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The 16 best international summer camps for

teenagers
by Samantha Laurie

31 January 2018
What do you do with a teen whose summer holiday plans amount to sleep and

Snapchat? Try camp, says Samantha Laurie

In the US, summer camp, with its inexhaustible daily diet of screen-free outdoor

fun is practically obligatory (at least for affluent East coasters). Now, British

kids are waking up to the delights of a parent-free adventure oversees. For the

right teenager hungry for a bit of adventure and keen to broaden their horizons,

an overseas camp is a chance to show real independence, forge lifelong cross-

cultural friendships and maybe even pick up a new skill or two. The real deal is

the traditional American lakeside cabin camp, but there are plenty of choices in

Europe too, with all kinds of specialities on offer – from language tuition and

all-action adventure to robotics and performing arts.

Alternatively, you can check out our list of the best residential summer camps

in the UK if you're looking to give your teenager a summer of fun that's closer

to home.

There’s lots of fantastic free advice to help parents choose the right camp. Try campexperts.co.uk

or americansummercamps.com

 1
Village Camps
Salavas, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France

+33 4 75 88 16 81

Website
Best for: River fun

This granddaddy of European camps (now in its 47th year) has sites in Austria,

Portugal, Switzerland and elsewhere, but few can boast a location as

spectacular as the Summer River Camp Experience on the banks of the Ardèche.

It’s a slick, well-run operation with rock climbing, abseiling and canoe training

culminating in a two-day 30km canoe descent of the Gorge with an overnight

bivouvack. Accommodation is ‘comfortable roughing it’ in large, all-weather

tents with sprung beds. If your offspring is a linguist, you can combine the

outdoor fun with a French language course.

Suitable 11-17 years; £2000 (two weeks), starting July 1 or 15;

villagecamps.com

 2

International Camp Suisse

Route de la Jorette, Torgon, Valais 1899, Switzerland

+41 79 563 98 72

Website

Best for: Mountain activities

Husky sledding on a glacier is one of the many highlights at this English-

speaking language and activities camp in the Swiss Alps. Here all campers do

nine hours a week of language tuition (French, Spanish, German or English)

combined with cultural trips and a full timetable of outdoor action (biking,

hiking, camping, climbing and watersports). Set up 15 years ago by Richard

Young and Julie Tyler, school ski trip providers and outdoor enthusiasts, it

draws campers from all over the world for one- to two-week camps.

Suitable for 6-17 years; one week £1250; June 30 – Aug 17; campsuisse.com

 3

Camp Kandalore
1143 Kandalore Rd, Ontario K0M 1J2, Canada

+1 705-489-2419

Website

Best for: Wilderness

With over 600 camps, Ontario is the home of camping in Canada. This 100-year-

old venue has some incredible water-based adventures on offer, including

canoe tripping through the lakes and parks (14-16 year olds can take part in 5-

12 day trips, with longer trips for older campers).

Cost £2000 for two weeks, one-week option at the end of August (£1000);

kandalore.com

 4

Camp Lohikan
343 Wallerville Rd, Lake Como, Pennsylvania PA 18437, United States of
America

+1 570-798-2707

Website

Best for: Multi-activity

Over 65 activities including watersports on private lake, a skatepark, scuba

diving, horseback riding, quad biking, paintball, creative arts, performing arts,

culinary arts and circus arts. International campers fly into JFK or Newark and

can stay for 2, 4, 6 or 8 weeks.

Suitable for ages 5-18; £2200 for 2 weeks; end of June – end of August;

lohikan.com

 5
Bear Grylls Survival Camp Germany
Vethem, Germany

+49 40 4100 949 00

Website

Best for: Survival

Set in the beautiful National Park Lüneburger Heide, the German chapter of the

Bear Grylls Survival School offers active adolescents the perfect opportunity to

emulate their favourite bushman. Campers can look forward to being taught

some of the survival skills that have saved Bear Grylls's life over the years, like

knots, knives, orienteering, shelter building, river crossing and how to start a

camp fire without matches. Budding survivalists will also take part in a number

of 'Adventure Projects' aimed at team building, like high ropes and raft

building. A particular highlight of the week is a night hike, where kids will use

all the survival skills they've obtained to hike in the wild, build a shelter, sleep

outside and cook dinner on a fire they have built themselves.

