Bikes, balls or boards. What's the best activity for your family holiday?

Cycling is a great way to get out and about and see more of the county you are visiting. Exploring on two wheels is hard to beat, you get to see so much more than you would in a car or on a guided tour. At the Neilson Baia dei Mori Beachclub in Sardinia there’s a fleet of bikes for children of all ages and the bike guides have scoped out specific family cycling routes (13 years +), you’ll be able to get right to the heart of ancient hillside villages, see ancient ruins and practise Italian with the locals. 

If you’re more of an adrenaline sport kind of family, how about a spot of water skiing or wakeboarding? Both activities are included and are available to anybody over 120cm in height. There’s also specific family packages at Retreat and Vounaki Beachclub, where you are all in the ski boat together, so you’ll get to see the kids’ confidence on the water grow in leaps and bounds.

Do you and your family thrive on friendly, healthy competition? Even better if it’s in the sunshine? If that sounds like you, a tennis holiday in Sardinia, Croatia or Greece could be the perfect get away for you and your family, it’s the perfect competitive sport for families with older children and teenagers.

Most Neilson Beachclubs have at least two tennis courts with inclusive tuition for everybody. There’s even time in the kids’ clubs to hit the courts, so the whole family can brush up on their skills before a tennis challenge. For the ultimate family holiday tournament, try pitching grown-ups versus kids, mum against dad, girls ‘v’ boys in double and singles matches and get the ball boy, girl, mum or dad working up a sweat.

You may be a family who prefer life on the ocean wave, if that’s you there’s plenty of opportunity for competitive play out on the water. You’ll find fun regattas where you can join the racing fun in a dinghy, on a windsurf or even a kayak, it’s quite straightforward, just get across the finish line before the rest of the family! 

If you want to try something a little more unusual on your next family holiday and your kids love the climbing/bouldering wall back home (let’s face it, most kids just love to climb), now’s the time to try them on the real thing.

Head to the Alana Beachclub in Croatia or Messini Beachclub in Greece and give the exiting sport of rock climbing a go. There’s climbing walls at both with inclusive instruction. When you’re ready to venture further and higher you can book a package to go rock climbing at some local hot spots. This is available to all children over the age of eight years together with their grown-ups! It’s a great activity for the whole family to try - exhilarating, fun and guaranteed to get the heart racing.

Older teens (16+) keen to get their kicks out on the water might want to give kitesurfing in the clear, warm water of Sardinia a go. Head to the Baia dei Mori Beachclub and pre-book an intro to kitesurfing course to see what all the fuss is about.

Families seeking a more relaxed pace can still find their thing on an active holiday. Watersports such as kayaking and stand up paddle boarding on the warm, sparkling blue sea are a great way to unwind and take in the views. Both are very accessible to all ages and abilities, so are perfect for those of you with younger children. Grab a buoyancy aid, pop them in the kayak and off you go.

Children will also enjoy joining in with the yoga and stretch classes for some downtime away from the beach. All beachclubs have an area we call the Recovery Zone, where you can head for massage and beauty treatments – there’s even something for the youngsters with pamper parties.

Of course, relaxing doesn’t have to mean activity, there are wonderful pools where you can while away the hours and you’ll always be able to find a quiet spot on the beach.

Beachclub holidays are just perfect for families who like to be active, but have different interests and want to go their own way during the day.

There’s a kid’s club for all ages from 4 months all the way through to 17 years. Each club is focused on ensuring the kids have a great time trying a range of different water sports and land based activities. On any given day they could be kayaking, stand up paddle boarding, dinghy sailing, playing tennis and much more. There’s always some down time too with arts and crafts, chilling in the club room and movie nights. Kids’ who love to sail or windsurf also have a club called Hot Shots, where they work on their Royal Yachting Association (RYA) youth awards. Perfect for water babies - they will eat, sleep and breath sailing or windsurfing.

While the kids are happy in their respective clubs, the grown-ups are free to do their thing. The list of inclusive activities is huge with dinghy sailing, windsurfing, water skiing, wakeboarding, kayaking, stand up paddle boarding, tennis, biking and fitness. At some beachclubs you can also pay a little extra and go rock climbing and kitesurfing.