Ideas for post A-level holiday for non-clubby sensible teen boys?

[CurlyhairedAssassin]

DS wants to go on a group holiday abroad with his friends (12 of them in total). They're a bit disorganised with planning and a bit naiive about some things. ie they'd prefer a villa with a pool but haven't considered that most are quite rural, they wouldn't have a car and none of them cook much! Most villas also have double beds in some of the rooms so not sure they'd be up for sharing beds.

They are all sensible, not big drinkers, not wanting a clubbing type of place. Just want to hang out together having a laugh before they go off to uni. Maybe go to the beach for a couple of hours.

Is it doable? Any other ideas?

Could they stay in an apart hotel or a bungalow complex centrally located with a shared pool? They'll need 2-4 'rooms' between them depending on number of beds, but if they go to Spain, in my experience, the beds are normally separate anyway, they're just pushed together to make a double.

They could ask somewhere like Jet 2 holidays, call/email with what they want and see what they suggest - a package would be good as the flight, transfer and hotel are all sorted for them.

https://www.jet2holidays.com/group-holidays

Or book separate - somewhere like Fuengirola in Spain might suit, not a clubbing place, attracts holidaymakers from many nationalities, including Spanish. Fly to Malaga, transfer by train, accommodation in town, lots of restaurants, supermarkets, beach.

Thanks, @BarbaraofSeville , I had a quick look at the group holidays on Jet2 holidays and at the cheap end I could mainly just see those Vibe hotels which seem to have poolside DJs, "lively pool scene" etc. I don't think that's "them". Most are non-drinkers, not up for drinking (a couple are Muslim). Probably what would suit them most is a family style of hotel only without the families 😂eg somewhere with a few activities like football pitch, crazy golf, table tennis, pool tables etc. The only hotels I can see with those type of things all seem to have kids clubs, children's equipment in the main pool etc, which they obviously wouldn't want.

I'll keep looking for them and have a look at Fuengirola. Thankyou.

It's not cheap but something like Neilsons, Club la Santa or Mark Warner might suit if they're into doing activities.

Does it have to be a beach holiday?

What about an active holiday in the Alps? Hiking, mountain biking, paragliding, swimming in lakes, Go Ape-style climbing parks, zip wires, white water rafting ...

I went to Barcelona at that age. Beach, cultural stuff, bars and clubs of course but nice cafes too. Maybe try and time it with a music festival.

Lisbon is a great place - beach is easy to get to by train and restaurants and quieter bars are really inexpensive I think. Tons to do as well like forts, museums and aquariums etc.

Barcelona would be great too!

What about going on a boat together? There are holidays on yachts in Corfu that might suit but they will have to share! Or would they look at holidays for singles via a company like Exodus? Something a bit different. My DD.1 did multi centre Italian cities. They could do similar in Spain.

My son hiked Mont Blanc with a group of friends, staying in refuges. They wild camped in Scotland after GCSEs, walking the Southern Upland Way, so it's something they are keen on doing.

Other friends' children who didn't want totally hedonist/boozy trips, have done trips to Lisbon, villa in Greece, gone interailing, or gone to the Alps - tennis, swimming, cycling (and more hiking)!

Over a decade ago I stayed here in Tenerife https://www.sunshine.co.uk/hotels/malibu_park_aparthotel-2278.html

it was cheap and cheerful and quite a bit of a walk from Playa Americas. It was definitely walkable to the beach and back and walkable to lots of little shops and bars and cafes in the Costa adeje area which I think is nicer than Playa anyway. So might suit for a quieter holiday away from the main bustle but with enough going on. Probably a 15 min walk to the beach and would be over 30 mins to Playa. But check on a map because it was ages ago.

What about an activity style holiday for them? I did a quick google and thought maybe something along these lines? Not sure what their budget is…

https://www.muchbetteradventures.com/products/10529-adventures-canyons-to-coast-adventure-in-northern-spain/

They need to sort their own holiday out. There’s something really cringey about a mum sorting their 18 year old’s holiday out 🙄

Nerja? Accessible without a car if they get a villa not too far inland.

Do they like music? In my former pre kids life I used to go to the FIB festival in Benicassim in Spain. We used to stay in a hotel with a pool so hang out / relax on the daytime. The festival is in the evening/ overnight (but you don't need to be there till 6am!). It is (was?) a lovely relaxed laid back festival. I loved it!

And it's usually at the end of July so good timing for post-exams.

What about a eurocamp with lots of activities for adults? Somewhere by train? Or a culture train hopping visit staying at hostels seeing Europe?

They might be better off splitting into subgroups and booking 2 or 3 apartments or villas in the same place rather than looking for somewhere that will accomodate them all. That would probably increase their options considerably as places large enough to accomodate 12 are less common and quite a lot of bigger places refuse single sex groups anyway.
Mallorca would be a good place to consider. Although it obviously does have resorts like Magaluf that are the exact opposite of what they're after, there are lots of much quieter parts of the island and there are a lot of different things to see and do within a fairly small geographical area. Lots of cheap flights too.
Malta might also be worth a look. The beaches aren't great - more of a rocky coastline than sandy - but plenty of watersports and loads of history if they are that way inclined. Plus the buses are really good. We almost always hire a car on holiday but didn't bother in Malta as we could get everywhere we wanted on the buses for less money

I think they need to be a bit more forthcoming about what they want. There's 12 of them - someone must have some ideas or have been somewhere they think might suit?

I think you'll struggle to find somewhere youthful/fun without being family friendly or party town. I don't think Neilson et al are first teen holiday territory, plus expensive.

I vaguely know a group of Bromancers and they tend to go to lake/mountain/forest type places so they can cycle/hike/swim/kayak/hang out.

German lakes maybe? Italy? Croatia? Poland? B&B or aparthotel is probably their best bet for accommodation. Slovenia might also be a good shout. Maybe twin center something with a nearby city? Krakow with Zakopane; Lake Garda with Venice, Florence or Milan; if they go to south/south west Germany (Bavaria or Baden) they could possibly also go to Europa Parc if they like theme parks.

Much Better Adventures do loads of cool short or longer breaks. DD went kayaking with friends around some fjords in Norway, and they are looking at doing similar around Greece I think next year.