Outdoor activities for families: ages, places and bookings

Welcome families with two formats. Open sessions, where each person takes one place and the minimum age is written in the description, and private family sessions, where the family has you to themselves and you book the whole group in one go. Ask for every child's age before the day, give a precise meeting point, and list what to bring. Parents know exactly what they've booked, and you don't discover a four-year-old at the start of a canyon.

Every activity has its own limits: a minimum age, a minimum height for a harness or a canoe seat, swimming ability for water activities, stamina for a long hike. Write them in the description of each service, in plain words, so parents check before booking rather than at the meeting point. If a limit comes from your equipment or your insurance, say so; it explains why you can't make an exception on the day.

On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your public page. You open slots with a number of places; each booking takes one place, and a full slot disappears from your page. The public booking form books one person at a time, so a family of four makes four bookings, or contacts you and you book them together. Your page doesn't show how many places are left.

Durations, places and prices are examples: set your own. If you price per person, say whether children pay the same as adults.

Some families prefer their own session, at their pace, with activities adapted to their youngest child. When they contact you, agree the date and the activity, create a slot with as many places as the group, and book it yourself from your calendar. When you book from the calendar, you can set the number of people, so the whole family sits in one booking and the slot is full. First and last name of the booking parent are required, email and phone optional.

The public booking form asks for first name, last name, email and phone, plus an optional note you read in your new-booking email. Ask for each participant's age, whether children can swim for water activities, and any health issue you should know. The note can't be edited once the booking exists, so put the questions in the service description.

An open session can bring together several families with children of different ages, and a few adults who came alone. Plan for it: group children by ability rather than by family when you split into boats or ropes, keep confident adults next to the youngest children, and say in the description that sessions are shared. If a family wants its own boat or its own group, that's the private session. Being clear about the difference avoids disappointment at the meeting point and keeps open sessions friendly for everyone.

Families can't move bookings online: they contact you, and you reschedule each booking to another slot with free places, or cancel it from your bookings list. Book doesn't email clients about changes, so let them know yourself. Book doesn't take payments; it handles the bookings. It costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.