Best summer holiday you’ve been on with primary aged children?

[Holibobbbs]

We haven’t booked anything at all this summer! And are all slightly desperate for a holiday.

Don’t even know where to begin.

What’s the best summer holiday you’ve done with primary-aged children?

Just back from Cornwall and it was AMAZING! Stayed in a Air BnB, hired a car and really had a holiday to remember. Can't wait to go back next year...

We went to Prague last year which was great, drove there (twins were 6). The year before that we went to Groningen (so not too far away as I'm in the Netherlands). This year we are going to a village about 45 min. from Paris. Nice big garden to play in and we can do daytrips. I've also been to Valencia a few times which was awesome (the museum of Arts and Sciences is fantastic, plus the main park has playgrounds every couple of hundred meters and you can rent bikes). We do Airbnb's so we have enough bedrooms and can cook and relax when we want to.

I spent 3 weeks on 2 different camp sites in France & Germany. DC were 4 & 8.
They had a ball with acess to swimming pool and kids club -just attending the evening singing & dancing. I had a car and unlimited acess to public transport in Germany. So lots of cheap, easy days out.

Kids made friends on the sites, so I had a few easy lounging & reading days. I still remember DC2 taking his bike to the playground in France to compare bikes with a little french boy...

The Campsites I chose were family sites and kids were very safe there!

One year we had a week on a boat in the Norfolk Broads. For a few years DD (about 10 at the time) said it was the best holiday she'd had.

Our best holiday was last summer when we came over to the UK for 6 weeks and my children got to experience British childhood summer experiences like summer fetes and going to the seaside. We went to a few different places during the 6 weeks including Scotland for one week and the seaside for a couple of weeks.

Second best holiday was Lapland the year before. Spotting reindeer, walking up fells, picking cloudberries, fishing in lakes, visiting Father Christmas even though it was summer, and staying up late every night to enjoy the midnight sun and letting the children run wild in the countryside and sword fight with reindeer antlers and climb on the barn roof.

Cornwall. In the sun you can't beat it. Stayed near lands end (camped) and drove about going to breathtaking beaches. Swerve St Ives and Newquay in the high season.
Also Cairngorms. Swimming in the lake, walking in the hills/ woods, just being in nature.

Pool/beach holidays in Menorca or Cala D’Or Mallorca. They absolutely loved it. We always did self catering when they were younger so we’d have fresh croissants/pastries fro breakfast, baguettes for lunch and go out for an evening meal.

They’d spend hours in the pool or sea and on the beach making sandcastles. One hotel we went to had amazing kids entertainers so they’d be off playing football and games in the pool too. We ended up going there 3 times because it was their favourite.

They’re in their 20s now and talk about those holidays far more than the Disney ones.

The one dd said she liked best was a gite complex in the Dordogne - so much too. Nice shared pool. And Eurocamp.

Beach in Denmark after 15 aug - danish kids re back at school so all rentals are cheaper and less crowded. Not too hot, all v family friendly and lots of activities. And Lego. LegoHouse (not legoland) is incredible.

Eurocamp, Bella Italia

In fact most eurocamps are great for families!

Disney cruise around the Med and a twin center holiday in St Lucia.

Enjoying these suggestions!

please keep them coming!

Pine Bay resort Kusadsdi, Turkey. The only place we ever went twice.

We went to Holiday Villages in various European destinations - very cheesy but they loved them! They can still do all the dances. My favourite was the Ibiza one but it was a good few years ago

3 nights in Copenhagen - Tivoli Gardens theme park, boat trip around the harbour, train to Malmo in Sweden for the day. Followed by 3 nights in Billund (hired a car to drive). Lego House, Legoland. Stayed at Lalandia which has a water park. All loved it.

Pembrokeshire is gorgeous. Quieter than Cornwall but similar scenery. Bluestone is a good base and lots of great day trips.

We always did Greek islands when DS was young.
His absolute favourite was Kefalonia and we ended up going 7 times with him throughout his childhood.

Best ever? Took mine to Normandy, did all the ww2 museums, bayeaux tapestry, laid poppy crosses at the British cemetery there, stayed at lovely b&b - great for history fans (and horrible history fanatics) cider orchard was a particular hit because the kids were offered tasting (2% cider is deemed suitable for children )

My DDs loved Bluestone.

We’ve just got back from a week in Holland - Efteling theme park (much smaller queues than Disney!), Beekse Bergen safari park, Speelland lake beach with playgrounds, Dolfinarium, water parks, zoos… So much to do and we didn’t even make it to the coast where I would like to go next. 3.5 hours from Calais and we had lunch in a Belgian seaside town on the way, just lovely!

Bit older we did the Black Forest and europa parc, 9&11 plus Luxembourg

Dorset coast

I’ve never been to Cornwall. Which area did you go, drive from, how long did it take? Roughly how much did it all cost? Always feels to me when I’m booking that it’s cheaper actually flying to Europe, but maybe I’m on all the wrong websites.

Munich (3 days in a hotel) and 10 days in a ski lodge in the Bavarian alps close to the Austrian border.

Last summer - road trip to Denmark via Netherlands and Germany with DC age 8, 6, 2. Legoland was the main "destination" but it was all fantastic.

In the UK I’d recommend Isle Of Wight. Went when DS was about 6 and it was a brilliant few days. So much fun there for kids

Alvor in Portugal. Hotel on the beach with great kids clubs, big pool, hired a car, trips out. Fantastic food every evening in the little town. Brilliant.