6 of the best crowd-free family breaks for half-term

Kerry Walker

So you want to take the kids away for half-term but can't face the cost, the madding crowds, tears and tantrums? Don't sweat it.

Top family-friendly activities to try this May half-term © EvgeniiAnd - Adobe Stock Image

We've rounded up easily doable, family-friendly breaks in the UK and Europe with a bit of a twist, from forest getaways ripe for a bedtime story to seal-watching safaris and no-sweat city breaks for a culture fix.

Woodland adventures in the Forest of Dean

Spreading along the English-Welsh border in all its green wooded glory, the Forest of Dean^* and Wye Valley are a brilliant pick for a half-term break.

A royal hunting ground in Norman times (today you can still spot fallow, roe and muntjac deer), the emphasis is still on embracing the great outdoors today.

The market town of Coleford is a brilliant springboard for exploring. Its biggest draw is Puzzlewood, a forest thick with moss, ferns and gnarled trees; pure Lord of the Rings magic.

Moss-covered rocks of Puzzlewood, Forest of Dean © Golden Shark - Adobe Stock Image

Kids will love the bridges, lookout points, wizard trail and animals (including goats, donkeys, Shetland ponies, Highland cattle and Soay sheep).

Close by, the Clearwell Caves were mined for millennia. Now you can descend 100 ft to explore their falls, pools and chambers fluttering with horseshoe and long-eared bats.

The treetop high rope course at Go Ape Beechenhurst^* and the new Gruffalo Party Trail are also nearby.

For older kids, the Forest of Dean is a winner, too. Crank up the adventure kayaking, canoeing, stand-up paddleboarding or gorge walking with Way2Go.

Forest of Dean weather in May

16
16°C max daytime temperature
6
6 hours of sunshine per day
16
16 days with some rainfall
59
59 mm monthly rainfall

The above guide shows the weather in Gloucester in May. Find out more about conditions across the county in our complete guide to the weather in Gloucestershire.

Where to stay: find your great value home-from-home in a cabin stay with Forest Holidays^* in the Forest of Dean.

Fairytales in Germany's Black Forest

With deep, dark fir-cloaked woods, gingerbready towns full of half-timbered houses and a ripple of mountains, the Black Forest^* in Germany's southwestern pocket looks as though it has been plucked straight from a Grimm fairytale.

Kid-wise, what's not to love? There's mile after gorgeous mile of walking and cycling trails twisting through the forest in the Black Forest National Park (keep your eyes peeled for deer, woodpeckers and red squirrels), back-to-nature farm stays for families, thermal spa pools to dive into in Baden-Baden, and, of course, cherry gateau everywhere.

Great bases include the medieval university city of Freiburg on the forest's southern cusp and, right in the heart, Triberg, where you'll find the world's biggest cuckoo clock and Germany's highest waterfall, which rages through the forest and over a cliff from a height of 163m.

And the good news: if not travelling by ferry or train, the flight time from the UK (fly to Basel, Stuttgart or Karlsruhe-Baden) is only an hour and a half.

Black Forest weather in May

15
15°C max daytime temperature
6
6 hours of sunshine per day
18
18 days with some rainfall
103
103 mm monthly rainfall

The above guide shows the weather in Freiburg in May. Find out more about conditions across the country in our complete guide to the weather in Germany.

Where to stay: get cosy in an affordable set-up with Eurocamp^*, which has two holiday parks in the Black Forest and many more across Germany.

Seals at Blakeney Point in Norfolk

The patterned shifting sands, salt marsh and rapidly changing colours of sea and sky are just as atmospheric in winter as summer at Blakeney National Nature Reserve^* in Norfolk, home to Britain's biggest grey seal colony, with more than 4,000 pups born here each winter.

The pretty quayside village is an enticing base for striking out on long family rambles along nearby beaches. You might spot seals hauled out on the beach at wave-smashed, dune-backed Horsey Gap, but to up your chances try to book a boat trip out to see seals lolling around at AONB Blakeney Point.

Go seal-watching at Blakeney Point, Norfolk © Gerry Balding - Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

And if you have no luck sighting them in the wild, check out the seal rescue centre at Sea Life Hunstanton^*.

Kids will also love getting wet and dirty rock pooling and mud sliding on the coast. After a clean-up, take them for children's afternoon tea, complete with finger sandwiches, cakes and a teapot filled with squash, at Blakeney Manor^*.

Norfolk weather in May

15
15°C max daytime temperature
6
6 hours of sunshine per day
14
14 days with some rainfall
50
50 mm monthly rainfall

The above guide shows the weather in Wells-next-the-Sea in May. Find out more about conditions across the county in our complete guide to the weather in Norfolk.

Culture & coast in Lisbon

If you fancy taking the kids to a city where the weather is a touch warmer and sunnier for half-term, Lisbon^* is a hit.

