Taking the kids on an Adventure Vacation can seem like a daunting task, but with a little bit of research and planning and the right gear, your trip will be an adventure you will remember, for all the right reasons!

Going Hiking?

There are lots of great gear options for taking your little one's along on a hike. My favorite (and our son seems to like it as well!) is the Kelty Kid's Carrier. This framed backpack can carry your little one in style and comfort until they reach 40lbs. It is lightweight, easy to get on and off and comes with a sun/ rain hood and a changing pad.

This can take you from hikes around home to the peaks of Peru!

Of course, if your kids are old enough to hike the trails on their own two feet, be sure to get them a backpack, so that they can carry their own gear and snacks. Kelty also makes a great line of  backpacks designed specifically for kids, that even include hydration systems.

Adventure Apparel

A must have for any adventure vacation is UV protected clothing. Essentially, these clothes offer the same protection that sunscreen does ensuring that your little one will not get a sunburn! Many manufacturers now produce these clothes, but one of my favorite sources is Play Outdoors which offers unique and well priced clothing for all seasons.

Every adventurer needs a good sunhat--Patagonia makes a great UV protected, quick drying hat with a chin strap, so your little adventurer won't lose it!

Hitting the Waves?

Whether it's Kayaking in Colorado, or canoeing in Africa water sports are always a fun family activity. Make sure your little one has a life vest that is well fitting. There is a wide selection for all sizes and adventure activities at Safe Life Jackets

Happy Trails!

Don't forget the sunscreen, bug repellent and band aids! You are on your way to a great summer adventure trip!

During the planning phase of a trip I spend a great deal of my planning, either looking at guide books in our iExplore library or spending time looking through our online guides or reading user accounts for a destination.

Once I have actually determined where I will be going and the logistics of how I will get around and where I am staying my focus turns to the experience. I start to read about the destination.  This can be combination of learning the history of my destinations, learning about the culture and wildlife or reading first hand accounts.

Certain destinations have required reading.  For instance you must read the history of polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton prior to embarking on an expedition to Antarctica. I would not recommend anyone go to Australia without reading Bill Bryson's In a Sunburned Country.

The book I have enjoyed the most in preparing for my upcoming Safari to Zambia and Botswana is the National Audubon Society Field Guide to African Wildlife.  This is a handy guide that will help you to better identify and learn about the more than 850 species of amazing mammals, birds, reptiles and insects native to Africa.  Despite the great depth of information it fairly compact and has a cover that will protect it being tossed around and pulled out of daypacks.

I highly recommend this book to anyone planning an African Safari!

The Holidays are quickly approaching.  I recently asked the iExplore team to provide me with some of their favorite travel gifts.  If you have a world traveler on your gift list or feel like pampering yourself then I hope the list below will help you give a gift to celebrate the love for travel.

Joby Gorillapod Tripod
I never travel without my trusty photographer's assistant the Joby Gorillapod. The Gorillapod is a small portable tripod that can be attached to nearly anything.  I have wrapped it around tree limbs, fence posts and trusted it on uneven surfaces.  Don't miss out on self-portraits or group photos by using a Joby Gorillapod on your next trip to capture yourself in the excitement of your destination.  The Gorillapod is available in four sizes; choose the appropriate one for your camera.
Suggested by Todd McClamroch


Personalized Traveler Map Set
Have a world traveler on your gift list or a travel dreamer?  The Personalized World Traveler Map Set is the perfect gift to track their travels or plan their next adventure.  The color map comes with a personalized metal crest that can include up to 50 characters of your choosing.  The map is mounted on corkboard and is delivered with colored pins to track places visited, upcoming trips and dream destinations.  Purchase either a world or U.S. map both available framed or unframed. It can also be delivered framed. 
Suggested by Joelle Goldman


Suede Passport Cover & Tag
Common wisdom might say you don't want to stand out when going through customs.  If however you stand out in the name of fashion we think it will be alright.  Decorate your passport with a personalized suede passport cover and matching luggage tag.  Available in a variety of colors, each of which can be customized to include your initials. 
Suggested by Rosemary Burki
 


Cowhide-Leather Travel Backgammon
Roll up the leather backgammon board and stow it in your carry-on along with the drawstring pouch of game pieces.  Unroll it and play on airport floors or on an airline tray table.  A perfect gift to ensure the traveler on your gift list is not bored traveling to their next international adventure.
Suggested by Todd McClamroch




Balanzza Digital Luggage Scale
Stop trying to balance your luggage on a scale or holding the luggage then subtracting your own weight.  The Balanzza Digital Luggage Scale is a compact tool that will allow to easily and accurately determine the weight of your luggage.  Finding out a bag is over the weight restrictions before you leave the airport can make your travels hassle free. 
Suggested by Kathryn Shreve



Steripen Adventurer UV Water Purifier
If your travelers might take you off the beaten path you will want to make sure you have access to clean drinking water.  The SteriPEN Adventurer uses UV light technology to sterilize water.  Simply fill a glass or bottle of water and stir it with the SteriPEN for a minute and the water is cleaned to a level exceeding the EPA's highest standards in water purification. 
Suggested by Frank Anselmo

A Kiva Donation: A Gift That Changes Lives
Kiva's mission is "to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty".  As a person-to-person micro-lending provider Kiva connects you or your gift recipient with entrepreneurs in developing countries so your loan can assist them in making strides towards economic independence.  When you give a gift certificate, your recipient is invited to create a Kiva account where they then can use the Kiva website to choose the entrepreneur of their choice to lend the funds to.
Suggested by Todd McClamroch

Have a great travel related gift idea?  Leave a comment below.

I recently purchased the AMOD AGL3080 GPS Data Logger, a GPS-based device designed to provide location information for digital photos. I originally purchased it for one of my other hobbies, flying.  I take the device with me whenever I go flying and use it to track my flightpath so I can create a visual track of my flights (see example).  This past week I finally used the device for its intended use, geo-tagging photographs.  

Prior to setting off for France I reached out to iKangaroo through Twitter for advice on places to check out during my brief visit.  He suggested a walk along the Canal St. Martin which was featured in Amilee and also walking through The Marais district including a pass by St. Paul's.  I decided to add a visit to Montmartre and Sacre Coeur to the itinerary and figured this long walk would be a great opportunity to test out the GPS Data Logger.

The device is small and easily strapped to the front of my daypack.  After turning it on I reset it so it would reacquire satellites on this side of the world.  As soon as the satellite was acquired it began tracking every step we took.  

Whenever I would stop to take a picture I simply clicked the waypoint button on the device and it would log the time and location of the photo.  After an enjoyable day of walking my wife and I returned to the hotel where I downloaded both the GPS logs and my digital photos.  The program provided with the hardware synced the photos and data logs and in a matter of minutes we were able to see a track of our walk and click on each spot where we took a photo.  

This is an invaluable tool for those jam packed trips where you see so many sites that you start to question which site was which, especially helpful for trips like Paris where I must have photographed 20 churches.  Now that my photos are geo-tagged I can simply layer them over a Google map and find the specific spot where the photo was taken.  Instead of manually identifying the location of each photo I can now easily publish my photos on a Panoramio or Flickr maps sharing with others the exact spot each photo was taken.

For any traveler that fancies themselves as part time photographer I cannot recommend this device enough.