Riccione with 11 to 16 year olds: what to do when the beach is no longer enough

There is an age when a beach holiday gets complicated. At eleven sandcastles are no longer enough, at sixteen nightclubs are still off limits, and in between there are kids who, from the third day under the umbrella, only look at their phones. In Riccione the answer is not to fill every hour, but to give each day one thing worth telling: a theme park, a bit of independence, an evening in town, an afternoon spent making something real with their hands.

What works at that age

The parks, in summer

On the hill above Riccione there are two parks the kids already know by name: Aquafan, the water park, and Oltremare, devoted to the sea and its animals. They open in the summer season, with calendars and hours that change from year to year: check them on the parks' websites before planning the day. Each one takes a full day, not an afternoon: it is worth placing them halfway through the holiday, when the beach starts to wear thin.

A bit of independence: the Metromare and bikes

The Metromare is the line on its own reserved lane that links Riccione station with Rimini station along the coast. For a fourteen-year-old it is the first possible trip «on their own», on a route that is easy to learn. Renting bikes and riding a stretch of seafront at the hour when the beach empties also gives kids the feeling of a holiday of their own, not just their parents'.

Evenings in town

In the evening Viale Ceccarini and the streets around it are where teenagers go to see and be seen: ice cream, shop windows, the stroll. It is the right moment to give them a little rope, with an agreed time and meeting point. More ideas for the evenings are in the guide to what to do in Riccione beyond the beach.

Why a workshop, at exactly that age

Kids between eleven and sixteen get bored with activities «for children» and light up with the ones that feel like a real craft: real tools, a technique to learn, an adult who treats them as apprentices. A two or three hour workshop has all three. And at the end there is an object of their own that is not a photo on a phone: they take it home, give it as a present, show it to their friends when they get back.

There is an advantage for parents too: it is one of the few holiday activities you can do together without anyone feeling dragged along. Or not: there are workshops where kids are perfectly happy among themselves, with their cousins or the friend they brought on holiday.

The crafts teenagers like

• The potter's wheel: the activity they have seen a thousand times in videos and want to try. It gets messy, you get it wrong, you laugh. The piece does need firing, though: if you are leaving soon, check on the listing how it is collected.
• Hand printing on T-shirts and tote bags: their own design, printed on something they can wear the next day. You take it away at the end.
• Simple jewellery: a ring or a bracelet in metal or cord, assembled by them. It is popular even with kids who would never call themselves creative.
• Candles: you choose the container, the colour and the scent. With hot wax it is the Maker who says from what age kids can work.
• Leather and wood: a card holder, a key ring, a small chopping board. Precise work for those who love tools.

How to choose and book

On the workshops in the province of Rimini page you find Riccione together with Rimini, Cattolica and the other towns, or you can search Riccione only. On each listing, in the «Who it's for» line, there is the level required and, if the workshop suits younger people, the age range. The «Suitable for children» filter shows only the ones marked that way.

• If there is no age range, do not take it for granted: before booking, write to Handsome from the contact page and ask whether your child can take part and whether an adult needs to be there.
• Online you pay only the deposit: 10 euros per seat for group workshops. The rest you pay to the Maker on the day of the workshop, and the listing tells you how much.
• If plans change, cancellation is free up to 3 days before and the deposit comes back.
• Before booking, check collection: the listing says whether the object goes home with you straight away, is collected at the studio after firing, or is shipped. On holiday this makes all the difference.

With cousins or friends: a workshop just for you

If you are on holiday with other families, or the kids are already a group, you can ask for a private workshop: in the private events form choose the occasion «Family session», say how many you are (from 1 to 30), give at least two possible dates and the crafts you are interested in. The request is free, we reply within 24 working hours with a proposal and you pay only if you accept it.

If it rains

A rainy day on the Riviera with teenagers is exactly when a booked workshop saves the holiday. Keep the guide to what to do in Rimini when it rains to hand: Rimini is one Metromare ride away.