Wherever Awards 2018 Winners and Highlights

TODAY’S FAMILIES COME IN A VARIETY of shapes and sizes, and their travel needs reflect that diversity. In September 2017, the teams behind Global Traveler and Trazee Travel launched WhereverFamily.com to serve as a trusted, modern resource for family travel. Updated daily, the site covers a wide range of topics with a global perspective, offering practical advice and inspiration for families of every makeup, income level and child age.

We are proud to announce the winners of the inaugural Wherever Awards, determined by readers of WhereverFamily. The voting period ran on whereverfamily.com from Sept. 1, 2017, through March 31, 2018. Below are the winners selected by family travelers nationwide—congratulations to all recognized.

In the airline categories, readers named Alaska Airlines Best Family-Friendly Domestic Airline and TAP Air Portugal Best Family-Friendly International Airline. Delta SkyMiles earned recognition as the Best Family-Friendly Frequent-Flyer Program. For families who prefer to drive, Avis was voted Best Family-Friendly Rental Car Company.

Starting a trip smoothly makes all the difference. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport took home two honors—Best Family-Friendly Domestic Airport and Best Family-Friendly Airport Dining—while Singapore Changi won Best Family-Friendly International Airport and Dubai International Airport was recognized for Best Family-Friendly Airport Shopping.

For accommodations, Martinhal Family Hotels & Resorts received two distinctions: Best Family-Friendly Resort Chain and Best Family-Friendly Individual Hotel for Martinhal Sagres, Algarve. The Ritz-Carlton was named Best Family-Friendly Hotel Chain, and Westin Hotels & Resorts was recognized as the Best Family-Friendly Pet Hotel, accommodating four-legged family members as well as people.

Frequent travelers can rack up rewards with Radisson Rewards, named Best Family-Friendly Frequent-Stay Program. For all-inclusive family fun, readers selected Paradisus Playa del Carmen La Esmeralda, Mexico as Best Family-Friendly All-Inclusive Hotel. Atlantis Paradise Island, Bahamas earned the title of Best Family-Friendly Hotel Kids Club.

Many families prefer guided trips to simplify logistics for large or multigenerational groups. Readers endorsed Delta Vacations as Best Family-Friendly Vacation Company, Adventures by Disney as Best Family-Friendly Domestic Tour Company, and Thomson Family Adventures as Best Family-Friendly International Tour Company. Lindblad Expeditions was honored as the first-ever Best Family-Friendly Travel Provider of the Year.

For voyages with the whole family, Royal Caribbean was voted Best Family-Friendly Cruise Line, while Silversea Cruises claimed Best Family-Friendly MultiGen Cruise Line.

When it comes to financing travel and earning rewards on everyday purchases, readers favored the Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express as the Best Family-Friendly Credit Card and the Marriott Rewards Card from Chase as the Best Family-Friendly Credit Card Rewards Program.

Destination winners reflect a mix of tropical escapes and iconic family hotspots. Fiji was named Best Family-Friendly International Destination, while Orlando topped the list for Best Family-Friendly Domestic Destination. The Bahamas earned Best Family-Friendly Caribbean Island. Ireland was selected as Best Family-Friendly MultiGen Destination of the Year. For theme-park fun, readers chose LEGOLAND California Theme Park in Carlsbad as Best Family-Friendly Amusement Park and Aquatica by SeaWorld as Best Family-Friendly Waterpark.

Here are the full reader-selected winners of the Wherever Awards:

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY DOMESTIC AIRLINE
1. Alaska Airlines
2. American Airlines
3. JetBlue
4. United Airlines
5. Delta Air Lines

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY INTERNATIONAL AIRLINE
1. TAP Air Portugal
2. Alaska Airlines
3. Qatar Airways
4. Air New Zealand
5. EVA Air

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY FREQUENT-FLYER PROGRAM
1. Delta SkyMiles
2. United MileagePlus
3. American Airlines AAdvantage
4. Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles
5. JetBlue TrueBlue

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY HOTEL CHAIN
1. The Ritz-Carlton
2. Martinhal Family Hotels & Resorts
3. Hyatt Hotels
4. Westin Hotels & Resorts
5. Sheraton Hotels

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY RESORT CHAIN
1. Martinhal Family Hotels & Resorts
2. Hyatt Hotels
3. InterContinental Hotels & Resorts
4. Crowne Plaza
5. Westin Hotels & Resorts

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY INDIVIDUAL HOTEL
1. Martinhal Sagres, Algarve
2. Martinhal Cascais
3. Atlantis Paradise Island, Bahamas
4. LEGOLAND Feriendorf, Günzburg, Germany
5. Atlantis The Palm, Dubai

