Tulum with kids: Rainforest screams and beach-time dreams

Eeeeeaaaaassaaiiiiirrrrrrrggghhhhhh!!!!! The deafening unidentifiable primeval animal scream sliced through the dense rainforest canopy, hurting our ears as we stood on a tiny wooden platform tethered some 40 feet up a tree trunk. The kids laughed with satisfied pleasure. Yes, it was worth introducing Mum to zipwires.

The main coast road running down Mexico’s Yucatan peninsular is becoming famous not just for its beaches and American Student Spring breaks, but also for its adventure theme parks, with zipwires through the jungle a particular draw for tourists. We selected Selva Maya Eco -Adventure for our trip, close to where we were staying in Tulum, and smaller and more rustic than some of its larger neighbours towards Playa del Carmen and Cancun. It was a superb choice. We were greeted by Raul, who gave us a basic rundown of activities in disappointingly good English (he was a Chelsea fan and had lived in London for a while).

We acquired a couple of young New Yorkers into our family group, and piled onto possibly the most battered vehicle I have ever travelled on. It appeared to be the outcome of a romantic liaison between a long-abandoned  VW pick-up and a Thai Tuk-Tuk, with a few dots of weakening weld joints to add an element of permanence. However it was perfect for bouncing speedily along the bumpy tracks deep into the jungle. The more exclusive sealed air-conditioned minibuses pulled to the side to let us pass at our rather more adventurous pace.

The truck pulled into a clearing a few miles into the forest, where we had a bike thorough safety briefing and were equipped with climbing harnesses. And into the trees we went. The zip wiring was a truly exhilarating experience,  a series of connected cables crisscrossing the valleys that were otherwise hidden beneath the level layer of the rainforest canopy. Raul and his colleagues helped us on and off each one, and encouraged us to turn upside down, spin round, scream, as our confidence grew. 

The trail finished at a climbing wall -  really not my thing now that rain was falling. However kids are lighter and stronger, and shimmied up easily. Raul then guided us to rappel down, something that I had never realised was different to abseiling, and is actually quite a bit harder. However gravity was on our side for that. 

The thrilling part was that rather than simply rappelling back to the ground, this side of the structure descended into a “cenote”, a flooded cave that’s apparently unique to the area. Raul explained to us that when the enormous meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs struck Yucatan, the effect was to “lift up” the limestone floor leaving a vast network of interconnected subterranean flooded caverns. Some are half open where the cave roof had collapsed in the intervening 60 million years, others are accessible via smaller openings, and others only through scuba diving through connected underwater tunnels. We made our way to one of the covered caves, donned snorkels, and with varying degrees of trepidation leapt from a rock into the clear, refreshingly cool water. It was magnificent. The rock formations under the water viewed through our snorkel masks were a spectacular combination of shapes and colours. Shoals of tiny fish darted to and fro, perfectly synchronised as a group. 

We proceeded on to another cave, this one with a much higher ceiling, every inch of which  reached down to us through vast stalactites. We stepped into the water more confidently this time, and saw the huge array of stalagmites covered by the water, mirroring the ceiling above with dozens of tiny fish weaving between them up. This was the highlight saved till last. There was a beautiful awestruck peace, quite a contrast to the terrified yell that opened the tour.

Tulum is renowned for 2 things: its peaceful hippyish retreat culture, and its Clifftop Mayan ruins. The setting of the ruins is quite breathtaking, overlooking the beautiful clear blue sea from its high vantage point. Turning the other way to look landwards, the amazing scale of the complex becomes clear. Stone remains clearly mark out the routes of ancient streets and squares, long since abandoned. However get there early, even at 9 am when we arrived the crowds were getting quite oppressive.  As a family day out, be ready to hit the eject button before it gets too wearing on hot, bored little minds.

The town of Tulum itself was rather disappointing, basing my expectations on a story from an elderly relative of trekking there in the 1960’s, and a series of travel blogs emphasising its hippyish retreat-style sanctuary atmosphere. True - there were plenty of bicycles, small independent hostels and pleasant cafes to tick the backpacker boxes. However the 4 lane highway through the middle of it, and the plethora of gaudy souvenir shops made it far from my idea of a peaceful retreat. 

Our hotel on the other hand, was a stunning retreat. Situated on the beach a ten minute bus-ride from Tulum itself, it was a blissful haven of tranquility and luxury. The 3 swimming pools, choice of international restaurants, and attentive staff made it a perfect base to spend our time relaxing between days out. The beach, equipped with  a selection of games, kayaks and snorkels included in the (not inconsiderable) price, was a truly beautiful Caribbean idyll. The sea was crystal clear, the waves big enough for some fun body surfing, small enough to not frighten the kids - or ourselves. The kids club entertained our youngest on the days that she was bored of us, but the rest of the family spent most of the time reading in the sunshine.

As an East coast, we didn’t have the opportunity to watch beautiful sunsets over the sea over dinner and cocktails, with or without kids. However that means beautiful sunrises that few people bother to get out of bed for. And neither did we until our last day, when Mrs _H and I woke early, crept out of the rooms leaving the children asleep (remember the eldest is 14, it’s fine), and walked down to the deserted beach in the moonlight. We took a couple of sun-loungers, and waited for the sun to appear. We weren’t disappointed. Over the course of half an hour the clouds on the horizon lit up with brilliant pink and yellow hues, the broad sun rays spreading upwards from the sea itself. As the sun itself appeared over the mighty Atlantic, the clouds turned briefly red, before the sky abruptly changed from a plethora of colour into the clear blue Caribbean sky. It was a beautiful way to start the day, but end the holiday. 

