We have the age old discussions starting about where we should go for the summer holiday again. I want to ride and she wants the beach but we both want to do bits of the other too. Kids love swimming pools/complexes and we like a drink in the evenings. A mate and his lot want to come too, they're in the same boat. We thought the Alps but its not "beachy" enough for her indoors. I hear Corsica is an option and perhaps parts of the Spain. Any suggestions?
Italian Riviera. See [url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/kidfamily-friendly-mtb-locations-in-the-alps ]here[/url]
Have a look at Neilson beachclubs. Riding, sailing, beer, wakeboarding, water ski, tennis, windsurfing, kids clubs, etc, etc, etc. None of it is pressured, do as much or as little as you like, all with tuition and kit. Very much recommended.
lake garda,french/italian riviera
Minehead Butlins as you have the Quantocks on your doorstep
Finale - Liguria, Northern Italy. Great trails, beaches and food 😉
Get a fatbike, then you can both enjoy the beach. 🙂
We are based in Southern Spain right on the beach with private gardens and large pool. Perfect for a biking/Non-biking combination.
Stunning singletrack rides with plenty of bus uplift during the day & fantastic après-bike on the coast at night.
[url] http://www.sierracycling.com/Families.html [/url] was an article written by a family who came to stay with us.
Sierra cycling - fantastic biking since 1992
Thanks all, i'm leaning towards Garda i think. Any other suggestions would be great.
We visited Corsica some years ago (pre children) great for walking - lots of good GR paths - and never far from lovely beaches (great snorkelling). howerver, roads were rugged - getting anywhere takes time, and the food wasn't great for a foodie. Still ranks as one of our favourite places though.
Dornoch. Nice beaches, close to Balblair, Carbisdale, Learnie and Golspie, not too far from Fort William and Laggan... somewhat colder than Spain though.
Lake Garda would be awesome. Sardinia might be good too.
Went to Lake Garda last summer, lovely swimming in the lake and diving off pedalos, some nice old towns to explore, lots more watersports at the North end of the lake plus mountains - plenty of bike hire places, access via cable cars etc (although I didnt do any biking as I was too busy on the lake!)
Not a place for a cheap holiday though, even if self-catering, unless the Euro collapses in the next few months!
Take a look at the Vendee, France not a bad drive if your in the south of the UK, great weather and really set up for cycling, good beaches etc.
I'd be another for Garda.
Beach, mountains and plenty to drink!
[url= http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3625/3428905960_e0e1d30360_z.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/basquemtb/3428905960/ ]Larrun from Hendaye Beach[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/basquemtb/ ]basqueMTB - mountain biking holidays[/url], on Flickr
For Garda you should think about where on the lake you want to be, I love the Northern end (Torbole, Malcezine which has the cable car) for the strong winds which are ideal for sailing and the lake hosts many top level events every summer. For a "beach" stay you might want a different spot on the lake.
The Spanish suggestions look great also
South west Scotland and pray for sun?
We, [b]www.bikingandalucia.com[/b], are based at Orgiva, Sierra Nevada, Andalucia, Spain, and are 32 km from the beach at Salobreña, where we can do one of our MTB routes. We are within striking distance of the beach, so you can combine superb riding here in the Sierra Nevada with time on the beach. [b]www.bikingandalucia.com[/b] has been established here for 13 years.
You can buy the [url= http://cordee.co.uk/Mountain-Bike-Sardinia-det-5-39-151-9355.html ]new guide to Sardinia from Cordee[/url]. The missus can drive along a doubletrack then walk 3 km to the beach shown on the cover photo
[img] 
[/img] and you can ride there along "the best singletrack I have ever ridden, all the better for being natural" where we took the cover photo of Davide. Bear in mind that the east coast of Sardinia is reckoned to be one of the most beautiful in the Mediterranean, and you have mountains rising to 1000 m right next to the coast. See videos of riding here at http://www.youtube.com/user/TheLemonHouse The last video loaded was an interview on Sardinian TV as the guide was launched. Many summer visitors come here so they can go riding while the family's on the beach.
You can preview the first 40-odd pages of the guide at http://issuu.com/edizioni_versante_sud/docs/mountainbike_sardinia?mode=embed&layout=http%3A//skin.issuu.com/v/light/layout.xml
If you have specific questions email me at peter@peteranne.it or info@mountainbikeogliastra.it ciao Peter
PS the award-winning Dutch MTB journalist who wrote the preface (you can just about read it in the ISSU online preview) and took many of the photos in the introduction said that the riding here was much better than in Garda. I've never been there so I can't comment. I know that Arco/Garda is much more developed than here, for all the mountain sports we do (we climb and walk as well), and here you only find hardtail bikes for hire, the nearest good bike shop is an hour away, few paths are signed...so if you want the comfort/convenience of a well-developed centre you may want to consider a longer-established venue. As I say, you can email me with specific ?