Summer camp is part of the much-lauded Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman Ambassador of the Environment series. Classes are targeted to children, youth or families.
You could send your kids packing and enjoy the peace at home or – surprise! – you could trip along with them. We find three child-glorious summer programs that run alongside three top-flight adult playgrounds
1. GOLF IN THE OKANAGAN
If your son is anything like mine, the only camp he wants is Camp Golf (and preferably with Grandpa as head counsellor). Wouldn't it be perfect to send him off to Predator Ridge, one of Canada's premier courses in beautiful Okanagan Valley in British Columbia? This year, it's offering junior golf programs for kids 5 to 18, run by CPGA golf instructors, with an 8:1 student/teacher ratio. Instruction focuses on swing and short game fundamentals, and the rules and etiquette of golf. But if your kid is like mine, he's also ready to take it up a notch: Maybe the elite program, designed for those looking to hone their competitive edge, is in order. Classes at the three-day camp are four hours a day, and a skills competition is included ($185; July 9 to 11; July 26 to 28; Aug. 6 to 8; Aug. 24 to 26). While he's at camp, mom can disappear into KurSpa at Sparkling Hill for a honey detox treatment, and head over to Mission Hill and Nk'Mip Cellars for winery tours. predatorridge.com; sparklinghill.com; missionhillwinery.com; nkmipcellars.com
2. LEGO IN THE BAHAMAS
I've never met a kid, male or female (young or old), who didn't love Lego. That's why Atlantis makes it into this trifecta: Its Lego Master Builder Academy Fantasy Camp puts kids ages 6 to 12 with a master builder to learn how to create "epic Lego masterpieces." The camp runs July 23 to 26 (from $495 U.S.). You could stay at busy Atlantis, or you could bliss out at One&Only Ocean Club just down the beach. While the kids are building, you could sign up for a tennis lesson, hop on a bicycle and explore, join a yoga class, or take advantage of One&Only's chilled water misters and a sunglasses cleaning service on the beach. The food at chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Dune is memorable, and the lounge area – with its cozy seating areas, board games and books, looking out onto a neatly manicured expanse of lawn before the beach – is the perfect place for quiet time with the kids after a day of construction. (And if Lego isn't their thing, the Cartoon Network Studios camp with animation technology, basic hand-drawing techniques, flip-book basics, character creation, voice-acting and more sounds pretty cool, too. Just saying. But we'll pass on the Miss Teen USA Fantasy Camp.) atlantis.com; oneandonlyresorts.com
3. ENVIRONMENTALISM ON GRAND CAYMAN
Wait! Don't stop reading! Wouldn't you want to learn to crack coconuts, build boats and learn about early island life? Or discover the tricks that make fish good predators and then slap on snorkelling gear to see it first-hand while making observations on an underwater slate? What about learning biomimicry (studying, for example, how to create vivid animal kingdom colours without using dyes, or cleaning our environs the way a leaf self-cleans) in the name of a more sustainable future? You can sign your kids up for these – and more than a dozen more – classes that are all part of the much-lauded Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman Ambassador of the Environment series. Classes are targeted to children, youth or families. And this year, Ritz-Carlton is packaging the environment classes with afternoon physical activities like tennis, yoga, kick-boxing (!), field hockey, soccer and more to create a summer-camp experience ($800 for five-day camp, $400 for half days). Take a class with your kids, or sign up for your own summer learning with sailing lessons from a pro, core strength or other fitness classes. Or you could rent a cabana on the beach. ritzcarlton.com