9 Family-Friendly Summer Holidays in Europe
- Maria DiCicco
- 5 days ago
- 6 min read
Being situated in Spain's Aragon region for many weeks of the year, we often take family drives or little puddle jumper flights around Europe to explore and indulge in cooler temps and diverse cuisines.
Traditionally, the weather can be sweltering in our region of Spain, and it's not much better elsewhere - unless you're clever. Go where the locals go - where the Europeans take their summer holidays - in these beautiful, family-friendly summer destinations in Europe.
Note: Always Pack Tissues represents many tried and tested travel sites as what is called an 'affiliate' partner. That means if you click on my ads I may get a commission from a resulting sale. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For information on how this may impact your privacy rights, please consult my privacy policy.
Malta
An often under looked island, Malta offers the best of both worlds for summer vacations. On the one hand, it’s an island - so there’s a clear invitation to beach days, diving in grottoes, and seafood lunches. But on the other hand, Malta serves up some of the most unique history I’ve ever come across in one destination.
Discover war bunkers, aviation museums, forts, and ancient ruins. Then, indulge in a melting pot of cuisines, enjoy pedestrian streets, shopping, and culinary adventures like wineries and salt flats.
You can’t beat this for families who think they’ve seen and done it all in Europe. Check out my one week Malta itinerary here to whet your whistle and start the planning!
Sardinia
Much like Malta, Sardinia has a fascinating background. Historic highlights include visiting old mines, Nuragic ruins, Roman ruins, and ancient necropoli.
Days not spent hiking across ancient sites will be split with coastal views, beach time, and unique lunches like spaghetti alla vongole con bottarga - a spaghetti and clam dish with the famous ‘Sardinian gold’ - a cured fish roe.
Families will enjoy farmhouse stays, opulent resorts (in season) and serene drives through varied terrain. Market days bring families out for fresh produce and textiles, and more than anything they can seek relaxation in the colorful villages.
A winner of a trip, I’m building out some great content for you (coming soon). Get started planning with my information on Sardinia 101: What you need to know for any trip to Sardinia as a first-timer!
Costa Blanca (Javea)
This list might start feeling bias to you, because I’ve been to everywhere on it, with my daughter and parents in tow, too. These are all such great family holidays in Europe, and the beach tends to be at the heart of it all - even though that’s not really my favorite past time.
In fact, I don’t enjoy beaches that much. I like to dine beside them, ooh and aah at them, and take a stroll in the cooling waves. But beyond that - my day needs more fulfillment than sun and sand.
That’s where Javea comes in. A beach town by all rights, there’s much more to explore. The pedestrian friendly promenade in the central beach area has shop and restaurants perfect for strolling any time of day (perhaps while Dad builds sand castles with the kids), and the area seafood restaurants are worth planning your day around.
There’s beautiful miradors for rewarding hikes, and sand glass beaches for a unique take on shelling. If you spend a few days on the coast, explore the small village marketplaces, the occasional winery or castillo, and get to know the Benidorm area further down the coast towards Alicante, where there’s some amusement parks and more beachy fun.
Javea is also just minutes from Denia, a local ferry port that operates daily routes to Ibiza and Palma, Mallorca.
It's worth browsing the ferry routes and schedules from Denia, because it could turn an average family vacation into a 'wow' one with the extra element of a ferry trip!
Tossa de Mar
As a small family of three, we loved our time in Tossa de Mar. The ideal way to enjoy is not staying smack in the middle of town, but rather, staying up the hill (still walking distance!) at the local campground, Camping Turismar. The cabins and bungalows are a perfect hideaway for families connecting with not only nature, but with each other.
Fully equipped with all the comforts of home, we enjoyed our cabin camping immensely, plus of course the typical beach activities mentioned above like market days, seafood meals, and shopping.
The highlight of Tossa de Mar, however, is it’s cliffside castle and the many fun options out on the water, like their glass bottom boat trips to sea caves, or their water taxi over to Cala Giverola.
