Northern European holiday inspiration

[WhereAreWeNow]

We usually head to France or Spain for summer holidays but the last couple of years have been uncomfortably hot. I'm wondering if we should try a holiday in northern Europe. Germany or maybe Scandinavia. But I only think of those countries in terms of city breaks and culture.
Can anyone recommend any relaxing summer holiday ideas that won't break the bank? Maybe a lake or river?
We're travelling with older teens who are pretty laid back and don't need lots of activities or entertainment.

This is such a lovely place to stay in the Netherlands https://www.kleinewolf.nl/en/

Another Vote for Holland - Duinrell . It has a good pool complex, is adjacent to a small theme park (ideal for teens) and is in a good location for exploring.

The Netherlands
Den Hague - city and a 10 minute tram ride to the beach. Great beach bars too.

Bergen, also The Netherlands. We cycled out to the most gorgeous white beaches.

The Netherlands is so easy to get around by train. Amsterdam, especially cool Amsterdam Noord, Rotterdam again urban cool.

Or the islands of Texel.

I'd book holiday houses in a couple of places and move around.

German Baltic Sea or North Sea (Norderney or Sylt are lovely islands)
If you like hiking there is tons of areas to explore, Frankonia in Northern Bavaria, the French/German border around Palatinate
Lake Constanz (Bodensee), stay on the German side, it's cheaper
Bavaria has Chiemsee and Starnberger See

Funen, Denmark

I'm looking at the Black Forest this summer. Baden Baden has spas, Freiberg sounds pretty and there are lakes at Tititisee and Schluchsee.

I might start in Stockholm and travel down to Malmo. Plenty to see and do around the coast. Then go from Malmo to Copenhagen and sightsee and fly home.

Shamelessly following

Another vote for Lake Constance/ Bodensee on the German side. Lots of nice towns on the lake to choose from (such as Lindau, Wasserburg, Überlingen, Meersburg) and lots have a Freibad on the lakeshore with outdoor pool and lake swimming with a lifeguard, and are great for days chilling by the lake and enjoying the view. You can get the passenger ferry to Austria or Switzerland or hop along the lake to other towns. The weather is usually nice and warm but generally not too hot and the water will be warmer than Scandinavia!

Oh wow. These are amazing suggestions. I hadn't ever considered Dutch beaches and I haven't heard of many of the German places mentioned. I'm going to get Googling! Thank you.

West coast of Denmark (Henne Strand, Vejers, Blåvand, or the island of Fanø); fly to Billund and look in on the Lego House - or the east of Jutland (Ebeltoft, Aarhus, Randers) from Aarhus airport. Or Bornholm (train/bus then ferry from Copenhagen). The Copenhagen area has beaches as well as culture and can be combined with Malmo in Sweden.

Perhaps the German Baltic coast - e.g. Lübeck, Rügen

Or Lake Constance (Bodensee) in Germany. Or a bit further south any of the Alpine countries - e.g. fly to Salzburg and look at the Salzkammergut lake district, or Zell am See/Saalbach/Hinterglemm.

There are beach side hotels in Scheveningen near the Hague.

I've actually just been looking at the coast around Malmo. Is Malmo itself nice?

Malmö is fine, but for beaches you'd be better off in Denmark and looking at the beaches around Copenhagen. It's even possible to swim in the centre of the city in the harbour bathing areas - imagine surviving an attempt at doing that in London 😰

@WhereAreWeNow There are beaches in Skane - the southern part of Sweden. Fairly undiscovered by Brits. It’s countryside like East Anglia with small villages and a laid back culture. Visit Sweden’s web site gives you more info.

Yes, that's the area I've been looking at @TizerorFizz
Have you been? Is it nice?

The authorities test the water quality daily in the harbour swimming areas and shut them if it’s poor. The weather had turned when we visited so I decided against swimming in them. However I noticed they were also very deep, some 5+ metres, so I wouldn’t have been brave enough either.

But lots of murders if the Wallander novels are to believed. 😉

@WhereAreWeNow No but DD has and gave me lots of details. I’m not sure how developed the beaches are but DD said it was lovely. Just natural!

You can of course get to Denmark very easily from Malmo! So try both.

@TizerorFizz "I’m not sure how developed the beaches are but DD said it was lovely. Just natural!"

If by "developed" you mean beaches with a promenade (like Weymouth or many Spanish resorts) or with shops, fun fairs, bars and arcades (Blackpool, Great Yarmouth etc.) you'll be pleased (or disappointed) to hear that nothing like this really exists in Scandinavia. Beaches are natural, with sand dunes, forests or grassy areas right down to the shoreline and there are limits on how close to the shoreline developments are allowed to be built.

Some typical pictures from the Danish West Coast:

@Havanananana I saw from DDs photos they were natural beaches. I just meant the odd loo and beach hut selling drinks. I know it’s not built up. Sometimes DC do need a loo!

No beach huts or loos actually on the beaches. These will be located close by at the access points - i.e. the car parks and villages just behind the dunes/fields/woods. Once you get away from these points there are no facilities.

The picture on the right is Henne Strand. The beach is so long and wide - it stretches for mile after mile - that it's possible to land a plane on it. Which the Danish Air Force demonstrated a few years ago. The view from the cockpit gives an idea of just how unspoilt and natural the area is.

I'd also look at Stockholm down to Malmo and Copenhagen. Tons to do in that journey. Some of the islands of Stockholm are fascinating.

About an hour /hour and a half north of Malo are beautiful beaches facing the Baltic Sea.