Multigenerational Summer Trip Ideas

Are you asking about renting a house this month, or next August? A short term rental with 4 or 5 bedrooms and full kitchen is hard to find even with a long lead time.

It’s a pity you’ve ruled out France, as my first thought was the south, where there are plenty of gites set up for exactly what you’re looking for. If the south is too hot for you, what about Brittany or Normandy? Good beaches and lots to do, should suit all the generations. Perhaps google Gites de France for examples.

@CJean, next August!! I should have clarified and will edit the post :-)

@AmandaR, we’re actually going to France in November! So we’d like somewhere different for this summer trip.

OK, next August. In that case, don't rule out Denmark yet. It's very likely that a lot of places haven't yet opened their reservations that far out.

I would do a search on AirBnB for what you want with flexible dates and zoom out to all of Europe. Make a wish list and share it with your group to help narrow it down. If you don’t see availability for your dates, make an inquiry to the host. As another poster mentioned, some hosts only open dates so far out.
Take a look at rental car rates in different countries so you have a better understanding of transportation costs. I have found that car rental in Ireland is much more expensive than in Germany. Plus, the wrong side of the road. If you find a great house where you might need a car (or two), you can balance out the cost.
The wider you cast your net, the more likely you are to find what you’re looking for.
I wish you all the best. This whole thing sounds amazing. Lucky kids to get to do this!

How long will the trip be?

"Not oppressively hot" may be quite limiting, depending on your definition of that term. I've been traveling since mid-May, first in the Balkans and then in Central Europe. It has been very hot almost every day. Geographical areas that should be safe from protracted periods of high heat in August:

• Places at altitude (but they tend not to have a lot of convenient, inexpensive side trips, which could be an issue if you plan a long stay)
• The northern coast of Spain between the Basque Country and Galicia. Both those areas have pretty, historic towns as well as good scenery, and the food is good--though it helps to like seafood.
• Scandinavia (I'm especially fond of Stockholm.)
• The Baltic countries (but there may not be a huge number of convenient, high-interest day trips due to limited rail service)
• Northern Germany and Northern Poland
• Probably the Netherlands and Belgium, but I haven't researched their weather statistics.
• Ireland, Scotland and Northern England.

Took our family to Switzerland and the Dolomites last September, a group of 8 with 2 seniors (us), 4 adults, and 2 11-year olds. I can suggest chalet in Mürren that has a 6-person apartment and a 4-person one in the same building, with gorgeous views. The larger one has a large balcony off the nice living/dining area so you could seat everyone for meals.

I am on my way to class but can post details later if you are interested.

Acraven, thanks! All of those locations sound fantastic. We live in NJ and are used to hot summers, but I’ve visited Florida in August and wanted to cry, LOL. So not like that.

Lola, was that lodging in Switzerland or the Dolomites? It sounds terrific. Two different living spaces could work, as long as at least one has enough room for us to share meals and hang out after the little kids are asleep.

Mürren is in Switzerland. It is a car-free alpine village in the Berner Oberland, one most popular places in Switzerland with members of this forum. It is perched high above the Lauterbrunnen Valley, a which looks a lot like Yosemite. Just getting there is an adventure, involving not only trains but a cablecar. Most people who visit there or elsewhere in Switzerland buy a travel pass to cover the trains, boats, and other transport**—-but the kids under 16 will all ride everything for free, as long as the parents have a travel pass.

**Trains and boats that provide transport to cities, towns and villages are covered with a Swiss Travel Pass, but not the recreational cablecars and gondolas that serve as ski lifts in winter and sightseeing rides in summer. Most of those are, however, covered with a special pass for the Berner Oberland area.

Here is a blog with photos and information about the village:

https://www.swissasap.com/stories/blogs/murren-to-gimmelwald/

And here are two of Rick’s travel videos on the area and the villages:

https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/video/tv-show/swiss-alps

https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/video/tv-show/best-of-the-alps

I believe the lower one, from 2003, has fottage of the local Mürren festival and parade that takes place the first Saturday in August. We have been there for the parade several times, and accidentally ended up a part of it once!

Switzerland as a whole is very family-friendly, well beyond the free travel for kids. The playgrounds are particularly nice. We have taken our grandchildren there twice now (both times to Mürren), when they were 6 years old and again at age 11. They are again clamoring to go back.

Here are a photo and information about the “Flower Park” playground just above Mürren. You can reach it by walking up, or riding the little funicular which goes up and down every 15 minutes or so. You can see this from the balcony of the apartments I mentioned.

https://swissfamilyfun.com/allmendhubel-flower-park-playground/

On the opposite side of the Valley, above the village of Wengen, is another fantastic playground, this one with slack lines and other activities for older children as well as the usual things for smaller children.

https://www.maennlichen.ch/en/summer/experiences/alpine-herdsmans-playground.html

Just over the ridge from Wengen lies the larger village of Griindelwald, which offers an array of adventures including ziplines, mountain coasters and Trottibikes from the First gondola, and a Rodelbahn (summer luge) at the Pfingstegg lift. Note that some of the activities offered at the First lift have height, weight or age requirements so may not be available to the 2 younger children.

https://www.jungfrau.ch/en-gb/grindelwaldfirst/

https://www.pfingstegg.ch/index.php/en/activities/toboggan

These cablecars and gondolas are free for adults as well as children if you get the local travel pass, the Berner Oberland Pass (activities like zip line etc. cost extra).

Boat rides on the nearby lakes, Thunersee and Brienzersee, are also free with a pass, and you can use the boat to visit a local castle. Or you can take a boat (or train) to Brienzersee for the Ballenberg open-air museum, very popular with families.

https://schlossthun.ch/en/

https://ballenberg.ch/en/

Towns and cities like Bern (the capitol of Switzerland) and Luzern are close enough for a nice daytrip.

The 6-person, 3 bdr. Apartment we like so much is Chalet Oberdorf on this page:

https://www.topapartments.ch/en/6-persons

It is also listed on AirBnB (where we rented it) with a lot more photos, under the title “Chalet Oberdorf—-the Perfect Mürren location”. I cannot post a link because I have the AirBnB app and my device defaults to that. But you can google it.

Just downstairs, in the same building, is Chalet Oberdorf B

https://www.topapartments.ch/en/4-persons

Ran out of room. If Chalet Oberdorf is not available for your dates, note that Chalet Mönch on the same page is a 3-bed that sleeps 8 people, in 2 double bedrooms for the parents and one 4-bunk room for the kids. The grandparents could take a nice room in a nearby hotel and have a bit more privacy, but still be close enough to join every one for meals, activities, and general “chill out” time.