Taking teenagers on holiday can have a bad rep. It doesn’t have to though, as in Newquay and Cornwall there is plenty to do for teenagers and young adults.
Newquay has plenty to offer this age group with beaches, shops, surf, and festivals. Here are some of our favourite things to do with teenagers in Cornwall.
1. Wax Activity Bar, Newquay
Visit Newquay’s new activity bar, great for teenagers, adults and family. It is a fantastic place for a cloudy day.
Here you can enjoy a range of activities. Let off some steam with axe throwing (no alcohol during or after!!) which is for 12 years plus. Or try interactive darts, taking the best of the classic game but with more immersion. There are several modes that you can select – you are sure to be entertained. This game is for 16 years plus.
Everyone will have good fun in Wax’s escape rooms, for ages 12 years plus. Choose from Prison Escape, where you are inmates on death row, set to go to the electric chair in one hour. You are locked in separate cells – can you help each other to escape before the hour is up?
Or try the Mines Escape Room where you and your team will use head torches and your own Witt to find clues that will help you make your way through the dark mine. Find as much abandoned gold as possible before the entrance collapses and you are trapped for good.
There is also a bar which specialises in beers and cocktails, as well as a range of other drinks.
2. Boardmasters Festival from the 9th – 13th of August.
One of the biggest festivals in the South West, Boardmasters is a surf, skate and music festival which takes place across Newquay’s famous Fistral beach, which is less than a mile and half from Hendra, and near Watergate Bay.
The surf and skate side of the festival is held at Fistral, where you can go to watch surfing and skating, browse the pop-up shops, and food stalls, and soak up those festival vibes, without a ticket. There are music events on throughout festival at the Fistral site, with individual tickets.
The music side of the festival takes place at the Watergate site. You must have a ticket for the festival to enter, with headliners including Lorde, Liam Gallagher and Florence and the Machine.
3. SSS Surf School, Newquay
Newquay is known for its surf, and if you want to learn, then there is no better place to do it than in Newquay with SSS Surf School. This long-established surf school, will make sure you have lots of fun, so even reluctant learners will soon be having the time of their lives.
Located just on the promenade of Newquay’s accessible Towan beach, it is easy to find. The waters are calmer than most well-known surfing spots, making it the ideal place to get some confidence and learn to surf.
4. Go skating, at Newquay’s Concrete Waves
Skate and surf culture are similar, so it makes sense that Newquay has big skate park. Newquay’s concrete waves skate park is opposite Newquay Leisure World, and is an excellent skate park. There are four separate areas: a retro-style pool, expansive street run, stair set and a bowl. It is designed for all abilities.
It is expanding too and has recently had a £50,000 donation from the Boardmasters Festival organisers. The funds will contribute to the creation of a ‘nursery slope’ to support younger and novice skaters.
Go to skate or to watch!
5. Go to Flambards!
Flambards is the place to go for a jam-packed family day out, with something for every family member. It is an excellent choice if you have various age groups with you, with outdoor and indoor play for tots to older children.
Thrill seeking teenagers will love rides such as the Hornet rollercoaster, log flume and Skyraker. The Skyraker takes you to dizzying heights above the Cornish countryside before plummeting you back; this one is sure to get that adrenaline pumping! The Thunderbolt takes you round and round and upside down – this one is for those with a strong stomach only!
Then there is the Go Karts as well as special attractions, such as firework displays throughout the year. Indoor attractions include the Britain in the Blitz experience which recreates Britain in war time, a Victorian Village, which will transport you back in time and the time capsule chemist, a rescued shop which is the same as when it was abandoned more than 100 years ago!
