Sharing Native American traditions is an integral part of the Hyatt Regency Tamaya, a resort owned by the Santa Ana Pueblo and managed by Hyatt. Located between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, on nearly 500 acres of the pueblo's 73,000-acre reservation, the resort offers learning experiences through a program called Srai-Wi, which means, "gathering my children" in Tamayame, the native language of the people of Tamaya. Initially targeted to kids, the sessions proved so popular that they are now open to families, adults and children.
On select winter evenings, sit by a fire making S'mores while listening to a tribal member tell Native American stories about how the constellations came to be and why dogs have tails. In the Clay and Culture workshop, fashion a pot using the traditional pinch and coil method, and in the Native American Jewelry classes, create your own copper bracelet or beaded pin. On a guided nature walk of the Bosque, a cottonwood grove along the Rio Grande, discover the pueblo's efforts to reforest the river banks and discover the importance of the river. Watch tribal dancers perform in the courtyard, bake bread in an outdoor hurana (oven) and learn more about the pueblo's history at the onsite Cultural Learning Center. For pure western fun, watch barrel racing and team roping at the weekly rodeo. The resort also offers golf, horseback riding, a spa and children's programs.
At Amanyara's Nature Discovery Center, opened March 2011, you and your children learn about Turks & Caicos' environment while on land and water excursions. The resort's full-time naturalist, who developed these adventures in cooperation with teachers from the science and nature division of the American Museum of Natural History, leads the diverse experiences. On guided snorkeling outings to Providenciales' marine preserve, swim among schools of rainbow-colored fish and float above massive elk horn coral "forests" and sea fan gardens. On eco-hikes, examine tide pools, see blowholes and search for medicinal plants such as aloe vera, "Bahama strong back," and baytansy, an herb locals use to remedy cold and flu symptoms. From June through August, get hands-on with the islands' turtles by assisting scientists in catching, tagging and releasing these critters.
In addition to welcoming well-behaved children on adult outings, Amanyara offers Junior Naturalist programs for ages 5 to 12. Kids help plant mangroves, clean a section of the reef, and learn to identify fish on snorkel outings. During the Nighttime Nature Discoveries, young naturalists walk the beach with flashlights and buckets, collecting snails, frogs and crabs. Amanyara is a casually elegant, upmarket property on Providenciales' less developed northwest coast.
Few resorts come with an underground bunker, but seeing this once top secret facility is one of the many special experiences available at The Greenbrier, West Virginia's jewel. On a tour of the Relocation Facility, buried beneath a hillside and built between 1959 and 1962, your families learn out about the nation's Cold War strategy. The 112,544-square-foot bunker with its three- to five-foot-thick reinforced, concrete walls was designed to lodge the 1,100 members of the House of Representatives and the Senate in case of a "modest" nuclear attack on Washington, D.C., about 250-miles away. After watching an informative film, walk through the massive, blast resistant doors and see the communications room, the meeting rooms, some original bunk beds and an exhibit gallery. Always ready but never used, the facility, exposed by the Washington Post in 1992, was deactivated in 1995.
Above ground, the Greenbrier offers golf, tennis, horseback riding, fishing, mountain biking and falconry. The resort's off-road driving school will thrill kids who love cars as well as your own "inner child." Learn how to maneuver through mud, over boulders, and up and down steep hills; going slowly was never so scary. Children can come along for the ride and teens 16 and older with a driver's license can get behind the wheel for the "epic" experience. Also, the Greenbrier recently announced the Dorothy Draper School of Decorating. Although the one-week courses go way beyond how to brighten a dorm room, the sessions may interest your twenty-somethings with an interest in design. Draper, who decorated the Greenbrier's public rooms, was an icon of style. Courses take place February 26 to March 2, March 25 to 30, April 29 to May 4 and June 10 to 15, 2012. Sprawled on 6,500 acres, the Greenbrier, a National Historic Landmark, offers nearly 700 rooms as well as a children's program, a noted spa, and for adults, a casino.
