1. What are the benefits of taking children on a tailor-made trip?

Any parent who has tried to keep every member of the family happy at once, whether choosing what to watch on Netflix or trying to gain consensus on a weekend’s activities, will understand that it can be a challenge!

Planning a family holiday for different ages and interests is a balancing act. This is where a tailor-made trip, designed specifically for your family, changes the game. We’ll help you to decide which activities your family will love, what your ideal trip routing will be, and which hotels will suit you best. You just turn up and enjoy the results!

2. What are the benefits of booking a tailor-made holiday rather than doing it myself with AI?

We understand that thanks to AI, it’s now fairly easy to create your own family holiday itinerary. And to be honest, the day by day plan that you get in this way will be good. A solid 8 out of 10.

But we’re not aiming for solid. Our holidays are designed to be life-affirming, life-changing and life-enhancing. We plan things to the nth degree so that you can just turn up. And as our reviews demonstrate, we know that you’ll have a better time if you travel with us. We’re not bragging, we’re just stating the facts.

If it all comes down to budget, then get your AI hat on and start planning. You’ll have a great holiday at a good price. But if you can flex the budget a bit, a tailor-made itinerary will give you an outstanding holiday at a fair price.

You’ll also have access to our trusted partners on the ground to support you, and because we are members of the Travel Trade Association (TTA) and ATOL, your holiday and flights have 100% financial protection.

What we offer doesn’t just outperform AI every step of the way; it’s complete peace of mind. We think your holiday is worth it!

3. How can we balance luxury and adventure on our holiday? Are they mutually exclusive?

The simple answer is no, luxury and adventure are absolutely not mutually exclusive. The beauty of a tailor-made holiday is that it can be pitched at whatever level of luxury you are looking for and this will vary from one family to the next. For some, luxury might mean a remote private tented safari lodge or a snazzy beach hotel, but for others it will be a charming-but-simple off-grid desert lodge or boutique city hideaway.

For us, it’s really about the luxury of experience. It’s about going to places that others haven’t had the luxury of exploring (or even thinking about). It’s about being able to comfortably explore a country and its people thanks to the luxury of our expert, on-the-ground drivers and guides. And it’s about choosing the level of comfort in your accommodation that suits you, whether you want gold-plated taps and a private concierge service or not.

4. Flexibility: How active are tailor-made holidays?

Again, it’s up to you! It’s our job to have sampled first hand pretty much every activity there is on offer in our global portfolio, so that we can recommend the best for your family. It’s your job to enjoy it!

One family might consider an hour on a surf board a strenuous enough activity for the morning, to be rewarded by the rest of the day on a sun-lounger. Another family will climb a mountain in the morning, bike back down in the afternoon, and still have the energy for a food tour in the evening. What’s critical is matching the right level of activity to each family (and each family member).

5. What to expect from a tailor-made family holiday vs a package holiday?

The main difference between a tailor-made family holiday and a package holiday is the depth and level of variety and experience. A package holiday is often all-inclusive, hotel-based and centred around one resort or location. There may be a kids’ club or organised entertainment.

A tailor-made holiday, on the other hand, tends to be far more immersive and varied. It will usually include several different locations and might use a number of different modes of transport. There will be guided sightseeing and activities, and lots of suggestions as to what to do in your free time. The aim is to provide a really in-depth experience in the country you are visiting: see our feature, Why go on a tailor-made Stubborn Mule Holiday, where 21 photos showcase why you should!

6. Why is a tailor-made holiday more expensive than a package holiday?

Package holidays tend to be operated by large tour operators who use economies of scale to keep pricing for flights and accommodation as low as possible. Hotels will usually be large with mass catering, which helps with cost. Any activities are usually over and above the price of the main holiday and can be arranged and paid for on the ground.

A tailor-made holiday has been created specifically for an individual family group. Each aspect of the holiday, from activities, transfers, guides, entrance fees, transport, and accommodation, all form part of the overall price. Flights are often priced separately, allowing for a choice of airline and routing. Families tell us that a tailor-made trip feels like a 3-dimensional experience, rather than 2-dimensional.

What’s included
– Personal travel consultant throughout entire process
– Award winning family-focussed itineraries
– Hand-picked, road-tested family accommodation
– 24/7 on the ground and emergency support

Want an idea of costs? Browse our Destination Pricing Guide, then give our team a call. We’ll help you navigate the options based on over 15 years of holiday planning (and parenting!) experience.

7. How much do you adapt the holiday according to who is joining it – teens, younger kids, grandparents…?

Having operated tailor-made family holidays for over 15 years, Stubborn Mule understands that there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to what suits each family group.

An itinerary that has been designed for a family travelling with toddlers may be too slow-paced for a family with older kids. Teens may need lie-ins, tweens may not. If Granny and Grandpa are in tow on a multi-generational trip, there may need to be a balance of activities and relaxation. Or perhaps the opportunity to split on occasion, so the kids go white-water rafting (for example) whilst the older generation takes a more relaxing river trip.

One of the biggest advantages of a tailor-made adventure is just how flexible they can be, where no one feels left out, and everyone is involved at their own level. See our in-depth features for more on holidays with teenagers, under 5s, and multigenerational holidays with grandparents.

8. Why is now a great time to take a tailor-made holiday or should we wait until the kids are older?

We firmly believe (and know from our customer feedback) that there is no ‘too early’ (or ‘too late’) when it comes to taking the children along on a family adventure. Yes, even babes in arms and toddlers.

After all, the very idea of Stubborn Mule was formed when Stubborn Mule’s founder Liddy was on a 6-month cycling trip in South-East Asia with a 2 year old on the back of her bike, and a 5 year old on a tagalong behind Mr Mule. If that works for a successful family holiday, then anything can!

Genuinely it’s our experience that children are the ultimate icebreaker and there’s no too-young (or too-old for that matter).

9. I backpacked when I was younger. Will I find a tailor-made trip too restrictive?

You’d be amazed at just how many families come to us with a Mum and/or Dad who has travelled extensively in the past. Yes, boomerang backpackers are back with their young ones in tow, not just to re-live past experiences but to share the many new family activities and experiences now on offer together.

There’s no avoiding the fact that the world may have changed considerably in the past 25 years. After all, hotel booking websites have put paid to the phenomenon of an army of hotel reps meeting intercity buses with laminated hotel flyers to tempt you to their establishment. And poste restante remains a distant memory for us over-50s. But the joy of travel, the liberating feeling of life on the road, remains, and all the better when shared with your children.

10. What makes Stubborn Mule different from other operators?

Stubborn Mule is the UK’s premier tailor-made tour operator for families. Almost all of our staff are parents and have travelled not just individually, but with their own families too. This means that every single one of our family itineraries and global destinations has been given a thorough road test by our own staff.

Even more importantly, although the family travel trend is relatively new, we’ve been running family tours for the last 15 years and have thousands of happy families under our belts.

But don’t just take our word for it! We have hundreds of reviews on our website, as well as Google reviews where over 300 families scored us 4.9 out of 5! We’ve won awards – most recently two golds and a silver at the Junior Travel Awards, and a Condé Nast Top Travel Specialist award for 2025 and 2026. And we are cited frequently in the press.

Take a look at our Team page to find out more.

Want to know more about tailor-made family holidays?

Check out our About Us section, where we address topics such as What our Holidays are Like and What You Need to Know.

Alternatively, just get in touch to start planning. We’d love to hear from you. Ring us during office hours at 01728 752751, or use our website contact form.