If you don't do beach holidays, what do you do?

[TitanicWasAGreatMovie]

I am wondering what other people do (or would like to do if they had the budget!). I am not keen on the beach but that has been our family holiday every year since I was a kid!

Now I don't have young kids at home I'd like to travel and see other places, with some relaxation time but not the beach.

And I know lots of people can't go on holiday - so I'd love to hear real life experiences + fantasy ideas, please 😊

Camping, walking, cities with loads to do, cafe culture or museums and galleries.

We do city breaks. You can get nice hotel with pool for relax day. Or have picnic afternoon in park etc.
I think my fave city so far is istanbul. Walked 10k a day on tourist days easily, but it's hilly! Gorgeous architecture, gorgeous food, safe. I loved sitting outside cafes/restaurants and watch the mental traffic. Fun for hours

We like cultural sites - most recent holiday was Lisbon and Sintra, the kids really enjoyed Sintra.

Next we are pondering Barcelona as I think the kids would find the Gaudi stuff interesting.

My eldest really wants to go to Pompeii. The other one we have in our plans is Egypt to see the Pyramids etc

City breaks..lots of walking, culture, eating and drinking. Avoid June to mid September for Europe.
City breaks here usually in winter. We go on one every 6 weeks

We do sometimes do beaches, but I prefer mountains and forests.

Beautiful remote lodges nestled in mountainous forests where you can just sit on the deck with a glass of wine after a long leisurely hike and watch the mist roll in over the treetops is just chef's kiss

City breaks can also be a lot of fun and great for unwinding, always lots to do and lots of places to eat and drink and be merry.

I do like the idea of a city break with a nice hotel, best of both worlds.

We do multi site holidays so have just come back from Albania one week 4 different places ,(wish we had made it longer as would loved to have explored more). Managed to squeeze in one relax day on the beach.
I find half the fun of a holiday is planning routes and deciding what to do/see Did similar last year in Slovenia and also did Costa Rica this year

Cities or lakes and mountains.

Recent years we've done:
Madrid, Toledo
Brussels (seriously, loads to do!)
Lisbon
Austrian Tyrol.

Also don't have kids. We might go to places where there IS a beach (Crete, Spain, Sicily, Southern Thai Islands)- but other than walking along it at sunset, I don't sit on the sand in the day. I can't stand the glare, getting burnt, getting more freckles etc. We might go to museums, local towns via car or train, scuba dive etc.

We've skiied in the past throughout Europe and in Australia. Iceland in Dec to see the northern lights, blue lagoon, geysir, Gulfoss etc. City breaks like Berlin for the amazing museums. Madrid, with a day trip to Toledo. Brussels (more amazing museums) and a day trip to Bruges. In Sicily we started in Palermo, got train to Agrigento, bus to Catania and exploring the East coast (Syracuse for a day trip and Taormina) then back to Palermo via coach.

Years ago we went to Sharm in Egypt. We walked up Mt Sinai which was a magical experience. Another time we went to Luxor to see the Valley of the Kings tombs, Queen Hatshepsut tomb, hot air balloon at sunrise, souks etc.

Pre-covid we were looking at Budapest for the hot springs. Would love to go to Santander and Bilbao to eat delicious Basque food and pintxos 😋

I forgot another trip! Flew into Naples, got the train to Pompeii and also saw Heracleum. Few days in Naples seeing the museum etc, then got the fast train to Rome. Saw the Vatican museums, Sistine chapel, and explored the typical tourist sites in Rome.

City breaks, walking holidays, tours to explore countries…anything that lets me see a different country/culture. That’s a holiday to me.

Holidays with no beach (when beach based we do for watersports / swimming /snorkelling rather than beach itself)

Alps - Hintertux, all year round snow on glacier, ice palace, skiing, swimming, white water rafting, cable car up mountains.

Finland (Lapland) - winter huskies, reindeer sledging, snowmobiles, Artcic circle etc, summer reindeer including white ones, summer toboggan, white water rafting, brown bear spotting.

Norway - fjords, moose, ax throwing / viking, flam railway, white water rafting

Costa Rica - rainforest, ziplines, wildlife, active volcanoes, horse riding, water slide through jungle, botanical gardens

Australia - wildlife in Atherton Tablelands eg tree kangaroos, Sydney (as well as Great Barrier Reef)

Cape Town - Table Mountain, penguins on beach, safari after

Brazil - Rio sites then Paraty for rainforest

Azores - hot springs, botanical gardens, waterfalls, beautiful everywhere, mountains and lakes.

I don't do beach holidays. I hate sun, heat and sand.

My last holiday was a cruise to the Norwegian fjords.

City breaks, activity holidays (hiking, mountain biking, diving).

You might like a recent thread on city breaks in Spain. Barely a beach in sight, but they are often there if anyone does want them.

Which Spanish cities to visit? | Mumsnet

Depending on how much you've seen of the UK so far, you could always visit some UK places you haven't seen and take advantage of no DC and not in peak holiday season if applicable, to book nicer accommodation, eat in places your DC might not like and visit places they might not enjoy.

