Europe, Wildlife, Not too hot. Suggestions please

[TeenTimesTwo]

Thinking about a summer holiday for 2019.
Would like Europe, with some wildlife for teen DD2, not massively hot.

We like pottering about holidays, seeing a few sights, café lunches, short strolls. Not full on city culture and not lazing around on a beach or by the pool all day.

Any suggestions?

I’ve always wanted to go bear watching in Finland but never done it.

I have had some great summer holidays in The Alps....chamonix is a good base, Zermatt another one, Grindlewald. Lots of marmots, some ibex, nice walks, cafes, scenery. Not sure about sights.

Iceland - the only place where I've seen a whale 'breach' (leap out of the water). The north is the best for whale watching trips, but the south isn't bad either. There are also puffin boat trips and if your DD loves animals, I'd recommend pony trekking on the distinctive Icelandic ponies. Plus there are lots of sights all within easy reach of each other - Blue Lagoon, Geysur, Gulfoss etc...

Oooh. Nice ideas, thank you both.

I went to Iceland in 1985 - I think there is much more now for tourists than there used to be (which was nothing much at all apart from the geological features).

Azores - whales, dolfins, volcanos, hot springs, forest walks, nice towns, not too hot

Stayed at Arola Bears in Finland loved it. Wild Sweden is similar Swedish version.

Think there are also brown bears in Croatia but not been as saw 8 of them in Finland.

Lots of reindeer on the roads in Finland too. Flew to Oulu with Finnair, went to Ruka as well, white water rafting, bears, beach and canoeing and mountain bob sleigh.

i want to go whale watching in the azores

The Azores looks good - like the swimming with dolphins too.

Jersey has Gerald Durrell's zoo (which might not be quite what you meant by wildlife, but is a lovely place to visit - and notnalk the inhabitants are in enclosures). Also birdwatching and you could look for red squirrels. And it ticks all your other boxes too.

I agree with the Azores suggestion.

I love Madeira for a pottering about type of holiday. Nice town, not too busy but plenty to see. Some lovely walks and trips, great food, whale and dolphin trips etc.

I was about to suggest Lapland too. It'll be warm and the sun doesn't go down at all during the midsummer. Even before and after the midsummer the daylight is a lot longer than here in the UK. It's a unique experience.

You could hire a car and drive from Rovaniemi to Norway to visit Tromsø. It's suppose to be very hip now and might be something a teen would be interested in.

Sami culture is also fascinating, not sure if it is for teens though!