Best holidays for teenagers
By William and Sally Gray, Editors of 101 Family Holidays
Looking for the best holidays for teenagers? We have compiled a selection of great family holidays that all of you will enjoy.
Holidays for sporty teens
A Mediterranean beach club is a great place for teenagers to do their own thing without getting into trouble. Mark Warner’s all-inclusive Sea Garden Beach Resort in Turkey is just the job, the sailing, windsurfing and tennis on tap.
Sailing is a great skill to teach teenagers, and provides a holiday you can enjoy together for years to come. If you’re beginners head to Club Vounaki in Greece which has a new sailing school. Once you’ve learned the ropes, you can enjoy the freedom of a flotilla sailing holiday.
You can get your hair wet without going to the Med. The Cotswold Water Park Four Pillars Hotel is set in lovely grounds on the shores of a lake and offers kayaking, wake-boarding, windsurfing, water-skiing plus fishing and horse-riding.
PGL runs summer camps in the UK for kids up to the age of 17. It’s a great way for teenagers to develop their independence and make new friends. The company also good-value runs activity holidays for families in Britain and France.
We also recommend Camp Beaumont which has a dedicated holiday camp for kids aged 15 – 17. It is The House! on the north Norfolk coast and gets rave reviews from teenagers. The company has runs a ski camp in France.
La Manga Club on the coast of Spain is a great resort for sporty kids. It boasts a world-class 28-court tennis centre, plus three championship golf courses and coaching in cricket and football and dance. For keen golfers, there is a new summer academy led by Lee Westwood.
Skiing conditions in the Canadian Rockies are superb with huge dumps of snow, uncrowded pistes and friendly locals. We recommend the small resorts of Fernie and Kimberley.
UK holidays for teenagers
Mile upon mile of beaches with watersports and cycle paths make any holiday on the Isle of Wight perfect for teenagers of all ages. Stay in a hotels, B&Bs, luxurious self-catering barn, camp site or be adventurous and hire a Mongolian-style yurt.
A holiday cottage can be an ideal solution for families with teenagers, giving your kids just the right amount of freedom and independence without breaking the bank. Try these cottages in Devon and Cornwall.
If you want to travel with a large group – perhaps two or three families with teenage children – it makes sense to rent a large house where parents and kids have sufficient space to do their own thing. You’ll find a great selection of properties at The Big Domain – also see their latest special offers.
Activity holidays for families with teenagers
For budget family holidays in France and Spain, it’s hard to beat a self-catering apartment at a holiday village. Complete with aqua parks and slides, golf courses and tennis courts, these are great for young teenagers who can roam free within a safe environment. Check out Belle Dune in Normandy which is just an hour’s drive from Calais.
Ramblers, the walking specialists, have developed an interesting range of family adventure holidays in the UK and Europe. These expert-guided group trips are great value and aimed at children up to 16. Activities include canoeing, mountain biking and zip-wiring. You can go glacier-walking in Austria, take boat trips and explore caves in Crete, visit ancient temples in Greece and take an overnight desert adventure in Morocco.
Egypt is the great place for holidays with teenagers: spend days snorkelling, enjoying watersports or on a desert safari. Or join one of these exciting family tours in Egypt for ages up to 17. Check out the special offers.
Stay on an authentic farm in the Italian countryside – known as an agriturismo. At La Casella in the rolling hills of Umbria, you can all enjoy hiking, tennis and mountain biking – plus it has a first class horse riding school.
Club Med has a great selection of all-inclusive holidays whether you want beach or winter sports. Its Juniors’ Club Med for teenagers offers a dazzling array of sports and activities. View the latest special offers.
Turn your teen into a cowboy on a dude ranch holiday in North America where they can enjoy any number of activities including horse riding, white water rafting and even camping out in the wilderness. An amazing teen holiday!
The French Alps are not just about winter slopes. In the summer, this is a great destination for an activity holiday with glacier skiing, mountain biking, white-water rafting and hiking. We recommend Esprit Family Adventures.
Younger teenagers will enjoy a family cycling holiday in France. This can be a great bonding experience, and hassle-free as your cycle hire and daily luggage transfers are taken care of. For an easy pedal we recommend the Loire Valley.
If you’re a single parent with teens, try this great collection of single parent activity holidays.
Beach holidays for teenagers
Rent a cottage in Cornwall, the epicentre of the UK’s surf scene. Opt for a chocolate box thatch cottage, a waterfront apartment or an authentic fishermen’s cottage to retire to after a day out on the board.
Book a luxury villa in sunny Corfu and where the children can enjoy nature walks, a private plunge pool and nearby beaches.
Holland is a great summer destination for teenage holidays. Camping Duinrell is easy to reach by car ferry, just 30 miles from the Hook of Holland, and is next door to a water park. It offers indoor and outdoor swimming pools, rowing, scuba diving, pedalos, crazy golf, volleyball and a climbing wall. Find more camping holidays in France, Italy and Spain.
Spain’s Costas are well known to Brits but the coastline of Northern Spain is more a secret. It has stunning beaches, but also lots of activities to keep teens busy, from mountain biking to rafting. It’s less expensive than the south, has wonderful food and you can fly or take an overnight ferry. Accommodation includes an excellent range of self-catering cottages and traditional small hotels.
The Caribbean island of Tobago has the perfect mix of beaches and activities and is perfect for teenagers on family holidays. Snorkel and dive amongst shipwrecks, tropical fish, rays, turtles and sharks.
In Barbados the all-inclusive Almond Beach Village is big enough to give teens some limited freedom while offering kayaking, windsurfing, sailing and water-skiing all in the price.
