Beach holiday with lone teenager

[cornishone]

What do you do with teenagers on their own?

We have a difficult situation. Our eldest son died four years ago, and now our younger son is on his own. This makes holidays (well everything really) very difficult as he is on his own, but also not used to being on his own.

When they were younger, we did Eurocamp, but we can't go back there, and I think DS is too old for it anyway (he's 15).

Since our son died we have done holidays with friends, taken DS's friend with us in the UK, and a Nielsen holiday, which all worked well.

We want to go abroad in the summer but Nielsen is too expensive, and we didn't get our money's worth (DS is super sporty but DH and I not so much).

Many of the places I've been looking at have stuff for kids but not for teens. He is worried about being bored if it's just the three of us.

We'd like Europe but not super hot in August, so looking at Croatia, Italian Lakes etc.

All help gratefully received.

What about somewhere with a surf school? Portugal maybe.

Cruise?

What about a city like Barcelona or Malaga which has a beach but also a wealth of activities?

Take a look at Robinson Club resorts. Lots of activities all included in the price, great food, a good level of facilities and accommodation. They also have specific activities for teenagers, a club called Robs. 13+ and 15+ with youth leaders.

We took ours to Los Christianos in Tenerife last year and she loved it. We went room only, so spent a lot of time out and about, going out for breakfast and tea. Boat trips to see whales, day at the water park you could go on dune buggy trips etc. we had a few days by the pool or beach but because we were so busy she was happy to just lounge about on her phone for those days

I’m so sorry for your loss. ❤️

I have an only child DD13 and we’ve always done city breaks to keep busy with history and culture and fun things to explore as we’re not really sunbathers.

I just came on to try and research a sunny beach/villa destination as something new to do but I can’t get my head around what DD will do all day by herself in places like that once she’s had a bit of a dip and a sunbathe.

I’ll be following along for ideas but somewhere with a surf school and Barcelona city/beach are good suggestions!

Take a friend?

Thank you.

These suggestions are great. We do want to go to Barcelona but DS really wants to see a football match so we are saving it up for a city break.

We can't afford to take a friend abroad, and it feels cheeky to ask their parents to pay.

I think I need to convince DH that a week is long enough, and will check out your other suggestions.

València is a great choice for city & beach. Theres loads to do, but you can still chill at the beach or by the pool too. Lots of trips and adventures also

What sort of budget are you looking at?

Family tours (they do them in Europe as well as further afield) are good and they do some just for teens, but they are quite expensive.

There are some great theme parks in Europe if he likes that sort of thing. Train travel in Europe is easy and cheap and you could get from one country to another quite easily if you wanted? Eurocamp type sites can be a good base and cheaper than hotels.

if he’s 15 then GCSEs must be on the horizon this year or next which means a significantly cheaper holiday in June/early July? Possible then to take a friend?

Tenerife above is a good shout - Siam park water park is supposed to be the best in the world. Also things like surf lessons, scuba diving etc on offer. Jet2 and Tui have some good deals on at present.

Would he be interested in doing a PADI dive course? That would keep him pretty busy over a week, and there would probably be others doing the courses as well.

If you look at May/June and consider places like Turkey the standard of hotels are fab! They offer football camps and offer football, water sports and good evening entertainment.

I always holiday with just me and DS I'm just careful about choosing a good hotel.

Austria or the Alps? Plenty of outdoor activities but hotels or chalets you could also chill at.