The bucket (and spade) list

Our annual family holiday round-up, with inspiration for every season for the ultimate adventure

Be inspired with an activity-packed family holiday that will delight adventurers big and small. From learning to sail in Croatia to exploring Amazonian Ecuador, bear spotting in Estonia and an incredible Antarctic search for the emperor penguin, Alex Mead has your next trip sorted

JOIN A SEAL SAFARI

FINLAND

With its 13,000 lush green islands and rocky islets, Lake Saimaa in Finland’s Linnaasaari National Park offers more than a few adventures to the outdoor-loving family, but its most treasured possession is undoubtedly the Saimaa ringed seal. Only 300-400 of these unique seals exist, and all of them live within the expansive Lake Saimaa in the country’s south-west, around a three-and-a-half-hour drive from Helsinki. While descended from the ringed seals found elsewhere, Saimaa ringed seals have been living isolated in the lake for 9,500 years, evolving into a sub species.

Combine a seal safari with a stay in a lakeside villa, cosy log cabin or get even closer to nature with a houseboat at Järvisydän, where the owners do daily trips in their boat to spot their endangered friends and perhaps spy an osprey amid the plentiful birdlife around the lake.

Canoeing, hiking and foraging trips into the national park’s forest are also on the agenda, together with paddleboarding yoga sessions and an array of therapies at their lakeside eco spa. Visit in the summer and you’ll have up to 18 hours of daylight in which to make the most of it all. THE DETAIL Seal safaris from £69pp (under-12s, £35). A two-bedroom houseboat costs from £269pn. visitfinland.com jarvisydan.com

SIGN UP FOR SAIL SCHOOL

CROATIA

Thickly carpeted with lush green forest and fringed by sandy shores that disappear into the turquoise waters of the Adriatic, the slither of an island that is Losinj is one of Croatia’s best-kept secrets. While several other of the country’s 1,000-strong archipelago grab the headlines, Losinj goes quietly about its business of entrancing every visitor.

The birthplace of the Olympic gold and silver medallist Agostino ‘Tino’ Straulino, who earned his precious metals in 1952 and 1956, the bays around Losinj have forever inspired sailors, especially those starting young. While Tino started his nautical education when he was six, you’ll have to wait until you’re a positively elderly seven to begin a five-day course at Vespera Family Hotel on the island’s west coast. Book into one of their five-day courses in the Optimist class – a small lightweight dinghy, ideal for young beginners – and the budding Staulinos will be hitting the waves every day as they attempt to tame the wind. Held in the well-protected – and easy-on-the-eye – Cikat Cove, parents can either relax back on the mainland or take their own individual lessons, knowing the children are in perfectly safe hands. THE DETAIL A five-day sailing course costs from £114pp; individual lessons cost from £37 per hour. Doubles from £122. kinderhotel-vespera.com

SWIM WITH DOLPHINS

PORTUGAL

Around 30 species of whale and dolphins frequent Portugal’s four-island archipelago of Madeira, bathing in its temperate waters, benefitting from the year-round sunshine of the ‘garden island’. Atlantic spotted, striped, oceanic, common, bottlenose, rough tooth and Risso’s are just some of the dolphins that are known to pay a visit, together with sperm, sei, pilot, beaked and humpback whales.

You can take guided tours when on the island, including many that include snorkelling, but book Activities Abroad’s Whales, Dolphins and Volcanic Landscapes tour and you’ll get to share a RIB boat with a marine biologist, who’ll talk you through the marine life as the experienced captain goes in search of these glorious creatures. Once found, assuming conditions are right, you’ll be able to join the dolphins in the Atlantic. Catch their eye, do a few tight circles in the water and, before long, you’ll be doing pirouettes with dolphins.

There are plenty of other highlights on this exciting itinerary including a jeep expedition, sea kayaking, a visit to volcanic caves, a dip in lava pools and canyoning. THE DETAIL The seven-day trip costs from £925pp, including accommodation, meals and activities. activitiesabroad.com

Opposite page, clockwise from top left: kids set sail in Optimist dinghies at Losinj; the stunning cliffs of Santana, Madeira; swim with friendly dolphins in the sparkling Atlantic; take to the lake on a paddleboard in Finland; bunk down in a houseboat at Järvisydän; nurture a love of travel that will last a lifetime; a friendly seal greets visitors