Camping with children in Italy

Sun, beach, sea and a gelato every day - Italy is a paradise for parents with children who love camping. In this hospitable country, the family and especially the children take centre stage. Young guests can spend hours building sandcastles on the beach, collecting shells and letting off steam in the sea. And when the children are having fun, the parents can relax all the better.

Camping in Italy with children: All the important information at a glance

Camping enthusiasts looking for a relaxed holiday destination for the whole family are in the right place in Italy. Family-friendliness is a top priority here and this is especially true of the campsites. Many of the campsites are located close to the beach by the sea or a lake. In addition to the beautiful sandy beaches, the holiday villages are well equipped and have pool areas, children's pools, water slides, bouncy castles, playgrounds and sports facilities.

Children's entertainment and an extensive leisure programme are also standard at Italian campsites. This includes children's discos, boat trips, horse riding excursions and themed evenings organised by experienced supervisors. Parents don't have to be bored either: Sports activities, beach gymnastics, cultural trips and wellness programmes provide variety while the little ones have fun.

From the tip of Italy's boot to the Adriatic coast: the choice of family campsites in Italy is huge. While some holidaymakers plunge into the waves of the Adriatic coast or Calabria, others enjoy the tranquil, crystal-clear Upper Italian lakes against a magnificent landscape panorama with active leisure fun while hiking or cycling.

The offer ranges from perfectly organised holiday villages with amusement park character to cosy nature campsites. In addition to pitches for motorhomes, campers can usually also stay in bungalows, flats or luxurious safari tents and bungalow tents. Agriturismo accommodation is also popular. These are guesthouses in rural regions where the family spends their holiday on the farm.

The best destinations for a camping holiday with the whole family

Campsites that are located directly by the sea and promise proximity to the beach are particularly popular with families. The Italian Adriatic, with its long coastline and the well-known seaside resorts of Rimini, Bibione and Jesolo, is one of the most popular destinations.

The campsites here are usually very large and leave nothing to be desired. At Camping Lido near Bibione, direct beach access, a pool and playgrounds as well as a varied entertainment programme mean that guests are guaranteed a varied holiday.

The campsites on the Gulf of Trieste are also very popular. If you spend your holiday with the children at a campsite here, you can combine bathing fun with excursions to Italy's beautiful cities.

The hinterland of Emilia-Romagna is rich in flora and fauna and boasts medieval towns. The same applies to the beautifully curved Amalfi Coast or the Cinque Terre coastline, where families can combine hiking tours to the five picturesque villages with a refreshing swim.

The deeper you go into the south of Italy, the more expansive the landscape becomes: Calabria and Abruzzo offer endless, sometimes rocky beaches and surprise visitors with unspoilt bays for a camping holiday.

If it doesn't have to be the Mediterranean, guests can relax on one of Northern Italy's wonderful lakes. The Continental Camping Village is located on the beautiful Lake Maggiore, where the sparkling lake is surrounded by a beautiful green natural landscape. The extensive grounds are ideal for children, who will have conquered their way from the sandy or pebble beach to the swimming pool and the wide forest meadows for playing football or volleyball with like-minded people after just a few days.

Best time to travel for families with children

For a classic family holiday with sun, beach and sea, nothing beats the summer months of July and August. It goes without saying that the campsites are very busy then and the beaches are of course not to be enjoyed alone. If possible, you should make a reservation at the campsites to avoid disappointment.

However, the high season also has an advantage: the campsites offer a full entertainment programme, i.e. children's entertainment, sports courses, excursions, boat trips and much more. If you arrive in the low season in spring or autumn instead, the campsites may only offer a slimmed-down entertainment programme or none at all.

For families who like to go for walks with their children, the months of April and May and late summer to October are still great times to go camping. The weather is usually quite mild, you have a little more peace and quiet and the prices for accommodation and pitches are also a little lower in the low season.

Destinations

From the north down to the bottom of the boot, families feel at home on a campsite in Italy. Those located directly by the sea are particularly popular. The Italian Adriatic, with its long coastline and the famous seaside resorts of Rimini, Bibione and Jesolo, is one of the most popular destinations. At Camping Lido near Bibione, direct access to the beach, pool and playgrounds as well as a varied entertainment programme ensure that guests have a great holiday. The campsites on the Gulf of Trieste are also very popular. If you spend your holiday here with the children at the campsite, you can combine bathing fun with excursions to Italy's beautiful cities.

