Tell me about your successful summer family holidays in places I might not have considered

[PikachuEars]

Getting the post holiday blues so starting to think about where we might go next year. Nothing is off the table but I especially want to hear about things that aren’t package holidays to beach resorts as that’s not really our style.

Hit me with your best suggestions…

Activities in the alps eg Morzine in France. Can often stay in the ski accommodation for a lot cheaper than in winter and there's so much going on.

Totally agree with @Playdoughcaterpillar Most of our family holidays are in the southern French Alps and it’s fabulous. Hot (not too hot) with loads to do. Lovely lakes for water sports. And if you avoid big name places it’s not too pricey.

YY to summer in the Alps

Interrailing was great - we flew to Budapest and took trains back to London: Vienna-Venice (sleeper)-Bologna-Lugano-Lake Constance-Paris-London. Would do it again with different itinerary.

We had a lovely holiday in the Caceres area in Spain. Flew to Madrid and spent a week on the Portuguese border then a week in the Gredos mountains. Visited Toledo on the way back to the airport.
Road trip from Krakow to Vienna via the Tatras and Bratislava.
We like road trips. Have done an RV trip in the states, Harare to Vic Falls self drive and Vic Falls to Windhoek self drive.
Next year we are looking at either Iceland or Northen Finland and Norway in a camper van.

Rome was great, booked an apartment so self catering. Lots to see if you like history, art, churches etc. and food was easy as kids eat pizza and pasta. Lots of free water fountains everywhere too.

Gozo. Stunning island, clear sea, great diving and snorkelling, tasty food and wine, very reasonably priced, no large resorts.

Northern Spain. Good campsites, fab beaches, fab food.

If you like somewhere off the beaten track and don't mind it being a bit chilly, the Faroes are amazing.

I would absolutely adore to go to the Faroes.

Absolutely love holidaying in the Netherlands!

Anywhere in the Alps - Italy, France or Austria - for an activity holiday. Cycling, mountain biking, cable cars, Go Ape style rope parks, zip wires, swimming in crystal clear lakes, hiking, paragliding, rafting ... plus stunning views and good food.

Jutland in Denmark - endless beaches on the west coast, plus Legoland, Lego House, Lalandia and WOW Park at Billund. There is also a WOW Park and Lalandia on the west coast. AQUA, Tollund Man and the lake district around Silkeborg. Vikings, castles and culture on the eastern side (Jelling, Aarhus, Randers, Ebeltoft, Kolding).

We’ve stayed at Duinrell in the Netherlands twice any they were brilliant holidays. We drove and took our bikes. Last time as the kids were a bit older we didn’t drive for a week and cycled everywhere. We went to the beach and cycled for miles through sand dunes, got the train to Amsterdam, cycled to Leiden and The Hague. Kid friendly food, beautiful towns and cities, coastline, museums. We added on two night at Efteling theme park.

Pre children I loved Morocco and Iceland. Would love to go back but Morocco doesn’t work well will school holidays and Iceland is so expensive.

Dordogne was dd's favourite place - so much to do! Castles, caves, dinosaur park, kayaking on the river, rock dwellings, aquarium, mini golf etc. We stayed at Le Banquet near Les Eyzies one year, and Les Peneyrals near Sarlat another. She also loved interrailing, but was much older then. Lake Garda went down well.

Not sure how old children are but iceland. No northern lights at that time but long days and amazing scenery / activities.

Clearly found my people here!

Have loved the Netherlands, Norway, Northern France. Jutland is a current front-runner for next year. Have done Alps in summer but not with kids yet, definitely on my list. Have done Northern Spain pre-DC, have looked before at ferry to Bilbao - I fancy that. Interrailing and an RV trip in the US are definitely on my bucket list. Rome is also on my list (but not for summer, too hot!).

Inter railing (with teens who can carry their own luggage). We did Germany-Austria-Slovakia-Hungary

Villa holidays across France - Dordgone, SW France, SE France, nr Bordeaux.

Villa holidays in Italy, esp Tuscany or Umbria.

In summer, we tend to stay in Europe, and often holiday with other families in a massive house.

Inter railing is free for children under 12. We are planning a trip when ours are 9-11 and hopefully able to carry their own bag

Ca'Savio in Italy! An amazing way to do Venice with a family. Ca'Savio is 1hr drive round the lagoon from Venice airport. Beautiful sandy beaches, quality Eurocamp-style parks with multiple pools. Our park was in walking distance of a town, with supermarket, bi-weekly market + a fun fair. Best of all, less than an hour ferry direct to St Marks square to explore Venice at your leisure. Amazing best of both worlds holiday!

We did Austrian Tyrol this summer and it was one of our favourite holidays in recent years.
Hiking, mountains, lakes, swimming, great food, interesting places to visit- went into Germany twice.
Fabulous friendly hotel, half board and the best food I've had anywhere (and I live in Italy 😂)

Flew from London to Innsbruck but came home to Italy by train: Innsbruck -Brenner-Verona-Bologna and then down to where we live in Puglia. It was all fabulous.

I'm thinking next year of either something similar in Germany itself or Scandinavia.

Slovenia - Ljubljana, Lake Bled, Lake Bohinj, Pokljuka Plateau, Triglav National Park, Piran, Kranjska Gora, all of the Julian Alps

Montenegro - Kotor Bay, Lustica peninsula, Orjen mountains, Lake Skadar, Biogradska Gora National Park, Sveti Stefan, Durmitor National Park, Budva

The Azores - whale watching, Sao Miguel, Mount Pico , Flores, Porto Pim Bay, Furnas, Andra do Heroismo etc.

Lithuania - Vilnius, Kaunas, Kernave, Klaipeda, beaches of Neringa, Trakai, Dzukija National Park, Druskininkai, Aukstaitija National Park

Estonia - Tallinn, Lahemaa National Park, Saaremaa Island, Tartu, Parnu, Soomaa National Park, Viljandi

Other ideas:

Lake Constance
Titisee
West coast of Ireland
Corsica

California road trip, my 7yr old LOVED it

@cherryassam I've been looking at the first two on your list too! I went to Budva and all around that area in 1978 when it was still Yugoslavia and just prior to the earthquake in the region and would love to go back.

Could you recommend the hotel? Looking for something exactly like this for next year!

@SoIinvictus they are both really lovely! Would highly recommend both

We had a lovely family holiday in Switzerland staying in Wengen,Zermatt and Kanderstag.Also visited Bern.
Also been to Venice and a lake Garda as a family

Slovenia - Ljubljana, Lake Bled etc. are beautiful, the infrastructure is excellent and there's loads to see and do.

Andorra - the ski resorts like Soldeu offer excellent summer facilities and outdoor activities. Nice food too!