As part of our family travel month this May, weâve been putting our heads together to think of ways to make the most of the educational aspects of travel with children.
Before we begin, I should clarify â weâre not advocating bringing your kidsâ homework along with you, or spot-testing them on what theyâve learnt along the way. The kind of education weâre talking about is the type your children wonât even know theyâre receiving until theyâve soaked it up, like absorbent little knowledge sponges. Far from being bored by it, theyâll be inspired and excited to learn more â without ever suspecting that it’s good for them.
1. Learn some words and phrases
If youâre the parent of a real wunderkind you might consider putting them through a language course before going on holiday, but letâs be honest â knowing how to speak fluent Burmese isnât exactly a life skill. Instead, why not just learn a smattering of words before you go on holiday? Even as little as âhelloâ and âthank youâ will be enough to impress the locals and win you plenty of friends along the way. Just type âspeak Burmeseâ into YouTube and youâll find plenty of video tutorials thatâll introduce you to the basics.
2. Explore Burma with our interactive map
Weâve been working on this exciting project for a few months now and itâs finally nearly ready to be seen in all its glory! Weâve selected our favourite destinations and used them to build an interactive map of Burma. Just select a destination and find yourself instantly transported to Shwedagon Pagoda, Golden Rock, or the plains of Bagan.
This is a fantastic way to show your kids some of the amazing places theyâll be visiting before you go â and the adults weâve shown so far think itâs pretty awesome too. The map will be live for you to have a play with soon, so watch this space!

3. Homestay with a local family
One of the most enlightening things about travelling for a child is simply seeing how other children live without smartphones, iPads, and the other modern luxuries we all enjoy. Wherever you go in Burma your children will meet other kids with lifestyles entirely different to their own, but if you want to have a proper adventure and truly immerse them in the local culture, try a homestay.
Our favourite homestay experiences are to be found in the Inle Lake region, run by the excellent and sustainably-minded CIT (Community Involved Tourism). Thereâs quite a bit of trekking involved â so weâd only recommend this for families with older, more active kids â but itâs a fantastic experience, and completely authentic and uncontrived.

4. Get crafting
Getting involved in local crafts is a great way to teach your children about traditional culture without boring them to pieces, and kids love having a little something theyâve made to take home as a souvenir. Luckily, thereâs no shortage of arts and crafts to be tried in Burma â one of our favourites is lacquerware-making in Bagan, where you can learn about the process from bamboo splitting to painting on the layers of lacquer and etching designs. After watching the experts at work, youâll get a chance to paint your own piece of lacquerware to take home!
5. Become amateur historians
The idea of having a history lesson on holiday is enough to set off a few yawns (in adults as well as kids, weâll wager) â but if youâve got any budding historians in your brood, there arenât many places with such an exciting history as Burma.
Bagan is the perfect place to combine education with exploration: here, as you cycle or roam amongst the thousands of red-brick stupas, the days of the ancient Pagan Kingdom come to life â and youâll often find yourselves the only souls in sight, enhancing the sense of adventure. This period of Burmaâs ancient history is fascinating: there were once over 10,000 pagodas in the region, and the empire that built them was one of the largest in the world in its day. If you want a really incredible experience – and your kids have got a head for heights – soar above the region in a hot air balloon!

In more recent history, too, the British colonial period, WWII and Japanese occupation, Burmese independence and the military dictatorship all make for incredibly interesting background, and there are various sites of interest where you can learn about them.
6. Make use of private guides
If youâre reading this and thinking âwell thatâs just great, but I donât know the first thing about Burmese historyâ â I hear you. First, I recommend you take a glance at the history section of our website, of course. Second, consider making use of private guides as part of your holiday plan.
Burmese guides are your link to the countryâs history, culture and society. Give them the ages of your children in advance and theyâll be able to plan a day thatâs paced correctly, and tailor the experience to suit your family. Not only are they a great source of information â but they also take the stress out of navigating in a completely new environment: theyâll introduce you to Yangonâs postcolonial history, show you how to use the trains, make sure you donât get lost, recommend a great place for lunch and translate the menu for you â theyâre great value for money. And most importantly of all, if youâre not having to concentrate on logistics, youâll have more attention to give your kids.

To read about how a local guide can change your holiday for the better, read this blog post by our customer Lesley Greenhill.
7. Chef up a storm
The food is a challenge on any family holiday â especially if youâve got fussy eaters in tow. One fun way to introduce your children to Burmese cuisine is to arrange a cookery lesson, where youâll visit a local market to select your produce, return to the kitchen, prepare the ingredients and have a local chef teach you how to make your own Burmese delicacies. Youâll conclude, of course, by eating them.
Having a hand in creating their own meal may make even the most unadventurous little mouths want to branch out â though Iâm not promising anything! Our favourite cookery classes can be arranged in Pindaya (near Inle Lake) and Bagan.

Whilst all of these experiences offer a fun way to learn about and interact with Burmese culture, the truth is that you don’t have to try very hard to give your kids an education while you travel. Whether they’re eating something new or just watching out of the window of a train, they’ll be soaking up new experiences left, right and centre and becoming more open-minded because of it. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.
If youâre interested in planning a family holiday to Burma, our team have plenty more advice and suggestions to help put together your dream trip. Read our family page for inspiration or get in touch with us to find out more.