Best unsung destinations for family escapes with Avios

Part of the joy of a family holiday is getting away from all that. And while mainstream family destinations will always have their charm, travellers are increasingly realising that real discovery often happens when you step away from the greatest hits and look a little further down the map.

Here’s why families are increasingly choosing the road less travelled:

• More space, more calm, more actual holiday: When you escape the usual hotspots, you also escape the bottlenecks: crowded beaches, long museum queues, congested old towns. Off-the-radar destinations give you room to explore at your own pace.
• Better value and better memories: Less-touristed places tend to come with more affordable price tags. Accommodation, food, activities, and transport often feel refreshingly reasonable, which makes it easier to stretch your Avios further. And because these destinations aren’t engineered for mass tourism, the experiences feel more personal, more authentic, more “this is one for the scrapbook.”
• Nature front and centre: Families crave the outdoors with open spaces where kids can climb, splash, hike, cycle, and burn through five days of energy before lunch. Off-the-beaten-path destinations are usually rich in nature: forests, mountains, rivers, lakes, wildlife, and quiet beaches that don’t require a battle for sun-loungers.
• Culture that feels lived-in: Instead of souvenir streets and selfie queues, you get real towns. Kids get to explore castles, caves, traditional villages, and historic landscapes that feel unpolished in the best possible way.
• Easier planning with Avios: The beauty of unsung destinations is that they often have excellent British Airways reward flight availability. A quick Avios login can reveal seats to places most people overlook, which means it’s easier to secure flights during school holidays.
• A chance to switch off together: No big-city mayhem. No theme-park overstimulation. Just you, your family, and a place where the days unfold gently. These destinations are the kind of places where you return home feeling like you’ve genuinely had time with one another.

Below, we’ve outlined the best family holiday destinations you can reach with your Avios and some very good answers to that classic dilemma: how to spend Avios on something that genuinely feels special.

Slovenia

Slovenia is an easy-going country where lakes, mountains, forests, and caves all sit within a few hours of each other. It feels safe and surprisingly calm even in peak season, which makes it a great choice for a first international adventure with kids.

Why You Should Visit:

You get a bit of everything: alpine scenery in the Julian Alps, shimmering lakes like Bled and Bohinj, dramatic karst caves, and thick forests wild enough to feel exciting but never overwhelming. Distances are short, infrastructure is good, and English is widely spoken, so it feels adventurous without being stressful.

Family Activities:

Days tend to plan themselves. You can row a traditional boat out to the island on Lake Bled, take easy family hikes in Triglav National Park, ride the little train through Postojna Cave, and hunt for dragons on Ljubljana’s iconic Dragon Bridge before taking the funicular up to the castle. A bit of adventure with ice cream stops and riverside playgrounds can be part of the same afternoon.

Bonus:

Compared to much of Western Europe, Slovenia is noticeably more affordable, especially when it comes to family accommodations, dining out, and activities. The country’s size is a major plus for families with children in tow. You can base yourselves in one or two spots and still reach most highlights in under two hours, keeping journeys short and meltdowns to a minimum.

Getting There with Avios

You can plan a family trip to Slovenia with a flight to Ljubljana from London on off-peak return Economy British Airways reward flights costing 26,000 Avios plus £2. In comparison, off-peak return Business Class seats cost 44,000 Avios plus £30.

Finland

Known as the “Land of a 1000 lakes” and the official home of Santa Claus, Finland feels made for family escapes with its forested hills, mirror-still lakes, wooden jetties, and cabins with their own sauna at the edge of the trees. It’s safe, easy to get around, and gives kids that “proper outdoors” experience without you having to trek for days into the wilderness.

Why You Should Visit:

Three-quarters of Finland is covered in forest, stitched together with thousands of lakes and small islands, so wherever you stay, you’re never far from water, woods, and wide-open sky. The wilderness feels even more immersive in Lapland, around Ivalo, with quiet trails, glassy rivers, and dark winter nights that sometimes come with a surprise display of the Northern Lights.

Family Activities:

In summer, families can paddle canoes or SUPs across calm lakes, hop between tiny islands, and end the day jumping off a jetty straight into the water. Easy waymarked trails make hiking with kids easy, and Finland’s “everyman’s right” means you can pick blueberries and lingonberries right from the forest floor as you walk.

