ABOUT US

Our family inspired us to start this business

Before kids, my husband and I traveled internationally quite a bit, but with a one year old daughter and three year old son, travel was starting to feel like too much trouble with car seats, diapers, etc.  The answer seemed to be to go on organized tours that pick you up at the airport and take you from spot to spot so you don’t have to worry about planning meals and lodging.  The problem was that no tours we found were geared towards families with kids under 5, or even under 8!  Also, the pace of most tours is too fast and many of the scheduled activities can’t be done with a toddler or baby and are no fun for preschoolers or elementary school children.  We decided to start our own tour company, escorting small groups of grandparents, parents and friends with children ages one through seven.

Our goal is to design nature-based tours that are fun, support the local communities that we visit, and go at a pace that the whole family can enjoy including time for naps, snacks and run-around breaks.  We have also built in child-care opportunities so that parents can go for longer rainforest hikes, whitewater rafting, or have a date night out at a local restaurant.

I know Costa Rica well and have planned the tour to avoid the overpriced and overcrowded tourist trap areas so that our groups can experience the real Costa Rica.  Instead of the frenzied pace of traditional tours, we’ll stay several nights in a row at small, friendly family-run lodges with home cooked meals that are flexible enough to make peanut butter sandwiches for the kids!  

I lived in Costa Rica for a year in 1995 teaching English and Environmental Education to 1-3 graders.  I visited nearly every national park, nature reserve and tourist destination during weekends and vacations.  I returned nearly every summer until my son Max was born guiding 3 week Tropical Ecology field courses for Duke University, leading a private custom tour or just vacationing.  My husband worked as an adventure wilderness backpacking/biking tour guide in Iceland and Alaska before he moved to the United States.  We traveled to the Netherlands with Max when he was 6 weeks old and to the Galapagos Islands/Machu Picchu when he was 7 months old and have taken numerous international and home-country trips with both children so we understand what is required to make a trip smooth and fun with little ones. Check out the Travel Tale I wrote for the Tiny Travelers website.

Our fist Holland Boat and Bike Tour in 2007 was a blast! A month after the tour our family relocated to the Netherlands and the kids and I are learning Dutch and adapting to the bike-everywhere society! Join us for a visit to our new host country and do some biking yourselves on our next Holland Boat and Bike Tours!

If you’d like more information on our trips to Costa Rica, winter weekend adventures in Ely, Minnesota or Holland, please explore our website or send me an email (Click on "Contact Us" above).  Thanks!

Jenny Jensen
Mom of Max (5) and Annelies (3) 

Biographies

Jenny Jensen

Jenny Jensen has a long history of interest in the environment, ecotourism and Costa Rica.  She has a Bachelor’s degree from Brown University and a Master’s degree from Duke University in Environmental Science.  While at Duke, she took additional courses in Ecotourism and Medicine for the Third World Traveler.  She spent a year in Costa Rica as a volunteer English and Environmental Education teacher for first through third graders and hiked nearly every trail in the country during her free time.  While at Duke, she led Tropical Ecology educational tours of Costa Rica for the University’s Talent Identification Program (TIP), a summer program for gifted high school students.  She traveled to Costa Rica several other times, designing custom tours for friends and family.  Jenny worked in environmental compliance and enforcement at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for 7 years.  She recently relocated to the Netherlands with her family and is learning Dutch and continuing to plan and lead family tours for Global Family Adventures. She speaks English and Spanish.

Ruurd “Rudy” Schoolderman

Ruurd “Rudy” Schoolderman grew up in the Netherlands and has a long interest in the environment, sustainable development and the outdoors.  He has a Master’s degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Utrecht, The Netherlands and studied Outdoor Recreation Management at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and took additional courses at Duke in Ecotourism and Medicine for the Third World Traveler.  Ruurd has guided tour groups of adults in Iceland and Alaska on wilderness tours.  In addition to Costa Rica, he has extensive travel experience in Europe, Indonesia, and South America.  Most recently, Ruurd worked as a Senior Land Use Planner for a Regional Development Commission, a planning organization serving local units of government in a seven county area in Northeastern Minnesota.  He now works in the Netherlands for a consulting firm that specializes in organizational development and facilitation.  In addition to English, Ruurd speaks Dutch, German and French.