About Us

Introduction

Activities Abroad have been providing thrilling, yet safe, family activity holidays since 2002. In that time, we have developed a fantastic range of exciting, year-round, multi-activity holidays that we have gradually tweaked and improved over the years in response to our clients’ and our suppliers’ recommendations. As a result,  we have won Best Small Family Holiday Company and Best Small Activity Holiday provider at the British Travel Awards for two consecutive years and last year, we took home Best Small Activity Holiday Company for the third year running! These awards are decided by public votes so we must be doing something right! Rather than rest on our laurels, we are continually striving to improve every single itinerary we feature.

A fantastic range of exciting, year-round, multi-activity holidays.

Naturally, our family holidays revolve around the school holidays and as a result, we offer both summer and winter trips designed specifically for active families. From multi-activity trips in Europe and further afield, to dog sledding and chasing the Northern Lights in Finnish Lapland, we offer exhilarating and unforgettable family holidays, which you will still be discussing around the dinner table for years afterwards.

Our expertise and experience in the activity holiday sector mean that we have built up a trusted range of suppliers in all the destinations we feature and as parents ourselves we cannot place enough emphasis on the safety and organisational sides of our trips.

First and foremost, we run strict and comprehensive safety checks on every element of your holiday. If we are going to send your family white water rafting or dog sledding then you can rest assured that you are doing so with the best in the business.

If we are going to send your family white water rafting or dog sledding then you can be rest assured that you are doing so with the best in the business.

Secondly, family holiday time is far too precious to waste getting organised in the destination. We remove all of the stress and tell you where you need to be and at what time each day; everything else is taken care of. There’s no need to traipse down to the local tourist office or scour the local activity providers for prices and durations and whatever else is required, we do that for you so that you can maximise your holiday time with your family.

That’s what we do best, we make sure that you share fabulous and safe experiences and return home with a host of wonderful family memories. 

Activities Aboard – why choose us?

Here is our proud boast: we have seen teenage boys talking animatedly with their parents on our holidays. We know it sounds unbelievable but it is absolutely true!

So, apart from extracting more than just grunts from teenagers, where do we start?

Experience – we’ve been running family activity holidays since 2002.

Family – these holidays are created by families for families.

Awards – Best Family Holiday Company, Best Activity Holiday Company 2013 and 2014 and Best Activity Holiday Company 2015.

Age Matching – you can enquire about the age of the other children on the holiday that interests you. We will try our best to age match when possible but we can always provide the information beforehand, so you know who your kids will be having fun with. 

Trust – we offer complete financial protection through ATOL and ABTA and proud members of AITO.

Safety – we check every supplier, every activity, every driver, every hotel and guesthouse. We leave no stone unturned.

Respect – our suppliers aren’t hard-nosed business people, they are our partners and good friends. We work together to provide great family holidays.

Fair Trade – we pay a fair price to our suppliers regardless of where we operate in the world. Basically, we look after the people who look after you.

Passion – you have no idea how much a “4 out of 5” review hurts us…we strive for perfection.

Independent – we are one of the few remaining independent adventure and activity companies.

Knowledge – we send as many of our staff as possible to as many destinations as possible because there is absolutely no substitute for experience or local knowledge. When you want to discuss a particular holiday, you can always talk to somebody who has been to the destination, slept in the hotel, enjoyed the activities, met the locals and sampled the food. Many of us take our children with us so we can give you a true family perspective. 

Award-Winning Holidays

Our sincere apologies but sometimes it’s hard to not be a tad smug. The British Travel Awards are decided by public votes so we are absolutely bursting with pride to have won some of the most prestigious awards for three consecutive years! Let’s face it, when you are a Family Activity Holiday Company, these are the two awards you want to win the most.

The British Travel Awards are decided by public votes so we are absolutely bursting with pride to have won some of the most prestigious awards for three consecutive years!

 Our free comparison service

Scour the market and a few other operators may appear to offer slightly cheaper trips than ours. We urge you not to be misled by cheap “headline” prices because you will almost certainly end up paying more in the destination. Beware too of “Optional Activities” because they come at a price and add considerably to your overall holiday cost.

We are so confident in our product knowledge, and the exceptional experiences that we include, that we welcome the opportunity to compare our itineraries. Very often, you’ll find that where we offer four hours of white water rafting, cheaper companies offer half that time. Similarly, our winter holidays never include the five-minute “taster” sessions that are often included in other operators’ programmes.

We’ll be delighted to compare any quotes you have obtained elsewhere and our comparison service is completely free and without obligation. We’ll even tell you to book elsewhere if we think that is best for your family…but we’ve not had to do that yet! 

Our heritage

We’ve been creating holidays since 2002 and over the years, the range and diversity of our holidays have grown considerably.

We originally started as a Family Activity Holiday company selling multi-activity trips in Greece, Turkey, Spain and France. Looking back, our first ever brochure was a pretty amateurish affair but everybody has to start somewhere.

We soon expanded into more destinations and also operated adult-only group trips before experimenting with a few winter trips we had discovered on our travels. Back then, activities such as dog sledding and snowmobiling were rarely heard of here in the UK but we soon realised that there was a rapidly growing market for such experiences and before long we were also producing a Winter Holiday brochure.

Our travels have allowed us to identify growing trends within the holiday market. Our experiences north of the Arctic Circle led us to set up our dedicated Northern Lights hunting brand – The Aurora Zone. In fact, we were the first company in the UK to offer such trips and while many have followed suit in the last few years, we pride ourselves on still being THE Northern Lights company.

With the huge success of The Aurora Zone, our business had become very concentrated on the winter months and we recently moved to balance the seasonality of our trips by creating The Artisan Travel Company. Artisan Travel offers trips throughout the year for people who want their holiday to be a genuine experience. Each trip has been handcrafted in conjunction with our local suppliers to ensure that our clients see the absolute best of their chosen destination.

Activities Abroad specialise in summer and winter family activity holidays, The Aurora Zone provides dedicated Northern Lights hunting trips and Artisan Travel is all about unforgettable experiences for adults all year round.

And that’s where we are right now. Activities Abroad specialise in summer and winter family activity holidays, The Aurora Zone provides dedicated Northern Lights hunting trips and Artisan Travel is all about unforgettable experiences for adults all year round.

  bta2015

  • FAMILY SPECIALISTS

    Created by families for families

    Experience real adventures enjoyed safely

    Family friendly destinations and accommodation

    Maximising your precious family time

  • SHARED EXPERIENCES

    Family time, not screen time

    Family memories to treasure

    For toddlers, young children, teenagers & adults alike

    Enjoy the company of like-minded families

  • INDEPENDENT

    Family owned and run

    Proudly Independent

    Personal, hands-on service

    Fair and sustainable work ethos

  • TRUSTED

    We research the holidays so you don’t have to

    ATOL and ABTA Financial protection available

    Customers rate us 4.8/5 Stars

    Award-Winning: Best Travel Company for Adventure Holidays 2023

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