We have tried our best to gather together a list of frequently asked questions. However, if you cannot find the answer to your question here we are happy to help so just call us on 01273 803030 or email us at enquiries@familyadventureholidays.com.
All accommodation, adventure activities, local excursions, equipment and professional instruction is included in the price of your chosen family adventure holiday.
The multi-activity family adventure holiday at Chateau de la Baudonniere is full board which means that all meals and drinks, including wine and home-pressed Normandy cider with your evening meal, are covered in the price of the holiday.
The Ardèche Kayak River family adventure includes lunch on the two river kayak days and a farewell bbq (the rest of the holiday is self-catered).
These holidays are self-drive, so you will need to make your own way to France by car and will need to budget for the channel crossing and tolls.
The price of your family adventure holiday at Château de la Baudonnière includes all your food. Each day will consist of a continental breakfast, wholesome French lunch and good quality evening meal with a reasonable amount of wine, cider and beer provided in the evening. Breakfast will be the last meal provided on departure.
The Ardeche Kayak family adventure holiday includes lunch on the 2 river kayaking days and a farewell barbeque.
All our holidays are self-drive which means that you will have to make your own way to your chosen centre. You will also need your own transport to take part in some of the activities during your stay (though not all).
You will need to budget for your channel crossing, fuel and tolls. Click here for more information and suggested routes and crossings for summer 2022 holidays.
Also read our article about driving in France after Brexit.
On our Chateau family activity holiday, families are accommodated in private bedrooms with private bathrooms (no sharing with other families). Bedrooms are basic, reflecting that Chateau de la Baudonniere is used as a residential centre for school groups in term-time, and are made up of bunk beds with storage space for clothing. Families can pay a little extra to have a family room with a double bed or to have two rooms. We also have a couple of interconnecting rooms for those with young children.
On our Ardeche riverside family adventure holiday, families camp in safari lodges or yurts. Each lodge or yurt has its own fridge, cooker, coffee machine and terrace. The campsite has a small shop, restaurant, and bar. The safari lodges have their own facilities while the yurts have communal facilities.
Most of our activity instructors are drawn from our experienced school adventure team which means that you and your family are in safe hands.
All adventure activities are provided by English-speaking instructors who go through an intensive selection and training process and require references and enhanced checks. Our lead instructors hold an appropriate qualification and first aid certification.
The Ardeche Kayak Expedition progrmme is subject to a biannual inspection by Adventuremark, an independent body which ensures we meet the best practice standards.
While all activities, equipment and instruction are included in the price of the holiday, some parental supervision is required for younger children to participate.
Our family adventure holidays tend to attract active families who enjoy being outdoors and experiencing new things. But you don't need to be fit or sporty to join in.
All the adventure activities are conducted by qualified instructors so guests don't need any prior experience to take part. We recommend you take each activity at your own pace and join in whichever activities will suit you.
If you are not sure whether a specific activity is right for you, just check with our staff what's involved before signing up. For example, the programme at Chateau de la Baudonnire includes a guided barefoot walk across the bay of Mont St Michel. This is a highlight of the trip for many families, but young children may need carrying towards the end of the walk.
Families on the Ardeche river adventure will need to feel comfortable on the water, but previous kayaking experience is not required.
The family adventure team at Château de la Baudonnière offer evening games and activities for the whole family to enjoy. Favourites include a talent show, campfire and sports tournament. You can choose whether to join in or sit and watch as you wish.
Our Ardeche Kayak Expedition holidays offer some evening entertainment, but recovering from the day's adventure tend to be the favourite!
We have a fun-packed programme of activities which begins on the first morning of your holiday.
Every day we offer morning and afternoon activity sessions, with families reunited to discuss their adventures over lunch.
For the daytime sessions, children are divided into age ranges to make sure everyone gets the most from the activity. Parents also have a suggested schedule of adult-only activities, such as mountain biking. Other activities are designed to be enjoyed by the whole family.
