When we visited Thailand in 2006, riding elephants was considered a normal tourist activity. Since then, attitudes have changed significantly. Nearly two decades later, travelling with our kids, we wanted them to experience elephants up close, but only in a way that was ethical and respectful of the animals. That's when we discovered Following Giants, a no-touch ethical elephant sanctuary on Koh Lanta, Thailand. It turned out to be one of the most impactful experiences of our

For most families, Hong Kong is somewhere you visit. For ours, it's somewhere we come back to. Susie was born in Hong Kong, back when it was still under British rule, and although she left when she was very young, the city has always remained special to her. Over the years, we've returned on multiple occasions, but our most recent trip finally gave us the chance to bring the girls along and introduce them to the place where their Mum was born. That family connection means we'

If you're heading to Waterton Lakes National Park, the Prince of Wales Hotel is probably already on your sightseeing list, and it should be. It offers one of the best, and most accessible, views in the entire Canadian Rockies. What many visitors don't realize is that the Prince of Wales Hotel is also home to one of the most memorable afternoon tea experiences in Canada. There are few places in the Canadian Rockies where you can sit down for tea and sandwiches with a view like

We went into TeamLab Planets Tokyo expecting a crowded, slightly chaotic tourist trap, one of those places so hyped that it couldn't possibly live up to expectations. While we can't deny that it was busy, it ended up being one of our kids' favourite experiences from our five days in Tokyo and one of the standout attractions of our 100-day family sabbatical. We certainly had our doubts before visiting. While planning our 100 day family sabbatical, I spent far too much time rea

Have you ever looked at a map and wondered whether your family could take a few months off to travel the world together? Before we left Calgary for our own 100-day sabbatical across ten countries, we spent countless evenings wondering exactly that, and whether it was realistic, affordable, or even responsible. Three months later we had taken a family cooking class in Tokyo, crawled through the Cu Chi Tunnels in Vietnam, explored the ancient temples of Angkor in Cambodia, crui

We are not a Disney family. We’d never been to Disneyland or Disney World, and with only five days to explore Hong Kong, we weren’t entirely sure Hong Kong Disneyland was worth dedicating a full day of our trip to. We’d heard the usual Disney horror stories about hour-long queues, packed walkways, and spending more time waiting than actually having fun. Our experience couldn’t have been more different. We ended up loving it, and we'd genuinely recommend it, even to families l

Nara is famous for its bowing deer, and rightly so, but it's so much more than that. Between ancient temples, one of the largest wooden buildings in the world, and a genuinely different pace to Kyoto or Tokyo, Nara ended up being one of our favourite days from our time in Japan. If you're visiting Nara as a day trip from Kyoto or Osaka, Nara Park is where you'll want to spend almost all of your time. It's home to the vast majority of Nara's best-known sights; the deer, Todai-

The Big Buddha on Lantau Island was somewhere we'd actually visited twice before this trip, once around 20 years ago and again back in 2011, long before kids. We'd built it up in our heads over the years, so when it made it onto our 5-day Hong Kong itinerary with the girls, we couldn't wait to go back for a third time. Honestly? This visit was a slightly different experience than we remembered, mostly down to a few avoidable mistakes on our part rather than the island itself.

If you only have time for a handful of temples in Kyoto, most lists will point you toward Kiyomizu-dera, Kinkaku-ji, or Fushimi Inari. They're all worth the hype, but after several increasingly crowded days of temple-hopping, Daigo-ji ended up being the one that stuck with us the most. We visited on a quieter, half-day morning built into our 5-day Kyoto itinerary. We'd gone back and forth on whether the extra travel time was worth it - turns out, it ended up being our favouri

Discover the charm of Prince Sakura Tower Tokyo with our in-depth review. Experience first-class service and serene Japanese gardens at Prince Sakura Tower Tokyo.