“Struggle develops strength, and storms make you stronger” – Bear Grylls.

Suitable for 7-16 years; £370 (one week) – £620 (two weeks); June 24 – August

25; beargryllssurvivalacademy.com

 6
French Woods Sports and Arts
431 Chapel Hill Rd , Hancock, New York New York 13783, United States of
America

+1 607-637-2267

Website

Best for: Teenage daydreaming

This teen-only camp offers watersports, sports and extreme sports, performing

and visual arts, circus arts and technology such as computer programming,

graphic design and robotics. It is also one of the very few that allows mobile

phones in camp.

£880-£2300; 2, 4, 6 or 8 weeks from early June – end of August;

fwsportsarts.com

 7

PGL Two Centre Adventure

Domaine de Segries , Vagnas, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 07150, France
0333 321 2114

Website

Best for: Value

This multi-activity week includes a two-day canoe descent of the Ardèche

followed by watersports on the Med at PGL’s exclusive beachside campsite,

Mimosa. Kids here are likely to be all from the UK and there’s plenty lined up

to help them bond, including a disco for 300+ and over 50 activities to choose

from.

Suitable for 13-17 years; 8 nights (incl journey time) £809 (incl transport from

UK); coaches leave July 30 or Aug 6; pgl.co.uk

 8

Camp California
Brune Bušića, Pakoštane, Zadarska Županija 23211, Croatia

+385 23 381 724

Website

Best for: International mix

Located at a family resort on the Adriatic Sea, this US-style camp hosts children

from 30 different countries and promotes cross-cultural friendships by having

no more than three of the same nationality per cabin. Camp language is English

and there’s lots going on to bring kids together, with watersports, performing

arts and gymnastics. Teen-specific courses include sailing, rafting, kayaking

and kitesurfing.

Suitable for ages 6-17; £700 (one week), £1400 – £2100 (two weeks); June 17 –

August 18; campcalifornia.com

 9

Ocean Youth Trust

Gosport, PO12 1BP

02392 602 278

Website

Best for: Seafaring

Not truly a camp, but this has adventure, camaraderie and sheer thrills in

spades. OYT gives sail training to hundreds of disadvantaged children each

year and, during the holidays, offers places to children from mainstream

backgrounds too.

Youngsters learn to sail, navigate and cook on OYT’s 32-metre vessel Prolific,

crewing the boat (with expert help) on voyages to France and the Channel

Islands. They can put the experience towards Royal Yachting Association
qualifications, although the focus is on fun rather than training, with music,

bbqs and trips ashore.

Suitable for 12-25 years; four-night sail (£385) to seven nights (£650);

oytsouth.org

 10

Mountain Camp California

1348 Pollock Pines, Pollock Pines, California CA 95726, United States of
America

415-351-2267

Website

Best for: Tech detox

Mountain Camp California is a traditional co-ed summer resident camp for

campers between the ages of 6-18 that puts a special onus on weening its

campers off of their smart phone/computer/tablet/television/video game

addiction by getting them off-grid, outside and active. The camp's program

focuses on promoting a positive self-image, encouraging friendships and

community, and practicing a healthy lifestyle. Along with the usual water

sports, rope courses and outdoor activities, your teenager can look forward to

slightly more off the wall entertainment like LARPing (Live Action Role
Playing), yoga, writing for the camp newspaper and broadcasting on the camp's

radio station.

Suitable for 6-18 years; £1400 (one week) – £4600 (four weeks); June 10 – Aug

25; mountaincamp.com

 11

That's Mandarin Beijing Summer Camp

7 Xinzhong Street, Beijing, Beijing Municipality 100027, China

+86 10 8448-9799

Website

Best for: Something completely different

Perfect for teens looking to learn Chinese language skills while taking in some

of the country's incredible cultural heritage. Professional teachers aim to

provide a fun learning environment with traditional lessons interspersed by

calligraphy classes, cartoon making and field trips to local museums. There's

even a special trip to The Great Wall of China included and plenty of down

time for kids to socialise with other campers. For parents that don't want to

miss out on the fun, there's an option for the whole family to learn Mandarin

together, wánshàn!
Suitable for 12-17 years; £2500 (two weeks) – £5000 (four weeks); June 11 –

Aug 6; summercampschina.com

 12

Maine Teen Camp

481 Brownfield Rd, Porter, Maine ME 04068, United States of America

207-625-8581

Website

Best for: Making new friends

Another American summer camp created exclusively for teenagers, Maine Teen

Camp specialises in fostering friendships, with the vast majority of its campers

coming to the site for the first time each year, meaning fewer cliques. There's

also a special focus on music at this campsite, with a recording studio on site

and plenty of opportunities for musicians of all levels of experience to perform

live and learn from highly skilled instructors. Tennis,

waterskiing/wakeboarding and cookery make up the rest of the camp's

'Signature' activities.