The hinterland of Emilia-Romagna is rich in flora and fauna and boasts medieval towns. The same applies to the beautifully curved Amalfi Coast or the Cinque Terre coastline, where families can combine hiking tours to the five picturesque villages with a refreshing swim. The deeper you go into the south of Italy, the more expansive the landscape becomes: Calabria and Abruzzo offer endless, sometimes rocky beaches and surprise with unspoilt bathing bays on a camping holiday. If it doesn't have to be the Mediterranean, guests can relax on one of the wonderful lakes in northern Italy. The Continental Camping Village is located on the beautiful Lake Maggiore, where the glistening lake is surrounded by a beautiful green natural landscape. The extensive grounds are ideal for children, who will have conquered their way from the sandy or pebble beach to the swimming pool to the wide forest meadows for playing football or volleyball with like-minded people after just a few days.

4 top tips for campers with children in Italy

• Beach holidays are a classic for families with children - and are possible almost everywhere in Italy, with the beaches around Cesenatico, Bibione and Caorle being particularly suitable. The sandy beaches are kilometres long and the water is very shallow.
• Some of the northern Italian lakes are still an insider tip. Away from well-known lakes such as Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore, there are many family-friendly lakes that are almost unknown. These include Lake Ledro and Lake Molveno near Lake Garda.
• When camping with children in Italy, holidaymakers can discover several beautiful islands: Elba delights with rocky sandy beaches and museums about Napoleon's exile island, while Sardinia entices with kilometres of sandy beaches and exclusive coastlines such as the popular Costa Smeralda. On Sicily, too, the water shimmers turquoise and the Italians quickly take the little bambinis of holidaymakers to their hearts.
• If you're travelling with kids and a cone and have loaded a dinghy or bikes onto your motorhome, you'll want to be able to spread out on holiday too. Italy's Veneto region is home to the largest holiday parks in the country. The spacious family resorts are sometimes like small towns and offer enough space for everyone. The dream beach is usually just a stone's throw away. There are also huge water parks for younger guests to enjoy, while the older ones can have fun surfing or jet skiing. In the evenings, entertainment programmes promise great entertainment.

Activities and excursions for children and adults

In addition to the child-friendly classics such as swimming, building sandcastles and water sports, Italy has a lot to offer families. Cycling, easy hikes and excursions into the surrounding area provide variety and diversity on a camping holiday with children. There are many cultural sights in the villages and towns that are also exciting for children. And the stunningly beautiful Italian landscapes have delighted everyone, no matter how old they are.

Venice - city on the water

In Jesolo on the Adriatic coast, camping holidaymakers don't necessarily have to choose between the city or the beach. They go on holiday by the sea in the Venice lagoon and crown their beach holiday with a trip to the pearl of Italy. Parents can explore the lagoon metropolis on a romantic gondola ride, for example. With children, you can use a vaporetti day ticket and take the public water taxi through the city's districts - from the Biennale for culture lovers to the Bridge of Sighs and the legendary St Mark's Square with St Mark's Basilica visible from afar.

Family excursion to the Italian volcanoes

The most famous volcano in Italy is Mount Vesuvius off the coast of Naples. This is a great excursion destination, especially for slightly older children, which can be explored on various tours. The volcano once buried Pompeii and was considered the connection to the underworld in ancient times. Guests on holiday in Reggio di Calabria can view the mighty Etna volcano in Sicily from their deckchairs. They can experience the country's volcanism up close when they take the car ferry to the island of Messina in just 20 minutes. There, the mightiest volcano in Europe towers over the enchanting island.

Hiking the Amalfi Coast with children

Hiking with short swimming breaks make a camping holiday with children an unforgettable experience. The Sentiero degli Dei, the Path of the Gods, runs along the Amalfi Coast with a view of the Tyrrhenian Sea and is easy to complete in stages, even for young hikers. Above the coast, the scenic beauty changes from charming lemon trees to unspoilt rocky landscapes, with the turquoise blue sea always in the corner of the hiker's eye.

Events

• High up in the air or relaxing on the water - the events in Italy sweeten the holiday time for the whole family.

February

• Cavalcata Sarda: At the end of Carnival, Sardinia celebrates one of the most colourful and famous equestrian festivals in Italy.

April

• Artevento: Kite flying over the waves of the Adriatic. Hundreds of imaginative kites in bright colours float over the heads of visitors on the beach in Cervia.

July

• Perdon de Barbana: On the first Sunday in July, visitors accompany the unique boat procession from Grado to the lagoon island of Barbana.

September

• Riviera Fiorita: On the Adriatic Brenta Canal, the whole of Venice takes part in a regatta in historic boats along the winding waterways, following the Doge's golden barque