Nightly family entertainment, such as a campfire or games night, are also provided.
During the week we also take a trip to Mont Saint-Michel to experience the breathtaking views of this Unesco world heritage site, followed by a guided walk across the bay and thrilling quicksand experience. You will need your car for the short drive to Mont Saint-Michel.
Of course! Family Adventure Holidays are sociable holidays for adults and children alike, where children can enjoy their extra freedom as much as the adults.
On the full-board multi-activity holiday at Chateau de la Baudonniere the children's activities are organised to help them make friends with children of the same age, because it won't feel like much of a holiday if you need to keep them entertained 24/7! Likewise, the adults quickly get to know one another, so parents travelling solo won't feel like they are missing out on the fun.
In fact, we find that many of our families get on so well during the trip that they organise to return together the following year.
We understand that there is no such thing as a standard family which is why at Chateau de la Baudonniere you only pay for the adults and children on your trip, with no supplements for under-occupancy. And of course, because everything is organised and paid for in advance, you can relax in the knowledge that you won't need to shell out for any extras during the trip.
The family adventure holiday at Château de la Baudonnière is perfect for families with younger children.
Our activity programme caters for children aged 2 to 16 years of age (and then into the adult programme). Childen are split into age-bands to get the most out of the programme and to help them make friends with children of the same age. So even if you have a family with a wide range of ages, there really is a lot to do for everyone.
Tiny tots from 2 years of age can join in their own activity programme at our Normandy chateau, however, we do ask that parents are present to ensure children settle and are happy. We will supervise some play sessions but generally, this will be with parents rather than instead of. We can also offer child bike seats if you fancy coming along on one of the adult cycle tours with your little one.
With an activity programme catering for 2 - 16 year olds, Château de la Baudonnière is well placed to entertain families with a wide age range. This holiday offers something for every age group, from toddlers to teenagers and parents to grandparents:
Older teens can join in with the adults' programme.
Absolutely! All the children's activities at the Chateau are split by age band so older teens can enjoy their own adventure programme, and make friends of their own age, without being slowed down by little brothers or sisters.
We have an activity programme at Chateau de la Baudonniere to keep teenagers occupied, including climbing, raft building, air rifle and canoeing.
There is loads for little ones to do at Château de la Baudonnière where we have created fun, imaginative activities for young children and their parents to do together such as bread making, visiting the mini farm and games in the grounds
All the children's activities at the Chateau are split by age band so older siblings can enjoy their own adventure programme, and make friends with children their own age, without being slowed down by little brothers or sisters.
Our adventure holidays are designed for the whole family to take part with a range of activities to suit adults as well as children.
On a multi-activity holiday at Chateau de la Baudonniere, we have age-specific activities for children, adult-only activities for parents, plus fun things to do as a whole family, such as our tough-mudder assault course and Mont St Michel bay walk. But it is your holiday - if you would rather relax in the sun with a beer, then that's absolutely fine too!
Likewise, parents don't have to get involved in all the adventure activities on the Ardeche river family adventure, but parents do need to join their children on the 2-day river descent and overnight bivouac.
Both holidays are based in beautiful regions of France, and so if you would like to take a day exploring the area with your family instead of joining in with the activities - that's not a problem.
Yes we can cater for most dietary requirements on your family adventure holiday.
Our adventure centres look after the dietary needs of thousands of British school children during the school year and so the catering staff are used to dealing with special requests. We can cater for a wide variety of special diets including vegetarian, vegan, no nuts, no dairy etc.
Just let us know of any special requirements when booking and we'll make sure you are looked after.
Family Adventure Holidays is a trading name of Class Tours Limited, which includes other travel brands such as Voyager School Travel. Family Adventure Holidays was set up to make use of Voyager School Travel's fantastic adventure facilities in France over the school summer holidays. More about the origins of Family Adventure Holidays and Voyager School Travel.
