Best 'non kids' type holiday with kids...

[Jet888]

OK, not to confuse people with my post title but I'm after ideas of lovely holiday places abroad (europe) for a family holiday with two kids that will be 5 and 3 next summer but that aren't all inclusive, beach style, water park type locations. Don't get me wrong, would be happy with one day at a water park, but after variety of other things too. To give an example, this summer we're in the UK but we're going somewhere where they can go on a cable car to visit some caves, go on a steam train, visit a castle etc. I'm really clueless as haven't gone abroad with the kids ever so only have evidence of abroad hols with dh alone! Thanks all x

We regularly went to France and stayed in a gite. Lots of places to visit and never any complaints from the kids. We always looked for somewhere with a pool on site but other than that we'd go out for the day.

Duinrell in Holland - best of both world. Has a pool complex and theme park on site, but also near enough to Amsterdam, other Dutch towns, lovely beach etc for more sightseeing, canal trips, etc.

Center Parcs in Europe. - cheaper than UK ones, We used them as a base when our dc were similar age to yours, We did the sightseeing during the day, but used the Center park facilities to entertain the kids in the evenings etc.

We went to Lanzarote when my youngest was just 4. Included camel ride, going up a volcano and having lunch up there, volcanic caves. there is also a water park, beaches etc.

We’ve used gites as well.

le chant d’oiseau
Loire Valley - owned by an Friendly English couple. We stayed 9n the gites on site.

Dolphin Gites
Vendee

Copenhagen! My dc loved everything - Tivoli, the amazing aquarium, little mermaid statue, Hans Christian Andersen museum, canal boat tour, open air museum etc… Even the Carlsburg brewery tour has some child friendly elements such as the interactive exhibits and horse drawn carriage rides.

We took the kids by train to Paris and then on to Italy where we stayed with Eurocamp by a beautiful lake. We visited Milan and Venice while there.
We also flew to Santander, train to Madrid then train to Barcelona.
This year we are flying to Malaga, and next year I plan to take the train to Slovenia via Northern Italy. Or possibly head to a lake in Switzerland/Austria/France instead.

Lake Constance is utterly brilliant, we had a fabulous holiday there when Dc were a similar age.

Boat trips on the lake, beautiful views, heated open air pools, castles, cable cars, excellent children's theme park with a Brio themed section, delicious food.

I like Feungirola area of Spain.

Train along the front is easy and cheap.

We've done zoo, aquarium, trivoli park, water park, went to Malaga for the day and did the sightseeing bus and eye thing.

They also have a cable car, a nature park etc. also boat trips and a port.

There's so much to do that ds and I have been to this area 3 times and the only things we've done twice is the water park!

So many inspiring ideas, thanks mumsnetters!

Mallorca has lots of these things - train from Palma to seller, caving, aquarium, Castle

I agree. We've done Mallorca a few times too!

@LustigLustig can I ask where you stayed in the lake constance area? Never heard of it but looks amazing. Did you fly into Zurich?
Also Mallorca I think is definitely going to be interesting to explore too....
Plus never been to Lanzarote...

Barcelona. Or any of your typical holiday places but get a villa instead of a hotel and you can visit all the places of interest etc you are interested in and still have the option of a chill out day on the beach or at a water park if you want.

Jet888 we flew into Munich and stayed in Lindau, so we were based in the German part, but quite near the Austrian border.

You can buy a card that allows you free travel on the buses and ferries across the lake and free entry to lots of different attractions all around the region, so we just did that the whole time, and went all over, across into Austria and Switzerland too.

Portugal, tavira or near by there is a wee train to a beach which is fun! Not far from faro.

Wales for Caves and castles. The National showcaves are really good with dinosaurs and a shire horse farm next door.
Also there is also Clearwell Caves which are old mines.

And castles everywhere you look

Dordogne was dd's favourite holiday when she was smaller. Caves and cave dwellings, dinosaur parks, markets, river boat trips and canoeing. Accrobranche - that go Ape type thing. Aquarium and Le Bournat history park in Le Bugue. The lift in Sarlat that takes you above the roof tops. The Pre-history museum in Les Eyzies. Castles at Beynac and Castelnaud.

We had an amazing time in Sicily. Stayed in a Farm stay in the mountains (barns converted into 8 apartments with a pool). Had an amazing trip visited some of the cities and saw some amazing sites. Our 6 and 8 year olds loved it.

@LustigLustig

Never heard of Lake Constance before, but it’s now on my wish list.

In exchange, can I also suggest Annecy in France, another lake surrounded by mountains. Absolutely beautiful place. I went with teens a couple of years ago and we all want to go back. One of France’s best kept secrets.

We drove to Annecy but you can also fly tonGeneva which is about an hour away.

@Riverlee thank you for the recommendation, it looks gorgeous!

I've been reading this thread thinking I didn't really know about half these places, and wanting to visit them all!

Crete? It has a bit of everything. You can stay in a smaller hotel or apartment, which isn’t all inclusive and eat out in the evenings.

There are 2 big water parks to visit. But also Knossos, and the museum in Heraklion. The Venetian fort in the harbour in Heraklion. lake Voulismeni in Agios nikolaos, boat trip to spinalonga. Lots of lovely beaches, traditional little villages and Heraklion is a nice city to wander around. It’s also generally one of the better value places to travel to.

The only thing is it would be very hot to do the sight seeing in July/august. We did it at the end of July and it was very hot waking around Knossos. Our youngest was 9 at the time, so it was ok but I’m not sure if tiny kids would cope with the heat. May half term might be better.

We camped near Venice when the DC were young and found lots to do a did a big day trip to Verona.

We went to Paris when DS was 5 and he adored it. The Luxembourg Gardens were an absolute highlight and somewhere that I'd never have gone without DC but so glad we did go, but we also enjoyed Ménagerie du Jardin des plantes, the Eiffel Tower at night, a boat trip on the Seine etc etc.

Agree with the comment about doing self catering wherever you go. It means you don't need to eat out all the time and can have a chilled out day if you want.