There is nothing wrong with spending a week beside a pool, but as my kids have gotten older, our favourite family trips have become the ones where we actually do something together. Surfing, skiing, hiking, biking, and exploring somewhere completely new give us experiences to talk about long after we get home.
The good news is that an active family vacation doesn’t have to mean giving up the relaxing parts of a holiday. Some of the best trips combine big days outside with a great hotel, a pool, good food or even a spa at the end of the day.
If your family would rather come home with tired legs and a camera roll full of adventures, these five active family holiday ideas offer very different ways to get moving, from skiing in British Columbia and hiking in the Italian Dolomites to surfing in El Salvador. I’ve also included a California resort where families can build an active vacation without having to plan every minute of the day.
Whistler, British Columbia: Skiing and Mountain Adventures
Whistler is one of those destinations that gets better as your kids get older and more capable. Skiing here isn’t inexpensive, so I appreciate it much more now that my boys are strong enough skiers to spend the day exploring the mountain rather than sticking to the beginner runs.
Winter is the obvious choice for an active family holiday, with skiing and snowboarding taking centre stage, but Whistler works beyond ski season too. Hiking, mountain biking and spending time around the lakes make summer just as appealing for families who would rather be outside than sightseeing all day.
What I especially like about Whistler with older kids and teens is that the activity is built into the trip. You aren’t constantly trying to come up with something to entertain everyone. Spend the day on the mountain, then head back to the village for shopping, dinner and some time in the hot tub!
Costa Rica: Wildlife, Hiking and Adventure
Costa Rica is an easy recommendation for families who want adventure because there are so many ways to be active while experiencing the country. Its on my list of top 10 mom and son vacations! Hiking, kayaking, ziplining, rappelling down waterfalls and wildlife excursions can all become part of the trip, and you can make the vacation as busy or relaxed as you want.
One of my favourite Costa Rica experiences was visiting the Osa Peninsula, where simply getting to our lodge involved a hopper plane and arriving to the lodge by boat. Days were spent outside looking for wildlife and exploring a less-traversed part of the country
That’s the balance I look for in an active family holiday. I don’t want every hour scheduled. Give us something memorable to do during the day and somewhere comfortable to relax afterward, and everyone is generally happy. The teens are even more thrilled if I let them sleep in a few times too!
The Dolomites, Italy: Hiking and Biking in the Mountains
If you think of an Italian family vacation as museums, churches and sightseeing, the Dolomites offer something completely different. This part of northern Italy is made for families who want to spend their days outside.
We hiked among some incredible mountain scenery, explored trails such as the Latemar Labyrinth, and went e-biking, which is a fun way to cover considerably more ground than you would on foot.
The Dolomites also do the after-adventure part particularly well. A day hiking or biking followed by a great meal, a sauna or time relaxing at your hotel makes being active feel like part of the holiday.
Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, Carlsbad, California: An Active Resort Vacation
An active family holiday doesn’t always require moving from place to place or planning excursions every day. A resort with enough activities on-site can give everyone plenty to do while still delivering the downtime that makes a resort vacation appealing.
Omni La Costa Resort & Spa sits on 400 acres in Carlsbad, about 30 minutes north of downtown San Diego. Families can choose from golf, tennis, pickleball, fitness, and swimming without having to leave the property. The resort has two 18-hole golf courses and a 9,100-square-foot Athletic Club, along with multiple pools.
For families with kids who enjoy racquet sports, the tennis program offers clinics, lessons, and junior instruction, and there are both tennis and pickleball courts. Splash Landing gives families another way to spend the day, with a resort pool, hot tub, water-play area, and three slides.
What makes this style of active vacation particularly appealing is that everyone doesn’t have to choose the same activity. One person can play golf, someone else can book a spa treatment, and the kids can have some time at the pool. Omni La Costa Resort offers an active family getaway without needing an itinerary packed with reservations and day trips.
El Salvador: Surfing and Outdoor Adventure
El Salvador surprised me with how well it works for a 5 to 7 day family trip! Its relatively small size means you can fit very different experiences into one vacation without spending endless hours getting from one place to another.
The Pacific Coast is an obvious place to start. El Salvador has become well known for surfing, and beginners can get out on the water with an affordable private lesson. We paid less then USD40 for a two-hour private lesson. It was well worth the spend to get the boys riding their first waves with ease!
After surfing, head inland, and you can add hiking, waterfalls, volcanoes, and small towns to the itinerary. For families who have a bit more time and like a little downtime, I like combining a few days of exploring with a few days at a beach resort. It gives you the best of both worlds: plenty of adventure and new experiences, followed by some guilt-free time doing absolutely nothing. It’s why I have El Salvador on one of the best trips for 15 year olds.
Lindsay Nieminen hails from Vancouver, Canada and shares her love of travel on this website. She is passionate about showing others that they should not put off traveling the world just because they have children or are single parents. She aims to encourage them to seek out adventure, whether it is at home or abroad by providing information on how just about everywhere can be a destination to explore as a family.