Help with holiday ideas

[Applewater]

I’m on the search for a holiday (last week of July is the only time available to us unfortunately) that will fit the following criteria

not too hot - ideally around mid to late 20s

lots of exploring in the nearby area that can be done - the teen isn’t a fan of staying in one place and loves to explore different places

within a budget of 5k (not necessarily including meals) for 4 of us

water slides

flight of less than 5 hours and ideally not needing to hire a car

any ideas very much appreciated! Thanks so much

Duinrell in the Netherlands. It’s got lots of waterslides in an indoor tropical swimming complex and it’s attached to a theme park. It’s an easy cycle to a sandy beach (cycle hire is onsite and the surrounding area is as flat as a pancake) and the nearest town, which has several good attractions. It took us about 30mins to cycle to Madurodam which was one of the DC’s favourite days out.

Thanks so much I have been checking this one out! I’m just wondering about the weather- is it a bit risky or is it generally nice there? I’ve read it’s very similar to the uk and so a bit worried we could have a week of rain. The park itself looks brilliant. Did you fly or drive there?

weve had two good family hols in the Netherlands. Loads to do and not a big place. Good weather (not hot though)

Both times we took our own car on the ferry, once from Harwich and the second time from Hull. I wouldn’t recommend driving to Harwich from the north- never again! Driving on the Dutch side dead easy though

Italian lakes? You can fly/public transport to campsite such as Eurocamp which would give you water slides, lots of public trains/buses/ferries to explore local area, weather should be good…

We took the ferry to Rotterdam, but it’s also only half an hour from Rotterdam airport so flying is an option. We had two afternoons of light showers, so spent those afternoons swimming inside.

Any number of places in the Austrian, French or Italian Alps. Lakes and mountains galore and loads of outdoor activities. Plenty of historical towns too on the way to and from the mountains - e.g. Munich, Lyon, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Bolzano.

I wouldn’t do Alps or lakes.

would I meant!

Thanks I have also been thinking of the alps! I would absolutely love to go to Salzburg. These are really helpful ideas thank you.

@samlovesdilys are the Italian lakes very hot in July?

For inspiration you could look at the "Lakes and Mountains" programmes of the big tour operators (Crystal, Inghams etc). You don't need to travel with them, but you'll get an idea of which resorts are popular and what the weather, activities, transfer times etc are likely to be.

Ooh thank you that sounds helpful. I’ll take a look.