On the gorgeous west coast of Barbados, Cobblers Cove is a small elegant hotel that has great family deals over the summer holidays.
On the gorgeous island of St Lucia, one of the best hotels for teenagers in the Caribbean is Windjammer Landing Villa Beach Resort. It offers spacious family accommodation, lots of activities, free non-motorised watersports, six swimming pools, a fitness centre, floodlit tennis courts, and games room.
Rent a stylish villa on any one of the Caribbean islands. Sleeping from 2 to 20, this is a great holiday for a family or friends and a gentle introduction to freedom abroad for teens.
Teenage adventure holidays
The world’s most exciting biology lessons awaits in the Galapagos Islands. Enjoy close-up encounters with seals, turtles, iguanas, giant tortoises and exotic birdlife. We recommend this Galapagos on Land and by Sea holiday which combines time aboard a small boat and a few days in a hotel.
We love this selection of teen adventure holidays which give your kids plenty of independence, fun and excitement within a secure environment. You could take this 8-day Active Cappadoccia trip in Turkey which includes mountain biking, horse riding and three days trekking in the Taurus Mountains.
We also recommend Families Worldwide which has a wonderful selection of small-group tours and tailor-made holidays in destinations such as Egypt, Thailand, Morocco and Sri Lanka. Check out the special offers.
Not exciting enough? How about trekking up the Everest Valley or exploring the Okavango Delta in Botswana in dug out canoes!
You could treat your teenagers to a once in a lifetime safari holiday in Kenya. where they will come face to face with the big five, visit the Masai Mara and even stay in a tree top hotel.
For a safari with a difference, go on horseback. A riding safari in Kenya or Botswana is a unique once-in-a-lifetime experience, whether you are experienced riders or first-timers.
Teenagers love America. If you value your freedom and don’t mind living in close quarters, you can rent a motor home and go where you please. We also recommend this self-drive holiday in Ontario and Québec.
South Africa is an excellent destination for a self-drive holiday. Start at Cape Town, head along the Garden Route, see whales, African Penguins and Cape Fur Seals, stay at the charming Grootbos Nature Reserve then polish it off with wildlife safari.
South America is an exciting destination for teens, a world of sights, sounds and new experiences. Top of the pile are Brazil and Peru. Book your ideal trip with Dehouche, an expert British operator based in Brazil.
Iceland where you’ll find a spectacular landscape of mountains, glaciers, volcanoes and geysers. Probably the world’s most exciting geography lesson and if you go in winter you have a chance of seeing the Northern Lights. Check out these adventure tours and short breaks.
Culture holidays
Russia is a fascinating destination for teenagers, many of whom will have studied Russian history or the Cold War at school. Head to the cities of Moscow and St Petersburg where the many highlights include the Cosmonaut museum, a visit to a Cold War bunker and a backstage tour of the Mariinsky Theatre.
If your kids have studied World War I at school you really shouldn’t miss the chance to take a Battlefield tour in Northern France. It’s an enthralling and moving experience that brings the subject dramatically to life. There are specialist tours on the D-Day Landings in Normandy and the Western Front.
Vietnam is a fascinating country where ancient and recent history can be found at every turn. The cities of Saigon and Hanoi ripple with excitement plus there are beaches, temples and the tunnels at Cu Chi and the turtle and primate conservation centres at Cuc Phuong.
Archaeology holidays may sound dull but they are a great way to learn about history with the help of a guide. With sites of interest all over the world, chose from anywhere from Albania to Iceland.
For a trip to tell their school friends all about, take the kids on a tour of Jordan to float in the Dead Sea, explore Lawrence of Arabia’s Wadi Rum and visit the rock-carved city of Petra.
Culturally, Cairo is a winner. With Pyramids, camel rides, museums and markets to educate the younger ones, parents can enjoy the quiet and sanctity at one of the cities many luxurious 5 star hotels.
Something different
Las Vegas is a great place for families with teens. Themed resorts, great weather all year round, helicopters to the Grand Canyon and jeep rides across the desert are just some of the things to do.
Rent a Chateau in France – great solution if you can gang up with another couple of families, as the kids will have lots of freedom while remaining without the grounds of the house. We particularly like Chateau de Tille in the Loire. It sleeps up to 16 and has a swimming pool, tennis court and separate coach house.
Take a family volunteering holiday which gives you the best of both worlds: the chance to do some useful work such as feeding and building shelters for animals before they are returned to the wild, along with relaxing time on the beach. Check out this amazing trip to Costa Rica.
Set sail on a tall ship sailing adventure around the Caribbean, Central America or the Mediterranean where you can help haul in the sails, snorkel in warm seas or simply lounge in a hammock on deck and practise shouting ahoy. This is a truly unforgettable teen holiday.
Tailor made trips to Australia mean you can really make the most of the vast continent and enjoy the things that interest you the most. See mountain ranges, wildlife and stunning vistas that pepper the Southern Hemisphere.
Although maybe not the first choice for a trip with teenagers in tow, Rio de Janeiro’s heady mix of gorgeous beaches, breathtaking landscapes and captivating culture is a perfect way to show a different side to the world.
On the Cayman Islands, the beaches are superb, the diving is world class and there are lots of amazing things to see such as Stingray City. It’s also a safe destination and great for families.
>> Find more ideas at 101 Family Holidays
Try our family holiday quiz
If you’re still not sure where to take the kids on holiday, why not try our family holiday quiz. Answer 10 fun questions like the one below and we’ll tell you what kind of travellers you are, and give you a list of personalised recommendations. Try the quiz now.
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