Hate to say it mum, but this holiday’s cool

Luxury tour operator Scott Dunn has come up with an activities programme aimed specifically at teens. Catherine Cooper and family put it to the test

Show me a teen on holiday, and I’ll show you a list of “Oh, muuu-uums”. The destination is dull. Your company vile. What’s the Wi-Fi code, again? They’re beyond building sand castles, but don’t want to lie on a lounger all day, either. And a kids’ club? They’re far too cool for that.

To fill the gap between childish have-a-go-ism and adult autonomy, this summer Scott Dunn, the luxury tour operator and creator of Britishmiddle-class-bubbles-from-home around the world, has launched Crew. Hosted at beach resorts in Greece, Croatia and Cyprus, these are, the company insists, not kids’ clubs, but a chance for over-11s to hang out and have a good time with new friends. What on earth is the difference? I went to Costa Navarino, in the south-west Peloponnese, with Toby, 14 and Olivia, 12, to find out.

When it comes to holiday clubs, Toby is wary of being “lumped in with a load of babies” and Olivia balks at joining a group of people she doesn’t know. I can sympathise with their scepticism.

Many traditional kids’ clubs are too rigid and structured to suit teens. While these clubs often allow teens to check themselves in and out, most activities are pre-arranged and there’s little chance for young people to set their own agenda. In the age of the over-scheduled child, that’s – at best – an annoyance on holiday.

Other tour operators treat teens as an afterthought, offering little more in their resorts than a clubhouse area – a venue to make friends – with few facilitators. In most all-inclusive clubs, activities are largely determined by what’s available on-site and children rarely get to explore further afield.

Crew’s menu is far more fluid. For £375, you get 18 hours of scheduled activities spread across six days (basically a morning or an afternoon each day), the idea being that the kids fill in the gaps by choosing other things to do with their group themselves – but only if they want to. There’s no clubhouse – meeting places and times are arranged on the go with their Crew leader, often via WhatsApp.

What really stands out about Crew, however, when compared with teentargeted offerings from other top operators, is the impressive range and quality of the activities. As well as the usual getting-to-know-you games,

Olivia Cooper gets to grips with a spot of rock climbing in Greece, above