Family destinations

Abel Tasman is the smallest national park in the country and the sunniest, a coastline of golden beaches and granite headlands with a 60 km coastal track that can be walked or broken up by water taxi. Kayaking with fur seals is the other main way to see it. Tides govern two of the track's crossings.

Chitwan is a lowland park of sal forest and grassland holding one-horned rhino, tigers, gharial and more than 500 bird species. Jeep drives, canoe trips and guided walks all run from the village of Sauraha. It is a five-hour drive from Kathmandu or Pokhara and a good counterweight to the mountains.

Dunn's River Falls is a 55-metre terraced waterfall near Ocho Rios that runs straight down to the beach, and the standard visit is climbing it in a guided human chain over the limestone steps. Cruise arrivals fill it in the middle of the day. Water shoes are essential and the rock is slippery.

Etosha is built around a vast salt pan, and in the dry season animals concentrate at a small number of waterholes, making self-drive game viewing unusually productive. Elephant, lion, rhino and large herds of springbok and zebra are all regular. Several camps have floodlit waterholes that can be watched all night.

The Garden Route follows the southern coast for about 300 kilometres between Mossel Bay and Storms River, with lagoons, indigenous forest, cliffs and long beaches. Knysna and Plettenberg Bay are the main bases, and Tsitsikamma National Park holds the forest and suspension bridges at the eastern end. It is usually driven over four to six days.

The Grand Canyon is 446 kilometres long and over a kilometre deep, cut by the Colorado river through layers spanning nearly two billion years. The South Rim is open year-round with shuttle buses along the viewpoints; the North Rim is higher, quieter and closed in winter. Hiking below the rim is serious: the return climb is the hard half, and there is no water on most routes.

The Great Barrier Reef runs for around 2,300 kilometres along the Queensland coast and is the largest coral reef system on earth. Day boats from Cairns and Port Douglas reach outer reef pontoons and dive sites, while liveaboards get to less-visited sections. Coral health varies considerably by site after repeated bleaching events.

Iguaçu is a system of some 275 waterfalls on the Brazil–Argentina border, spread across nearly three kilometres of cliff in subtropical forest. The Brazilian side gives the wide panoramic view from a cliff walkway; the Argentine side puts you on catwalks above and beside the Devil's Throat. Most visitors see both across two days.

Keukenhof is a 32-hectare bulb garden between Amsterdam and The Hague, planted each autumn with around seven million bulbs and open only from late March to mid-May. Paths run through themed gardens and pavilions, and the surrounding commercial bulb fields can be cycled. It is busiest at weekends and in the middle of the day.

The Krimml falls drop 380 metres in three stages at the western end of the Salzach valley, inside Hohe Tauern National Park. A well-graded switchback path climbs beside the water to a series of viewing platforms, taking about ninety minutes to the top. The spray zone is used therapeutically for respiratory conditions, and the trail closes in deep winter.

The Krka river drops through a series of travertine cascades inside a limestone canyon between Šibenik and Knin, with Skradinski Buk the largest and most visited set. Boardwalks loop around the falls, and boats run up the flooded river gorge to the monastery island of Visovac. Swimming below the main falls is no longer permitted.

Kruger covers about 19,500 square kilometres along the Mozambique border and is one of the few major African parks you can drive yourself, with tarred roads, rest camps and shops. All of the big five live here, and sightings depend on season, water and patience. Private reserves on the western boundary offer off-road guided drives at higher cost.

Ksamil sits at the southern tip of the Riviera opposite Corfu, with small islands a short swim offshore and some of the clearest water in the country. It has developed fast and July and August are crowded and built-up, so shoulder-season visits are markedly better. Butrint, the country's most important archaeological site, is fifteen minutes away.

Balaton is central Europe's largest lake, shallow enough to warm quickly in summer, with a busy southern shore of resorts and a quieter northern shore of volcanic hills and vineyards. Ferries cross between the two, and a cycle path circles the whole lake. Tihany peninsula and the basalt hills behind Badacsony hold the best views and wine.

Bled is the image most people have of Slovenia: a glacial lake with an island church, a cliff-top castle and the Karavanke range behind it. A flat six-kilometre path circles the water, and traditional pletna boats row out to the island. It is the country's busiest destination, so early mornings and shoulder season make a large difference to the experience.

Bohinj is bigger, wilder and quieter than Bled, lying inside Triglav National Park with mountains rising straight out of the water. Swimming, kayaking and lakeside walking are the main activities, and the Vogel cable car climbs to a plateau with a view over the whole valley. It is the better base for hiking, including the approach to the Savica waterfall and routes up towards the Triglav massif.

A medieval abbey stacked on a tidal island off the Normandy coast, with a single spiral street climbing between houses to the church at the top. The bay has one of the largest tidal ranges in Europe, so the causeway, the light and the surrounding sand change completely through the day. Staying nearby lets you see it in early morning before the day groups arrive.

Ludwig II's nineteenth-century castle stands on a rock spur above the village of Hohenschwangau, facing the Alps and two lakes. The interior is visited only on timed guided tours booked ahead, and the classic view is from the Marienbrücke footbridge across the gorge behind it. It is a long day trip from Munich by train and bus.

Niagara is three waterfalls on the Canada–United States border, with the 57-metre Horseshoe Falls carrying most of the flow and best seen from the Canadian side. Boats run to the base of the falls, and tunnels behind the sheet of water reach observation portals. The surrounding strip is heavily commercialised; the falls themselves are not.

Rovaniemi sits on the Arctic Circle at the meeting of two rivers and is Lapland's transport hub, rebuilt after 1944 to a plan by Alvar Aalto. In winter it is the base for husky sledding, reindeer farms, snowmobiling and aurora watching; in summer the same forests are used for river trips and midnight-sun hiking. Flights and overnight trains arrive from Helsinki.

Yala on the south-east coast has one of the highest leopard densities in the world, along with elephants, sloth bears and crocodiles across dry scrub and lagoons. Safari jeeps can be numerous at sightings in block 1; quieter blocks and early starts improve the experience considerably. The park partly closes in September and October.