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY FREQUENT-STAY PROGRAM
1. Radisson Rewards
2. Loews First
3. IHG Rewards Club
4. Marriott Rewards
5. Hilton Honors

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY ALL-INCLUSIVE HOTEL
1. Paradisus Playa del Carmen La Esmerelda, Mexico
2. Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort Villages & Spa
3. Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
4. Club Med Pragelato Vialattea, Italy
5. Tortuga Lodge & Gardens, Costa Rica

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY PET HOTEL
1. Westin Hotels & Resorts
2. Loews Hotels
3. Kimpton Boutique Hotels + Restaurants
4. InterContinental Hotels & Resorts
5. Sheraton Hotels

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY HOTEL KIDS CLUB
1. Atlantis Paradise Island, Bahamas
2. The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, Colorado
3. Club Med, Sandpiper Bay, Florida
4. Sea Island, Georgia
5. Beaches, Turks & Caicos

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY VACATION COMPANY
1. Delta Vacations
2. United Vacations
3. SAA Vacations
4. American Airlines Vacations
5. Holiday Inn Vacation Club

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY DOMESTIC TOUR COMPANY
1. Adventures by Disney
2. Globus
3. REI Adventures
4. Trafalgar
5. Intrepid Travel

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY INTERNATIONAL TOUR COMPANY
1. Thomson Family Adventures
2. Abercrombie & Kent
3. Classic Journeys
4. Lindblad Expeditions
5. Austin Adventures

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY CRUISE LINE
1. Royal Caribbean
2. Holland America Line
3. Viking Ocean Cruises
4. Princess Cruises
5. Celebrity Cruises

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY MULTIGEN CRUISE LINE
1. Silversea Cruises
2. Regent Seven Seas
3. Viking Ocean Cruises
4. Azamara Club Cruises
5. Royal Caribbean

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY CREDIT CARD
1. Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express
2. Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card
3. Alaska Airlines Visa Credit Card
4. United MileagePlus Explorer Card from Chase
5. Citi / AAdvantage MasterCard

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY CREDIT CARD REWARDS PROGRAM
1. Marriott Rewards Card from Chase
2. Royal Caribbean Bank of America Visa
3. Delta SkyMiles American Express
4. Chase Sapphire Preferred
5. The Ritz-Carlton Card from Chase

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY INTERNATIONAL DESTINATION
1. Fiji
2. Africa
3. Italy
4. London
5. Hawai’i

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY DOMESTIC DESTINATION
1. Orlando
2. California
3. Philadelphia
4. Washington, D.C.
5. Texas

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY CARIBBEAN ISLAND
1. Bahamas
2. Grand Cayman
3. Curaçao
4. Aruba
5. St. Lucia

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY MULTIGENERATIONAL DESTINATION OF THE YEAR
1. Ireland
2. South Africa
3. Italy
4. Patagonia
5. Mexico

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY AMUSEMENT PARK
1. LEGOLAND California Theme Park, Carlsbad
2. Magic Kingdom, Disney World, Orlando
3. Sesame Place, Langhorne, Pennsylvania
4. Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio
5. Six Flags Fiesta Texas, San Antonio

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY WATERPARK
1. Aquatica by SeaWorld
2. LEGOLAND Water Park, Winter Haven, Florida
3. Great Wolf Lodge
4. Zoombezi Bay, Columbus, Ohio
5. Disney’s Blizzard Beach, Orlando

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY RENTAL CAR COMPANY
1. Avis
2. Hertz
3. National Car Rental
4. Enterprise
5. Budget

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY TRAVEL PROVIDER OF THE YEAR
1. Lindblad Expeditions
2. Austin-Lehman Adventures
3. REI Adventures
4. Thomson Family Adventures
5. Ecoventure Family Cruises

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY DOMESTIC AIRPORT
1. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
2. Denver International Airport
3. San Francisco International Airport
4. Chicago O’Hare International Airport
5. Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
1. Singapore Changi Airport
2. Munich Airport
3. Hamad International Airport, Doha
4. Incheon Airport
5. Frankfurt am Main Airport

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY AIRPORT DINING
1. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
2. Chicago O’Hare International Airport
3. Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport
4. George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Houston
5. Dubai International Airport

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY AIRPORT SHOPPING
1. Dubai International Airport
2. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
3. Amsterdam Schiphol Airport
4. Hamad International Airport, Doha
5. Singapore Changi Airport

Congratulations to all the kid-tested, parent-approved winners of the first-ever Wherever Awards—thank you to the readers who voted and helped highlight the best choices for family travel around the world.