Vacation at the Bitter End Yacht Club, Virgin Gorda, and you'll morph from landlubbers to savvy sailors, even if you don't know you're aft from your rudder. Course 101-Introduction to Sailing combines classroom time with hands-on dockside lessons. In other workshops beginners practice maneuvers necessary for solo runs, and experienced skippers hone the art of anchoring, working with winches, and reading the waters, all skills required to captain a chartered boat.
During February's President's Week, Easter, Christmas and Thanksgiving, kids, ages 5 to 12, learn basic sailing techniques through mostly hands-on instruction, as well as go on sailing outings. At the end of the week, test your skills in the family regatta. In summer, at Junior Sailing classes geared for ages 7 and older, budding sailors ace lessons in rigging, sail trimming and boat handling. With fair winds and abundant harbors, the British Virgin Islands have been luring sailors for centuries. You can use your new skills to sail to one of the nearby-uninhabited cays, or sign-up for a resort outing to nearby snorkel spots. Back on land, sun on the resort's three beaches or splash in the pool. The Admiral's Family Vacation package bundles sailing lessons with lodging, meals, children's water sports and outings.
Maya culture and cooking classes can be part of your vacation at Fairmont Mayakoba, in the heart of the Mexico's Riviera Maya, an 86-mile region along Mexico's Caribbean coast known for sun, white sand beaches, Maya communities and ancient ruins. The area's most famous and often-crowded site is Tulum, a once prominent Maya seaport. For a more personal experience, book an outing to less-visited Muyil. Locals from Muyil's Mayan community, trained by the Fairmont Mayakoba, lead you on an exclusive outing. Listen to ancestor's tales, learn about medicinal plants and find out about the modern Maya, as you trek through the rainforest to see several secluded ruins. At the Muyil lagoon board a boat to a man-made canal where you can cool off by tubing in the water before returning for a Maya inspired meal.
For more food fun, sign up for a family cooking class with one of the Fairmont's chefs. Begin with a tour of the resort's massive kitchens and learn about safe food handling. Then don chef's hats and gloves and do as the chef does -- mix ingredients, plate items and garnish them. Choose from lessons in regional, healthy or green cuisine as well as in grilling and crafting deserts. Afterward, tour the chef's gardens to see what parsley, peppermint, chili and other plants look like. The beachfront Fairmont Mayakoba stretches out on 240 acres laced with canals and lagoons. The resort offers a children's program.
A big, bustling mega-resort with over 3,400 rooms, Atlantis, Paradise Island, is known for its casino and its water play-scape of lagoons, pools and slides, along with its tanks, ponds and other habitats for its 50,000 aquatic animals. What is less-known is that the resort offers additional "edutainment" opportunities. During Atlantis Adventure Chefs -- a segment of the Atlantis Kids Adventures (AKA), the resort's children's program, youngsters get hands-on in the property's demonstration kitchen, learning how to bake bread, twist dough into pretzels and make candy pizzas. At the Atlantis Speedway, an indoor facility, families can design, build and race their remote controlled cars.
In summer, Atlantis hosts several Fantasy Camps -- each held at select times. So far, the two confirmed for 2012 are the Legos Atlantis Fantasy Camp and the Marine Adventure Fantasy Camp. At the Legos workshop, budding architects, engineers, and kids ages 6 to 12 who simply like to construct things, design and build intricate murals and mighty structures under the guidance of a Legos Master. During Marine Adventure Fantasy Camp, ages 10 to 14 go behind the scenes of the animal areas to prep food, feed the critters and learn about their behaviors. Past learning camps have included Second City Fantasy Camp, where performers from the famed comedy troupe coach nascent comics.
Giving back to a local community while on vacation is one of the most rewarding experiences that you and your children can share. Not only will you learn a new skill, but you'll also find out about the local culture and the environment. The Enrich program at the Grand Hyatt Kauai offers families several options. Those with green thumbs or just a love of flowers can assist staff at the island's National Tropical Botanical Garden, a lush oasis of blooms. By weeding, propagating plants and tending to the flower beds, find out about Kauai's native plants and how these are used in island culture. While cleaning up beaches in conjunction with the Surf rider Foundation, established to conserve the state's oceans, families learn about coastal flora and fauna and about how to protect the sea. Animal lovers can work with community members of the Kauai Humane Society, cuddling, playing with and socializing the abandoned dogs and cats so that these animals become prime prospects for adoption.
