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How to keep older teens entertained on a family trip to sporty Sardinia resort Forte Village

Jun 18, 2026by Lucy Huxley

A wealth of sports and spa facilities make for a fun family holiday at any age, writes Lucy Huxley

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When I was 14, I camped out overnight in the Wimbledon queue to watch Pat Cash win on Centre Court, so desperate was I to catch a glimpse of my sporting hero. Little did I know it would have been much easier to wait a good few years and take a holiday at Italy’s Forte Village to train with him at the on-site tennis academy.

Cash is just one of the tennis legends who oversee the exceptional sports coaching at this resort, set on the southern tip of Sardinia. I remember Forte Village launching its football academy with Chelsea in 2008, followed by a rugby academy with former internationals Will Greenwood, Martin Johnson and Austin Healey two years later.

Fast-forward 20-odd years and now the resort’s academies cover everything from table tennis to dance, boxing to gourmet cooking, and road cycling to padel.

New additions to the list include netball, hockey and coastal rowing, plus there’s even a Barbie academy “for children to explore the world of fashion, unleashing their creativity without limits”, according to the programme.

It’s a huge draw for the family-friendly resort, with children typically joining at least one academy during a week-long stay. But even if you don’t have kids of academy age (it varies by activity, but usually from about four up to 16 or 17), the facilities that support them are phenomenal and open to all guests, with extra charges for equipment hire or private tuition.

Teen-friendly activities

Tom, Marijke and Travel Weekly editor-in-chief Lucy Huxley in Sardinia

My 19-year-old son Tom and 16-year-old daughter Marijke were happier testing the facilities for themselves. In just a four-night stay, we squeezed in tennis (€50 to hire the court, rackets and balls for 50 minutes), paddleboarding (€33 an hour) and a sunrise hike with a brilliant guide to Capo Spartivento lighthouse, now converted into a luxury hotel.

The views across the rugged coastline were spectacular and the warm breeze invigorating – and we were still back in time for breakfast and our daily swimming and snorkelling in the clear turquoise seas that the island is famous for.

Forte Village’s thalassotherapy pools. Image credit: Tyson Sadlo

After hours racing around in my running gear, I also found time to escape to the spa where I had possibly the best massage of my life at the hands of a small but unbelievably strong masseuse, Dolores, who was in her late 70s. The highly personalised, full-body massage combined various techniques as Dolores worked on my shoulder (injured in a running fall) and general tension. It cost €188 for 50 minutes or €288 for 80 minutes.

I also sampled Forte Village’s six thalassotherapy pools (€125 for 90 minutes), which come with access to the resort’s Jacuzzi, Turkish bath, Finnish sauna, ‘chromotherapy’ (light and colour) showers and rebalancing pools. For clients who want to come back multiple times, there are packages that allow three, five or seven visits, which cost from €300-€700.

Forte Village Nature Park, which was added in 2025.

Last year, Forte Village opened a Nature Park, set in shady forests in foothills behind the resort.

Open for guests to visit two days a week, there are guided trails and up-close encounters with Sardinian goats, donkeys, horses and all manner of birds in a giant aviary. It’s ideal for parents with younger children, anyone interested in nature and biodiversity, or those wanting a respite from the sun.

Stay and play at Sardinia’s Forte Village

The sweeping resort is made up of eight hotels, totalling 719 rooms and suites. We stayed in Hotel Le Dune, in a light and airy two-room bungalow, with a beautiful bathroom, TV, fridge and our own terrace and garden just steps from the beachfront.

All accommodation is half-board (other than the villas, which are bed and breakfast) and each hotel has a designated restaurant for breakfast plus at least four dinner restaurants included in the half-board package; it rises to six in high season.

We enjoyed the authentic Sardinian food in Sardo, loved the fresh meze at new seafront restaurant La Riviera (€95 per person supplement) and the Michelin-level menu at Ristorante Cracco on a stunning terrace overlooking the Mediterranean (€135 per person).

Although it’s a family resort, there’s plenty of atmosphere after dark.

On our final night, we treated ourselves to a cocktail at the tropical-style Tiki Beach Club, a fabulous setting cascading down the side of the cliff, with a DJ providing relaxed, chill-out vibes.

British bookings

Rugby is one of the sports academies on offer at Forte Village. Image credit: Immaginando Comunicazione/Dario Sequi

More than half of Forte Village guests return each year. Brits now account for about a quarter of all arrivals, a number that rose by 3% last year. The resort is attributing this growth to an increase in multigenerational bookings, as bigger families seek out both variety and value for money, all in one resort.

Resort staff tell me sustainability is becoming a more important factor in deciding where to go on holiday, along with a need for family activities outside the peak summer season – prompting them to put on more academies during May and October half-term holidays, along with family tournaments, wellness activities and fine dining.

Having sampled everything from sports facilities to spa to sumptuous dining, I can see that this Sardinian resort is on to a winning formula – now I just need to book a return trip when Pat Cash is back on the courts…

Book it

Sardatur Holidays offers seven nights for a family of two adults and one child under 13, from £11,975 in total staying in a Deluxe Bungalow at five-star Hotel Le Dune at Forte Village Resort, including Ryanair flights, private transfers and half-board accommodation from October 25-November 1. A five-day tennis or basketball academy starts from £390 per child.
sardatur-holidays.co.uk

Agent reward scheme

Agents can earn loyalty points towards their own travel via The Collection Reward Programme for each booking at Forte Village Resort, Palazzo Doglio in Cagliari or Palazzo Fiuggi in central Italy.