Come winter, many of the same landscapes turn into a cross-country skiing playground, with gentle tracks, sledging hills, and plenty of cosy cafés for hot chocolate breaks between loops.

Bonus:

Instead of huge hotel complexes, Finland’s family stays tend to be small lakeside resorts or standalone cabins with big windows, private saunas, and fire pits outside, the kind of places where kids can roam safely while you watch the light change over the trees. Because most Finns spread out to their own cottages and there are so many wild spaces to go around, you get that “just us” feeling even in peak season.

Getting There with Avios

You can start a family adventure in the far north by flying from London to Ivalo on off-peak return Economy British Airways Club reward seats. The cost between London and Ivalo is 30,000 Avios plus £2, while off-peak return Business Class reward seats cost 53,500 Avios plus £30.

Comporta, Portugal

Comporta is the quieter side of Portugal’s coast: pale-sand beaches, gleaming rice fields, and a handful of low-rise villages that still feel genuinely local. It’s close enough to Lisbon for an easy arrival, but far enough that days fall into a simple routine of sea, sand, and slow meals together.

Why You Should Visit:

Comporta sits between the Atlantic and wide green rice paddies, so your days are framed by dunes, pine forest, and mirror-flat fields full of birds. The villages themselves are low-key and rustic with whitewashed houses, simple cafés, and just enough stylish boutiques and beach clubs to keep the adults happy without ever tipping into “scene.”

Family Activities:

Beach days are easy here: broad, gently shelving sands at Praia da Comporta, Carvalhal, or Pego give kids space to run, paddle, and dig for hours while you watch the Atlantic roll in. Horse riding along the shore or through the nearby pine forest is a big hit with older kids and teens, especially at sunset when the dunes glow gold. The flat terrain makes cycling easy, even for younger riders.

Birdwatching in the Sado Estuary Nature Reserve also adds to the fun: flamingos, storks, and other migratory birds are easy to spot, and boat trips or gentle walks turn it into a memorable family nature day.

Bonus:

Accommodations here tend to lean towards low-density villas, small resorts, and cabin-style stays nestled among trees or fields, with space, privacy, and dark, quiet nights. It feels like a proper escape with no high-rises, no traffic, and far fewer crowds than Portugal’s better-known coastal areas, which is exactly what many families want from a beach break.

Getting There with Avios

To reach Comporta, you’ll fly into Lisbon and then drive roughly 75–90 minutes south. Off-peak return Economy British Airways reward flights between London and Lisbon start from 30,000 Avios plus £2, while off-peak return Business Class seats cost 44,000 Avios plus £30.

Sardinia, Italy

Sardinia is one of the Mediterranean’s classic family holiday destinations, with translucent seas, soft sand, and a backdrop of rugged hills and ancient stone villages. Toddlers can potter at the water’s edge, teens can snorkel off the rocks, and everyone comes together over gelato and seaside sunsets.

Why You Should Visit:

Sardinia’s coastline is dotted with shallow, sandy beaches ideal for children, as well as sheltered coves where older kids can snorkel or paddle in the clear water. Away from the shore, families can dip into the island’s history at Nuragic sites, medieval towns like Alghero, and coastal forts, turning day trips into easy, bite-sized adventures rather than museum marathons.

Family Activities:

Most families come for long, lazy beach days, whether that’s building sandcastles at La Cinta and Villasimius or swimming in the calm bays around Orosei and Stintino. More active days are easy to plan too: hire bikes to follow coastal paths, join a kayak trip to hidden coves in the Golfo di Orosei, or take short, manageable hikes to viewpoints above the cliffs where kids get big “wow” views for relatively little effort.

Bonus:

All around the island, you’ll find resorts, holiday villages, and aparthotels set up specifically for families, with pools, kids’ clubs, playgrounds, and evening entertainment, so you don’t have to invent fun from scratch every day. Plenty of places also provide family rooms, baby equipment, and children’s menus, which makes Sardinia feel very low-stress compared with more “grown-up” Mediterranean hotspots.

Getting There with Avios

You’ll usually fly into Olbia in the north, which puts you close to some of the island’s most family-friendly stretches of coastline. Off-peak return Economy reward seats between London and Olbia cost 26,000 Avios plus £2, while off-peak return Business Class reward seats cost 44,000 Avios plus £30.

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