Holiday ideas for an active, outdoorsy family

[CoveredInCobwebs]

Kids will be 4, 7 and 9 next summer. We all LOVE our annual ski holiday but I feel like we never have a summer holiday that is quite as good (we usually go somewhere like Aviemore/the Alps, self-cater and organise all activities ourselves) so hunting around for something similar but different.

Criteria would include

• Outdoor activities on tap - hiking/biking/kayaking/paddleboarding/climbing
• Somewhere to swim
• Good food options - I don't mind doing s/c but somewhere that cooked for me would be even better
• Somewhere the kids can meet and play with other kids but NOT somewhere where the kids and adults' activities are segregated - we tried Mark Warner when the older two were very small and hated it because it felt like the whole thing was set up for adults and kids to be separate

I realise this basically sounds like what we've already done. I think I'm dreaming of an American style summer camp for kids but for all of us!
Has anyone done anything vaguely similar that they would really recommend?

Crieff hydro

Morzine / Les Gets valley is fab in the summer lots around to do with children and a big pool complex, & ice rink inside, all accessed with a ‘activity card’ you pay normally linked to local stays makes it great value.

@CoveredInCobwebs

I haven't stayed at any of the Kinderhotels, but they usually get a good write-up here and (for winter) on Snowheads.

I know the Ellmauhof as it is close to where we always stay and I have met many of their guests. I included it as an example of a Kinderhotel (the hotels themselves are all independent - Kinderhotel is just a joint marketing initiative) and it is one of the largest in Austria. These hotels typically started life as farms and then 40 years ago or more started taking in guests and have expanded from there into what they are today.

Thanks @minipie - that looks brilliant.

Thanks @Havanananana - probably if I search old threads in here I’ll find some good intel then!

We’ve done trips like this with our now 13 and 9 yr old from a really really young age!… They don’t know any different.

OP our first family climbing trip was to Italy when youngest was 3. Just stuck her in a harness, slinged to an ergo on my back for both climbing and via ferrata.

Canoeing is one of the easiest trips you can do with young children… some great French rivers and campsites to tour.

It was morzine we stayed in recently for mountain biking.

When ds was 4 we took him on a sailing holiday in greece… a yacht not a dinghy, but I’d love to do one of those beach holidays were there’s loads of water sports such as windsurf, dinghy etc. Look at sunsail for that

Well thank you so much for all these brilliant suggestions. We’ve put together a shortlist for next summer including quite a few of them, need to do more research and narrow it down, but I really appreciate all the ideas - I was coming up against a lot of dead ends googling!

Pembrokeshire fully catered - try this place www.preseliventure.co.uk

They cook every meal for you and organise all the activities. Coasteering, kayaking, surfing.

We've done it twice when our kids were between 8-11.

Lots of outdoor space for the kids to play in (and probably 15-20 kids aged 8-18 at anyone time on site) whilst the adults chill with a drink in the bar.

Have a look at www.stubbornmuletravel.com .

Slovenia. Something in the Lake Bled area. Eg renting a cabin at Camping Sovec. Could two centre with the Croatian coast. Summer toboggans, canoeing on the lake.

Dordogne. Loads of high ropes and kayaking around. Plus caves.

+1 for HF holidays. Freshwater bay or St Ives have pools. Their packed lunches are legendary in our house. Can choose your grade of walks each day.

@Blimmingdull That looks SO good! Will need to wait a few years for the kids to be old enough but brilliant to know there’s something like that not too far away.

Mexico - Xcaret hotel, loads of associated parks (not your average parks!), cenote exploring, Mayan archeology, fab food and weather, one of our best ever hols!
www.hotelxcaret.com/en/all-fun-inclusive/