Destinations in europe with kids, that dont feel like europe

[Giulemani]

Any ideas where to go in europe , that has different vibes from the famous europe tourist spots? Not slovenia germany italy etc.. something diff , or maybe places that are worth visiting without that tourist craze.

Albania?

Finland?
Northern Ireland

First thought is Albania too

Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Helsinki, Stockholm, Latvia/Riga.

Am open for all suggestions :)

What types of things do you like doing? Hiking? City tours? Beach? What time of year?

Denmark/Norway /Sweden/Finland

Ireland

Romania?

I loved Denmark with small children in particular. We were an hour or two away from Copenhagen on the coast. It had beautiful sandy beaches, castles to visit, you could hop over to Sweden by ferry. Very child friendly with lots of playgrounds. An easy train ride to Copenhagen.

Copenhagen has a an amazing aquarium and lots to see. Only place I didn't like was the zoo.

I don't think we came across any other English tourists when we were staying in the countryside, but there were quite a few in Copenhagen itself.

People were really friendly and helpful

Mid sept.with a 4 yr old . Hiking , beaches , adventures any.am open for anything :)

Is denmark expensive?

To be honest if you are wanting hiking, it's relatively easy to find interesting places away from the usual tourist areas. Northern Spain for example, isn't big on man united and a full English!

Albania, Montenegro, and Croatia (best between Split & Dubrovnik - look at Krka falls for example) I'd also consider northern Greece and Cyprus.

It’s a long time since I have travelled with a 4 year old, so I can’t directly recommend places with lots of child-friendly things to do. For affordability and something different I would go further east.

Or could you make getting there part of the adventure? Catch a ferry to Santander in northern Spain,
https://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/offers/ferry/flexi?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=TOY_2025_UK_Search_Conversion_Brand_Top%20Keyword&utm_content=cpc%20generic&utm_term=brittany%20ferries&infinity=ict2~net~gaw~cmp~UK%20%7C%20Search%20%7C%20Ferries%20%7C%20Brand~ag~UK%20%7C%20Search%20%7C%20Brand%20%7C%20Ferries%20%7C%20Top%20Keyword~ar~726005595832~kw~brittany%20ferries~mt~e&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADvWFeyBMtA5stx4Vp1UYNud4e5Sr&gclid=Cj0KCQiAhbi8BhDIARIsAJLOlucZ-xZ43FWE5NtV5zP6wWjYTHsuXg68s1w61vf_3yncn1TgvI2gq9oaAhADEALw_wcB
The coast there is beautiful.

or pick up an inter rail pass for the week. It could help you access places that are off the main tourist track.
https://www.interrail.eu/en/interrail-passes/global-pass?gclsrc=aw.ds&&utm_source=google&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD8teh8gNXF6H0noQXRlKJDrpwRok&gclid=Cj0KCQiAhbi8BhDIARIsAJLOlucCn0q1T_mCO8E_tVa5xLc4wl6GGv6jE4Mp--sD4hrLaZ8ZoRELFCEaAi-sEALw_wcB

Malta and Gibraltar. Very British due to having been commonwealth countries.

Wales has all of your requisites.

Iceland doesn’t really feel like anywhere else in Europe.

There are thousands of dull industrial towns that are nothing like the "famous europe tourist spots". But I guess that's not what you mean.

What I think you are asking for is basically a unicorn: Somewhere that is really nice for tourists but doesn't actually have (m)any tourists. Maybe this was possible in the pre-Internet era, but these days, if a place is nice, it will have people visiting it. I'm guessing you also want it to have nice hotels and restaurants too, but then those will also have tourists.

It's absolutely possible to put together a tour of Europe, or even one country, where you visit only less-visited places which are still very nice. There are 3 or 4 countries that I know well enough to put an itinerary of that type together. But you would need to start by saying how long, what month, who's in the party, what sort of stuff you enjoy, roughly what your per-day budget for accommodation and food is (if you have to ask if Denmark is expensive, there are several countries that you probably want to avoid), and how much travelling versus sightseeing you are planning to do.

Madeira, the Azores

Iceland? Looks like the moon, not (sort of) Europe.

The Lake District.

Somewhere like Texel - or islands off the German/Dutch coast? Poland? Jura in France which seems quiet. Norway is beautiful if you can cope with the exorbitant price of wine. There are probably loads of place with no tourists, but maybe that's for a reason.

@Giulemani

With a 4 year old in the middle of September, I would consider the Isles of Scilly.

You can fly there in a little plane or helicopter. You can travel between the islands on little boats, there will be seals, maybe a whale or dolphins, all kinds of birds.

There will definitely be beaches and adventures galore!

The food is very good there, there is a wide choice.

www.visitislesofscilly.com/

The Balkans! Just a short journey away, it's a more affordable alternative to mainstream European destinations, you can find peaceful spots without the crowds, offering a refreshing change of pace. With a less developed, more authentic charm and with a unique vibe.
Are you craving an outdoor adventure or a vibrant city escape?

Am looking at albania at the moment, has mountains, old towns , beach..looks like a good holiday

You said no Germany but there are plenty of areas which don't have the hords of foreign tourists.

Bavaria , Black Forest or Lake Constace are just small portions of the country.

If you want beaches, the Baltic Sea is nice, go to the Eastern part of it. The North Sea has more remote stretches but the islands are nice but maybe not for the full 2 weeks.

If you want mountains, the Rhön, Harz or Frankonia are lovely mid-range areas. Plenty of tourists but hardly overrun by foreign visitors. I think we didn't hear any English when we went to the Harz 18 months ago apart from one couch full of Japanese on a Europe trip.

Albania is nice, one of my colleagues is from there and she always says, people should go more, there is a lot to offer but it's less developed for your fly-and-flop Brit who wants an English pub and menus in 6 languages.