Where are you going for summer with young kids? (No package holidays!)

[Mummabear04]

Looking for some holiday inspiration, kids will be 6 years and just turned 4 years, late June/early July. We usually go airbnb and like to explore, package holidays aren't really our thing and we dont like to spend too much money ie under £1500 for accommodation for a week and cheapish flights.

Usually like to be outside in nature, at the beach/forest/mountains/lakes but also with things to keep the kids occupied (playparks/rope courses/fun activities). Any suggestions?

Hiring a motorhome and staying at a Scottish beach. Can’t wait!

The Pembrokeshire coast. We go every other year.

This year we went to an Austrian village in Styria (relatives have a holiday home there) and Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance.

Germany. We are from there so slightly biased but if you like self catering and outdoors, the country is great.

Baltic coast, mid-mountain ranges in Frankonia, Black Forest, Palatinate/Alsace border, Lake Constance, Bavarian Alps, the latter two may be more expensive as they are very popular.

You most likely will get more a flat than a house but you have plenty of public pools, fun pools, lidos if the weather is good.

If you look for not so popular airports you may need a car though.

French campsites have everything you’re looking for.

I was actually wondering about the black forest! We would need to fly into Frankfurt and then would a train take us there? Is there anywhere you would recommend staying and do you know of any fun walks/areas? Are there lots of playparks dotted around? I've visited a friend in Karlsruhe before but that's as close to the area as I've made it and I've only ever been to Germany before kids.

Oooo which beach? I've been tempted by this too but not sure if I would like guaranteed sunshine and warmth!

How is Austria with young kids? Are there lots of playparks and activities?

Any suggestions?

Scarborough- we go to either Filey or Scarborough every year. Usually a caravan park but next year it's a hotel because I'm quite tired of cooking and washing up on my holiday.

The French Alps. Either fly to marseille and get train / hire car to Gap / Argentiere / Briancon. Or go direct on the train via Paris. We had many holidays there when kids were young - and still do!

Following!
I like the idea of the alps this year

i took my kids to Beg Meil in Brittany in the summer. We got a special deal on an overnight ferry to France then drove/camped. The beaches were just stunning and overall didn’t find it too busy even though it was August. We only had 7 days though which wasn’t quite long enough!

would also recommend Albania - stunning scenery and great value for money

We did a nice self drive trip through Croatia when the kids were that age, but we went October half-term, I think in the summer it would be over your budget. Flew into Split and out of Pula, and went to Plitvice Lakes and Istria. We also did a lovely Loire chateau trip in the May half-term of the following year, flew to Nantes but again we hired a car (which obviously increases the cost) and possibly it would be quite challenging to do without one as the chateaus are sometimes in the middle of nowhere. This was all pre-COVID, the kids are 11+ now, but I still avoid package holidays.

@Mummabear04 We used to take the dc at that age to Normandy or Brittany. Stay in a gite in a static caravan in a holiday park. My dc liked a pool at the holiday park and we found a lot to do in both areas of France. Lots of places to visit and my dc, in the end, liked meeting other dc at activities in the holiday park too.

The best area for us was Trinite Sur Mer in Brittany. Great beaches and everything you could want. Carnac area worth looking at. Camping de la Baie from memory? We also stayed in the St Malo and Dinard areas.

We used to take the dc at that age to Normandy or Brittany. Stay in a gite in a static caravan in a holiday park. My dc liked a pool at the holiday park and we found a lot to do in both areas of France. Lots of places to visit and my dc, in the end, liked meeting other dc at activities in the holiday park too.
The best area for us was Trinite Sur Mer in Brittany. Great beaches and everything you could want. Carnac area worth looking at. Camping de la Baie from memory? We also stayed in the St Malo and Dinard areas.

You have saved me a lot of time writing as this is exactly what we did.
I dont have young kids anymore but we did this exact holiday for about 12 years!!
Dh used to like the drive. We are from Lancashire and would drive down once the kids got home from school on Friday and get the ferry. We would drive maybe an hour and stop over and come tinted next morning.

