Summer Holidays with Children: 7 Ideas Off the Beaten Track

Family Holidays · 20 January 2026

The same dilemma every year: where to go for the summer holidays? The beach is hot, overcrowded and with small children often more stress than relaxation. The alternative? Head for the mountains. Here are seven ideas we know from our own experience.

First: barefoot hikes. Sounds simple, but it's huge fun for children. Taking off your shoes and walking through the grass on soft alpine meadows. Second: starry nights. In the mountains the sky is so clear you can see the Milky Way. A blanket, hot tea — done.

Third: gathering herbs and cooking. Our region has many edible wild plants — with a little guidance it becomes a culinary adventure. Fourth: building dams. Almost any mountain stream is perfect for it, and children can stay occupied for hours.

Ideas that actually work

Fifth: watching animals. Marmots, chamois, golden eagles — those who are patient are rewarded. Sixth: mountain hut hopping. Walk from hut to hut, eat rösti on the way and spend the night in dormitories. Seventh: simply doing nothing. Sit on a bench, enjoy the view, and watch the children play.

The beauty of summer holidays in the mountains: you don't need much money and not much equipment. Good shoes, sunscreen, curiosity — that's all it takes. And in the evening you meet in the hostel for communal cooking.

Those who wish can enrol their children in the friLingue Daycamp. There they playfully learn a new language — English, French or German — while you have time for yourself in the morning or afternoon. That's not palming them off, that's clever programming: children come back enriched, parents come back rested.

Why community transforms summer holidays

What do parents do in the daycamp-free morning? More than you think. We've surveyed guests: a third work (workation), a third sleep in or read, a third hike alone. These few hours daily make the whole holiday different — because parents who rest are better parents.

In the evenings our hostels often have joint activities: a barbecue, a spontaneous concert, a quiz night. Nothing forced — whoever wants to join, joins. But many discover that these evenings become their favourite memories. Because here something happens that never happens in tightly scheduled travel programmes: real encounter.

Children who spend summers in the mountains are measurably more balanced. Not because of the mountain air — but because of the pace. Less screen time, more movement, more free play, more social interaction. What parents often only notice after two or three days: the children sleep differently. Deeper, longer, more calmly.

How to plan this

The best summer holiday isn't the most expensive or the most elaborate. It's the one after which children say: 'Can we go again next year?' In our hostels we hear that regularly. Sometimes already on the drive home.