Can anyone help me find an August holiday with this stupid requirements list please?

[lemmity]

Looking for a 10(ish) night August holiday but cannot find anywhere that meets the below.

DC will be 13 and 10.

We can't go anywhere hotter than the UK, both kids are awful in the heat and refuse to leave the room. Spain last year was a nightmare, we managed the pool in the morning, room most of the bloody day and then evening meal in the restaurant.

Both want to swim all day every day. They love everywhere we've been that has an aquadome with slides. I am absolutely sick of spending my entire holiday freezing my arse off in a swimming pool. Could probably compromise with some swimming days.

We've all enjoyed theme park and waterpark holidays: Duinrell, Efteling, Legoland (Windsor and Denmark) Lalandia and Disneyland Paris. Disney world Florida a no-go because of the heat. Looked at Europa Park but it looks looks ridiculously expensive. I'm also a bit sick of theme parks too.

Holiday park wise we've done Center Parcs (UK only but Europe ones look pretty much identical?), Ribby Hall, Butlins, Crieff Hydro and Landal Green parks.

A city break would be great, but DC need separate rooms now from eachother and us. All airbnbs in cities seem to cost more than hotels and hotels don't seem to have anything with 3 rooms apart from presidential suites.

DH is happy with anywhere, so despite being zero help with organising at least he's not adding to the list of no's.

Any ideas very gratefully received!

I was going to suggest the Channel Islands, or even look at the Scilly Isles. Or Ireland? You could fly into Belfast and out of Dublin and hire a car to explore in between.

Or Eurostar to France, through Belgium and Netherlands and ferry back to UK.

Pierre et vacances have lots of sites and many have 3 bed accommodation (though why can't the dc share, it's just 10 days, i always shared with my brother on holiday). Normandy is a great option as it feels like a holiday as you have taken a ferry but it's only a short drive. The sites have pools (check individual sites of course).

Lots of history, my dc loved musee de Caen, Bayeux tapestry museum and we also went to the British cemetery in Bayeux plus the vast US one. There's a new monument in arromaches too, I've not seen it yet. They should be familiar with ww2, especially the older one and it puts d day into context well.

Great food in the area too. And if you don't fancy a holiday park there's plenty of other options which do drop in price away from the coast. Another advantage is that it's not overtly a family holiday destination (even though it is good for families) so the prices don't peak quite as much as some areas.

Village nature Paris is great https://www.centerparcs.eu/in-en/france/fpVNN_holiday-park-villages-nature-paris

Zell am see in Austria was fab, we stayed in an apartment but used the lake and municipal pool. Lots to do, weather comfortable and out kids loved it as did we.

Norwegian fjords, either a self drive or cruise. Stunning scenery, lots.of great outdoorsynstuff to do.

@lemmity
@Landlubber2019
I was coming on to suggest Zell am See too.
Accomodation that provides the summer card gives you free access to cable cars, lido, buses, indoor pool and much more.
Tonnes of hiking, high ropes, kayaking.
Day trip to Salzburg (or tag on a couple of nights there).
Bus from right outside the airport.
Car hire would be a waste of money.
Was brilliant with my same age teens.
Trip out during the day, lido for swimming mid-late afternoon.

I would say start laying down the law with dc. Do you always give them exactly what they want? Why can you not have what you want op? Start being assertive!

I would also say the Channel
islands - I prefer Guernsey to Jersey but the beaches and sea on both are fantastic for swimming, lots to see and do, other islands to visit and loads of places to eat.

I’d agree with Jersey for swimming (the sea is gorgeous and there are a myriad bays with different beaches), but the Merton pool is not going to keep teenagers happy for more than an hour. There’s a single small slide!

Iceland has loads of geothermally heated outdoor pools with water slides.

Plus it's UK temperature or a bit cooler weather wise.

Loads of other interesting things to see and do if you're outdoorsy or interested in science, nature and history.

