Affordable Family Holiday Ideas

THE ALPS IN SUMMER In the Alps summer is low season and the region is packed with accommodation going for a song. Don't count on unbroken sunshine, but do expect a wonderful choice of activities beyond the simple yet profound pleasures of a mountain walk.

Lac Bleu (Blue Lake) in the canton of Valais, Switzerland

Active in Les Arcs, France

The smart self-catering Odalys Edenarc apartments, in the Arc 1800 ski area, right, in the French Alps, have an indoor pool. Buy a seven-day Hero multipass for €88pp and you get access to mountain lifts, aquaparks and more than 15 activities, including beach volleyball, trampolining and tennis (lesarcs.com).

Details Seven nights' self-catering for four from £1,420 (odalys-vacances.com). Fly to Geneva or take the train to Bourg St Maurice

Chalets in Manigod, France Or you can join forces with a couple of other families to make one of the swanky chalets in the OVO network

affordable. Chalet Manoe in Manigod offers sensational views from its sundeck, pool, hot tub and sauna.

Details Seven nights' self-catering costs from €202pp from August 23 (ovonetwork. com). Fly to Geneva

Switzerland's secret valley

Alternatively, squirrel yourselves away somewhere properly remote and thoughtful, such as Val d'Hérens in Switzerland, at the Grand Hôtel & Kurhaus. The hotel-rents ebikes for £85 a day if you want to add more whizz to your wanderings.

Details Seven nights' B&B from €429pp (grandhotel kurhaus.com). Fly to Geneva

HEAD TO OFF-RADAR EASTERN EUROPE

Croatia is pricey and Albania is also heading that way. But the former eastern bloc is full of surprises - and splendour. Head inland and prices fall away sharply too.

Slovenia's Julian Alps

There are already high-season discounts to be had in Kranjska Gora, at the foot of the spectacular Julian Alps. Balkan Holidays has a package to the four-star Ramada Hotel & Suites, including access to the Larix wellness centre next door.

Details Seven nights' half-board from €753pp, including flights (balkanholidays.

co.uk).

Zlatorog (gold horned goat) at Lake Jasna

Vintage Romania

For a dose of history, head to the 18th-century Count Kalnoky Transylvanian Guesthouses in Miclosoara. Child-friendly but impeccably antique, they're also the starting point for all kinds of guided summer adventures including horse riding and bear-tracking.

Details Seven nights' B&B from £404pp, departing on August 2 (transylvanian castle.com). Fly to Bucharest or Brasov

HAVE A SCANDI SUMMER

Despite all the talk of coolcation summers last year, heading north rather than south is still a canny move in the hunt for value.

Danish Riviera

The elegant beach town of Tisvildeleje in North Sealand is a place of blond sand, forested bluffs and chic, family-friendly cabins - such as Merete Carolyn's two-bedroom garden property.

Details Seven nights self-catering for four from £1,096, including bike hire, (airbnb.co.uk/rooms/25766947). Fly to Copenhagen

Tisvildeleje Beach

Self-guided Sweden

A self-guided Stockholm Countryside tour is a varied adventure, with cycling, canoeing and hiking around the rural hinterland of the capital. You'll camp and stay in farmhouse B&Bs.

Details Six nights' B&B from £823pp, with some extra meals (responsibletravel. com). Fly to Stockholm

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Source: Sean Newsom, The Sunday Times January 26 2025