Class Tours Limited is a UK registered and regulated company (Reg 06537480 Vat 971 9934 66) registered at 6-7 Lovers Walk, Brighton, BN1 6AH. Packages offered by Class Tours Limited are bonded by ABTA.
You can check our ABTA certification by entering our ABTA number Y0554 (Y ZERO FIVE FIVE FOUR) on the ABTA website: https://www.abta.com/abta-member-search
All the holidays offered by Family Adventure Holidays are bonded by ABTA which means any money you pay us for your holiday is safe. ABTA is the UK’s largest travel association and all its members have to abide by the high standards set out in its code of conduct. Most importantly, ABTA provides financial protection to customers in case a travel company ceases trading. You can check our ABTA certification by entering our ABTA number Y0554 (Y ZERO FIVE FIVE FOUR) on the ABTA website: https://www.abta.com/abta-member-search
What's more, our family adventure holidays are offered as packages under the Package Travel Regulations 1992 (PTRs) which translate into extra consumer protection for our guests. For example, if we can't run your holiday because the Foreign Office has advised against holidays to France, you are eligible for a full refund. No questions asked.
So you can be confident booking your next French holiday with Family Adventure Holidays.
To make a booking please fill out a booking form. Shortly afterwards you will receive an email confirming your provisional reservation, and a subsequent email will follow confirming pricing and availability.
To confirm your booking a deposit of £50 per person is required and family details will also be requested.
Payments should be made direct into our bank account: Class Tours LTD, Sort Code: 53-61-02, Account No: 60105860. Please quote 'FAH' followed by your surname as the reference.
The balance of your holiday is due 12 weeks before you travel. Do not worry, we will remind you when the balance is due.
Any optional extras, such as the seafood extravaganza and French lessons, are clearly stated on your booking confirmation.
A welcome letter will be emailed to you shortly after your final payment is received.
Last-minute bookings can be made by phone. Just call us on 01273 803030 and one of the team will take your details and process a deposit payment.
Family Adventure Holidays is a trading name of Class Tours Limited which is a UK registered and regulated company (Reg 06537480 Vat 971 9934 66) registered at 6-7 Lovers Walk, Brighton, BN1 6AH. Holidays offered by Class Tours Limited are bonded by ABTA (ABTA number Y0554).
Whether vaccinated or not, children and adults can now visit France on a family adventure holiday.
Click here to read read our interpretation of the requirements for a family trip to France in 2022, including the tests required for unvaccinated travellers.
Travel insurance is not included in the price of our holidays and so it is a condition of our booking terms that you have adequate insurance to cover all activities:
We also recommend that your travel insurance includes cancellation cover in case someone can't travel due to COVID-19, though this isn't a booking condition.
Travel to France is a little different now we've left the EU and its easy to get caught out. We've summarised all the relevant information you need to know about EHICs, passport validity and driving in France so that you are in the loop.
Make sure you also understand the COVID rules for France here too.
All UK COVID travel restrictions have been removed, making it much easier for families returning home from a family adventure abroad. This means that, regardless of vaccination status, travellers are not required to complete a Passenger Locator form or take a test to return home. Families travelling to France will still need to be aware of French entry rules.
Your family's enjoyment and safety is our top priority. Our adventure centres reopened to British school groups in 2021 and so you can be confident that our enhanced COVID-19 health and safety protocols have been thoroughly tried and tested.
For your additional peace of mind, we also offer a no-quibble refund guarantee:
• If we are unable to operate your holiday due to COVID-19 restrictions in France, for example, if the Foreign Office advise against all but essential travel to France, we will provide a full refund to you of all money paid. No questions asked.
What's more, all the holidays offered by Family Adventure Holidays are bonded by ABTA which means any money you pay for your holiday is financially protected.
We ask that you take out travel insurance in case your holiday is postponed or delayed due to COVID.
We will send you a full list of what you need to pack before you travel.
In the meantime, here is a checklist.
