Scott Dunn has announced October half-term holidays designed around different age groups, spanning baby-friendly childcare, an independent tween programme and new teen-led adventures.
The luxury tour operator, which marks 40 years of family travel in 2026, has selected five destinations for its October programme. Younger children can join Explorers Kids Clubs in Crete or the Maldives, while those aged 11 to 14 have a separate CREW week at Costa Navarino in Greece. Teenagers can take a private journey through South Africa or Japan.
October brings gentler temperatures to Greece and the beginning of autumn in Japan. Scott Dunn also positions the Maldives as a better-value shoulder-season option, while South Africa enters early summer.
Explorers Kids Clubs at Daios Cove and Niyama
Scott Dunn’s Explorers Kids Clubs provide age-specific care for children from four months to 11 years at selected resorts. They are staffed and operated by Scott Dunn rather than the hotels, and activities draw on each destination instead of following one standard format.
The youngest Globetrotters group is designed around babies’ existing routines, including naps and meals. Scott Dunn says its usual staffing ratio is one nanny for every two babies until around 18 to 20 months, moving to one adult for every three older children in the group.
Set around a sheltered sandy bay near Agios Nikolaos in eastern Crete, Daios Cove is a luxury resort where the calm water and compact layout suit first family holidays. October’s milder midday temperatures should also make time outdoors more comfortable for babies and younger children.
The Daios Cove club combines relaxed beach time with an olive-farm visit, a Cretan cooking class, Robotics Lego Lab sessions and a semi-submarine trip from the local harbour. Tennis lessons and watersports make use of the resort’s cove.
A seven-night stay at Daios Cove starts at £10,400 for a family of four. The announced package includes international flights, transfers and Explorers Kids Club sessions.
For a tropical alternative, Niyama Private Islands is a five-star resort spread across two islands in the Maldives’ Dhaalu Atoll. Its circus-themed children’s club sits among the tropical grounds, with a splash park, playground and stage.
The Niyama Explorers programme places the surrounding ocean at the centre of the week. Children can join dolphin-spotting trips and guided marine discovery sessions, while coconut-tree planting and cooking classes offer quieter time on land.
Scott Dunn describes October as a warm shoulder-season month with more accessible pricing than the December-to-March peak. A seven-night Niyama stay starts at £15,500 for a family of four, including international flights, transfers and Explorers sessions.
Age limits vary between individual Explorers locations. Scott Dunn’s half-term announcement presents the wider programme as suitable from four months to 11 years, while its current Niyama page says its activities are for children from 12 months through to 12 years. Families travelling with babies should confirm the applicable age group before booking.
CREW gives tweens more independence at Costa Navarino
Located beside the Ionian Sea on the Peloponnese coast, Costa Navarino is a luxury resort destination with sandy beaches, golf courses and an extensive watersports programme. This October it will host Scott Dunn’s CREW programme for children aged 11 to 14.
CREW sits separately from the Explorers Kids Club, giving tweens their own meeting points and dedicated Crew Leader. Groups are limited to eight, and parents do not need to handle a conventional club drop-off.
The programme includes 18 hours of organised activity across six days, with later starts to suit the older age group. The Costa Navarino schedule covers scuba diving, a snorkel safari, a climbing wall and a traditional culinary experience. Cycling on the Voidokilia bike track and time on the resort’s golf course are also planned.
Parents can give older children time with the group without committing the family to a full day apart. Younger siblings can attend the separate Explorers programme when staying at The Westin Resort Costa Navarino or The Romanos.
A seven-night Costa Navarino holiday starts at £8,200 for a family of four, including flights and transfers. CREW costs an additional £499 per child for the week.
South Africa combines conservation with outdoor adventure
Scott Dunn’s new Teens-First Adventures have been developed around teenage interests rather than adapted from an existing adult itinerary. Each private trip is supported by an Adventure Architect, a local host chosen to engage younger travellers and adjust the journey’s pace when needed.
The nine-night South Africa journey moves through safari country and Cape Town, combining wildlife conservation with active days outdoors. Teenagers work alongside vets and trackers on rhino conservation before ziplining above forest canopies and abseiling into mountain pools.
The cultural programme includes visits to township art studios and meetings with young artists and changemakers. In Cape Town, families kayak along the coast with Table Mountain as the backdrop.
October falls at the beginning of South Africa’s summer. Scott Dunn says the warm conditions work well for the itinerary’s safari time and outdoor activities, ahead of hotter and wetter weather later in the season.
The South Africa Teens-First Adventure starts at £9,892 per person, based on four family members travelling together. The price includes accommodation, private transfers and the planned experiences.
Japan puts manga, sumo and ninja training on the itinerary
The 10-night Japan Teens-First Adventure travels from Tokyo to Osaka via Mount Fuji and Kyoto, balancing pop culture with traditional experiences. October brings cooler days and the opening signs of autumn colour, making long city walks and countryside excursions more comfortable.
In Tokyo, teenagers learn manga drawing from a professional artist and study samurai sword techniques with guidance from film choreographers. A sumo experience places them on the dohyo with a wrestler before a bowl of chanko nabe, the hot pot associated with the sport. Parents can attend a curated sake experience nearby.
The route then leaves the capital for Lake Kawaguchi, beneath Mount Fuji, where the family stays in luxury glamping accommodation. Forests, waterfalls and shrines provide a quieter interval between Japan’s major cities.
In Kyoto, guests can dress in kimono for a private tea ceremony, train in ninja skills and follow the mountainside path through Fushimi Inari’s vermilion torii gates. The final stretch visits the deer and temples of Nara before a late-night food tour through Osaka’s backstreets.
The Japan Teens-First Adventure starts at £8,830 per person. Accommodation, private transfers and the teenage-focused experiences are included.
The teen collection follows research presented by Scott Dunn in 2025, which found that more than 70% of teenagers suggested holiday destinations to their parents. Almost 40% had persuaded their parents to change destination, while more than half described family travel decisions as collective.
“At Scott Dunn, we’ve spent the past four decades planning every type of family holiday you can think of, and one thing has become clear: teenagers are solely underserved and quite often forgotten entirely by luxury travel brands,” said Simon Lynch, Scott Dunn’s director of global product and strategy, when the programme was announced.
Resort packages and teen itineraries have different inclusions, so families should compare the flight arrangements as well as the per-person or family pricing before booking.
