Young teen friendly resorts in Europe?

[Confused687]

Any recommendations on a resort in Europe (preferably Greece but not essential) which has some activities for young teens and tweens? Mine are too old for kids clubs but would love to be able to make friends with children their own age. I had looked at Mark Warner but their evening activities of 'Mr and Mrs competitions' and quiz nights make me absolutely shudder! We have always rented a very civilised house or villa in the past but I think a little holiday stimulation is now required.

Watching with interest.

Mine love Mark Warner. The clubs are popular and they all seem happy in them. Lots of daytime activities and things like boat trips or sunset SUPs in evenings too.

Can I join in too? I love the peace and quiet in a private villa but I think our two teens are now getting bored with our company all the time and want to mix with others of a similar age around the pool etc. I've been doing loads of searching for pretty much anywhere in Europe but no joy, it has to be out the somewhere.

We’ve had some great holidays at:

Hotel Poiano, Garda
Kerkyra Golf, Corfu
Atlantica Aegean, Rhodes

Big hotels, so essential for our sanity to hire a car to escape every few days! Lots of activities for tweens etc. All have football which is essential for our DS.

The voyage belek in turkey. It has loads of teen activities during the day such as archery, shooting, football, basketball. It has a crazy golf course, a cinema and a bowling alley.3 nights a week they hold beach club parties with water and foam.

Hersetta427 - that sounds ideal but I am not sure I fancy Turkey especially not in the heat of August.

It was better than we thought it would be last year. It was 38 degrees but easily manageable. Turkey has the most amazing all inclusive (even better than the Caribbean and it is perfectly safe.

Thank you everyone but any suggestions that aren't Mark Warner or involve foam beach parties?! I want my tween/teen to be happy but not completely at my expense - I need a holiday too and foam parties and organised evening activities aren't my ideal!

Apologies but you did say teen friendly so people have recommended places that have loads of organised activities for the kids which would leave you free time to chill out at a quiet pool or bar.

Confused687 people with teens have suggested things that teens like.
Few teens will be thrilled with a secluded villa.
I would rather have my DC's happy company on holiday and go somewhere tailored to them. If they are teenagers they will want more and more freedom and lots of these suggestions allow that in a safe environment. The adults don't get invited to the teens activities so you wouldn't need to suffer.

I'm sure there must be a happy medium between a secluded villa and a foam parties. Nothing wrong with a foam party if that's what you're after but for me, that's not what I'm looking for.

I'm sure there must be a happy medium between a secluded villa and a foam parties. Nothing wrong with a foam party if that's what you're after but for me, that's not what I'm looking for.

I'm sure there must be a happy medium between a secluded villa and a foam parties. Nothing wrong with a foam party if that's what you're after but for me, that's not what I'm looking for.

I'm sure there must be a happy medium between a secluded villa and a foam parties. Nothing wrong with a foam party if that's what you're after but for me, that's not what I'm looking for.

Have you looked at Peligoni Club? Not been but it might be what you are looking for.

I have no experience of Mark Warner but have just booked our second Neilson holiday. Evening entertainment is low key and you can opt in/out of everything as it suits you. For us last year it was the perfect balance of everyone having the freedom to join in or not as they wish. Not a perfect holiday, but really having spent weeks researching I have realised a nice quiet holiday off the beaten track with loads of activities to keep teens happy (not to mention presence of other teens) doesn't exist.

Thank you Sleepyoto, I have indeed looked at Peligoni and it looked like an absolute dream. However, on closer inspection the reviews suggest that in recent years the teen activities have been run by lack lustre, disinterested gap year students. Hence I am looking for other options. As you have experienced a Neilson holiday, can you give me your opinion on the evenings? The Mark Warner representative left me completely cold when he spoke of 'mr&mrs' competitions and quiz nights... I'm after a little more sophistication than that, without wishing to sound an utter snob!

Yes, I read that about Peligoni too, not particularly appealing!

The evening entertainment is not the reason we are returning to Neilson (that's for the age appropriate kids' clubs involving sporting activities rather than a glorified creche). There was a quiz night, some traditional Greek dancing, that sort of thing. I can't say it was sophisticated, but equally it was very family friendly and aimed at letting the children be involved too. We have younger ones as well so this suited us fine. It was also very laid back as with everything - no pressure to join in if you don't want to.

This is not the holiday we would choose for ourselves, but when taking the children we understand we need to compromise on keeping everyone happy. A holiday is no fun with complaining children, it's supposed to be fun for them too. If they are happy I can relax (and I managed to read two whole books last year, unheard of ). Soon enough we will be holidaying alone and will have all the time in the world to get back off the beaten track.

Also, I did a lot of research for something similar to Peligoni - I did find Minorca Sailing but it didn't fit our needs. Might be worth a look though, if yours are interested in learning to sail/windsurf?

Thank you Sleepyoto - you sound in a similar predicament to myself but you're correct, not long and we will be holidaying alone... :(

One last thing - which Neilson did you stay at last year? I checked and there are several to choose from. The entertainment at the one you tried sounds just about as much as I could handle!

One last thing - which Neilson did you stay at last year? I checked and there are several to choose from. The entertainment at the one you tried sounds just about as much as I could handle!

We went to Sivota. Lovely, picturesque bay, reasonably characterful hotel. Small but perfectly usable pool, however lots of steps everywhere! I preferred the look of Vounaki (can’t remember why we didn’t end up booking it) but we ended up at Sivota and had a great time there.

We aren’t going back there by the way, we have booked for Croatia... it is less characterful than I would want (tower block 🙁) but they are doing a refurb of all the rooms and adding a 50m pool, and it’s right next to a national park where 2 family members want to do rock climbing. My yearning for sand will have to wait!

Sleepyoto-whereabouts in Croatia are you going to in terms of hotel and area. It looks beautiful but the choice was overwhelming?

We had a fantastic two weeks in Croatia last year- 1 week staying in an apartment that came with paddle boards,kayaks and trips that included boat trips and dune cars. Second week learning to sail with a flotilla- it was perfect.