We visit places we want to see! Recent holidays (past few years) included:

France : few days in Paris, then train south to an AirBnB in a small town where we could explore the local area (mornings doing something - visit a place/market/historic or cultural site - afternoons by the pool, relaxing)

Sicily: A few days in 4 different places (small towns, beach village, city) - mix of exploring/relaxing

Tuscany: A few days in Florence, a few days in an Agroturismo near Siena (a base for exploring lovely Tuscan towns/villages), a few days on the coast (mix of beach days, bike hire to cycle down the coast, train to Lucca for a day)

Canada: Travelling around - Montreal, lakes/mountains, Quebec - 5 different places (IIRC) each with something different to see/do

Norway: Oslo, Fjords, Bergen - travelling by train and boat. Mix of sightseeing and relaxing (on fjord 'beaches')

The last holiday we had where we stayed in one place for a week was Mallorca, where we stayed in a B&B and alternated - one day by the pool/on the beach, the next going off to see a village/sight/different beach etc.

Golfing, skiing, cities, nature, etc.

I've done road trips around USA and Canada spending time in National Parks, American cities, Niagara Falls, Death Valley, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Golden Gate Bridge, Napa Valley wineries, then Florida for the Space Centre, Everglades National Park (alligators), etc., never once seeing a beach let alone going on one.

Plenty of cities and nature on trips from cruises.

Cities such as Barcelona, Madrid. Venice, Rome, Berlin, Amsterdam.

Ancient cities such as Petra in Jordan, Cairo and Luxor in Egypt.

Safaris in Kenya.

Never been interested in beach holidays but never had a shortage of finding places to go on holiday, at all kinds of budgets. When we've been on a shoestring, we do cheap city breaks. When we've had a bigger budget, it's been Egypt, Kenya or USA.

These are brilliant!

I probably couldn't get my husband to walk up a mountain , but I am interested in northen Europe to escape the 'sun holiday' stereotype. And, having said that, I would really like to see Pompeii in the cooler months.

I think Germany is underrated as a holiday destination. City breaks to Berlin and probably others, also the Black Forest for walks and I think lake swimming is popular. Vienna is also supposed to be great, and the capitals of the Nordic and Baltic countries.

Perhaps watch the Travel Man series on Channel 4 catch up for inspiration.

Walking doesn't have to be up a mountain though!

Basing yourself near water can be very handy for walking. We have just come back from Slovenia, where we walked around lakes, along rivers and along the coast. No map needed as it's easy to navigate by water, a mix of terrain - not always completely flat but no enormous inclines, and ever-changing views. Perfect.

I don't particularly want a 'beach holiday', but it is a pre-requisite for me that water is involved - either the sea or a big lake ideally. I live in a very landlocked place and I do miss the sea a lot (grew up near the sea), so I do like to have sight of it/spend time by it when I'm away. I'd rather walk along the coast than sit on the sand, but I do like to get my toes wet and have a paddle!

Some mountains you can get cable cars up or you can drive almost up to the top - maybe start with a short walk at the top with a cable car up or similar and see if he likes it.

My husband liked all the wildlife in Scandinavia, things like a moose safari or bear watching in Finland.

We go to towns and cities mostly - our big things are music, eating out, walking and heritage/culture. I adore the sea but I am not a beach holiday person, though so we often chose a city or town in the summer by the sea so we can have a couple seaside days.

So our last few holidays:

Seville - Feb 2020 we went cos Mr Monkey was running the marathon. We mainly spent non marathon time visiting musuems and sights and going to tapas bars.

Nimes - Jul 2022 we went cos it has a lot of Roman history and I am obsessed with Romans. So we spent four days visiting archaelogical sites and going out in the evening (there was a city wide festival whilst we were there with outdoor music, wine tasting etc..) We then travelled another hour down the coast to Sete - a port town for a music festival and a couple of days by the sea (the beaches are a pleasant 40 min stroll along the coast from the town).

Perpignan - Jul 2023 We used this as a city base for trips to near by coastal and mountain towns - we did everything from beach days, a couple of city days, visits to castles and even a visit to a deportation camp in the foothills of the Pyrenees. We then visited Sete (the same town as last time) and Paris on the way back home.

Broadstairs - Aug 2023 - we went for a music festival but spent some time on the beach.

Next year we are planning Boston and New York as Mr Monkey has got a place in the Boston Marathon.

We have a very nearly three year old and do a 6 night city break combined with a 1-2 night stay at a beach town. These normally involve lots of museums, castles or old houses as we love history and day trips via train or bus to nearby towns. We rent holiday apartments and try to get one with a communal pool (though have only managed this once) as we like having a place for us to relax in the evening once our son has gone to bed. We don't do any cooking though (bar pouring cereal into a bowl for breakfast!) as we love sampling the local restaurants for lunch and dinner.

Our holidays are very go, go, go, which is why with the last two we've introduced the beach element at the end for a small bit of chill time for the boy. Any more than two days and I'd go insane though 😂

Next years trip is a little different as we hope we'll have a three month old in tow as well so we're spending a week in an apartment in Vienna with a pool and will likely eat in a lot more in the evenings.

With the child we've done Bologna (plus surrounding cities), Granada, Palermo and Cornwall.

Pre child, holidays were even busier and involved no beach at all. As a couple we've visited Stockholm, gone all over Japan, Seville, Lisbon and Venice twice.

We had a great holiday in Annecy, France a few years ago. Lake Annecy is beautiful for swimming but it also have wonderful mountain scenery and walks. We went during the Tour de France and they did a time trial around the town one day. It was really fun.