As many families are now embracing slow travel in their school holiday plans, and putting all things analogue at the forefront of their family time, we’re here to support them. We’re also particularly touched to see that regular natural adventurers are now bringing their younger families on board the self-guided adventure merry-go-round. They’re seeking out adventures that are less strenuous, but ones that still take them into nature and local communities, with itineraries that are crafted with young people of all ages in mind. So if you think your loved ones’ childhoods are speeding by in a world of socials and studies, these slow family adventure holidays will bring you all back to earth.
The Lake District with your loved ones
England’s largest national park at over 2,362km², its lakes, tarns and peaks are a thing of poetry, art and music. Our family adventure holiday is based in the national park town of Keswick where hiking, paddleboarding and canyoning are all part of the fun. Spread over eight days, start the school holidays with a real adventure, based on the shores of Derwentwater where there is some superb hiking, as well as walks up to Castlerigg Stone Circle and Catbells. And if you tire of dry land, there are lots of aqua adventures to throw into the mix, to suit all ages and abilities.
Multi-activity family adventure holiday in Slovakia
Pop over to Poprad in summer for a centre-based, privately-guided family adventure that gives you so many different perspectives of Slovak Paradise and Pieniny National Parks. Poprad is a historic mountain town and has easy access to some of Slovakia’s secret stunners. These include white water rafting on the Dunajec River, Via Ferrata in Slovak Paradise National Park, and e-biking in the Low Tatras Mountains. And with mountain temperatures cooler than many other European countries at this time of year, 20–26C on warm days and dipping to 10–15C at night, your family’s fever for adventure will be boiling, not the rest of you.
Family adventures on the Danube Cycle Path
The Danube just seems to keep going on and on and on, through a colossal 10 countries in fact, creating centres for four national capitals. It is the longest river in the EU at 2,850km, and it has the most superb collection of cycling trails. Strauss nailed it when he called his famous composition the Blue Danube Waltz, or An der schönen blauen Donau. As it really is one massive, beautiful blue space. And if you want to explore it with the keen young cyclists in your life, we have three family-friendly, relaxed holidays that will have your little ones raring to go: a six day or 10 day biking adventure between Passau and Vienna, or a purely Austrian adventure between Linz and Vienna over eight days.
Pure class in Asturias
As our keen hikers know, the Asturias region and Picos National Park of northern Spain is a revelation when you go for the first time, with mountains and coast juxtaposed, as well as welcoming towns and villages that are a world apart from the mass tourism of the south. And those vast beaches that still feel like a well kept Spanish secret. Our eight day, self-guided adventure holiday in Asturias has a focus on cycling, but there is also canoeing, cliff walks and no shortage of caves and coves. There’s even a place called poo. But trust us, you will never pooh-pooh the Picos and the prettiness of Asturias.
Family adventure holidays in Switzerland
Time is at the heart of Swiss culture. And the secret to experiencing truly Swiss bliss is to slow right down and turn the clock off for a while. For real family time, we have several bespoke family adventures in Switzerland where you and your young ones will lose track of time, and phones. For keen walkers, this eight day hiking holiday follows a trail along the UNESCO World Heritage section of the Rhaetian Railway, running as close as possible to the Albula and Bernina railway line. It provides stunning views of the beautiful Alpine scenery without being too strenuous.
Moving onto cycling, Lake Constance is one of Europe’s most colossal, cross-border lakes and our eight day, family-friendly itinerary takes you to the larger two parts of the lake, with many attractions and adventures en route. These include a visit to the lake’s Mainau Island and taking a cable car to the top of Pfänder in Bregenz. In addition, you get to experience three countries on this fab fam-venture. Our third family cycling adventure isn’t too much of a hard sell, unless you don’t have a sweet tooth, and that’s our cycling holiday in Switzerland’s Chocolate Region. Eating chocolate sustainably should really be the only way to go.
Float the idea of bike and boat adventure holidays
If you are looking for a family adventure with a difference, our bike and boat holidays tick lots of boxes. If you love to cycle long distances, but the young people in your life might only want to join for some of the way, then you can also just hang out on deck. In cities like Amsterdam, you can dip into some history or culture and then, when that gets boring, just hop back on board. And who doesn’t like a cabin? They are just made for adventures. Especially on holidays where you get to moor up and mosey off on your bike regularly, so there’s no risk of cabin fever. Suitable for older children, we can assure you, they’ll never get bored on board on our bike and boat holidays between Passau and Budapest, Amsterdam and Bruges or, in the other direction from Bruges to Amsterdam.
