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…

Anyone done Iceland in the summer? Been in the depths of winter and done all the tourist stuff, golden circle, glacier tour, blue lagoon, just wondering if there's enough to do in the summer?

We’ve had lovely Air B&B city break holidays in Stockholm & Copenhagen - both really kid friendly.

Canal boat

When I was a single parent, I took my pre teens to Austria. Flew to Munich-great city for kids-and took the train to Wörgl in Austria. The hotel picked us up from the station. Wonderful food, pool and spa and best of all, it’s own riding stable so the kids had lessons. We had no car, just got local buses to visit nearby villages and a wonderful gorge. Free lift pass in Summer. The hotel has been refurbished since, but it was still great value for money-Austria is wonderful for family hotels.

Contis Plage and the southern bit of the Atlantic coast in France. Biscarosse and south of there is a great place for a holiday.

Hotel Haymon in Seefeld. It was a Mumsnetter who recommended it!

https://www.haymon.at/en/hotel-haymon.html

Honestly, ignore the 3 star, it deserved 5.

I know Puffinshop (MNer who lives in Iceland) recommends it more in summer as the weather doesn't restrict you as much.

I want to do Iceland but don't drive and am wondering if it's possible without a car.

Lake Luzern, beautiful lake with nearby mountains. Hikes around Mount Pilatus as well as Riga and Titlis nearby. Excellent public transport and can be cheap with Air BnB and eating at the train station food places. I forget the exact amount but it was about £40 unlimited travel for DC aged 9 and 7. This included boat trips and cable cars as well as vernacular to Pilatus. Halfway down the mountain there are adventure playgrounds. Been twice and one of our best family trips.

@solinvictus can I ask did you hire a car when you went to seefeld? I am wondering if this holiday could be done using local trains. Or if it is really necessary for a car

Craig tara in Scotland if you like caravan holidays. There's loads to do both on the camp site and in the local area

You can get a direct train to Seefeld from Munich-it’s worth spending a night in Munich as it’s a lovely city. Or if you fly to Innsbruck, the train to Seefeld takes about half an hour from the town centre-no idea how you get from airport to town. You can also use the train to visit Mittenwald-a very pretty Town just over the border in Germany.

No, no car. I don't drive.

We did Innsbruck to Seefeld on the train (downloaded the OBB app and got DD a Jugend card as well to save money) Seefeld is only half hour from Innsbruck so back and forth from there a few times. Mittenwald in Germany on the same line in the other direction. From Mittenwald there's a bus to Garmisch-Partenkirchen where we walked around and over the fabulous gorge. Also from Garmisch you can get to the Zugspitze mountain.

Oh it was fab!

X with @MrsRachelDanvers 😂

The Turku Archipelago in Finland, thousands of islands, quirky villages and total peace.

Perfect thanks. Train from Munich sounds nice. What did your days entail? I would like to do a little walking in pretty places and some nice outdoor pools for kids (12 and 14) would be nice.

We did one day hiking (it's quite gentle hiking and the paths are well signposted with difficulty etc- we picked ones that passed by lakes wherever possible for swimming halfway) and one day visiting somewhere etc etc. So: hike-Innsbruck-hike-Mittenwald/Garmisch-hike-Garmisch/Zugspitze. (The Mittenwald day included about a 3 hour walk over the gorge)

We'd have liked to pull in Munich and Salzburg which are both doable by train but wouldn't have been back for the amazing 4 course dinner! 😂

Similar to lots of other suggestions. We went to Zell am See in the Austrian Alps this summer with our 9 year old son.

Flew Manchester to Salzburg and got a taxi from there to Zell but there is also a train.

Stayed in a hotel which was lovely-beautiful hotel, immaculately clean and had a pool and spa area. Was quite a small hotel which was lovely as it didn't feel impersonal or over busy. Food was amazing!

So much to do in the area - castle, visit Salzburg, indoor and outdoor pools in Zell, gorges you can walk up, mini golf, boating on the lake, high mountain reservoirs plus cable cars up various mountains where you can walk.

We used buses and trains to get around and they were great.

One thing I would say is, Austria can be expensive. Our hotel gave us a summer card which included free entry to lots of attractions and the cable cars. Plus free travel on local buses and trains. Saved us an absolute fortune so well worth looking for somewhere that offers this. We were also half board in the hotel so all food was included.

Loved it so much we are going again next year.

I love Finland. We visit Tampere and Kotka iften as we have family there. Bear watching on the Russian border is amazing.

Denmark. Been twice, both on 'swap' holidays where a Danish family stayed in our house and we stayed in theirs, so essentially free accomodation. First time was Nykobing Mors, on an island in the fjord that splits Jutland. Fabulous. Skagen beautiful. Clean clear blue sky but not too hot to do things. Particularly loved Mariager salt centre. Only slight disappointment was Copenhagen, but I'm not a city person at the best of times.

We love a French campsite. The Sandaya ones we have been to have all been lovely.

We also had a great holiday in San Sebastian a few years back. Beautiful beach and amazing food.

San Diego was good. Kids a bit underwhelmed by LA.

Dordogne

We had a good city break in Lisbon a few years ago, dc were 6 and 4, that's a nice city.

My friends are out there at the moment for a festival and they said it’s fabulous.

Im getting real pangs of regret I turned down offer to go.

@SamW98 we go most summers, it's such a lovely place, do go if you get the opportunity again.

@PikachuEars You haven’t really said what you might spend.

Iceland isn’t more expensive than Denmark or the Alpine countries. My DC would have been bored stiff interailing. They actually liked spending time in places, not the rushing about.

Successful holidays we had in school summer holidays were Alaska, Peru, South Africa, Boston and Cape Cod (you could go elsewhere from Boston), British Virgin Islands, Kenya and Brittany.

@PumpkinPie2016 this sounds wonderful 🤩. Please will you PM me the name of the hotel, thank you!