The holidays were simple but fabulous!
We got into a routine. Dh would go to the shop for fresh pastries for breakfast, then kids club. After lunch we would go and explore a town or go to the beach. In the afternoon the kids lived going to the pool with me or dad and we would go out for a meal and finish of in the club house.

We loved this camp site

https://www.eurocamp.co.uk/campsites/france/brittany/le-ty-nadan-campsite?cq_src=google_ads&cq_cmp=17989237806&cq_con=148462249375&cq_term=eurocamp%20le%20ty%20nadan&cq_med=&cq_plac=&cq_net=g&cq_pos=&cq_plt=gp&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=17989237806&gclid=CjwKCAiAwqHIBhAEEiwAx9cTeVZ0uBI5qgl1ovmGN3915R17rY45SS5keu_wqjGH1kcVJtTPHd8BXRoC760QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Based on even the village we stayed in because of the free accommodation (Groebming), I’d say yes OP. There’s plenty of threads on here about the Austrian alps if you search.

The Austrian Alps are great for families with young kids (and also for teenagers).

Somewhere like Saalbach-Hinterglemm has playparks at the top station of every cable car and in the village centres, free access to the 5 cable cars, Europe's largest rope park (with a mini-parcours for the smaller kids), a free open-air lido with pools and flumes, treasure-hunt trails on two of the mountains with prizes for the kids at the end, two mini-golf courses ... 15 minutes down the road is Zell am See which has a beautiful lake in stunning surroundings, or the summer Alpine Coaster at Kaprun and the summer snow park on the glacier at Kitzsteinhorn.

Many of the hotels have pools and spa areas, and even some of the apartment complexes have their own pools. Search on airbnb for self-catering options, but also look at the summer programmes of the major tour operators (Crystal, Inghams, Nielsen etc) for ideas.

Family summer holidays | Saalbach Hinterglemm

I'd recommend Ile d'oleron! Stay in a euro camp and cycle all over the island. Absolutely wonderful for those ages

@notacooldad Ha! Great minds etc. My dc aren’t this age any more either but these holidays really worked. We are 90 mins from Portsmouth and got overnight ferry to St Malo.

One other bonus was babysitting service. We used this for me and dh to go out for a meal - we found an amazing Michelin starred restaurant! Happy days.

We had a great time here in May https://www.yellohvillage.co.uk/camping/les_grands_pins?gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21849681022&gbraid=0AAAAADnQR1I1k3xPEyvLh4uIU1FUX3GpZ&gclid=CjwKCAiAwqHIBhAEEiwAx9cTeYen9rFl0At3UhyYSi03BUcyGfsN99MBjOyTDlm9T3MsJ0jXZwZUnxoC8ToQAvD_BwE

DS was 11 but there were lots of younger children. We hired bikes to explore the pine woods.

Definitely looking into this it sounds great!

For those of you recommending eurocamps in France...Just wondering what they are like? We went to centre parks during the October break and I wasn't really a fan. I found that there was no off the track trails for the kids to explore and it was all too busy with too much organised fun for us (if that makes sense without sounding boring!) We took the kids bikes but they're not that into cycling so more walking/climbing suits us. Our kids wouldn't go to a kids club either.

Activities we've enjoyed on previous holidays are swimming, play parks, art galleries, mini trains, zoo, ropes course, some nice cafes with a sweet treat for the kids. Just looking for a balance between mostly being in the outdoors but with bits and pieces here and there rather than scheduled activities.

Many a holiday at a French campsite (in a static)
We always drive (SE, so good links for ferries/eurotunnel)

One of our favorites - La Rive - is a long drive but this can be made easier by getting a ferry from Portsmouth to Santander or Bilbao and driving up.

Also what are the temperatures like during early July? I'm a little concerned that summer heatwaves just seem to be the norm now!

Temperatures can vary between 15 and 30 deg C. If it is warm in the valley it is up to 10 deg cooler up on the mountain and there are wooded glades to walk through as well. It is rare for temperatures to get much above 30 deg - mid- to high 20's are most usual in July and August.