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Festive family holidays are changing: 4 experience-led stays that make the trip about more than sightseeing
From Uttarakhand's mountains to Goa's beaches, these four festive stays combine family time with food, culture, wellness and local experiences.
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Festive family holidays used to be fairly straightforward. Pick a place everyone agrees on, find a hotel, book the tickets and decide what you want to see once you get there. That list is getting a little longer now. Families are also looking at what they can do together during the stay. It could be a local meal, an evening of music and dance, a walk through a nearby village or simply a few hours by the pool while the children have something else to do. These are often the bits of a holiday that everyone ends up talking about later.
Hotels and resorts have picked up on this too. Food, local culture, wellness, outdoor activities and children's programmes are increasingly becoming part of the holiday itself. This can be especially useful on a family trip with grandparents, parents and children, because getting three generations excited about the same sightseeing plan is not always easy. For a festive break with a little more than rooms and sightseeing, here are four places to consider.
Club Mahindra Binsar Valley, Uttarakhand
Binsar is the kind of place where you may actually want to leave some gaps in the itinerary. Set in Uttarakhand's Kumaon hills, Club Mahindra Binsar Valley has enough going on for families to spend time outdoors without planning every hour of the day. There are guided village walks and treks for those keen to explore on foot, along with riverside picnics, cycling, ziplining and stargazing. Families interested in the region's food and culture can also attend Kumaoni cultural evenings. Ghar Ka Chullah is another interesting addition, with local women preparing traditional dishes live.
You can also keep a day aside to head out. Jageshwar Dham, Kasar Devi and Patal Bhubaneswar are among the places families can visit from Binsar. After a day out, a traditional Pahadi massage back at the resort may sound considerably more appealing than squeezing another stop into the schedule. For families who like mountains but do not want their entire holiday dictated by a sightseeing checklist, Binsar gives you enough to do and enough reason to do nothing for a while too.
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City of Dreams Sri Lanka
An international festive break does not necessarily have to involve moving from one city to another every couple of days. Colombo can work well for families who prefer settling into one place and mixing city time with good food, children's activities and a bit of downtime. At City of Dreams Sri Lanka, younger guests have the Life Explorers Club, while families can explore Colombo together through experiences such as Tales of Colombo. Those travelling for a festival or family celebration can also opt for personalised celebrations during their stay.
Then there is the food. With 12 restaurants and bars, there is enough variety for a family where one person wants to try something new, and another is considerably harder to please. Adults can also set aside time for Kurundu Wellness while the children are busy elsewhere. You can head into Colombo, come back for dinner and still have enough happening at the property to avoid planning an outing every single day. On a longer family holiday, that breathing room can be rather welcome.
Radisson Blu Hotel, Kochi, Kerala
Kochi is a good pick when half the family wants a city break, and the other half wants a Kerala holiday. You get history, food, art and waterfront evenings, with the option of adding a backwater cruise when everyone is ready to get out of the city. Radisson Blu Hotel, Kochi is within reach of Fort Kochi and Mattancherry, so some of the city's familiar stops can easily fit into the trip. Families can see the Chinese fishing nets, walk around the older neighbourhoods, visit the spice markets or spend an evening at Marine Drive. There is enough in Kochi to fill several days, but you do not need to spend all of them rushing around. Back at the hotel, there is a rooftop infinity pool, spa facilities and a choice of regional and international food. Festive meals and celebrations can also be included during the season.
It is the sort of base that lets you split the holiday between going out and staying in. One day can be Fort Kochi and Mattancherry, another a backwater cruise, and the next could simply involve a long lunch and some pool time.
Caravela Beach Resort, Goa
Goa rarely needs much convincing when a family holiday is being planned. Staying right by the beach makes the proposition even easier, particularly if nobody wants to spend the entire trip sitting in a car getting from one place to the next. Caravela Beach Resort is on Varca Beach in South Goa, with direct access to the sand. That means a morning by the sea does not require much planning. You can head down to the beach, come back for breakfast and decide what the rest of the day looks like later. Meals range from Goan and Indian food to Pan Asian and international options, with seafood, kebabs and poolside favourites in the mix. During Diwali, the resort also hosts beachfront dining under the stars with festive decorations and fireworks.
There is quite a bit to do when sitting by the beach starts to feel too slow. The resort has four professional-grade pickleball and tennis courts, a large swimming pool, spa treatments and indoor and outdoor activities.
This also gives different generations room to do their own thing. The children can be busy with an activity, someone else can book a spa treatment, and the rest of the family can head to the pool or beach. Everyone does not need to follow the same schedule from breakfast to dinner.
And perhaps that is what is changing about festive family holidays. You do not need to come home having seen every attraction on a list. A great meal that went on for hours, the evening everyone tried something new or a lazy afternoon when nobody checked the time can be just as memorable. Sometimes, spending the holiday together really can be that simple.
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