Scott Dunn has launched 16 private family adventures designed around teenage interests, with immersive experiences across Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas and Australasia.
The luxury tour operator, which marks its 40th anniversary in 2026, developed its new Teens-First Adventures using research among its teenage guests and their parents. Rather than adding a few teen activities to existing family holidays, Scott Dunn says each itinerary was planned around how teenagers want to travel.
The collection includes surfing on Sri Lanka’s southern coast, samurai sword training in Japan and professional filmmaking in Paris. Other experiences range from traditional craft workshops in Ireland to wildlife conservation with vets and trackers in South Africa.
“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 sorely underserved and quite often forgotten entirely by luxury travel brands,” Simon Lynch, Scott Dunn’s Global Product & Strategy Director, said. “We’re changing that this year by launching new itineraries and experiences designed for and by our teenage guests.”
Teenagers are influencing family holiday decisions
Scott Dunn’s research found that more than 70% of teenagers proactively give their parents ideas about where to travel. Almost 40% have managed to convince their parents to choose a different destination, while more than half said holiday decisions are made collectively by the family.
Social media plays a substantial role in that process. Eighty per cent of the teenagers surveyed use TikTok and Instagram for travel inspiration, while 60% also ask friends for recommendations.
The operator has used those findings to create private, tailor-made teen holidays combining active days, creative projects and opportunities for greater independence. Every trip can be adjusted or rebuilt around a family’s interests rather than booked as a fixed group tour.
The launch expands an age-specific family portfolio that already includes Explorers Kids Clubs for children aged four months to 11 years. Scott Dunn also recently featured private Japan and South Africa journeys within its October half-term programme.
Adventure Architects provide local guidance
Each Teens-First journey is supported by an Adventure Architect, Scott Dunn’s name for a local guide selected and trained to work with teenagers and their families.
The guides focus on participatory experiences rather than conventional commentary. That might involve transforming a Turin street into a collaborative storyboard, helping teenagers create travel content or using music to make local history more accessible.
Scott Dunn says its Adventure Architects are chosen for local knowledge and their ability to read the mood of a group. A guide may accompany a family throughout an itinerary, although different local hosts can also take over as the journey moves between regions.
Sri Lanka combines tea country, wildlife and surfing
In Sri Lanka, the nine-night Teens-First journey moves from cool tea country to Yala National Park and the beaches of the south coast.
Families trek along Stage 07 of the Pekoe Trail, passing working plantations and cloud forest before travelling to Wild Coast Tented Lodge. Dawn game drives search for leopards and elephants, with sloth bears also among the park’s wildlife.
Further south, teenagers learn to surf on Weligama’s rolling breaks and play cricket with a local team inside Galle Fort. An early blue-whale excursion and a cliff-edge dinner at Cape Weligama complete the coastal stay.
Prices start at £5,500 per person for a family group of four. International flights from London Heathrow, private guides, selected accommodation and teen-focused experiences are included.
Japan brings manga, sumo and samurai skills together
The 10-night Japan adventure connects Tokyo with Mount Fuji, Kyoto and Osaka through pop culture, traditional arts and distinctive local food.
In Tokyo, teenagers learn samurai sword techniques from film choreographers, step onto a dohyo for a sumo lesson and sketch manga with a professional artist in Nakano. The itinerary then slows beneath the cedar trees near Mount Fuji, where the family spends a night glamping near Lake Kawaguchi.
Kyoto brings a private tea ceremony and a visit to Fushimi Inari’s vermilion torii gates. Before reaching Osaka’s neon-lit backstreets and informal food scene, the final leg explores Nara.
Prices start at £8,830 per person for a family of four, including private guides, accommodation and teen-led experiences. International flights are not listed among the stated inclusions.
Paris and the French Riviera turn teenagers into filmmakers
The Paris and French Riviera itinerary is a 10-night journey combining creative experiences in the capital with adventure and glamour on the Mediterranean coast.
After a private Seine cruise, teenagers explore street art in La Butte-aux-Cailles before writing, casting and appearing in a professionally produced short film. A vintage sidecar tour through Montmartre brings another perspective on Paris before the family travels south.
On the Riviera, the programme includes a private yacht day between Monaco and Villefranche Bay and a via ferrata above the Vésubie gorges. A perfume workshop in Èze is followed by a Ferrari drive along the Monaco corniche.
The trip starts at £10,500 per person based on a family of four. International flights, private guides, selected hotels and teen-led experiences are included.
Ireland centres on music and traditional crafts
Scott Dunn’s six-night Ireland journey begins in Dublin, where families take a private music-history tour and forge silver rings during a practical workshop at Silver Works.
The route continues west to Galway for local food and live traditional music. In Connemara, guests make a bodhrán by hand with a master craftsman at the Roundstone workshop associated with the drums used by Riverdance.
A high-speed Zodiac trip travels beneath the Cliffs of Moher before an off-road exploration of Inis Mór. The final stay is at Dromoland Castle, a historic property with a 450-acre estate where families can try falconry and paddleboarding.
Prices start at £7,300 per person, including private guides, teen-focused activities and selected accommodation. The published inclusions do not specify international flights.
South Africa pairs conservation with coastal adventure
The 12-day South Africa itinerary crosses the Eastern Cape, Garden Route and Cape Town, combining wildlife work with active experiences and contemporary culture.
Teenagers join vets and trackers for hands-on rhino conservation before ziplining through the canopy of Tsitsikamma Forest. The route also features waterfall abseiling, cycling through art-filled Karoo towns and kayaking beneath Table Mountain.
Meetings with young artists offer a view of contemporary South Africa beyond its landscapes and wildlife. Accommodation includes Kwandwe Ecca Lodge, a six-suite safari property, and Belmond Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town.
Prices start at £9,892 per person for a family of four, including accommodation, private transfers and curated teen experiences.
More Teens-First journeys will launch in September
The wider collection also covers Mexico, Vietnam, Italy, Iceland, Costa Rica, the United Kingdom and Australia, with further itineraries due during September 2026.
Prices and inclusions differ by destination, so families should check whether international flights form part of the quoted package. Every itinerary can be tailored, including its accommodation, pace and balance between guided activities and independent time.