It's expensive but you don't mention a particular budget and there's ways to reduce the cost such as city passes that cover swimming, buses and museums plus eating out at lunchtime then supermarket food in the evening with everyone pitching in.

Iceland is lovely in summer, but it would be a waste to spend all the time swimming. Don't forget it's your holiday too.

Cruise? Maybe Norway or Greenland.

Anywhere in the southern hemisphere (yes I know getting there is expensive) Argentina and Uruguay spring to mind.

Uruguay has places with hot springs so even though it is cooler you get to sit / swim in water of various temperatures.

Mendoza has lots of outdoor activities from hiking to paragliding as well as vineyards.

A 3 bed apartment in Montevideo is about £600 - £700 for 10 days.

Well someone else has suggested Switzerland and I’ve experienced hotter weather there in the summer than in the Canaries!

Also, the Canaries have a better all year round temperature with less extremes than Spain. I would never go to mainland Spain in August but I would go to the Canaries.

You've not stated a budget, but I'm guessing it's quite high if Disneyland Florida is only being rejected due to the heat.

Have you considered one of the high end holiday villages in the UK?

I've just done a quick search and you can get a week for two adults and two kids for £1452 for the first week in August.

https://silverlakedorset.com/

https://lowermillestate.com/

Why do your children need separate rooms?!

Potters resort is good in Norfolk

Centerparcs in Belgium/Holland are really good and cheaper than the UK ones. If you go in late August most children have gone back to school there, so it's quieter and even cheaper. We get the ferry to Calais then drive to Kempervennen or Vossemeren. They're close together and when staying at one you can get park access to the other for a change of scenery.

I feel your pain. We also have DC who hate the heat and love swimming so Centerparcs works for us. I sometimes book a long weekend to somewhere hot with my friends at another time, so it feels like I've done something I want as well!

Loved this place, and all the other Yelloh village sites we’ve been to.

www.yellohvillage.co.uk/camping/les_mouettes

What about a Seatle and Olympic national Park? Or trekking in Swiss Alps if you prefer in Europe.

How's your budget and how good are they at swimming? Swimtrek do family holidays for teens. They'll be so knackered after the swimming they might not have energy to complain

What about the Alps? If you went somewhere like Austria, for example, the you could do city visits as well to Salzburg or Innsbruck. There are often amazing swimming/slide complexes - often with amazing sauna/wellness areas for you to chill in. Also plenty to do in the summer with mountain toboggan runs, mountain biking, lakes etc

Germany! You can have everything from beach (North Sea and Baltic Sea) to mid-range like Frankonia to the Alps in southern Bavaria.

Lots of lakes, plenty of lidos or waterparks, history, cycling, hiking, large or small cities.

You can find lots of 3 bedroom s/c flats or houses, I would recommend a car though.

Thank you all so much, I'd given up hope finding anything and now I'm spoiled for choice.

Can I also suggest looking at Kinderhotels in Central Europe? Yours are getting a bit old for them in some ways but they make for a really easy family holiday. Plenty have some water slides etc, and they will often run teens programmes too with trips to various activities. They will have apartment-style rooms with multiple bedrooms.

We had a brilliant time at a Europarc in Belgium this summer - it was actually too chilly to swim outside until the last day but we went to the indoor pool (a short drive away) pretty much every day for a couple of hours. My kids are miserable in the heat too.

What about somewhere where they can swim outside so at least you can be in the sun? There are loads of europarcs with proper outdoor pools and you can get 3 bedroom caravan type options. We did a 3 bedroom one to have more options for sleeping (my husband snores and my daughter still has nightmares so it's a bit of musical beds here) and it wasn't much more expensive than the smaller ones. We vastly prefer having our own kitchen as well.

I have limited patience for indoor swimming but plenty for lounging outside while my kids swim - particularly if yours are stronger swimmers than mine as I still have to be watching them all the time.

I'd also consider October instead if it's an option - we went to Cyprus this October and it was perfect.