Baby-/child-friendly holiday destinations

[Helge]

My gf and I have joined the parenting club last June. Gone are the days of taking Fridays off from work and going climbing for three days with your friends, or spending a day in freezing weather climbing.

Fortunately, we have climbing friends with similarly aged children. However, I'm a bit lost about where to actually go the next couple of years. We went to Fontainebleau in October but I'd rather not go there every holiday and we both prefer sport over bouldering. We usually went to Finale once a year, but the approaches are relatively long and most crags are not child friendly. Siurana doesn't really have many good cliffs either, nor does any other place I've been to in Spain and France. Routes in Leonidio were so poorly cleaned that I'd be hesitant to go there with children and Greece is far.

I would be very happy for some child-friendly holiday destination recommendations. Ideally in driving distance from Zurich (e.g. France, northern Italy), but places with good flight connections are ok. Sport climbing preferred although bouldering is fine if the destination is worth it. Must have a good variety of routes 7a-7c.

PS: I rarely post and mostly lurk here, but this forum has good climbing info, good banter and is one of the few sane places on the internet, so it seemed the obvious place to ask even though I'm not from the UK.

 

[spidermonkey09]

My gf and I have joined the parenting club last June. Gone are the days of taking Fridays off from work and going climbing for three days with your friends, or spending a day in freezing weather climbing.

Fortunately, we have climbing friends with similarly aged children. However, I'm a bit lost about where to actually go the next couple of years. We went to Fontainebleau in October but I'd rather not go there every holiday and we both prefer sport over bouldering. We usually went to Finale once a year, but the approaches are relatively long and most crags are not child friendly. Siurana doesn't really have many good cliffs either, nor does any other place I've been to in Spain and France. Routes in Leonidio were so poorly cleaned that I'd be hesitant to go there with children and Greece is far.

I would be very happy for some child-friendly holiday destination recommendations. Ideally in driving distance from Zurich (e.g. France, northern Italy), but places with good flight connections are ok. Sport climbing preferred although bouldering is fine if the destination is worth it. Must have a good variety of routes 7a-7c.

PS: I rarely post and mostly lurk here, but this forum has good climbing info, good banter and is one of the few sane places on the internet, so it seemed the obvious place to ask even though I'm not from the UK.

I don't have kids, but Ailefroide/Briancon area would seem a good choice. Fits a lot of your criteria. Some good threads on the site about Briancon climbing I think.

 

[thunderbeest]

I'd also say a lot of the bouldering in Ticino works fine with kids. Val Di Mello is supposed to have quite some boulders in the grass.

Not so sure in the sport climbing. I gave up in it after I got kids.

 

[James Malloch]

I've not spent lots of time there, but would the frankenjura fit the bill? 5 hr drive from Zurich, lots of short walk ins, loads of crags in the forests with big open areas to set up a camp.

We're in a similar position (kid is 1 year old now) so watching this thread with interest.

 

[Helge]

Thanks for the Briancon tip, I hadn't thought of that, looks amazing and supposedly ok during warmer months as well. Frankenjura is ok from my experience but underwhelming as a holiday destination (although maybe different with children). I was hoping for places in France as Southern France seems littered with rock and we've rarely been there.

I have never been to Val di Mello and the bouldering in Italy but it looks good. Ticino bouldering works fine but is very warm after March. There is good climbing as well but Ticino is an easy weekend trip for us and not (yet) something I'd consider for a two week vacation (I realise this may sound quite spoilt).

If anybody is keen on going to Ticino there is a small bouldering area in Avegno that has little to no approach from the parking, relatively long sun hours and a decent number of blocks that can be accessed with a stroller. It's also close to many crags in the Maggia Valley. The guide is out of print but there is a lot of info online.

 

[tomtom]

Maybe not a 5* climbing location - but the Ardeche is a great family holiday area with some decent bolt clipping too….

 

[kingholmesy]

I went to the Briancon area last summer with my kids (7, 9 & 11 yrs) and really enjoyed it. It wasn’t a climbing trip but I snuck off for a day bouldering and it would be fine with little ones - looked like there was plenty of bolt clipping too.

