Lions and Rhinos and Leopards, Oh My!

This week, we are simply ecstatic to share an amazing, family-centered, life-changing, travel opportunity!  Chances are good that you and your family have watched the award-winning program, Travel With Kids on PBS, and if you like what you've seen there - you're going to flip for this!  Below is the official press release for Travel With Kids' latest venture - their Adventure Tours.  Starting this summer, the Travel With Kids family (Carrie and Jeremy Simmons and their sons Nathan and Seamus) is inviting your family to join them on an escorted trip to South Africa!  Read on for more details!!!

-Destination Mom

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Travel With Kids Family is Inviting

You to Join Them in South Africa

Announcing Travel With Kids Family Adventure Tours

Phoenix (March, 2014) – Traveling with children can seem like an overwhelming challenge, which leaves many families planting their feet securely at home. However, the award-winning, visually stunning, Travel With Kids television series maps out the best of each fascinating destination they visit and shows how families can make their trips relaxing and fun while introducing young adventurers to local customs, food, and breath-taking scenery. And this summer, Travel With Kids is inviting other families to join the fun on an escorted trip to South Africa.  Spend time with your family volunteering in the townships, learning about South Africa’s amazing and recent history at interactive museums and from people who lived through it and immerse in nature at wildlife conservation centers and on safari. And the best part is: You can experience it all with the trusted and well-seasoned travelers Travel With Kids’ hosts Jeremy and Carrie Simmons and their sons Nathan and Seamus.

“After traveling all around the globe, filming episodes in South Africa made a lasting impact on us…especially our kids.” says Carrie Simmons. “Ask our kids what their favorite destination is and they will tell you South Africa and with good reason. When we filmed there, not only did we have the chance to see nature in action…rhinos fighting over territory, a jackal sneaking a bite from a lion’s dinner…but we learned history and culture in a kid-friendly, hands-on way. The kids especially loved their time meeting local kids in schools and volunteering their time to help better a community.”

Travel with Kids is an educational and entertaining voyage of discovery through ancient sites, exotic islands, historic cities and vast nature. Designed to educate families about places around the world, the series presents the history, culture and nature of a destination in an innovative manner that keeps viewers of all ages engaged.   This summer other families can experience it first hand along with the hosts of Travel With Kids. With two fully escorted tours in July and August covering destinations such as Cape Town, the Cape Peninsula, the famous Garden Route and Kruger National Park and doing things like meeting local families and visiting schools in townships, diving with great white sharks (optional, but fun!), getting nose to beak with penguins and nose to trunk with elephants, and of course going on safari, there is something for everyone.

Parents will appreciate the pre-trip checklists, FAQs, packing lists and years of family travel experience and tips provided by Travel With Kids parents Jeremy and Carrie Simmons. Kids will enjoy hanging out with famously silly hosts Nathan and Seamus as well as hands-on activities like learning to track animals, scavenger hunts, a special South Africa book, activity kit and more.

Travel With Kid airs in 150 cities across the United States and in 30 countries internationally. Season 3 will begin airing this spring on PBS stations. Check your local listings for day and times. Travel With Kids is also available on-line through Hulu.com, iTunes, Roku and Amazon as well as on DVD (available through www.travelwithkids.tv and www.shoppbs.org). The Travel With Kids series has won several awards including the Telly Award, iParenting Media award, KIDS First! Endorsement, the Dove Foundation Family Seal of Approval and the Adding Wisdom award. Destinations covered by the series include the Caribbean, Hawaii, Mexico, the United Kingdom, New York, Paris, Ireland, Italy, Florida, California, Alaska, Costa Rica, Peru, Thailand, China, Greece, Vietnam, Fiji and South Africa.

The Travel With Kids Family Adventure Tour to South Africa is operated by DSA Vacations, (www.dsavacations.com). Based out of Tucson, AZ, DSA Vacations is owned by Terry von Guilleaume – a South African now living in the United States. DSA specializes in tailor-made vacations, including family travel, to Southern and Eastern Africa.

Produced by Equator Creative Media, a multimedia production company promoting independent adventure travel for the family, Travel with Kids was created in 2004 and is currently in its 7^th season of television production.  The PBS Season 3 airing is brought to you by Travel Assurance Promise, Kuboo.com, Apple Vacations and HomeExchange.com.  Travel with Kids is distributed internationally by Janson Media and by NETA on Public Television in the USA.  

To see video from Travel With Kids South Africa episodes, visit:

Cape Town/Cage Diving: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ofo3aAgzdDE

Safari: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6ZMjLrmJgo

For more information on the show, or additional interview material and images, visit www.travelwithkids.tv or email Carrie Simmons at simmons@travelwithkids.tv or call 602-326-9048. The on-camera host family is also available for interviews, speaking engagements and appearances.

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About Carrie Simmons:

Carrie Simmons is the Creator and Host of Travel With Kids, a television series airing on PBS nationwide and in 30 countries internationally. The show aims to educate families about the history, culture and nature of destinations around the globe while featuring exciting, adventure activities for families.  Carrie started her career in the newspaper industry where she handles promotions and special sections.  After years in the corporate world, she decided to turn her briefcase in for a backpack and took off on an 8-month round-the-world journey with husband and co-producer of Travel With Kids, Jeremy Simmons. They were both bit big time by the travel bug.

Carrie says, “Once we had children everyone thought we would have to stop traveling, but I couldn’t understand why we would do that. I want to expose my kids to all the wonders of the world and the adventure of traveling.” And so the concept of Travel With Kids was born combining Carrie’s background in writing and marketing and Jeremy’s experience in television production. “We began shooting when the kids were 3 and 1 years old in Puerto Rico. We had no budget, but an amazing idea of what we wanted to do and some very enthusiastic supporters.”

Travel With Kids has been in production since 2004. “Our kids have really grown up on the road” says Carrie. “It’s given them amazing perspective on the global community and a deep-rooted compassion for the world around them.” Travel With Kids has produced 55 episodes on 5 continents around the world. “Australia is at the top of Nathan’s (now 12 years old) list and Antarctica…well that’s in the dream column for now.”

“What I like best about traveling is getting the chance to learn about other cultures and the history of a place. I think that when we travel as a family, we really grow together.” says Carrie. Her best travel advice: “Go now! So many people put off traveling until the ‘kids are older’ or ‘my job calms down’ and then never end up going. Set a date, start planning and do it! Conditions will never be perfect, but the experience will stay with you and your family forever! So, go!”