Family Trip Expert

Trips for Good, come aboard on this journey with us!

Claudine Blanco, Director of the 'Viajar com Crianças' (Traveling with Children) and 'Viajar com Adolescentes' (Traveling with Adolescents) agencies, invites us to a new way of traveling... with purpose!

By Claudine Blanco

My most recent adventure was to embark on a boat expedition through the Amazon, and I’m here to share with you how this experience unfolded and how much it impacted me. It also got me thinking about how I could transform this experience into something I could bring to the families traveling with our agencies, encouraging them to view our forest in a special and transformative way.

I’ve had the opportunity to visit the Amazon many times, especially because we, at the Viajar com Crianças agency, organize a family group trip to the Amazon every July (during the flood season). We stay at a jungle hotel and, through games, activities, numerous stories, legends, and interaction with the local community, instill a socio-environmental awareness in the families traveling with their children.

During this trip, my first impact was arriving there during the dry season; it felt like I was in a different place! The treetops, where I usually navigate during the flood season, were now high and distant, making way for many river beaches and a landscape completely different from what I was accustomed to.

Another distinctive aspect was that, instead of staying in a jungle hotel, the adventure now involved overnighting on a boat and accessing more remote locations. As our boat sailed through the Anavilhanas Archipelago and headed towards Jaú National Park, fewer boats and fewer people crossed our path. This allowed me to truly feel the vastness of the forest, and during the nights, the magic of its darkness—luckily, not too dark as it was almost a full moon, and I had the privilege of seeing its reflection in the waters.

Throughout the journey, we encountered otters and alligators basking in the sun on the beaches. Many bird species seemed to accompany us in harmony with the boat’s rhythm, and during sunrise and sunset, we found ourselves surrounded by pink dolphins.

On forest walks, our native guide and expert shared stories about the plants and animals inhabiting the area, emphasizing how everything we need—food and medicine—is readily available for those who know how to use it. Ancient cultures are disappearing and being destroyed within the forest, making it urgent to preserve both!

For those seeking a true connection with nature, a boat trip is a fantastic opportunity. While it may not offer the same comfort as a 5-star jungle hotel, as I learned from the boat owner, “with every level of comfort that rises, a degree of authenticity is taken away.”

I must confess, I was surprised by the comfort level of the experience: my cabin was a suite with air conditioning and a double bed. For those traveling with children, there are other cabin configurations with two bunk beds. The water supplying the suite comes from the river itself (clean and pure, leaving hair wonderful) and is at natural temperature (which is warm, more than sufficient for the local heat). The food is homestyle (and, by the way, fantastic), featuring fresh Amazonian fish, salads, fruits, and more. The guides are highly experienced, and the boat staff is incredibly friendly!

Photo 1: Air-conditioned cabin / Photo 2: Cabin with bunk bed / Photo 3: Children playing. Photo by Caio Vilela /
Photo 4: Onboard lunch / Photo 5: Fresh fish

Every day, we disembarked on speedboats to embark on excursions, exploring trails in the forest, swimming in waterfalls, observing wildlife, and visiting riverside communities.

Having the experience of reaching places where few venture also makes it easier for us to connect with the people in the communities we visit. They are delighted to welcome us and engage in conversations, sharing their stories.

For me, this aspect was the most impactful! Witnessing the beauty of these places, but also the precariousness of the living conditions of the local people, their homes, and schools, truly prompts us to reconsider our values and the responsibility we have in caring for the planet and its inhabitants.

Riparian population, Amazon. Photos: Claudine Blanco.

How wonderful that there are people who have gone through this and have taken incredible actions to transform these situations! I was fortunate to travel with one of them, Ruy Tone, and visit his newest project to build 25 schools in remote riverside communities, providing an opportunity for thousands of families living there to access education and prosperity.

We’ve previously shared the story of the Almerinda Malaquias Foundation, which he leads with love and competence. Now, you can also learn about the story of the Rio Negro Schools Project. These are beautiful initiatives aimed at educating future generations and transforming the world into a better place for everyone.

But I also believe that we need to change people’s mindset so that destruction and inequalities decrease because otherwise, there won’t be the necessary resources to save this planet.

We humans only take care of what we know and love, which is why traveling is so important! When we take our children to see the world, we are teaching them about new cultures and values, so they can learn to love and care.

That’s why I invest in family trips and believe that it is in the hearts of these children that the key to transforming the world lies

I usually say that visiting the Amazon should be a duty for every Brazilian traveling family. After all, showing your children the largest forest on the planet and understanding why the whole world is focused there gives us a real sense of how important it is for all of humanity.

As a result, this boat trip has inspired me to create another travel itinerary for our agency’s clients. We will have a group of parents and children, including both young children and teenagers, heading to the Amazon. In addition to experiencing exceptional tourism, they will contribute to building one of the schools in the project. This boat trip, which we call “The Good Ship,” aims to raise funds that will be allocated to the construction of these schools. So, it’s a great opportunity to introduce the Amazon to your children and show them concretely the schools they are helping to build.

This itinerary is part of the launch of our newest product catalog, “Travel for Good,” which aims to awaken a network of socially responsible families traveling the world with a higher purpose – doing good!

I hope this helps families bring more meaning to their children’s lives, especially during adolescence. This generation seems a bit lost, suffering the consequences of an immediate and purposeless world, leading to a lot of dissatisfaction, anxiety, and a lack of purpose.

Being able to see concretely the good they promote and the real impact their actions can have on others is an incentive and a wake-up call for a generation that lives in the virtual world.

I believe that showing them the world in a way that makes them rethink their values and responsibilities in caring for the planet and its people will awaken a new, more empathetic and engaged generation.

Ready to sail together on this journey?

Learn more about our “Travel for Good” and give your children the best gift… values!

Drone video by Maihara Marjorie @maiharamarjorie

Our columnist Claudine Blanco is the founder of the travel agencies “Viajar com Crianças” (Traveling with Children) and “Viajar com Adolescentes” (Traveling with Adolescents), co-founder of Family Trip Magazine, and the mother of Pedro and Marina. She contributes as the expert travel columnist for the platform, sharing her expertise, passions, and insights on family travel.

* The Family Trip Magazine aims to promote all kinds of initiatives that foster generational transformation. We aspire to build a network of supportive families who travel with a different perspective on the world, seeking to be impacted and become transformative agents. Whether by creating projects or supporting existing serious initiatives, our goal is to encourage families to engage in meaningful travel experiences.

If your project shares a similar purpose with ours, reach out to us! We are here to assist you in finding solutions, designing products, and expanding the visibility of your projects. We can help you raise funds through our community and partnerships. Currently, we operate under three brands; click and discover our mission: www.grupoviajar.com.br

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Travel agencies Viajar com Crianças or Viajar com Adolescentes are specialized, offering itineraries tailored to different age groups and featuring destinations beyond the ordinary. Trips that bring families closer together and transform generations.