So it is that time of the year again when those travel books must be dug out, bags packed and the all-important decision of where to go must be made. If you are looking for a holiday with a difference, a week or so, or even a weekend, an adventure camp may be just what you need; better still, you could go away on an adventure trip and have the best time of your life.

With children being the focal points in almost all families, vacations are generally planned keeping their needs and interests in mind. Most tour operators understand this and offer a tour programme which besides providing you ample opportunities to "rediscover" your adventurous side also gives young kids a chance to enjoy a lot of activities in the midst of nature. You could choose to go on an adventure trip where everything from the equipment to the guide and the food is taken care of by the trip organizers or you could opt for an arrangement where the equipment and guide are hired by you.

The other type of adventure holiday is the adventure camp where you are provided food and lodging in a base camp and given a host of adventure sports and activities to try out according to your inclination. You could decide to just relax in the camp or try out a sport you have only just read about so far. Some tour operators have staff to look after the activities of the children in the group. So there could be hiking or swimming or some specimen hunting, be it a particular kind of rock or plant. This ensures that besides having a fun time the children add something to their life experiences and incidentally also learn a lot of new things.

However before you book yourself on that tour, there are a few "must-dos". Firstly, it is important to find out from the organizers the level of difficulty of the physical activities offered, so that the children in the group can participate in them. It would also help to know whether the operators have had children of a similar age group earlier. Since a family would have members of different age groups and interests, it's also a good idea to find out if the activities offered would cater to all your needs. The basic idea of an adventure vacation is to provide the much needed change for all the members of the family. Now if the parents were to spend the entire trip looking after the kids it would hardly be much fun either for them or the kids. Thus it is advisable to ensure that the trips do not require parental supervision at all times. Lastly the most important thing to know is the kind of food the operators serve and whether it would suit your children's tastes. A mention of any particular food habits should be made to the organizers.

So now all you have to do is buy yourselves those "family-edition" shorts, vests and sunglasses - and don't forget the insect repellant - and get all ready to have the most adventure-packed holiday of your lives. You don't have to be the star of your local backyard basketball team to enjoy kayaking or even wind gliding and that tan and the friends you'll make are the added incentives. Most importantly- the family that roughs it out together stays together- so just get going!