Totally stuck - trying to please everyone on family holiday to Europe somewhere

[Tworoads]

It’s a tough ask this year. 7 year old and teenager like beach holiday with villa and pool (self catering). That’s what we did last year (Menorca). But husband was a bit bored with “villa swim, beach, restaurant - repeat”. He’d like to be within reasonable driving distance of mountains/lakes for fishing and sightseeing/hiking etc.

I am finding it impossible to sort it so everyone is happy! Do you have any suggestions? Please 🙏….

Has to be Europe (cost) and would fly (hopefully direct) from Manchester or Liverpool. Stuck with school holidays so August unfortunately.

Really appreciate your help.

Check if anywhere on the south coast of France is near fishing opportunities. The other things you seek are available.

@LlynTegid thank you so much. Which resorts do you recommend in south of France. Have never been! I don’t think my budget will stretch to St Tropez unfortunately.

Italian lakes, although August might be a challenge. Similarly, Italian or French Alps, many ski resorts offer summer accommodation at a lower cost, plus there is usually mountain biking, lakes to swim and canoe/paddle board in, paragliding etc. alongside traditional hiking. Somewhere like the Portes du Soleil area in France

Croatia?

The Ardeche in France, up there with one of our best family holidays, we kayaked the whole
length of the Ardeche river, we did it over 2 non consecutive days but you can do overnight camps. We went canyoning in the mountains, this was way out of my comfort zone but was amazing, if there is anything you don’t want to do there is always an easy way down. We stayed on a site right by the river, can’t remember what it was called. I’d already been when I was a kid and had great memories from back then. Not sure of local airport. We had a camper but there were mobile homes to rent.

German or Austrian Lakes would be ideal. Weather should be fab, but you are quite late t9 book, so not sure what accommodation will still be available.

Take a look at Eurocamp for the Italian lakes, if you are happy to do self catering. It's not too badly priced, even for August, and there are kids clubs to cater for the different ages, plus pools.

@Effingmagicfairy where did you base yourself in the Ardeche? Do the towns have shops/restaurants? It looks as if some parts of the Ardeche have beaches - any better than others?

Austria for lakes and mountains. Some of the lakes (e.g. at Zell am See) have lakeside lidos and green "beaches" (i.e. grassy lakeside lawns). Plenty of self-catering, including places with pools. Outdoor pools also available at villages (e.g. Saalbach) that don't have lakes. Hiking, caves, stunning views, mountain biking, zip-wires, Go Ape-style climbing courses, paragliding, rock climbing, white-water rafting etc. available almost everywhere.

August is towards the end of the European school holiday season, so prices should be reasonable. Direct flights to Salzburg available - but in the summer only from the south-east (although Ingham's seem to have direct flights from Manchester in their on-line brochure)

We go to Bavaria most summers, DC love it.
Great mixture of chilling and adventure plus a bit of culture/shopping in the cities

Italian lakes or alps - loads of hotels with great pools, lakeside swimming, activities, good food, mountains.

I cannot thank you enough 🥰. I think lakes and mountains might please my family most. Sounds like plenty to do. Will try and find a villa in a town with restaurants etc

@Tworoads not very big towns, our campsite was on edge of the Ardeche so direct access to the river which you can swim in, jump off rocks, hire paddle boards. There are beach areas on the river. Our campsite also had a pool and sports areas, we didn’t see our teenager much in the evening as he’d be off playing football. We stayed Camping Nature Parc L’Ardechois. You would need a car to get about. If you drive down we stopped off in Paris on the way home.

Slovinia would be my chance. Mountains and sea.

Villas are not common in the Alps - you're much more likely to find self-catering apartments, campsites (often with cabins to rent) or cosy B&Bs if you don't want to stay in a hotel.

Lakes and mountains stretch from Bavaria (fly into Munich) through Austria and Italy, across to France and down as far as Slovenia and Croatia. Everywhere has restaurants - tourism is an important part of the local economy and you'll find excellent restaurants in the towns and villages, but also up on the mountains.

We had the most amazing time in a cottage next to a lake in Norway. Much warmer than you would imagine!

We did a road trip last year, our favourite part was the Black Forest in Germany. Lots of free family walks, rodelbahns, sensory trails and a huge marble run through a forest

@anunlikelyseahorse i would love to go to Slovenia but there’s no direct flights from Manchester or Liverpool and I think my 7 year old would flip over a longer indirect journey. May have to wait a year or two

You can fly to Pula I think and drive straight into Slovenia.

Ardeche or Dordogne. We stayed with Eurocamp at Les Ranchisses which was marvellous. Loads to do in that area.

Greece. So many of the islands are small. You can have mountains and sea very close by. Corfu is lovely, areas of the mainland too.
Also France, as other have suggested.

Funchal, Madeira. Incredible mountains and levada walks, vibrant mix of seaside and city, amazing food and drinks, loads of activities for your teens

North East Mallorca might fit the bill. The peninsula past Pollenca is stunning.

I’m very tempted by Pollenca. Looks beautiful! But husband doesn’t want to do the beach, swim, eat and sleep thing again. He’d like to go fishing and do some water sports so he’d like us to be within range of lakes and mountains. Is that possible near Pollenca?

I don’t know about the sports, but the peninsula is mountainous and rocky with winding roads. There’s a lovely walk from Port de Pollenca (the Cami Boquer) that runs along a creek with wild goats down to a little picturesque beach.

The whole of that northern coast is good for hiking and breathtaking scenery. Have a look on Google maps - there are lots of photos.