Go all Von Trapp in the Salzkammergut region, Austria
Austria is very family-friendly with life in nature being engrained at a young age. And in the Salzkammergut Lakes region, there is a superb infrastructure to support families, as well as lots of space for your young folk to feel freedom in nature. This is a country to “Climb every mountain, ford every stream, follow every rainbow, till you find your dream” after all. On our bespoke family adventure, there’s a carefully-crafted mix of activities in the region, including wild swimming, cable car trips, boat trips across the lakes and of course, some hikes such as between Bad Ischl and Bad Goisern.
“Great trip with toddlers! We did this hike with our three year old and almost two year old in backpack carriers. The itinerary was so perfect for a family with young children. We found the trails to be very family-friendly…There were lots of opportunities to swim in fresh clear water and Austria is very child friendly with beautiful parks and play spaces. The gondola was a highlight as were the short train and bus rides. Would highly recommend to anyone but especially families seeking adventure!” – Nikki, Ontario, Canada on our Salkammergut Lake District family adventure.
Woo them over with some real Wanderlust
Families hike and cycle together as a family a lot in Germany, and connecting with nature is in their DNA. The German government even provides free train travel to travellers under 14, which says it all really. So, as well as the Danube Cycle Path and Cycling around Lake Constance, you can take the train to Bavaria and spend six days cycling on the Altmühltal Cycle Path. This is a very chilled-out itinerary, giving you plenty of time to go lake swimming, picnicking and boating as well. Heading from southern Germany to the far north, on our Baltic Coast Family Cycling Adventure, starting in Lübeck and ending in Rostock, you follow biking trails from beach to beach, explore Poel Island as well as ancient castles and lighthouses along the way.
Family holidays in Sweden
The Swedish word resfeber translates as travel fever. It describes that mix of anxiety and excitement that we get before embarking on a journey. This feeling is something that so many families can relate to, particularly in the buildup to those long summer holidays. But will it live up to expectations? We think you’ll find your family resfeber on our Swedish summer holidays, which are suitable for older children. Especially as Scandi-Vert is the new cool trend, with summer temperatures soaring in other European countries.
For example, a week of walking on the Sörmland Trail, which takes you into some truly wild places to swim in lakes, forest bathe and walk part of the coastline. Heading to West Sweden, the Gotaleden Trail is 71km long, starting in Gothenburg’s heart and ending in the charming town of Alingsås, winding along the Säve River and Lake Aspen in between. Or experience some southern Swedish long summer days on the Kullaleden and Bjäre Peninsula, starting in Helsingborg and heading north along cliff trails, through traditional coastal villages such as Mölle, to many secret Scandi sandy spots.
Denmark is flat but always fun for families
This is another country competing for cool, especially its capital of Copenhagen, which is famously family-friendly. Which is why our walking holiday around the country’s famous fairytale castles, on Zealand, starts there. This is a seven day, sumptuous, slow travel adventure to forests, lakelands and, of course, magnificent castles. Including Hamlet’s Elsinore Castle, the real name being Kronborg, just in case it’s on the syllabus. The walking definitely isn’t as hard as schoolwork though, as Denmark is famously flat but, at the same time, proffers that wonderful feeling of freedom in nature. With some family-friendly additions such as the world’s oldest amusement park, Bakken thrown in. There are also options to shorten a few of the walks by taking the train, which we can advise on before booking.
If cycling is your family fun go-to, then heading along North Zealand’s inland and coastal trail on the Øresund Strait will appeal to the adventurers in your life. Starting and ending in Copenhagen, the holiday includes a day trip to Sweden to visit Helsingborg and its surrounding trails by bike too. And if you want to eke out your Scandi summer a bit longer, you can always combine it with one of our Swedish holidays, for a longer stay in this lovely part of the world.
We hope that these family adventure holidays make your loved ones’ eyes light up. Please don’t hesitate to contact our adventure specialists so that we can put everything in place for you, and make this the perfect family time. Because that’s what family holidays are all about. Having time together. And as we do the heavy lifting in terms of organising and booking, that leaves you and your family more time for laughing and loving. In the meantime, you may also enjoy reading this blog, Introducing children to responsible tourism.
Cycling in Denmark: North Zealand
Multi-activities in Slovakia (Centre-based)
Walking the Fairytale Castles of Denmark
Cycling around Upper Lake Constance Family Holiday
Danube Cycle Path: Linz to Vienna Family Tour
Altmühltal Cycle Path Family Holiday
Cycling in Switzerland’s Chocolate Region
Baltic Coast Family Cycling Adventure
Lake District Family Adventure (Centre-based)
