May half term with 8 and 13 year old children - walking tours?

[Positanos]

Single mum trying to wean 8 and 13 year old children off resort holidays to see a bit more of the real world for a few days over May half term. Short haul flight to somewhere not too cold would be nice. Inn to inn walking or something else we could do by public transport. Im not a city person, so somwhere naturally scenic would be lovely. Are there destinations and tour operators you can recommend, please?

So when you say inn to inn…. Do you mean carrying backpacks?

@Sourandsweet1 the sort where the operator transports your luggage to the next inn while you carry a small backpack with what you need for the day.

Budget?

If they love resort holidays (as mine do!), why not book something like that but with the opportunity of hikes and exploring local sights / cities?

Because I know they will then never leave the pool / resort. I just need to get them away from a beach/ pool to the great outdoors. But not a camping type of holiday.

The key is…. Morning activity like hiking or similar

back mid afternoon for swimming and beach. That’s what I do and works really well.

8 years old? This kind of walking holiday will be boring, and prob for teen too . Save it I would for a few years yet.

This looks fun and reasonably priced. We had a friend who took ds2 and I on walking holidays at this age with her son and the boys loved it. Sorry for the long link - I've forgotten how to do links . . .

www.thenaturaladventure.com/tours/spain/walking-in-malaga-centre-based/?_gl=1ljdbyh_upMQ.._gsMQ.._gaMTY4NTA2MDcwOS4xNzc3NzMyNDM4_ga_Y8LEQRMQS6czE3Nzc3MzI0MzkkbzEkZzAkdDE3Nzc3MzI0MzkkajYwJGwwJGgxMjE5NzUxMzU3_ga_81HCSRQ7VP*czE3Nzc3MzI0MzkkbzEkZzAkdDE3Nzc3MzI0MzkkajYwJGwwJGg1MzY1MDA3OTc.&gclid=CjwKCAjwwdbPBhBgEiwAxBRA4fLcXWZEREZIYb6ygTUQFsoinMdMql877tiQO8sfR2tZf3LAonBaXhoCJokQAvD_BwE

As a curveball - would you consider Venice? It isn’t cheap but it’s great for a short break with kids - water everywhere and not a pool in sight!

We walked miles and miles and the kids were absolutely shattered (mine were age 8 + teen). We broke it up with a day when we got a 24 vaporetto pass so we just took the water bus round all the islands for the day.

I definitely agree with doing something in the morning, an activity or sport, then pool/beach in afternoon. That has always been the deal with my kids. They have enjoyed walking tours, food tours, canoeing, biking, boat tours, visits to museums etc, plus with AI they can choose their own food etc.

Im now wondering if a cruise is better. If I find a good itinerary we can cover a few ports that way- wont be the sort of natural scenery I wanted, though.

How about Interrailing? The kids are a good age for that- the 8 year old would get a free pass. You could stop in Innsbruck (on a main line) for a few days. It's easy to get cable cars up the mountains from there, and there are loads of hiking trails up there. Easy to combine with Germany/ northern Italy.

Look up if there’s anything on the Camino, you can choose how many days. The fact it’s popular means there are likely to be other young people too in the evenings.

My nephews loved a cruise and talked a lot about the 24 hour all inclusive pizza bar!!

This is exactly the kind of holiday I have been looking to take my teen DS on so thank you for starting this thread 🙂He is not a sit round the pool kind of person (neither am I)

We tend to book Eurocamp style holidays, usually a Yelloh or Sandaya park, as they offer bike, kayak, paddle board hire so we can be active and then have a pool/entertainment for other days. So this might be another option for you?

What about a boating holiday? Could go to Europe for more warmth and nicer imo than uk canal holidays. It sounds more like you want to plan the holiday you want rather than what they would like though.

That about Austria somewhere like Seefeld lots of activities cable cars up the mountain have a walk soup lunch then cable cars back down swimming pool in the afternoon or evening.

If you have the budget for it, you could stay in Interlaken in Switzerland and take the mountain railways and cable cars to surrounding areas. Lots of different and well managed walking paths to choose from. You can get half-fare/reduced fare rail passes from the Swiss Tourist Office before you go.
Link:Swiss Travel

For staying in one place, Zell am See was great. Stay somewhere that includes the summer card then you get free access to cable cars, lidos, farm, hydro dam, gorge walk and much more.
Hikes, sledging, frizbee golf, mountain play areas etc in the day then a swim in the lidos or indoor pool (with slides) when you get back.

What about a cruise in Norway - the fjords? Plenty of lovely scenery. I’ve never been on one so can’t recommend but I really fancy it!

I would definitely agree with a cruise!!

All great ideas, thanks.

We have done quite a lot of this sort of holiday with https://www.inntravel.co.uk/.

Always been very impressed with their itineraries, walking notes and the accommodation they find.

All the Alpine suggestions are great shouts but for summer not for May half term. The lifts and activities won’t be open in May and there’s a high risk of rain.

We had a great holiday in May half term to Venice and Lake Garda, 2 days Venice and 3/4 in Lake Garda as I recall. They’re well connected by train via Verona -you could do Verona as well/instead. Lake Garda is very scenic and there are footpaths to stroll around the lake, you can swim there if warm enough.

Or you could combine Lake Garda with the Dolomites if you want less city more scenery although again, higher risk of rain in the mountains. And you’d probably want a car. Spectacular scenery though.