It’s located 25 miles south of Houston on the way to Galveston, so you could include it en route to the beach. Admission costs $15.95 (£12) per adult and $11.95 (£8) per child, and it’s open from 9am-7pm daily.Further down the coast, about a three-and-a-half-hour drive from Houston, close to San Antonio, are the beaches of Port Aransas ( ) on Mustang Island. Port Aransas can be reached by a causeway or a free 24-hour ferry service from the mainland. It’s also close to the city of Corpus Christi ( ) where you can either stroll down the stepped seawall or venture further afield and go dolphin-watching in the bay.

If the beach gets boring, you could all head for the Texas State Aquarium (001 361 881 1200, ) which displays more than 250 species of plants and animals found living in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Your children will also get the opportunity to see stingrays and sharks close up. Admission for adults costs $9 (£6.25) and children $5.25 (£3.65).If you are looking for something quieter, head further south along the 80 miles or so of South Padre Island ( ). An unspoilt natural barrier island, it is well known for its nature trails, diverse birdlife and watersports. If your children are interested in nature, you can take them along the Laguna Madre Nature Trail which is a 1,500ft boardwalk spanning four acres of wetlands which starts beside the South Padre Convention centre It is also possible to ride along the beach. The Island Equestrian Centre (001 956 761 4677, ) offers one-and-a-half-hour rides from $35 (£24) with a $5 discount for children aged six to 12.For a free information pack on visiting Texas, call Texas Tourism on (020-7978 5233) or visit .Q.We are planning to take our 12-year-old son on safari, probably to Kenya. We have heard that it is possible to go hot-air ballooning over the Masai Mara.

We would love to do this and were wondering if you could point us in the right direction and give us an idea how much it might cost. Richard Bowman, BournemouthA.For a bird’s-eye view of the Masai Mara, you can’t beat a hot-air balloon trip over the nature reserve. The balloons leave from a number of the larger camps and lodges but most companies can arrange to pick you up from other locations in the area. The adventure starts around dawn and the balloons rise with the sun, floating high above plains, forests and rivers. From the air you can observe grazing giraffes, herds of elephant and other game.

Most trips last between 45 minutes and an hour and a half, and end with a glass of Champagne. One of the best times of year to do this is in the midsummer months, when the migration of wildebeest and zebra from Tanzania to Kenya is a spectacular sight.The first company to offer balloon flights over Kenya was Balloon Safaris Ltd (00 254 2 502851). Flights take off from Keekorok Lodge, and last about an hour. The price includes collection from lodges or camps on the east side of the Masai Mara reserve, with a game drive return at the end Most lodges offer, or can organise booking of such trips.