Suitable for 13-17 years; £2400 (two weeks) – £6080 (seven weeks); June 24 –

Aug 14; mountaincamp.com

 13
Camp Friendship
573 Friendship Way, Palmyra, Virginia VA 22963, United States of America

1-800-873-3223

Website

Best for: Horseplay

Collecting from Washington DC, this Trad camp offers horse riding, water

sports on private lake, gymnastics, target sports, creative arts, wilderness

survival. It also has a great Family Camp week (£247 per person including all

the summer activities).

Suitable for ages 7-16; one- or two-week camps from mid-June to mid-Aug;

£950-£1100 per week; campfriendship.com

 14

GaudenzDanuser.com

JT Camp Switzerland
7031 , Laax, Canton Grisons, Switzerland
+41 26 915 0505

Website

Best for: Brain and brawn

JT Camp offers an array of different activities, from arts and craft to cookery

and language courses. It is the array of sports and language classes available to

campers, however, that really sets it apart from other competitors, with two

hour language classes in either English, French, German or Spanish during the

morning, and a highly skilled staff offering over 30 different sports to kids of all

ages and abilities in the afternoon. Your teenager can choose to mix and match

between a football academy, horse riding, mountain biking, tennis, basketball,

golf, indoor gymnastics and a freestyle academy, to name but a few. There's

even a five-day excursion to the Zermatt Glacier in the middle of July for

campers to learn how to ski (all levels of experience welcome).

Suitable for 7-16 years; £6025 (three weeks) – £12,200 (six weeks, includes

skiing trip to Zermatt); June 24 – Aug 11; jtcamp.ch

 15

YMCA Sandy Island Family Camp

144 Wentworth Highway, Mirror Lake, New Hampshire, United States of
America

603-569-2725
Website

Best for: Fun for the whole family

Packing your adolescent off to an all-singing all-dancing summer camp can

often leave one wondering why they get to have all of the fun without you.

Fortunately Sandy Island Family Summer Camp offers a specially designed

environment for joy to be shared intergenerationally. Families hire a cabin on a

weekly basis, and can choose how much or little they get involved with the

camp's various activities. Those looking for frenetic fun can pick

between watersports, fishing, tennis and sports, while those after a more laid

back experience can put their feet up by the lake and enjoy the tranquility of

nature.

There are also several specially designed programs for children aged 3-5, 6-8, 9-

12 and 13-19. Spending time with the kids on a family holiday can be a

wonderful experience, but there's definitely such a thing as too much time

together!

Suitable for all ages; £565/week (senior 62+), £630/week (adult 17+), £525/week

(junior 9-16), £430/week (CAVE 6-8), £320/week (pre-school 3-5), £40/week

(infant 1-2); June 30 – September 1; ymcaboston.org

 16

Ohana Family Camp

341 Quinibeck Rd, Vermont VT 05058, United States of America

802-333-3460

Website

Best for: Introducing the family to nature

Ohana is similar to the Sandy Island Family Camp in that you rent a cabin/tent

on a weekly basis and choose how much you want to get involved as a family

in the camp's weekly activities. Where it differs, is that there's more of a fun at-

one-with-nature hippy vibe to proceedings (in the Hawaiian

language, ohana means family, community, a circle of good friends).

In the evenings, Ohana campers gather for music-making, storytelling, contra

dancing and presentations by local experts on the natural and cultural history

of the region.

Suitable for all ages; £1040/week (tent platform for up to two), £1590/week

(cabin for up to two), £2180/week (cabin for up to three), £3450/week (cabin

for up to five), £5030/week (cabin for up to seven); June 30 – August

18; alohafoundation.org

For more great articles aimed at parents check out our Kids and Schools section,

featuring great pieces like our round up of the best independent schools in Surrey & SW

London

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