Family holidays in Andorra
“The kids were screaming with laughter all the way,” says Daniel Pawlyn, recalling whitewater rafting while on our family holiday in Andorra. Was that because they scored front-row seats for rocketing down the rapids? Well, yes. But also… “I fell out, so they were also quite amused by that! The instructors had to drag me back in with a paddle.”
Of course, all the guides are professionals who know this patch of the Pyrenees like the back of their hands. There’s more fun than fright in a brief spill overboard. Thanks to the safety briefing, you’ll know exactly what to do: lie back, point your feet forward and float with the flow until an instructor fishes you out.
Daniel works for Intrepid Travel, who organise our Andorra family holiday. He joined the tour for a big family reunion. “I was concerned about whether the holiday was going to suit everyone aged from 10 to 77, but actually it was fantastic,” says Daniel. “My mum didn’t go rafting but went for a walk in the valley so she could see us come down the river and wave at us.”
Of course, all the guides are professionals who know this patch of the Pyrenees like the back of their hands. There’s more fun than fright in a brief spill overboard. Thanks to the safety briefing, you’ll know exactly what to do: lie back, point your feet forward and float with the flow until an instructor fishes you out.
Daniel works for Intrepid Travel, who organise our Andorra family holiday. He joined the tour for a big family reunion. “I was concerned about whether the holiday was going to suit everyone aged from 10 to 77, but actually it was fantastic,” says Daniel. “My mum didn’t go rafting but went for a walk in the valley so she could see us come down the river and wave at us.”
The passionate pros of the Pyrenees
Never tried rafting? New to mountain biking? No worries. Our family holidays are headed up by guides and activity instructors who are multi-tasking pros. They’ll steer you safely down mountain tracks and bolster your confidence on new terrain.As avid mountain bikers, cyclists, hikers and paddlers, they are also familiar with the joy of trying something new – and love to share that joy with the next generation of adventurers. Challenging yourself is warmly (and safely) encouraged.
“On the mountain biking days, we were going down mountain tracks,” says Daniel, “so the activity instructors gave us plenty of coaching along the way, telling us not to sit on the saddle when going down the hills or telling us to stand on the pedals so that we would get a lot more fluidity and flexibility in our riding styles, which was brilliant.”
Some guides have grown up here, offering a lifetime’s worth of insights into Andorra’s independent Catalan culture. Others are mountain experts who came to work for a season, fell in love with the mountain culture and stuck around. The latter is an age-old story for this tiny country, where less than half the population identify as Andorran.
Whoever your guides are, they’ll know this terrain well. That means you can concentrate on shooting down rivers and hiking up mountains, all while knowing your family is in the company of experts who’ll also remind you to look up from time to time – at the glimmer of a lake secreted behind the trees or at a bearded vulture wheeling above.
Plus, completing paths means prizes.
“One day, we were walking up to this stunning lake in the mountains, and the prize was getting there to put your feet in the water and have lunch at the top,” says Daniel. “So the children got their reward!”
Of course, you don’t have to do activities that truly aren’t your cup of tea. Guides can suggest an alternative activity… or a café from which to admire the mountain views with a glass of frozen, citrusy granizado in hand.
Swapping ski pistes for summer trails
Travel to Andorra in summer, and you’ll be in the minority. Most families go for the ski season, when high-altitude resorts have historically welcomed heaps of snow each winter. However, the future of winter tourism is fragile, with increased minimum temperatures predicted in the region. As natural snowfall becomes more unpredictable, the push to create fake snow increases – and with it the financial and environmental concerns that come with snowmaking.
Our top family holidays offer another option: exploring the Pyrenees in the summer months.
Spending the summer holidays in Andorra isn’t exactly a hard sell. Without the cape of snow, views are green and grand, starring mountain ridges and passes so high it’s hard to tell if that’s a silvery river or a road threading through the valley far below. Even the capital city, Andorra la Vella, has a head for heights; at 1,023m, it’s the highest capital in Europe. The highest paved road in the Pyrenees – the Port d’Envalira, darling of the Vuelta a Espana and Tour de France cycling races – snakes through Andorra too.
