Felicity Longa
As the weather warms and the school year comes to a close, parents are facing that age-old dilemma: where to take the kids for summer vacation.
Luckily for Europhiles, properties across the continent are gearing up for the season with innovative ways to attract families with children of all ages.
Courting families and wine lovers
Borgo San Vincenzo, for example, a luxury boutique hotel in Tuscany, is looking to expand its target market beyond wine lovers.
Despite its location in Montepulciano’s Vino Nobile vineyards, the 21-room 18th-century property offers curated activities for children, such as horseback riding, pizza-making classes, vineyard picnics, and visits to local farms and pasta factories. Families can also embark on tours of the region on foot, by electric bike, Vespa or hot air balloon.
At the property, guests can stroll through the extensive gardens, dine alfresco or relax by the pool.
To sweeten the offer, the property created a Linger Longer special with a 20% discount on stays of seven nights or more.
Under the Tuscan sky
Also in Tuscany, Villa Lena offers a family-friendly agritourism experience in Pisa.
The 74-room property takes advantage of its location on 1,200 forested acres with a menu of guided nature walks, truffle hunting, storytelling under the stars, and poolside yoga. Pasta-making workshops for children, interactions with resident artists and swimming in the hotel’s three pools complete the activities.
Villa Lena’s farm-to-table restaurant, Osteria San Michele, offers seasonal family-friendly menus, highlighting the property’s vegetable garden.
Sophisticated in Greece
Meanwhile, in Greece, the 100-room Summer Senses resort on Paros is wooing sophisticated parents with luxurious accommodations and experiences, while providing a welcoming experience for little ones.
Activities include everything from boat excursions and treatments at the on-site Anassa Spa by Idolo to relaxing in three pools, one of which is designed just for families.
Dining options include Galazia Hytra, a fine-dining restaurant operating in collaboration with the Michelin-starred Hytra restaurant in Athens, or the less formal Gaia Restaurant, which serves Cycladic cuisine throughout the day.
The Stay Longer offer, available until mid-June and from late August to September, offers guests a complimentary five-night minimum stay; For stays from mid-June to mid-August, a stay of seven nights or more entitles you to an extra night.
Interactive games in England
Across the Channel, Heckfield Place in Hampshire, England, will host a slate of interactive games for kids in August, in collaboration with characters from the children’s animated series “Sharky & George.”
Activities for children will include scavenger hunts, fairy trails, wild swimming, bike rides and boat trips on the lake.
Parents can recharge at the adults-only Bothy by Wildsmith wellness center or relax with an al fresco lunch at the Michelin-starred Green, Marle restaurant, overseen by culinary director Skye Gyngell. Or you can join the children for a picnic under the property’s willows.
Country roads for all ages
Finally, for parents whose children are adults but who miss traveling with them, Backroads predicts an increase in multigenerational travel, especially young adults traveling with their young adult children.
The company, which is already recording robust family bookings for 2025, is known for segmenting family travel by age, so that teenagers, young people and younger children are not forced to take the same itineraries and activities.
New 2025 multi-adventure trips for families with “kids” aged 20 and over include the Netherlands and Belgium, Scotland and England, Croatia and Slovenia and along the Camino de Santiago.
In addition to family group outings, the company is also seeing private travel options emerging for the multigenerational travel market.