The Pyrenees
It’s not all coastal delights on this list, though - as we have also ventured numerous times to the Spanish Pyrenees, where the drop in temperatures is extremely welcome after 110 degree days in Zaragoza.
(Side Note: if you will be in the area, here's Things To Do In Zaragoza Spain with Kids On a Hot Day).
The best activities in the Pyrenees for families include easy day hikes and picnics, and my favorite - white water rafting! My 5 year old daughter enjoyed it so much, she even made some local Spanish friends on the adventure. These family rafting trips often depart from Huesca area outposts.
Part of the fun includes staying in mountaintop towns like Cerler or Benasque, and exploring nearby picturesque villages like Alquezar and the Somontano wine route, and Ainsa - named one of Spain’s Pueblos Bonitos.
Croatia
It’s been some time since I visited Croatia, but I have to say - it’s gorgeous and absolutely worth a visit. Dubrovnik operates as Croatia’s Disney Land - busy busy busy - but worth a day’s visit.
Instead, venture to Hvar, Split and some of the coastal towns featuring - you guessed it - markets, seafood lunches and wineries.
Are you getting a trend in how I like to travel?
In my opinion, there is a lot of ground to cover in Croatia, and most of it accessible by boat. So why not plan to visit Croatia on a Mediterranean Cruise? Check options for sailing to Croatia here.
North Zealand, aka the "Danish Riviera"
This entry on the list is not one many have heard of, as I rather stumbled on it myself on a visit to Copenhagen. We took the overnight ferry from Oslo to Copenhagen, renting a car and meandering our way up the coast from there.
In North Zealand, discover a charming and very different form of beach holidays in Europe - namely because of its location. The water is still quite cool, but the sun is hot so people spend much of their time wind surfing, having beachside bonfires and cookouts, and other calmer water activities.
Visit opulent castles, explore beautiful gardens, or visit open air museums to fill your time.
The villages dotting North Zealand are lively during the summer months with small town festivals and the cutest beach rentals with thatched roofs that you could imagine. Search for North Zealand rentals between Hornbaek and Gilleleje to be centrally located.
Visiting North Zealand reminds me a bit of my time growing up at a beach house in Rhode Island. The days were simple, but full of summer breezes, great seafood, and family fun.
Northern Italy
I’d be remiss if I didn’t include the Northern Italian areas like Bergamo, Milan and the Lakes Region, where families can explore F1 car museums, or take on culinary adventures like in Parma ham factories or at Modena’s infamous balsamic productions.
Milanese food makes summer cuisine look downright hearty, with creamy polenta dishes swapped in for traditional southern pastas, and fried veal cutlets taking center stage.
The lakes and mountains offer cool temps, yes, but then add on boat rides, palaces and gardens, midday gelato and agriturismo stays and you've got the perfect family vacation.
When it’s hot out, go north. That’s what we always say here in Florida. And there’s certainly plenty to discover in Northern Italy!
Pro Tip: Looking for something similar but off-the-beaten-path? Try visiting Northern Spain, where life moves much slower, but gastronomy and fresh air take over. This is an idyllic family vacation for European travelers looking to explore a quiet area of Spain. |
Coastal France (Collioure)
Lastly, driving up the coast from Tossa de Mar, we continued one of our favorite European summer road trips by going through towns like Collioure and Le Barcares, both coastal favorites along the border of France and Spain.
The (yep!) markets, meals and beach vibes were just perfect. Everyone was out in droves in their colorful linens, the sun kissed the sand ever so gently - not like the scalding 2nd degree burns we can get in my home state of Florida - and being in France always feels so romantic.
We loved visiting the small marina and oyster village at Leucate, and the whole coastline was full of fun family activities from water sports to day hikes.
I’d hole up there in a beach house for a week if I had the time, and you should too.
Summer Holidays in Europe Overall
All in all, just dreaming of the sun drenched days has me thinking of summer. I hope I got you dreaming, too.
Happy planning!
Comments