Summer welcomes activity-friendly weather too, with average temperatures hovering around a comfy 25-26°C – plus cooler evenings ideal for watching the long shadows idle their way across the valleys as you rest after a day’s exploring.
Our top family holidays offer another option: exploring the Pyrenees in the summer months.
Spending the summer holidays in Andorra isn’t exactly a hard sell. Without the cape of snow, views are green and grand, starring mountain ridges and passes so high it’s hard to tell if that’s a silvery river or a road threading through the valley far below. Even the capital city, Andorra la Vella, has a head for heights; at 1,023m, it’s the highest capital in Europe. The highest paved road in the Pyrenees – the Port d’Envalira, darling of the Vuelta a Espana and Tour de France cycling races – snakes through Andorra too.
Summer welcomes activity-friendly weather too, with average temperatures hovering around a comfy 25-26°C – plus cooler evenings ideal for watching the long shadows idle their way across the valleys as you rest after a day’s exploring.
Our top trip
Pyrenees family holiday, Andorra
An action-packed centre-based summer activity-week
From
£895 to £975
8 days
ex flights
Small group travel:
2025: 6 Jul, 20 Jul, 27 Jul, 3 Aug, 10 Aug, 17 Aug
2026: 5 Jul, 19 Jul, 26 Jul, 2 Aug, 9 Aug, 16 Aug
2025: 6 Jul, 20 Jul, 27 Jul, 3 Aug, 10 Aug, 17 Aug
2026: 5 Jul, 19 Jul, 26 Jul, 2 Aug, 9 Aug, 16 Aug
Contact Us
Call us for a chat about our holidays. We are happy to discuss your holiday and help in any way we can. No bots, queues or awful hold music.
01273 823 700
Call us until 6pm
Calling from outside the UK
Easy adventures & fast friendships
The whole country of Andorra is just a third of the size of London – and with smoother, emptier roads to boot. That makes travelling between places and activities a breeze; accommodation is often chosen because cycling and walking routes start right from the front door.
Mini adventures are easy. One day, you might hike through the rhododendron forests and wildflower-freckled meadows of the Incles Valley. The next, cycle to Abelletes Lake for the obligatory family photo op while straddling the French border. The Spanish border is also a near-invisible thing; you’ll hop over it for white-water rafting on the Noguera Pallaresa in Catalonia – one of the best rafting rivers in Europe.
However, some of the most memorable moments aren’t to do with the activities at all. Our family holidays in Andorra are small group trips, so you’ll share the adventure with other families.
“One of the best things is that the kids interact with other families,” says Daniel. “So the parents are having a drink at the bar and getting to know each other and the kids are off running around in the fields nearby and local area… For me, this interaction is one of the best things about these family group trips.”
Read more about Daniel’s Andorra adventure in our interview.
Mini adventures are easy. One day, you might hike through the rhododendron forests and wildflower-freckled meadows of the Incles Valley. The next, cycle to Abelletes Lake for the obligatory family photo op while straddling the French border. The Spanish border is also a near-invisible thing; you’ll hop over it for white-water rafting on the Noguera Pallaresa in Catalonia – one of the best rafting rivers in Europe.
However, some of the most memorable moments aren’t to do with the activities at all. Our family holidays in Andorra are small group trips, so you’ll share the adventure with other families.
“One of the best things is that the kids interact with other families,” says Daniel. “So the parents are having a drink at the bar and getting to know each other and the kids are off running around in the fields nearby and local area… For me, this interaction is one of the best things about these family group trips.”
More Andorra articles
Dive into our Andorra travel guide to find out why, just sometimes, the best holidays come in very small packages.
Discover why the best time to go to Andorra is summer, along with our recommended activities.
_-_33.jpg){kind=link}