be more apt than when packing for a trip with the family. You have to consider that you are not just carrying your own bags but that there may be times when you will find yourself carrying your little people’s bags (and maybe even them too!) if you are having a long and tiring transit day. However, if you are going to be going on safari during your trip, there are certain things that you should definitely consider taking. So, in no particular order, here’s our list of the top 10 things to take on safari...

Yala National Park - where crocodiles eat leopards!

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The two most popular National Parks in Sri Lanka seem to be Udawalawe and Yala and it is well worth including one or the other in your itinerary. They are very similar especially in terms of the wildlife you may see, although Yala has the highest density of leopards in the world so it really depends on the route you are going to take as to which one you choose. If you love safaris, maybe you will have time to squeeze in both!

7 Top tips for spotting wildlife on safari

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Going on safari is all about wildlife spotting. With our boys it is also a competition to see of who can see the most animals or who spots such and such animal first. To have a successful safari in terms of animal spotting, doing a little research is a worthwhile investment of your time – especially on a self drive safari when you don’t have a guide doing the hard work.

Best family friendly beaches of southern Sri Lanka

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Sri Lanka has 1,340km of coastline, most of which is made up of sandy beaches. Many of Sri Lanka’s beaches have quite rough surf, however, and whilst this is great for surfers or strong swimmers, they are not particularly child-friendly if your child likes frolicking around in the sea. Here are our recommendations for the most child friendly beaches in southern Sri Lanka.

The benefits of travel on children's mental health

Whilst writing a post on the benefits of family travel we realised that there was so much more to say about one benefit in particular: the positive impact that travel has on the health and well-being of our children. We feel this is a vitally important benefit, especially in this day and age when our lives are so busy and we may not be able to give our kids the focus they need.