The Portuguese capital moves to a chilled beat, especially before the major summer crowds rock up. Built on seven hills, straddling the broad Tagus River and topped off by a whopping Moorish castle, Lisbon is a looker.

Simple things please tots and kids here: the vintage, bee-yellow trams (ride No.28 for an overview of the city) and cinnamon-sprinkled custard tarts (try some of the best at the Manteigaria).

Sights? Tune into the Age of Discovery, when great navigators set sail for distant shores aboard mighty caravels in the 15th and 16th centuries, in the nautical-flavoured neighbourhood of Belém.

Or head to Parque das Nações, with its resident Oceanário, one of Europe's biggest aquariums, with a central tank holding five million litres of seawater.

They run some cool events, from fado (music) with the fish to shark sleepovers. To make a day of it, visit the hands-on science museum Pavilhão do Conhecimento next door, where kids can launch rockets, experience gravity on the moon and ride a flying bicycle.

If you stay for more than a couple of days, you're just a quick train hop from the beaches of Cascais^* and the palaces, castles and gardens of Sintra^*.

Lisbon weather in May

22
22°C max daytime temperature
9
9 hours of sunshine per day
8
8 days with some rainfall
39
39 mm monthly rainfall

The above guide shows the weather in Lisbon in May. Find out more about conditions across the country in our complete guide to the weather in Portugal.

Where to stay: browse family holidays to Portugal with First Choice^* with flights and accommodation included for various budgets.

Unleash adventure in Eryri (Snowdonia)

Yes, the weather can be downright fickle in North Wales but don't let that put you off. When the rain backs off, and even if it doesn't, Eryri^* (Snowdonia) is a cracking choice for a half-term break, packed with exhilarating activities that are real kid-pleasers. Coast, mountains, valleys, mines, caverns, caves, castles; take your pick.

Jumping around at Bounce Below, North Wales © Zip World

The absolute unmissable for active families is Zip World Llechwedd in the former slate mining town of Blaenau Ffestiniog. If you dare, you can zoom 1,080 metres across the Llechwedd quarry on Titan, Europe's largest zip zone.

And if the heavens open, go deeper underground to the Caverns for ziplining, rope bridges and a via ferrata in strikingly lit historic mines. Prefer to jump? Check out the giant trampolines and slides at Bounce Below.

Snowdonia weather in May

14
14°C max daytime temperature
6
6 hours of sunshine per day
16
16 days with some rainfall
93
93 mm monthly rainfall

The above guide shows the weather in Snowdonia in May. Find out more about conditions across the country in our complete guide to the weather in Wales.

Where to stay: search cottages with National Trust^*, cabins with Forest Holidays^* and hotel stays with Macdonald Hotels & Resorts^*.

Moon-walking & stargazing in Tenerife

Nothing beats the glimmer of sun, and Tenerife^* can notch up a balmy 21°C in May, meaning that days spent flopping on beaches and, if you're brave, dips in the Atlantic, are on the cards. Busy at half-term? Not necessarily if you shift your gaze to the island's quieter north.

Move your focus briefly away from the beach to the island's drama-packed Teide National Park, a staggering crater-pitted, rust-red moonscape, capped off by the cloud-wreathed, 3,718 metre-high volcano of Mount Teide, Spain's highest peak.

Skip clambering to the summit and instead opt for the easier, flatter, two-hour Roques de García Trail (wear sturdy shoes and layers), where even small kids will love spotting twisted lava pinnacles, eroded volcanic dykes and solidified magma streams.

On clear, moonless nights, the stargazing in Teide National Park is right up there with the world's best. Bring binoculars to gaze up at the Milky Way and meteor showers, or for more insight and the chance to peek through a giant telescope, join a guided astronomy tour.

If you're after more outdoor adventures, swing to the island's far north to trudge down through fantasy primeval laurel forests to peaceful cliff-backed bays smashed by the Atlantic in the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Anaga Rural Park.

The resort of Puerto de la Cruz^* is an appealing base for exploring the north, with a real Canarian vibe, alley-woven old town and a strikingly designed lido, Lago Martiánez, by architect César Manrique.

Tenerife weather in May

14
14°C max daytime temperature
6
6 hours of sunshine per day
16
16 days with some rainfall
93
93 mm monthly rainfall

The above guide shows the weather in Puerto de la Cruz in May. Find out more about conditions across the island in our complete guide to the weather in Tenerife.

Where to stay: find fabulous family-friendly holidays to Tenerife, including flights and accommodation, with TUI^*.

Low deposits on summer & winter sun holidays with TUI

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Kerry Walker

Kerry Walker is a Wales-based travel writer and author. Kerry specialises in Wales, Central and Southern Europe. She regularly writes for The Telegraph and National Geographic Traveller among others. She's also authored/co-authored over 20 travel guides. Kerry's a qualified translator, avid photographer and lover of mountains and remote destinations.

Posted on Tuesday 12th March 2024 in: Europe Family UK

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