Expo 2015
Expo 2015 will once again return to Milan from May 1 to October 31, 2015. The theme chosen is Feeding the 
Planet, Energy for Life. This embraces technology, innovation, culture, traditions and creativity and how they relate to food and diet. Plus lots of great food (even food trucks from the US)! The site will host four thematic areas: Pavilion Zero traces the history of humankind via its relationship with food, Future Food District explains how technology will change food storage, distribution, purchase, and consumption, the Children’s Park is where your children can learn about the themes of Expo Milano 2015 while having fun, and the Biodiversity Park is a large garden in which a number of our planet’s ecosystems are reproduced. 145 countries (94% of the world population) are taking part! Family ticket packages are available and many hotels are offering special packages that include a variety of Expo and tourist related elements. There’s even a special Cirque de Soleil show developed for the Expo.
Europe by Rail
Rail Europe has a new series of offers designed to appeal to family travel. Free travel for children is now 
available on the Eurail Pass product line, the Swiss Travel Pass, the German Rail Pass and the BritRail Pass. For the first time, Eurail is allowing up to two children between the ages of four and 11 to travel for free with an adult on the Eurail Global, Eurail Select, Regional Eurail and One-Country Eurail passes. Eurail has assembled more than 25 different pass options and unlimited rail travel in up to 28 countries. The Swiss Family Card allows children six to 15 years of age to travel free when accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. The card is free. It must be requested at the time of purchase of a Swiss Travel Pass. The German Rail Pass offers a free child discount, with up to two children ages six to 11 traveling free of charge with each adult. Several BritRail Passes allow one child aged five to 15 to travel free with an adult on a BritRail Family Pass. All additional children aged five to 15 receive a reduced rate. This offer applies when using a standard BritRail Pass, a BritRail England Pass and a BritRail South West Pass. Pack light and go!
Ski Whistler
The Four Seasons Whistler in Canada offers a 
Family Ski Whistler package that includes daily lift passes and buffet breakfast for two adults and two children 12 years of age or under. Plus, stay in an Executive Suite or higher room category for five nights and receive a complimentary night at Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver between March 22 and April 2. The Whistler property offers a resort village shuttle, personal ski concierge, daily wine reception, afternoon hot chocolate, internet access, free fitness classes and more. Whistler Blackcomb has over 200 runs to choose from.
Families in Florence
The Grand Hotel Villa Medici in Florence, Italy is offering a Family Package with a second room at 30 percent off for children ages 20 and under, half off at the hotel restaurant for children 12 and under for lunch and dinner and 15 percent off for adults for lunch and dinner, welcome gift, carousel ride in the Piazza della Repubblica and late check out on the first room until 4:00 pm. A minimum two nights is required. This 5 star hotel with 100 rooms and suites features a beautiful garden, outdoor pool, spa and fitness center. A courtesy car service is at your disposal to explore the city.
Take Off With Tauck
As part of their 90th anniversary celebration, Tauck Tours is making is easier to fly to Europe by bringing back another year of
Take Off With Tauck, an air inclusive package that provides a variety of values. All coach seats are $1,090/person, $1,690/person in premium economy (when available) and $3,490/person in business class. Your trip must be booked by February 28 for departures from March 1 to August 31 on all Tauck Europe land trips, Tauck Bridges family Europe trips, European river cruises and select small ship cruises. These tickets are also refundable 60 days prior to travel and full payment is not due at the time of booking. Tauck’s air package is available to all guests departing from select U.S. gateways.
My Family in Italy
The Baglioini Hotels in Milan, Venice, Tuscany, Rome and Florence, Italy along with London and Provence, France offer special
benefits to families. The upscale hotel chain’s My Family plan includes a free extra bed for one child up to age 16 (many upscale hotels in Europe charge quite a bit for rollaways), half off your second room for children, buffet breakfast, home-made cakes or fruit to welcome you to your room, one free children’s menu meal per day, 10% discount on babysitting, free internet and more. In addition babies are welcomed with cribs with hypoallergenic mattress, bottle warmer and digital thermometer. A two night minimum stay is required and valid on all room categories.
GAdventures Teen Adventures
GAdventures has launched its new lineup of family trips for 2015. The tour operator will travel with families across three continents, on 18 different trips, delivering its signature brand of adventure and education for families and multi-generational groups. New in 2015 are the Teen Adventures to Peru, Costa Rica, Morocco and Vietnam. These new trips were developed based off of travel agent and client feedback. Now children ages 12 and up will be able to participate in more age-appropriate trips with more challenging activities and adventures such as a four day Inca Trail hike in Peru. Your curious and open minded teens will experience different cultures, connect with a variety of people and make new friends with teenagers from across the globe. It can change the way teenagers look at the world!
Disney Additions
Disney’s family tour operator Adventures by Disney is adding new programs in Tuscany and Spain. 
They feature storytelling in a family setting with activities for children, parents and grandparents, sometimes together, sometimes separately. The Tuscany program, entitled Tuscany Culinary Adventure, targets foodies. The schedule includes hands-on cooking lessons for learning how to prepare Italian pizza and bruschetta; special dining experiences; observing how cheese is made and visiting a winery, with adults learning about wine blending, while the children learn about olive oil infusion and biscotti making. In Spain, the focus is on adventure, culture, art and history. You will learn about the making of paella; get a Flamenco dancing lesson in Seville; see a Rumba performance in Barcelona; spend two nights at a Mediterranean beach resort; learn about mixing sangria; and visit major historical and cultural sites such as the Gaudi-designed church in Barcelona, the Prado museum and Royal Palace in Madrid and the Grand Mosque of Cordoba. Adventures by Disney offers more than 30 itineraries in Asia, Africa, Australia, Latin America, Europe and North America.
Paddington’s London
British children may now be more familiar with Paddington the talking bear than their American counterparts, 
but families from all over the world can take advantage of the Draycott Hotel’s Paddington Bear Package. The deal celebrates the release of the new Paddington movie and includes a Paddington bear plush toy, daily English breakfast, afternoon tea (including a mini-tea with marmalade option for children), a bus tour of London with a Paddington Bear guidebook, a scrapbook and accommodations in Family or Draycott Suites. The package is available through April 30, 2015. The 35 room boutique hotel is located near Chelsea’s fashionable Sloane Square in the beautiful borough of Kensington.
Samurai Discovery
Trafalgar Tours recently added Japan to their roster of family tours. Their 8-day Samurai Discovery includes the ruins of Edo Castle, the history of Tokugawa shoguns, sushi-making class, a Taiko drumming lesson with a master musician, the Edo-Tokyo Museum to see artifacts and architecture of Tokyo’s history and culture and lunch at a Machiya townhouse (traditional wooden townhouses) where your children take a calligraphy lesson. Japan’s video game appeal and technology are also highlighted on this trip. Your family will visit Sega Joypolis, an indoor amusement park in the center of Tokyo with rides, 3D movies and simulators; the Sony Building where children can play the latest games to their heart’s content; and the Pokemon Centre and Toei Kyoto Studio Park, where children can dress up as a samurai. This tour will operate in March, July, September and October.
