What's a holiday that's like skiing...but not skiing?

[Bakedbanana]

Before kids we went skiing a couple of times. Tbh I am a little scared of heights and my knees aren't up to it anymore but I LOVED the format of the holiday:

• being outside all day doing something active
• learning new things and meeting new people
• building up a good appetite to eat delicious food for dinner
• glass of wine by the fire

What is a similar type of holiday? We now have kids who will be 5 and 8. Prefer to spend the holiday together but holiday club/lessons for a few days would be ok.

Bonus points for cheap and if we don't need to fly.

Thanks

The youth hostel association have family adventure holidays in scenic uk locations.

was going to suggest the mountains in Canada or even ski places but just don't ski.

No flying, maybe the lake district? water sports, outdoor activities, hearty food & most likely need a fire to warm up.

Sailing? You can book residential courses in Uk and abroad.

Would you be able to do cross country skiing?
www.inntravel.co.uk/winter-snow-breaks/cross-country-skiing

What about a mark Warner, club Med or Neilson family activity holiday?
They offer lessons in activities eg. Sailing, windsurfing which you can do together

What about Centreparcs? Plenty of stuff to do for the kids each day, lovely pool with lazy river, BBQ outside most of the cabins. I'd never been till a couple of years ago with our neices and nephews and it was great albeit a little expensive for a UK break but really fun 😊

PGL family holidays?

scottish6days.com

A flotilla sailing holiday but would need to get your day skipper first but that isn’t difficult. Great mix of relaxed sailing with your family in the day with the full support of a flotilla crew to plan the route and help find you a mooring etc then in the late afternoon evening if you want the kids can mix with the other kids and option of going for dinner with the group in the evenings. Great fun and very chilled bobbing along the water in the day. Choose somewhere easy with short distances and not strong winds like the Ionian in Greece and lovely visiting a different port every day.

Sailing/walking/kayaking/cycling? Mixed adventure trip?
Or are you specifically looking for a winter activity.

PGL do family holidays that look fab.

I was going to suggest Scotland, Lake District or south coast.

Lots of walking, hiking adventure sports (off road segways/mountain bike hire in the lakes) and water sports.

Perhaps the Norfolk Broads? We hired a motor boat for a week and it was beautiful. Took our kayaks to strap on the top and spent most the time in and out of those. Plenty of places for day hire of kayaks/canoe/paddleboards and lots of lovely areas to tie up and walk to the pub.

Have a look at Explore holidays - they do stuff that involves activity and some family stuff. Never been, but looked at ones with canoeing in before as they looked cool.

Sounds like you want something that’s organised and where you do the activity with other people, so it’s not just an insular family holiday.

There are lots of activity holidays where you join with other families for part or much of the time. You get instruction and learn a fun skill and then either eat together or that part is separate.

• PGL family holidays - mostly in UK.
• Sailing Flitilla
• Mark Nielsen activity hols.
• Organised cycling holidays for families

All of these things tend to be fairly expensive as you’re paying for equipment and instruction as well as the usual parts of a holiday. But they can be brilliant for active families and have a similar vibe to skiing. I’ve alsways thought of skiing as best done with a group rather than just as a family or couple. Larger groups for skiing mean you can always find people of your ability level and those who want to do a similar amount to yourself, as well as getting some time to ski with family. Lessons for half the day and family skiing for the other half can work really well. Being in a chalet or hotel as part of a group and getting together for meals can work really well. If you’re not sociable, it’s probably not for you.

I’ve liked this kind of thing. We’ve gone skiing with a group of 60. We’ve done flotilla sailing in a group of about 30 on 8 boats. We rarely go on holiday as just our family, but nearly always go with another family or two. We like our own company but also enjoy being with others too. My DH in particular likes to be doing and wouldn’t enjoy a beach holiday. Learning an activity and practising it works well for us all.

Thanks all! Will have a proper look at all of these suggestions later.

No, doesn't need to be winter specific at all.

Didn't know I was allowed on a PGL holiday (the name makes me think I am banned ) will check that out.

Sailing is an interesting idea. But elder kid gets car sick- do you think the my could be on a boat without throwing up? Kids can swim in a basic way but not super confident yet (maybe they will be the time we go away?)

@WombatChocolate
When we went skiing we stayed in a youth hostel place (we are now too old!) so a double room but then a whole group to have a lesson with/hang out in the evenings if you wanted.

Learning a new skill sounds good

Stugeron is apparently very good for sea sickness, fortunately never been afflicted. Sailing is a great idea for active holidaying

@Bakedbanana my youngest gets travel sick and threw up on a ferry once
But has been on a sailing course with school and was absolutely fine. The lack of engine, so boat moves in different way, seemed to be the difference for her

Friends went on a kayak safari in France and loved it. Support vehicle took their luggage from camp to camp and they kayaked between locations every day. Sounded a similar vibe to a ski holiday.

Yes, specific family PGL holidays where everyone there is kids and adults - different to the ones kids only go on,but in the same centres using their facilities.

I think you get a family room and then each morning and evening there are arranged activities which families do together and with other families. Meals are provided in the communal dining room. There are also optional evening activities - apres ski type stuff.

There’s probably a perfect window age of kids for this stuff. They need to be old enough to do the activities and join in (often need to be 8 for water sports activities) and young enough to still be happy hanging around with parents. But the kids on these activity hols make friends too and the older ones can probably have some independence which is nice too.

Look at family packages at Glenmore Lodge (Scotland) and Plas Y Brenin (Snowdonia). They do loads of courses - kayaking, hillwalking, navigation, wild camps etc. Food/accommodation is great. Can really vouch for the breakfasts and cake at the Brenin! You can also stay locally in a rental and hire a guide/instructor from their books on a daily rate. It’s really good at keeping money in the local economy. Just give them a ring and see what they suggest.

Surfing - it has the same relaxing thing as skiing, where you can only think about being up, staying up and the feeling of it. Nothing else stressful can get in your head. And when you ‘get it’, it’s a great feeling. Scotland and Devon both amazing places for it.

Camping!

A couple of times a year we go to a Scout campsitewith public camping where you can gets passes to try out all the different activities like climbing, kayaking, rope courses, archery, raft building...

Yes, a lot of the scout sites offer specific weeks or weekends when families can use the facilities. Some might even offer catering too. You’d certainly get to mix with other families whilst doing the activities.

Also look at outdoor residential centres other than PGL. Most of those will also offer family weeks or weekends in a similar way, as well as offering camps for children to go to alone.

Actually there’s loads of stuff in the UK.