Are your children gearing up for the blistering summer afternoons spent away from school — but sadly have nowhere to go? Not quite. If you can’t time a break from your work to tie in with their school holidays, why not enroll them for an invigorating summer camp?

From trekking to chocolate-making, there’s a lot of action in store for them. Just pick a camp that takes care of your child’s pet passions and you can be sure that your child will learn to strike up new friendships and learn some skills as well. But remember, you have to rush for bookings, for the camps are filling up fast. Though you can’t accompany the children to the camps, you can most certainly check out the facilities when you go to drop them off (most camps don’t have a pick-up facility unless explicitly stated).

Uttaranchal

Nainital, Ranikhet and Uroli are the perfect places that offer just the right mix of hills and jungles.

Corbett Wilds Camp and Retreat is running summer camps in Nainital, near Corbett National Park. Children will go trekking, bird watching, animal spotting and fishing. Add to this cycling, yoga, horse riding, dancing, painting and crafts and loads more. There’ll be one camp advisor for every six children as well as a doctor on call.

Inme’s summer camp in Uroli is also another option. This camp is meant for children between nine and 14 years. Activities on offer are backpacking, rock climbing, mountain biking and more. One adult is assigned to four children and a doctor is on-board as well. A special aspect of Inme is that its activities are geared towards personality development and building on leadership qualities and self-esteem. The children are grouped in age bands like 9-11, 12-14 and so on.

Hot ticket!

For a seven-day Corbett-Ranikhet Camp in May, the charges per child are Rs 8,000. This includes accommodation (air-conditioned cottages shared by three or four children), all meals, activities and local transfers. Contact corbettpark@gmail.com for further details.

For Inme’s weeklong Uroli camp, the charges per child are Rs 12,600. The cost includes accommodation (shared tents with toilets, modern amenities and running water), meals, activities, any equipment used and local transfers. For groups of over 15 from a specific city, Inme also arranges for an escort and helps with travel arrangements, flight or rail bookings. Contact info@inme.in for further details.

Karnataka

Karnataka is another favoured zone what with the lush Mudumalai and Bandipur forests and the evergreen Coorg providing nooks and crannies for a perfect camping holiday. Frolic Boonies runs summer camps next to Mudumalai forest boundaries, 240km from Bangalore on the road to Ooty. The camps are for children between seven and 16 years. There are activities like nature trails, bird watching, fishing, horse riding, chocolate making and more. The highlight is the jungle safari at Mudumalai and Bandipur. There’s a counsellor for every six children and a doctor is available at all times. The children are grouped in the junior camp (aged 7-10) and senior camp (aged 11-16).

Inme has a Coorg campus too. The camp is set amidst spice plantations and offers natural rock faces, bike trails, trek routes and day hikes that make this a perfect vacation for children. This camp is run for children between the ages of nine and 17 and they too are divided into age groups like 9-11, 12-14 and so on.

Hot ticket!

Frolic Boonies charges Rs 12,500 per child for a weeklong camp in April and May. This includes accommodation (weather-proof camping tents shared by three children), all meals and local transfers. Contact camp@frolicboonies.com for details.

A week’s camp at Coorg run by Inme costs Rs 12,600 per child. The cost includes accommodation (shared dormitories), meals, activities and local transfers. Contact info@inme.in for further details.

Maine, USA

If you want your child to get more exposure and be part of some unusual programmes, look a little further. There are several international institutes that run camps over the summer, offering learning experiences not readily part of a school curriculum. The Acadia Institute of Oceanography in Maine, US has a week’s programme for students 10-12 years of age and two two-week programmes for 12-15-year-olds and 15-19-year-olds. These offer introductory, intermediate and advanced programmes in oceanography. These are hands-on field programmes and students will spend time onboard a boat, at the tidal pools, beaches and salt marshes learning how the ocean is studied.

Hot ticket!

The camps run from June 20 to August 21 and the charges are $2,250 (Rs 1 lakh approximately) per two-week session and $1,050 (Rs 46,977 approximately) for a week. The price includes accommodation and meals, though airfare, pick-up and drop-off are excluded. For details, mail to info@acadiainstitute.com.