For next summer we are going to spend 10 days on the Cote d’Zur coast and then want to go somewhere else in France for another 10 days after that, so am looking for recommendations. Likely candidates are either Gorge du Tarn or Lake Annecy.

Criteria are nice and warm/sunny for the Mrs, general outdoors stuff to do as a family (e.g. swimming, a bit of walking but nothing too arduous, etc), and ideally some climbing in case I manage to squeeze in a day or two (but not the priority).

Anyone want to comment? Annecy looks great - my only concern is the weather looks less settled and if it rains half the time we’re there my better half will grumble …

 

[spidermonkey09]

Briancon is fine in the summer, but does obviously get busy. We stayed in Argentiere which was drivable to everywhere really. Mont Dauphin and Rue de Masques are goods shady crags.

 

[lukeyboy]

Others may be more optimistic/ambitious, but I would pretty much write off sport climbing with each other for a few years - unless you have family or friends on a trip with you who are willing to help with childcare.

I have a 4 and 6 year old and I think we're only just approaching the point now where I'd consider them safe enough at a crag for one of us to be belaying and the other climbing. Even then, it's really hard to focus fully on the climbing, I certainly wouldn't manage any limit redpoint or onsight attempts.

My advice would be to each go sport climbing with other partners for the time being, and for holidays bouldering works much more easily.

Obviously this is just my experience and opinion, I know there are people who go sport climbing with very young families but I honestly don't think it's worth it for anyone involved.

Sorry for the downer.

 

[T_B]

I’ve never done sport climbing trips with the kids, but we did stop off at Gorges du Tarn having been there previously in late August pre-kids. It’s such a beautiful spot. I could see that working well as a two family destination if a pair of you nipped off to climb whilst others hung out by the river/campsite. Much of the climbing is very accessible (though note some crags close to the road are a write off after early morning as they’re south facing). Nice relaxing by the river. Canoeing down it is the thing that many people visit for. Mooching around Millau etc. We went for a day when coming back from Targasonne (bouldering).

 

[T_B]

Crap photo but you get the idea..

 

[James Malloch]

I’ve never done sport climbing trips with the kids, but we did stop off at Gorges du Tarn having been there previously in late August pre-kids. It’s such a beautiful spot. I could see that working well as a two family destination if a pair of you nipped off to climb whilst others hung out by the river/campsite. Much of the climbing is very accessible (though note some crags close to the road are a write off after early morning as they’re south facing). Nice relaxing by the river. Canoeing down it is the thing that many people visit for. Mooching around Millau etc. We went for a day when coming back from Targasonne (bouldering).

A slight aside, but do you know if Gorges du Tarn is still bad for Processionary Caterpillars?

I'd love to go but we've been put off by past reports of how bad they are there (especially for our dog). Their hairs can stay active/poisonous for years and I've come out in awful rashes before due to them in Font. It really puts me off visiting!

 

[T_B]

I don’t know James. Whilst we’re very aware of them in Font, it’s not something I’ve heard about nor saw in Gorges du Tarn.

 

[James Malloch]

Maybe it's not as bad now. I know that back in 2018 there was a massive outbreak of them, and in 2021 some friends encountered loads and had to rush their dog to a vet. There was a climbing festival cancelled one year too due to them. I'd still love to go one day but probably a trip without the dog, just in case!

 

[Rocksteady]

Others may be more optimistic/ambitious, but I would pretty much write off sport climbing with each other for a few years - unless you have family or friends on a trip with you who are willing to help with childcare.

I have a 4 and 6 year old and I think we're only just approaching the point now where I'd consider them safe enough at a crag for one of us to be belaying and the other climbing. Even then, it's really hard to focus fully on the climbing, I certainly wouldn't manage any limit redpoint or onsight attempts.

My advice would be to each go sport climbing with other partners for the time being, and for holidays bouldering works much more easily.

Obviously this is just my experience and opinion, I know there are people who go sport climbing with very young families but I honestly don't think it's worth it for anyone involved.

Sorry for the downer.

Afraid this has been my experience too - I well remember my wife belaying me up a route in France and once I got to the (quite high) second bolt my oldest child completely flipped out and relentlessly screamed the whole rest of the route. Since then I've mainly gone on trips without my kids or gone bouldering with them in the UK - though my oldest is now 7 so I'm getting him trained up a sport climbing partner for the future.

