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Sea kayaking in Greece
Several companies offer affordable multi-activity trips for families in Greece, but if you’re looking for something less frenetic, and a bit more challenging for teenagers, how about Greek island-hopping by sea kayak? Running on regular dates through the summer months, Trekking Hellas’s three-day, two‑night odysseys in the Ionian Sea start in Nidri, on Lefkada, and paddle on past Skorpios to Meganisi, camping out at Lakka before continuing the next day to Mikros Gialos for a second night under the stars before turning for home. There are stops for swimming, resting and barbecues along the way, and some thrilling cave detours, but with about six hours of paddling a day, the minimum age is 14.
From €352pp including kayaking and camping equipment, guiding and meals (trekking.gr)
A stylish refuge in France
The world’s most handsome bothy? Cabane de Varlossière in Savoie is a strong contender. This simple, unstaffed mountain refuge sits in a spectacular Alpine valley surrounded by craggy peaks and the echo of goat bells. A stone former shepherd’s hut, it has been renovated recently and would look at home in an interiors magazine. A stream runs beside it, and inside there are bunks for four, plus a wood‑burning stove (you’ll need to bring all your bedding, food and cooking equipment). To make a trip of it, start from pretty Saint-Martin-de-Belleville and hike two hours to Gittamelon, a cosy, staffed refuge in the valley below. Depending on your children’s ages and stamina, you could either stop there just for a drink or stay the night and walk on another hour to Varlossière the following morning. From here, you can either continue on to other refuges along the Grand Tour de Tarentaise hiking trail or retrace your steps to Saint-Martin.
Overnight stays at Cabane de Varlossière are free, but consider booking a guide (from €25 per adult for half a day) or add-on activities such as canyoning through the local guiding association. There is no website for the cabin, which is owned by the local commune
Forest camping in Germany
Until recently, camping out amid the dense trees, towering waterfalls and lofty peaks of the Black Forest was prohibited. In 2017, however, the Trekking Schwarzwald initiative began setting up basic forest camps through the region, where semi-wild camping is allowed. Bookable from May to October, there are now 21 camps. Each has space for three tents, a fire pit and a compost toilet, and strict rules govern their use; bookings are from 5pm to 10am, stays are limited to a single night and all rubbish must be carried away. String a few camps together to make a longer adventure of it with older kids, or choose a less remote camp (Camp Gutellbach is about 2.5 hours’ walk from Baiersbronn) for a 24-hour expedition with younger adventurers.
From €12 a tent (up to three people) (trekking-schwarzwald.de)
Spot the eclipse in Spain
Most accommodation has already been snapped up in dark-sky hotspots along the path of this year’s solar eclipse on 12 August, but there is still some availability among the simple wooden cabins at Cabañas El Llano de los Conejos, near Cuenca. They are set within a forest, and there’s a saltwater pool and children’s play area on site, a river beach nearby and direct access to child-friendly hikes, bike rides and kayaking. Between the Serranía de Cuenca and Alto Tajo natural parks, the surrounding land is spiked with karst formations that look like something sketched by Dr Seuss. The bigger ones also make perfect viewing points for skygazers (though make sure you’re wearing eclipse glasses).
From €1,050 for four people for seven nights over the week of the eclipse (llanodelosconejos.com)
Ride and rest in Slovenia
If your kids are avid cyclists, the Rest and Ride bike-friendly hotel in the far west of Slovenia will give them plenty of opportunities to pedal. Within the Soča valley, surrounded by forests and mountains, its bright, modern bedrooms and add-on breakfasts (€12pp) – big on homemade jam and “coffee strong enough to climb a hill on its own” – make it a homely base for rafting, kayaking, zip lining and hikes to waterfalls. Most guests come to explore on two wheels; mountain bikers, gravel lovers and road cyclists will find secure storage, a repair shop, pre-bookable bike hire for all ages and guiding services.
From €150 a night for an apartment sleeping four (rest-ride.com)
Packrafting in Luxembourg and Germany
Combining hiking, paddling and camping, packrafting offers families with older children a footloose, Swallows and Amazons freedom. Navigating the watery bounds of the Luxembourg-Germany border, guided two-day trips start with a paddle and hike among the forested sandstone cliffs and gorges of the Mëllerdall Geopark, then take in a night under canvas before returning to the starting point via a paddle down the Sauer River and a hike through the South Eifel nature park. While there are no age restrictions, participants must be 140cm or taller and able to carry a pack, so it’s more suited to older teens than younger children.
From €135pp including portable inflatable rafts, lifejackets and hiking backpacks. Camping equipment (€35pp) and food kits (€39pp) can be added on, or take your own (packraftluxemburg.com)
Slow camping in Italy
If your children love camping but you’re less convinced, Abruzzo’s Rocca di Sotto campsite might just persuade you to give it another go. Set among terraces of olive and fruit trees an hour’s drive from Pescara, this 17-pitch farm campsite offers pre-erected tents as well as DIY pitches and a trio of simple log cabins. Cook up rustic outdoor dinners with supplies gathered from the site’s veg patch and chickens, go chamois-spotting on the surrounding slopes, or head out on hiking or cycling expeditions across the Campo Imperatore, a high plateau within the neighbouring Gran Sasso and Laga Mountains national park, nicknamed Little Tibet. Seasoned campers can opt for a “slow camp” experience, staying out in the wilds about 45 minutes’ walk from the main campsite.
Pitches from €32 a night for a family of four (with under-10s); €44 a night for pre-erected tents (roccadisotto.com)
Rail and sail to Rotterdam in the Netherlands
Start the adventure straight from your door with a Dutchflyer rail and sail ticket from London, or any Greater Anglia station, to Hoek van Holland via Harwich. Combined train and ferry fares are cheaper than separate tickets, with easy changes for foot passengers, and Hoek van Holland is just half an hour from Rotterdam on the metro. The city’s Stayokay hostel, in Rubik’s Cube-like houses, reopens on 10 April after a renovation, providing a practical but memorable base for exploring this offbeat, culture-crammed city. There’s lots of outdoorsy fun too – Adventure City is the largest adventure park in Europe, with everything from climbing to ziplining.
Dutchflyer fares start from £68 each way for an adult or £34 for a child (under-5s are free; stenaline.co.uk). Stayokay Rotterdam has four-bed rooms from €115
Become a castaway in Sweden
When you arrive on the Swedish island of Nåttarö to stay in one of 50 simple wooden cabins spread out between birch and pine trees, life immediately switches to a slower pace. This salt-scented, light-soaked, car-free island, one of Sweden’s first marine nature reserves, feels excitingly remote and yet is easily reached from Stockholm; take a one-hour train to Nynäshamn, then use the ferry (mid-June to mid-August), or a taxi boat, to shuttle across the water. Facilities on Nåttarö stretch to a restaurant, shop and sauna, but mostly it’s a place to hike along quiet paths, swim and snorkel off white sand beaches, pedal along forest tracks to find the island’s cave (bike hire from £8pp), or hire kayaks and standup paddleboards (from £20pp).
Self-catering cabins from about £84 a night for four people (nattaro.se)
Stay in a border post in Montenegro
Set within the Komovi nature park, Hostel Mojan is a former military border post that has been converted into a simple mountain retreat. Rooms ranging from singles to twins, triples, quadruples and quintuples mean most shapes and sizes of family are catered for, and the menu is plump with local prosciutto, honey and polenta-like kačamak, making it an ideal base for biking, hiking and lake swimming. There’s also a football field and a basketball court on site.
Hostel Mojan has quadruple rooms from €85 room-only, with homemade dinners for about €10pp
