Now a walking holiday might appeal to you, but your kids might not be quite as keen on the idea. To get them excited, how about searching for geocaches on your trip? Children have a natural curiosity and a need to discover, which is why geocaching is so popular. These hidden treasure boxes are all around the globe, and there’s plenty to choose from, in fact there are over 3 million of them. So how can you plan your holiday and introduce looking for geocaches along the way?

Pick a geocache trail

A geocache trail has numerous boxes that can be found as part of a day trip or weekend away. For instance, The Pennine Way geocache trail, has boxes hidden all the way along the beautiful scenic walking area. With the help of an app, or a handheld GPS device, children will love searching for these treasure boxes, as well as finding and logging the National Trail geocoins that are hidden in them. There are plenty of other trackables (tokens or small items that can be registered on the geocaching website) hidden in the boxes too, that can be moved to other geocaches all over the world. You can visit a beautiful new place for a walk, and your children will enjoy hunting.

Move some trackables

Trackables and travel bugs are designed to be moved from one geocache to the next. The trackable that has travelled the most is one that is currently on the International Space Station, which has clocked up 350 million miles, and there are plans for it to be returned to earth soon. Some of the trackables have missions, for instance to visit every county in Britain. Some trackables are simply on a journey around the world for fun. When you’re planning your walking holiday, pick somewhere where you can move a trackable from one geocache to another a few miles away. For instance, there are 14 hidden boxes in Hatfield Forest in Essex, you could easily move trackables from one box to the next.

Hide your own geocache

Fancy walking to the top of Scafell Pike on your walking holiday? It will be even more exciting for children if you hide your own geocache when you get to the top. After you’ve hidden it, log it on the geocaching website, then others will be able to find it too. Kids love creating their own treasure boxes, especially when you start getting feedback that someone else has found your geocache, and even left a Travel Bug in it.

Geocaching is a great way to introduce walking holidays to children in a way that is fun and engaging for them. They can have a great time, and stay fit and healthy in the process.