The crag I went to where the above incident happened was great for kids - Guignoterie in the Loire: https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/guignoterie-17797/
I probably wouldn't plan a climbing trip just to go there but the Loire region is a pretty good option for family holidays and the crag would definitely have supplied at least a few days' fun.

Given your location I'm sure you already know Murgtal; that is a bouldering venue I thought very good for families.

 

[kingholmesy]

Thanks TB - your photo indicates there is some DWS in the Gorge du Tarn. That’s quite inviting as when I’m on a family holiday I don’t want to have to try and find a climbing partner, so being able to nip off on my own for DWS or bouldering is much preferred.

Anyone else with views on Gorge du Tarn versus Annecy area for a family holiday??

 

[Ged]

Another vote for sport climbing being really hard. Admittedly we haven't tried it with other families, and we're getting the the stage where we might soon (age 3 and 6), but the whole "a couple nipping off for a quick climb" sounds like hard work to me.

Font has been brilliant for us, but like you said, be nice to go other places. WHat's Murgtal all about?

 

[The Red Barrack]

Thanks TB - your photo indicates there is some DWS in the Gorge du Tarn. That’s quite inviting as when I’m on a family holiday I don’t want to have to try and find a climbing partner, so being able to nip off on my own for DWS or bouldering is much preferred.

Anyone else with views on Gorge du Tarn versus Annecy area for a family holiday??

I'm with the don't mix family with sport climbing holidays camp generally. However, if you're interested in combining a family holiday with DWS I can recommend Majorca. We stayed very close to Porto Cristo last October half term, a few minutes from Diablo and Cala Barques. This worked really well with me nipping off for a couple of mornings.

 

[Helge]

I've been wanting to go to Gorge du Tarn for a long time, very happy to put it on the list. Has been vetoed in the past due to supposedly being runout. Ardeche is popular as a holiday destination among friends into watersports. I liked the idea of spending some time on the water but unfortunately my partner refuses to enter any boat that shakes even slightly.

Re: Annecy, I haven't been to the nearby areas, but to some of the crags east of Annecy, near Yenne/Lac du Bourget. The largest crag, La Balme, is north-facing, has nice climbing and a flat base with a cave-like area to explore. It can stay wet quite long after rains in spring though and may be a bit humid in summer due to the river nearby. There is a small kids climbing sector. Unfortunately there is a larger road next to the cliff, so it can be noisy. Other crags were less or not at all child-friendly, Parves would probably be ok with older kids. But we only went to four different areas, and there are at least three guidebooks worth of climbing within an hour's drive. Yenne is a nice smaller town and there is a campsite near the river with canoes etc.

 

[Helge]

Others may be more optimistic/ambitious, but I would pretty much write off sport climbing with each other for a few years - unless you have family or friends on a trip with you who are willing to help with childcare.

I have a 4 and 6 year old and I think we're only just approaching the point now where I'd consider them safe enough at a crag for one of us to be belaying and the other climbing. Even then, it's really hard to focus fully on the climbing, I certainly wouldn't manage any limit redpoint or onsight attempts.

My advice would be to each go sport climbing with other partners for the time being, and for holidays bouldering works much more easily.

Obviously this is just my experience and opinion, I know there are people who go sport climbing with very young families but I honestly don't think it's worth it for anyone involved.

Sorry for the downer.

This is what I was mentally preparing for - most of my friends with older children seem to have resigned and mostly go bouldering. We have some friends with similarly aged children who also prefer sport climbing though, so there's some hope to make it work occasionally or on holidy.

For those inquiring about Murgtal, it's not something I'd recommend as a holiday destination in good conscience. It's reasonably popular though so some people seem to like it. It is relatively close, I've mostly only gone in winter though. The boulders are scattered through the forest at all altitude levels. All sectors are more or less family friendly. The meadow at the top is very nice, with a small stream, trees and places to picknick. Some of the boulders up there were blown up to fix damage from a rockfall a couple of years ago, so there is a bit less choice now. There are some really cool problems, many of the classics are in lower areas though. The rock is very sharp and takes some getting used to. Not somewhere you can really climb multiple days in a row even if you have good skin.