The range of holidays suddenly opens up at this age. Your child (hopefully) is more adventurous with food, is reading, can watch the in-flight video, sits for longer in the car and is just about ready for some family adventure. An isolated villa somewhere is not the answer at this age!
If you want real adventure, you’re probably going to have to weigh up the pros and cons of the malaria issue. Infant malaria prophylaxis is available but there is still a risk of your child catching the disease in east and central Africa, northern Thailand and other parts of Asia.
South Africa, which has several malaria-free national parks, is a great way to start with safaris. Or try a cooler climate wildlife safari somewhere like Canada or Alaska, or go to a dude ranch in Arizona, or try a family adventure somewhere like Iceland, with geysers, hot springs and whale-watching, or go bear-spotting in Finland. You can even take family treks in Nepal or Morocco with specialist companies like Explore, which arrange easy treks in family groups, with mules for the children to ride on. Who said family travel wasn’t exciting?
