Best family holiday destination in Europe for active family with kids (8 & 11) — Mallorca, Tenerife, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura etc?
Hi all,
Looking for some advice from people who’ve actually done family holidays in these places with kids.
We’re a family of 4 with children aged 8 and 11, looking at a summer holiday (July) with a total budget of around £4000 max, although obviously happy to spend less if the value is much better.
We’re not massive “sit by the pool for 2 weeks” people — we like a mix of:
beaches
scenic places
hikes/walks
boat trips
historic towns/sites
nature
waterparks/theme parks occasionally
memorable day trips/excursions
We usually like making a rough itinerary so there’s a good mix of relaxing days and exploring/adventure days rather than just staying in the resort the whole time.
We DON’T really care about:
nightlife
party resorts
luxury for the sake of luxury
Current shortlist includes:
Mallorca (Alcúdia / Playa de Muro)
Tenerife
Lanzarote
Fuerteventura
Algarve
Croatia
Crete/Cyprus
Hotels we’ve looked at:
Viva Sunrise Mallorca
Hovima Suites Costa Adeje
Elba Lanzarote Royal Village
Globales Costa Tropical Fuerteventura
TUI BLUE Flamingo Beach
Park Plaza Verudela Croatia
Big factor is value too.
For example:
Mallorca is coming in around £3900 half board
while Fuerteventura is more like £2300 all inclusive
So trying to work out:
which destination actually feels the most memorable for families
which has enough variety for kids aged 8 & 11
whether Mallorca is really worth nearly £1500–£2000 more than somewhere like the Canaries
and whether places like Fuerteventura get boring after a few days or are amazing if you explore properly
Would especially love advice from people who’ve done multiple of these destinations with kids around this age.
Thanks!