European holiday, older teens, active/outdoorsy - where tho?!

[Gherkingreen]

Trying to plan a post-exams trip for me, DH & DSs 18 and 16 for mid-July. We want to book easyJet flights/hire car/Air BnB in Europe (anywhere) for 10 days, somewhere to walk, swim, kayak, whitewater rafting kind of thing.
We did a similar organised trip to Slovenia which was amazing and want to do it independently this time, but can't think where to start looking!
Anyone recommend a suitable destination?

Austria? Croatia? Anywhere with rivers, I suppose.

Gorge du Verdon? www.google.com/amp/s/www.travelawaits.com/2667661/verdon-gorge-tips-for-visiting/%3famp

Ooh following! I need a trip with my boys the same ages

Ah lol, I came on to recommend Slovenia!!! The countryside in Hungry looked amazing out of the train window... My sister liked around Mont Blanc, you stay in shared log cabins on the route round with dinner and wine served!

Ardeche?

@MissAmbrosia I was thinking about the Ardeche area, I did a PGL with school there when I was 16, a loong time ago; still one of my favourite ever holidays!

@Fitterbyfifty that looks beautiful, adding to the list. Thank you!

Most of the European alps would fit the bill.

www.sunelia.com/en/france/rhone-alpes/ardeche/largentiere/domaine-les-ranchisses/ We stayed here a few years back with Eurocamp. Campsite is lovely with great restaurant and cheap wine in the bar. Close to Pont D'Arc and lots of stunning villages. There was an accrobranche place not too far away and a fab place that did a whole hog roast.

We need the same but in school hols.
Can you share a rough version of your Slovenia itinerary @Gherkingreen?
It's somewhere I've fancied for a while.
Is it very similar to Switzerland?

We booked our Slovenia trip through Green World Holidays, because we didn't know the country at all and wanted to make the most of the trip, though having done it once, we'd definitely do it again, but independently.
We flew from Mcr to Venice and then transferred by road as there were only direct flights to Slovenia from London airports. We also wanted to spend a couple of days in Venice on the way back - which was also excellent (stayed in a gorgeous Air BnB apartment which was just beautiful, had a day at the beach, day exploring the city, half day at Burano took the water bus back to the city at sunset - sigh)
In Ljubljana we stayed right in the centre, it was a typical European city, great restaurants and cafes, v family friendly, walkable - amazing gelato and coffee, not expensive to eat out either.
Our trip included organised river kayaking (literally the most fun I've ever had on water), paddle boarding, whitewater rafting, a trip to Lake Bled (breathtaking), and a day up in the Kravavec (sp?) mountains doing summer alpine activities like high ropes, track toboggan, hiking etc.
I'd thoroughly recommend it as a destination - and yeah, very much like Switzerland and Austria.

Annecy

You could go to South Tyrol (fly to Verona or Innsbruck, perhaps even Bozen/Bolzano): lakes&vineyards (Kalterer See), great places for rafting (eg Ahrntal/Val Aurina), lots of hiking, easy multi-day hikes with staying in cabins, biking, nice towns, good food. Very well connected with public transport (even remote valleys/hiking spots) so you might not even need a car. Mid/late July can be a bit busy though...

Tara valley in Montenegro?

Azores - we flew there with Ryanair. Hired a car, stayed in an airbnb in a little village.

Kayaking, hiking, the most amazing whale watching I've ever done, snorkelling in volcanic calderas, and loads of hot springs where you can hang out for the day going from hot pool to hot pool.

We stayed on the main island, but you can island hop and explore. The food is great, and it feels like stepping back in time to a Portugal that existed 40 years ago.

I'd go back tomorrow.

Corsica would also be great if you want to combine mountains and sea.

Place marking. Some fab ideas

Black Forest area of Germany

southern Bavaria, Black Forest area (saying that we found it a bit boring compared to southern Bavaria) or Austria.

Northern Italy/South Tyrol

Ardeche in France

Spanish Pyrenees

Thanks to everyone who's shared ideas, really brilliant inspiration for our trip. Just need to book it now!