Blog post by Bertel Dahlmand Stahn
Holiday with friends and children in Catalonia – quality time in relaxed surroundings and plenty of experiences
Bertel Dahlmand Stahn / Jul 03, 2026
Who doesn’t know the feeling that even a cosy visit from good friends on a Friday or Saturday evening after a long working week can require quite a bit of planning? The house needs tidying, cleaning has to be done, groceries need to be bought and food has to be prepared before the guests arrive. And before you know it, the evening has passed, and everyone has to go home again.
That is why we have personally enjoyed going on holiday in Catalonia with good friends so much. When several families gather in a holiday home for a whole week, it creates a completely different sense of calm and gives you the opportunity to truly enjoy being together.
Here, there is time to cook together, pick up morning bread for those who get up early, and enjoy a glass of wine on the terrace in the evening when the children have fallen asleep. You do not have to fit everything into just a few hours, and that leaves room for good conversations, spontaneous experiences and quiet moments.
For the children, it is just as enjoyable. They have playmates with them, and the days quickly pass with games by the pool, ball games in the garden and shared experiences on excursions.
We have travelled with children of different ages ourselves, and it quickly became clear that the age differences were not a disadvantage – quite the opposite. The adults with older children suddenly had the joy of having young children around them again. The adults with younger children could enjoy more advanced conversations with the older children – and at the same time had to make a little extra effort when playing cards or board games.
The children also got something special out of it. The younger children had someone to look up to, while the older children often enjoyed helping, playing and taking on a little responsibility. It created a good dynamic where all ages could take part in their own way.
When several families travel together, you also have the freedom to do different things. Some may choose to spend a day at a water park, while others prefer a trip to an outlet centre, a local market, the beach or a charming town. Later, everyone can meet again and share the day’s experiences over dinner.
Not everyone has to take part in everything. In fact, the holiday often becomes more relaxed when there is room for families to opt in and out depending on interests, the children’s ages and the mood of the day.
This exact combination of togetherness and freedom is one of the great advantages of staying in a larger holiday home. You have time for each other, but also the opportunity to follow your own interests.
Often, it is the small moments that become the memories you remember the longest: morning coffee on the terrace, a spontaneous barbecue evening, an intense table tennis tournament or the children playing together until late in the evening.
We have always chosen to stay in one large holiday home, which we have shared with our friends. It has worked wonderfully and created many cosy moments around the shared meals, the pool and the daily experiences.
Other guests of ours have greatly enjoyed choosing a holiday home that is divided into several apartments or separate sections. The advantages are in many ways the same: You have a holiday home with a private swimming pool, terrace and other shared facilities, while the apartment-style layout also gives everyone the opportunity to withdraw a little. See some of our holiday homes here:
This can be a great advantage, for example, if some have young children who think 5:00 in the morning is an excellent time to say good morning, while others have teenagers who do not consider 2:00 at night particularly late to go to bed.
It may also be that grandma and grandad are joining the holiday and occasionally need a little time-out from the Formula 1 pace of the grandchildren.
We have holiday homes that are divided into two, three or more independent units. These may be separate apartments, guest houses or different sections of the same property. This gives each family its own area with bedrooms, living space and often its own kitchen, while still being together in the garden, on the terrace, by the swimming pool and in the other shared facilities.
For many, this creates the perfect balance between togetherness and privacy. You can have breakfast at your own pace, put the youngest children down for a nap without interruptions or retreat for a quiet moment when needed.
At the same time, your friends are only a few steps away when it is time to swim, barbecue, play cards or plan an excursion.
It is a solution that works especially well for several generations holidaying together, or for groups of friends where the families have children of different ages. You are together when you want to be – and you have the option to withdraw when you need a little peace and quiet.
Although many hours are naturally spent at the holiday home, over the years we have had countless fun experiences both in and outside the house.
The swimming pool is, of course, often the natural gathering point, but many of the Catalan holiday homes also have facilities such as table tennis, table football, billiards or a dedicated activity room. The children can be entertained for hours, and if you still have a bit of a playful spirit yourself, it is hard not to get carried away.
Small competitions quickly arise between both children and adults. Who wins at table tennis? Who is best at table football? And who ends up spending the most time discussing the rules?
Some of our best memories are actually the simplest experiences. On several occasions, we have driven down to the local school or sports ground to play football. Sometimes we have met local children or families who joined in the game. It has led to some lovely and spontaneous encounters that you rarely experience in quite the same way as an ordinary tourist.
When you go on holiday in Catalonia, it is almost impossible to run out of things to do. Over the years, we have tried a bit of everything: climbing parks among the treetops, kayak trips on rivers and along the coast, water parks, horse riding, wine tastings and, of course, classic day trips to the beach.
After more than 20 years with holiday homes in Catalonia, we know that the best holiday memories often arise from the combination of a lovely holiday home and the experiences you share with the people you care about.
We are therefore always happy to share our experience with activities, excursions, restaurants, beaches, markets and other experiences in the area. This may include the well-known sights, but also the small places you might not have found on your own.
Many choose to spend a day or two exploring some of Catalonia’s exciting cities. Barcelona is, of course, an obvious choice, but in our opinion, Girona is one of the most charming cities in the region. Here, you will find an atmospheric old town, colourful houses along the river, small shops and cosy restaurants.
If you are staying further south, both Tarragona and Reus are excellent destinations for a day trip, with history, culture, restaurants and good shopping opportunities.
One activity we have especially enjoyed with children is the so-called Vías Verdes – the green cycling routes. The routes follow former railway lines and therefore have very few and gentle inclines. This makes them suitable for families and groups where not everyone is necessarily an experienced cyclist.
In several places, you can rent bikes and be driven up to the highest point of the route. From there, the trip continues gently downhill through the Catalan countryside.
Along the way, you can stop in small villages, have lunch at a local restaurant or take a break by a river where the children can play and cool down. It is a wonderful way to experience Catalonia at a pace where everyone can join in.
At the same time, you get to see areas and landscapes that you would not necessarily experience from the car. And because most of the route is gently downhill, there is usually still energy left for the pool when you get back home.
A family holiday with friends is not really just about saving money or finding space for many people. First and foremost, it is about creating time together.
Time for conversations, laughter, shared meals, experiences and presence – all of which can be difficult to make room for in a busy everyday life.
On a holiday together, you also often get to know each other in a different way. You share both the big experiences and the completely ordinary everyday moments: Who gets up first? Who makes the morning coffee? Who lights the barbecue? And who gets the children out of the pool when dinner is ready?
It is precisely this mix of everyday life, holiday and shared experiences that makes this way of travelling so special.
Many of our guests return year after year – often together with the same friends and families they travelled with the first time. That may be the best recommendation you can get.
Do you have any questions about your next holiday? Call or write to us on tel. +45 50 56 76 24 or e-mail: info@sydensferiehuse.dk. You are also welcome to fill out our suggestion form on the website.
Lyngby Torv 5
DK-2800 Kongens Lyngby
Denmark
Bertel Dahlmand Stahn
Owner & Contact person
