Last summer we embarked on our first family camping trip. We had no experience of pitching a tent, what we needed (over and above the obvious!) or what we might have to purchase. Thankfully we did a alot of research beforehand and much of what we took, other than food, borrowed or purchased on the cheap! Aside from our Vango tent (which we reviewed), we didn’t want to purchase much given we’d not camped as a family before.
Our campsite of choice was in Switzerland, we opted not to go local, so we took the Euroshuttle from Folkestone to Calais and drove through France to the Swiss Alps. While it was great having our own car and cramming it with our belongings (and enough food to feed a small army), we learnt the hard way that we didn’t actually need as much as we took. Here’s a list of our essentials which you can cherry-pick from to suit your needs. We’ll be packing lighter for our next camping trip that’s for sure!
We relished our time in Switzerland and found plenty of family-friendly activities in the Valais region. During the summer months, there’s hiking, swimming and adventure parks on offer with the winter providing skiing, snow playgrounds and ice skating. More than enough to keep adventurous families occupied that’s for sure! Here’s a taste of the activities available in the Swiss Alps Valais region.
Built between 1951 and 1965, the Grande Dixence Dam in the Swiss Alps is the tallest gravity dam in the world with a width the equivalent of two football pitches. The dam retains a whopping 400 billion litres of water collected from 35 Valaisian glaciers in the area surrounding Zermatt and up to Val d’Hérens.
This summer we popped our camping cherry, staying at the most wonderful campsite in the Swiss Alps. The three of us are more than used to glamping but this was our first family outing pitching and staying in a tent. But it was an epic trip! We honestly couldn’t have stayed anywhere more idyllic and the Valais region exceeded all expectations.
We’ve been saying we must camping for ages but it was only recently we finally committed to sleeping beneath the canvas. JD and I camped as kids but since then it’s been all about the glamping – aside from the days we had in the Venezuelan jungle. We had the best time camping in Switzerland. Lots of you asked to see more of the beautiful Camping Molignon campsite so here it is!
If you love the great outdoors as much as we do, you’ll appreciate the importance of a good picnic mat. The PACMAT range from Rubbastuff is waterproof, compact and easily portable so it’s ideal for families and as we discovered, for hiking!
If you’re looking for a family-friendly destination in Europe, Cantabria is a great fit. We’ve had three road trips in Northern Spain now and it largely remains beautifully unspoiled with spectacular scenery and lots on offer especially for adventurous families like us. We stayed in a 200-year-old cottage in the Liébana area with mountain views and not far from the medieval town of Potes. This provided us with access to the Fuente Dé cable car which is in the heart of the Picos de Europa.
We do love a summer road trip even if exploring for a full 6 weeks isn’t doable – we wish! We didn’t get our road trip fix last year although we did squeeze a lot of travel in with August spent showing POD Venice and exploring the Venetian islands before taking an activity break with Neilson Holidays in Sardinia. We really not having a summer road trip though so later this month we’re hitting the road again. This time, instead of taking the ferry, we’ve set our sights on driving from Calais to a campsite in Switzerland. Yes, we are embarking on our first ever family camping trip!!!
One of the highlights from my recent trip to Lake Maggiore with Bookings For You was the mountain hike. Organised by the Golfo Gabella Lake Resort, our route took us from Campagnano up towards Lago Delio. We might have made the distance had we not been distracted by the magnificent scenery and the sensational local produce. You’ll get a taste of it from this post which features the routes we took and that delicious feast, with perhaps a few too many photos.
Campagnano itself is easily recognisable thanks to the San Rocco Church. We stopped here for a time to take in the spectacular views across Lake Maggiore towards Cannobio. Having travelled to Lake Maggiore with some of my fellow travel bloggers, half of us trekked for cheese with the remainder taking a ferry to Cannobio. Do have a look at Sarah from Extraordinary Chaos’ photo tour of Cannobio, it looks and sounds stunning!
Having left Campagnano, we made our way by foot along the main road. This was largely quiet, with perhaps only one or two cars passing us before we took a beautiful rocky path in the trees. Of course, as we walked and headed upward we were able to take in even more incredible views through the trees – even catching glimpses of the snow-capped mountains in the distance. There’s a lot to look at on the way and it’s the best place to really take in the enormity of Lake Maggiore and everything that’s on offer there.
The latter part of the journey took us along a road for a few minutes before we veered off and took a different path. You could go either way but ours was probably prettier and provided the perfect opportunity for some of the group to sing “the hills are alive” as everyone should when in that situation. Luckily the theatrical singer of the group drowned out my dulcet tones!
Where we stopped to try out the local produce was even more stunning than I imagined it would be. Tall trees, blue skies and sunshine with 80’s classics coming from the cabin. When we walked in the smell was unreal and the cold water on arrival was warmly welcomed – for the first time ever, I forgot to take water on a trek and I was so thirsty! Having checked out the large cheeses and meats, we took time out to cool down and catch our breath while taking in this truly beautiful spot. While doing so taking in the glorious empty B&B opposite which was rumoured to be for sale.
Having enjoyed the most superb feast, we headed back down this time taking a different route. We took some seriously impressive stone steps downward, passing a derelict house (no roof this time) along the way and more of those views. The latter part of this route was pretty steep but only short and led us to a very special village.
The cobbled village of Musignano is one of those places that captures your heart from the moment you arrive. It was charming on its own but what made it unforgettable were all the wooden people dotted around. The attention to detail was something else! If you want to read more about the village and see more of the wooden people, do check out this post by Like Love Do.
We had the best time exploring the mountains, savouring the delicious local produce and discovering the unique village of Musignano. The Lake Maggiore region has so much to offer it really does. Have a read of this post to get a feel for what else you can do there with or without the kids.
Situated in Northern Italy, to the west of Lake Garda and Lake Como, is the beautiful Lake Maggiore – the second largest of the Italian Lakes. Bordering Switzerland, the magnificent scenery that surrounds it and the spectacular views from the mountains really are something else. But as we recently discovered, there’s plenty to satisfy all tastes (we’re even not talking food here) whether you’re travelling with young children, tweens or teens. Here are just some of the reasons Lake Maggiore has to be on your must-visit travel list.