To see more of Hawaiia's traditions, attend the resort's luau, a mix of Hawaiian/Polynesian hula, song and food. Well-located on popular Poipu Beach, the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort also offers Camp Hyatt Kauai for ages 3-12.
The Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman is a find, and not just for its exemplary service and its signature restaurant, Bleu, by award-winning chef Eric Ripert. The property is one of a few in the Caribbean that host the Ambassadors of the Environment Program (AOTE). Developed by Jean-Michel Cousteau, Jacques Cousteau's son, AOTE engages children ages 4 to 12, as well as families, with environmental education workshops and outings that underscore the connectedness and diversity of all living things. The goal is to show participants how to be good stewards of the seas and the land.
In Turtle Tales, one of the more than 25 different AOTE segments, children 4 to 9 years old learn that all seven species of sea turtles in the world are endangered and why. The future protectors of the sea discover fun facts such as how much leather back sea turtles weigh (up to 2,000 pounds) and that jelly fish are a favorite food for several sea turtle species. With Frogtastic Fun, kids 4 to 12 years-old go on night walks to listen to and find the hopping critters, and with Wing It, ages 4 to 7 discover the many shapes and sizes of birds by creating crafts and visiting a bird sanctuary. Families can go on night snorkels to discover the amazing colors of the corals at night and on outings to the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park, seeing the endangered blue iguana endemic to Cayman.
The Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman's 144 acres reach across two sides of a road, stretching from the Caribbean Sea to the North Sound. An enclosed walkway protected from traffic enables you to get from one area to the other without crossing the street. Like most Ritz-Carltons, the Grand Cayman's rooms start at an over-sized 480 square feet, offering plenty of space for families.
A stay at any safari camp is a learning experience because each game drive often brings you close to elephants, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, Cape buffalo and maybe even lions and leopards. Africa's animals are spectacular, but so are its people. One way that & Beyond supports the local communities in Kenya is by taking guests to a Masai encampment -- one where people actually live as opposed to one that is re-created for tourists. The villages visited rotate to ensure that each village receives income. Led by Masai, the tours are carefully planned and thoughtfully executed. Outside the village entrance, a group of Masai wearing traditional red cloaks discuss their way of life and traditions and also freely answer questions. Learn interesting things such as a red mark on a male's forehead denotes him as a warrior, the Masai drink cow's blood and milk, and the traditional rounded huts are built from dried cow's dung mixed with dirt. Armed with this background, enter the village to meet the Masai families, going inside their huts, watching how they make fire and meeting their children. As part of the welcome, the women, wearing tribal regalia and beaded jewelry, sing and dance and invite your family to join them. Far from hokey, it's a happy cross-cultural encounter.
Sister facilities near each other, both Kichwa Tembo and Bateleur are tented camps with sweeping views of the Masai Mara. Kichewa has 40 tents, each with an en suite bathroom. Their twelve luxury tents are larger and not as close together as their other tents. More upscale and smaller than Kichewa, Bateleur Camp's 18 tents are divided into two groupings of nine tents each. Both camps welcome children.
Club Meds are legendary for their all-inclusive prices and their non-stop activities. The chain's family resorts are no exception, providing day-long activities for kids that go way beyond mere babysitting. At Club Med Sandpiper Bay, Club Med Cancun Yucatan and Club Med Punta Cana, three of Club Med's most family-friendly North American resorts, kids can learn a variety of sports. All three offer sailing, ping pong and tennis. Punta Cana and Cancun add archery, canoeing, kayaking, windsurfing and snorkeling. During baby gym sessions at Punta Cana and Sandpiper, toddlers enhance coordination by climbing, crawling and sliding over, through, and down pint-sized equipment. The learning continues with non-sport sessions. Kids make volcanoes erupt in science classes, learn how to bake Club Med's famous white chocolate bread at Le Petit Chef Sessions, and master juggling, unicycle riding and flying on a trapeze at Circus School. Along with regular and deluxe rooms at all three resorts, both Punta Cana and Cancun have large family suites, and Sandpiper offers a deluxe family room.
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