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?

DD was a young teen when we went but in general you will find playgrounds everywhere.

I must admit, the Black Forest was my least favourite region we did.
i much prefer Frankonia but then that’s where we lived before coming to the UK.

Frankfurt may not be the cheapest airport as it’s either BA or Lufthansa but you have good luggage allowance included.

No idea about trains, sorry, we either had a rental car or drove.
If you are taking public transport do research properly how to access hikes or attractions.

If you're concerned about heat, you could do worse than Belfast as a base to explore NI generally. It's such an accessible place to explore, and won't be rammed in summer either.

Aviemore if you're willing to stay in the UK.
Eurocamp?
Check centre parcs in Europe which can be much cheaper than the UK equivalent if you can avoid Europe school holidays.
Billund for Legoland and other attractions

Eurocamp in The Dordogne.

San Sebastián, Biarritz and Strasbourg and their environs are all really lovely. We had a lovely week in St Malo when DS was little.

@Mummabear04 Everywhere is hotter! There’s no escaping heat. Well maybe Iceland and north Norway! South of Uk, it’s a lottery!

We are going to Morzine in French alps it’s so fun loads and loads to do for kids and you could get a nice Airbnb for £1500. Really nice town too

I appreciate that but there are also places in Central and Eastern Europe where you can pretty much guarantee that temperatures won't exceed 30° whereas the temperatures in Western Europe have been mad crazy the past few years.

I was asking in general in terms of mountainous regions where the temperature can be lower.

How is it for spending money once you're there? Is it expensive?

Is £1500 enough for these suggestions?

Have a look at Lakes and Mountains holidays. We’ve done mayrhofen and Zell am See. For Zell, consider hotel packages. Half board and guest card which includes all the cable cars and a lot of activities. Came out really good value on total holiday price because most was covered.

Other idea - Eurocamp. Good value accommodation, self catering. Plenty in walking distance of beach.

Have a look at Duinrell. Ticks plenty of boxes - in a forest with lovely walks, can cycle to beach (hire avail including bikes with trailers) theme park and the pool complex (certain times), slides etc perfectly suits 3-16 year olds, easy flight into AMS (usually an hour or less), then train direct from airport to Leiden (about 25 mins) go regularly, then either bus to Waasenar or taxi (probably not cheap for but about a 15 min ride) No forced entertainment, kids often make friends in the large playpark. Shop on site (also restaurant and bar and food choices). Loads of accom options from their main website, or you can get eurocamp etc. Always felt safe, nature and family oriented. You can deposit bags in reception if you arrive on earlier flight. We went a bit off season so all was good, not sure what it would be like in main season. Hope this helps x

@Mummabear04its not that bad, I mean it’s still a ski resort so not the cheapest but in the town you can get reasonably priced meals and drinks, and there are normal supermarkets. They do this thing called a multi pass if you stay in certain accommodation and then you can get a pass for €3 a day per person where you can get on all the ski lifts, use the pools in Morzine and Avoriaz and a bunch of kids activities all in with the €3.

Oh that's good to know, that's a great deal!

Probably not but good ideas to work with!

@Mummabear04

Free or reduced rate tourist cards are a feature of many Alpine resorts.

Saalbach-Hinterglemm has the Joker Card, which is free to guests (it is provided by the hotels and apartment owners) and gives free access to the local cable cars, the outdoor lido, the mini-golf, the museum, the local buses and several other attractions. We worked out that for a family of 4, the card represented a saving of about €400 over a week compared with what we would have paid if we had needed to pay for the individual cable car tickets, lido admission etc.

Zell am See has a similar free "Sommercard" for guests.

Something else that we like about this area is that all public transport is free for tourists. This includes the trains and buses throughout the whole Salzburgerland region. The hotels and apartments provide guests with a "Mobility Card" which is valid for the entire stay, including the arrival and departure days. This includes the travel to and from the resort - e.g. from Salzburg Airport to the resort and back again on the daparture day.

We went to Croatia this summer and had an amazing time. Hired a Airbnb cottage near plitvice lake with unreal views and the kids adored it, we then drove to Slovenia and swam in lake bled and generally did loads of cool beautiful stuff. Was genuinely the best family holiday