Because really - shouldn’t every family holiday be more ahhhhh! than Eeeeeaaaaassaaiiiiirrrrrrrggghhhhhh!!!!! ?

Las Vegas: Diverting kids from the Sin of Sin City

Want to visit Vegas but worried about losing your shirt? Concerned that Vegas is rather prone to leading the impetuous types like yourself into debauchery? Well here's the solution, take the children along and they can divert you from some of the sins of Sin City. We managed to spend five busy days there completely devoid of drink, drugs, prostitution or gambling, much to the disappointment of the teenagers.

We spent most of our family holiday in Las Vegas simply ambling up and down the strip. We wandered through the casinos and hotel foyers stretching from the Luxor where we were staying up to the Venetian at the other end. One day we blew $8 each on a 24 hour bus pass to take us right up to the zipwires above Fremont Street at the Northern End.  

In "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", which I chose to read whilst staying there, Hunter S Thompson wrote "No, this is not a good town for psychedelic drugs. Reality itself is too twisted.” 45 years on, this quote seems even more apt. What made an architect think that Venice would be enhanced by re-arranging its major sights, adding travellators to the bridges and propellers to the gondolas, then dropping it all onto the strip? Where better to site a flamingo-themed nature park than as the centrepiece of another casino?  Why had no-one previously thought to pack the square beneath the Eiffel Tower with slot machines? Why did Italian Renaissance sculptors leave their artistry open to the skies rather than painting some white fluffy clouds on the ceiling above them? Don't pyramids look better when clad in blue glass rather than the blocky sandstone familiar to traditional archaeologists? Is a swimming pool not exciting enough unless its separated from an adjacent shark tank by a Perspex screen? Why should there be any water under the Brooklyn Bridge? Where else is Trump Tower the plainest building on the street? Why should a fountain simply spurt water straight up into the air when it could be one of 1,000 synchronised dancing jets of water?

 Each hotel, casino, shopping centre and pool resort seemed crazier than the one before it. This is the extreme nature of Vegas, and it's fascinating for the whole family. The continuous bombardment of incredible sights kept everyone's mind occupied, the air conditioning providing welcome respite from the intense heat outside. And best of all – strolling through it is all free.

 A trip to Vegas isn’t complete without a show, and there is plenty of choice even when you are limited to family friendly performances. We opted for tickets for Criss Angel, an illusionist apparently much better known in America than Europe. Whilst there were aspects where our 9 year old daughter had to cover her face – the lady being cut in half by a massive circular saw being one memorable interlude – the overall show was magnificent. It varied from close-up coin tricks, to spectacular transformations of people and objects, all moved along swiftly by a varied cast of entertainers. The climax of the show was the most incredible levitation trick, it simply defied belief. He tactfully weaved in an appeal for childrens cancer charities, and seemed to use the levitation to show their dreams lifting them into the air. This was a show that was really worth seeing.

We might have missed out on the sin, but we can always go back later. Our 13 year old is already planning a boys trip when he’s old enough to drink in the US, perhaps he’ll take his parents. In the meantime, taking away the bad habits unveils a fantastic eye-opening experience.

Grand Canyon: Its a very Big Gorge

The one pleasant aspect of jetlag when travelling West is that the whole family wakes early the next morning. We took advantage of this on our Vegas trip and headed off in a hire car into the desert as the sun was rising. We stopped at the fantastic South West Diner in Boulder City for our first proper American breakfast since New York last year. As usual, we hugely over ordered pancakes, one portion being plenty for 2, even without the accompanying bacon and eggs. It was delicious food, and the kind of service and attention that small-town America really excels at.  

We could have spent hours there, but our target was really the Grand Canyon, so we headed back onto the road, past "Guns & Burgers", past the world’s largest monster truck (isn't America marvellous), up into the mountains, eventually getting to the Hualapai Reserve mid morning. From here a fleet of buses distributes tourists around five suggested stops along the canyon; of which we selected the two that appeared to offer the best views. One of these includes the famous "skywalk", a U-shaped glass bottomed walkway stretching out above the canyon. Below our feet there was nothing to interrupt our line of sight, 3,000 feet down the cliff sides to the tiny trees below, and the seemingly minuscule trickle that is actually part of the mighty Colorado river. 

As spectacular as this was, it was the wildness of the Canyon itself at the next stop that was truly breathtaking. Every aspect of its scale was immense, in every dimension. The harsh beauty of the brown rocks, the jagged cliffs with seemingly no base to them left us awestruck. No photograph could do justice to the vastness of the landscape, the vista filling all directions from the rocky outcrop protruding into the canyon where we stood.

From an overwhelming natural wonder to an immense man-made wonder; we paid a fleeting visit to the Hoover Dam on the way back to Las Vegas. On any other visit this would have stunned us for the immense feat of engineering that it is. However, it was going to be tricky to follow on from the Grand Canyon. Even so, it's an incredible sight, and despite missing out on the full tour, the information boards provided a good explanation of the dam's construction and its immense electricity generating capacity, enabling the development of vast cities like Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Behind it stretches the magnificent arc of the Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge providing another superb feat of engineering.

We rarely drive when travelling, mainly because it causes us to bicker rather than for any principled environmental stance. However while we had a car for a day, we stopped off in a shopping outlet on the edge of Las Vegas, actually spending a few hours there rather than the few minutes I had in mind. Shopping is just so much easier in America than Europe, the shops are big enough to cope with lots people, and the staff are invariably knowledgeable and helpful. So fully kitted out with sportswear for the approaching school year, we returned to Las Vegas as the sky grew darker and the lights grew brighter.

For kids dealing with Jetlag, the answer is simply to get up early and get on with the day. And do something interesting. Our 4 stops that day were different yet individually brilliant, but we would have struggled if we'd started later.