Switzerland is one of the most popular destinations for an international summer camp, and one of the questions parents ask most often before booking is simple: what will my child actually do all day? At Les Elfes International, in the picturesque town of Verbier, every day of camp is built around a rich, varied activity programme designed for children and teens aged 6 to 17 — combining outdoor adventure, sport, creativity, language learning and cultural discovery in the heart of the Swiss Alps. See the full summer camp programme for dates and session details.
What activities can kids do at summer camp in Switzerland?
A well-run summer camp activity programme is never just one thing. It mixes physical challenge, creative expression, academic enrichment and free play, so that every camper — whatever their interests, and across every age group from 6 to 17 — finds something that engages them. At Les Elfes, the daily schedule is deliberately varied: campers move between outdoor excursions in the mountains, structured sports sessions, workshops in the arts, and language classes, with plenty of unstructured time to make friends from the more than 50 countries represented at camp each summer.
This variety matters for a practical reason: children develop at different paces and have different interests, so a camp that only offers sport, or only offers academics, will bore half the group by day three. A balanced activity mix, covering a genuinely wide range of interests, is one of the clearest signs of a well-designed camp experience — and one of the first things worth checking when comparing camps.
Popular summer camp activities at Les Elfes
Some activities come up in almost every conversation with returning families, because they are consistently the most popular summer camp activities among campers of all ages:
- Hiking on alpine trails, with guided excursions that build stamina and reward campers with some of the best mountain views in Europe.
- Rock climbing and ziplining, run under professional supervision, for campers who want a bigger physical and mental challenge.
- Horse riding through the Swiss countryside, a favourite with younger campers and a good confidence-builder for first-timers.
- Mountain biking on trails suited to different skill levels.
- Waterfront activities on Lake Geneva, including kayaking, paddleboarding and swimming.
- Summer skiing on high-altitude glaciers — a genuinely rare activity that few other summer camps anywhere can offer, since most destinations simply don’t have snow available in July and August.
- Team sports — soccer, volleyball and tennis — run as much for the social side as for the competition.
- Arts and crafts, performing arts and culinary workshops, for campers who want a change of pace from the outdoor programme.
These outdoor sessions are not just “fun extras” — they are where campers build physical fitness and confidence, learn to manage a bit of healthy risk under adult guidance, and often try something for the first time that they end up wanting to keep doing at home.
What does a typical day of activities look like?
Most days follow a similar rhythm: a morning block built around one main outdoor adventure activity or sport session, a language class or workshop after lunch, and a second activity slot in the late afternoon before free time and an evening group activity. Meals and cabin time in between give campers a chance to unwind with the friends they’ve made that day, rather than moving from one organised activity straight into the next without a break.
This structure is deliberate: children concentrate better in shorter, varied blocks than in one long unbroken activity, and it gives camp counselors natural moments to check in with quieter campers who might not put their hand up during a group activity.
What makes these summer camp activities unique?
What sets a unique summer camp activity programme apart isn’t a single headline activity — it’s the combination of setting, scale and supervision. At Les Elfes, three things stand out:
- The Alpine location itself. Few camps anywhere can offer glacier skiing, alpine hiking and lake-based water activities within the same programme, all a short trip from the same base in Verbier.
- The international mix. With campers from more than 50 countries each summer, every activity — from a soccer match to a cooking class — doubles as an opportunity to meet people from a completely different background.
- Experienced camp counselors. Every outdoor adventure activity, from rock climbing to water sports, is run by staff trained specifically for that activity, not generalist supervisors stretched across everything.
Sports and team-building activities
Alongside the mountain-specific activities, camp days include the traditional team sports listed above, plus organised games and evening activities that get the whole group involved. These sessions are less about competition and more about teamwork: camp counselors use games and field-day style challenges deliberately to teach cooperation, communication and fair play — essential skills that carry over well beyond the summer.
For many parents, this is actually the main reason they choose a residential camp over a purely academic or purely sport-focused programme: the combination of physical activity and group challenges is one of the most effective ways for children to build social skills, leadership, and a sense of belonging with peers they’ve only just met.
Creative arts and performing arts activities
Not every child wants to spend the whole day outdoors, and a good activity programme reflects that. Creative workshops at Les Elfes include:
- Performing arts — acting, singing and dance, in a supportive, low-pressure setting.
- Visual arts and crafts — painting, photography and sculpture.
- Culinary arts — cooking classes introducing both Swiss and international cuisine.
These creative activities matter for the same reason the outdoor ones do: they give campers a low-stakes way to try something new, express themselves, and build confidence in front of a small, friendly group before showing family and friends what they’ve made at the end of the session. For many children, this kind of personal growth — discovering an interest they didn’t know they had — is as memorable as any single outdoor activity.
Language courses and cultural activities
Language learning is one of the activities that sets an international camp apart from a purely recreational one. Campers can choose French or English classes, taught by experienced teachers in small groups and pitched to each camper’s existing level. The real value, though, comes from the informal side: with more than 50 nationalities on site, campers practise their new language naturally, in conversation with peers, rather than only in a classroom.
Cultural excursions extend this further, with trips to Gstaad, Crans-Montana, Lausanne, Montreux and Geneva, plus themed evening events celebrating Swiss traditions. For families choosing between camps, this cultural dimension is often what distinguishes a camp that simply happens to be located abroad from one that genuinely delivers an international camp experience.
How to choose the right summer camp activities for your child
With so many activity types on offer, it helps to think about four things before booking:
- Age and independence: younger campers usually do better with more structure and shorter activity blocks; teens generally want more autonomy and a say in which activities they join.
- Balance, not specialisation: a camp that lets a child try five or six different activity types over two weeks generally produces a better experience — and a more confident camper — than one built entirely around a single sport or subject.
- Supervision and safety: ask how activities are supervised, what the counselor-to-camper ratio looks like, and how outdoor adventure activities specifically (climbing, water sports, skiing) are run and by whom.
- Specific skills your child wants to develop: some children come to camp wanting to improve a particular skill — a sport, a language, an art form; others simply want variety. Both are valid reasons to choose a camp, but they point to different programmes.
Most families find that the best fit isn’t the camp with the single “coolest” activity, but the one whose overall mix matches their child’s personality — more outdoor-adventurous, more creative, more sport-focused, or a genuine balance of all three.
What are the benefits of summer camp activities?
Beyond the fun of trying something new, camp activities are quietly doing a lot of developmental work:
- Resilience and problem-solving: outdoor adventure activities rarely go exactly to plan — a hike gets harder than expected, a climb requires a second attempt — and campers learn to adapt rather than give up.
- Communication and cooperation: team sports and group challenges only work when campers talk to each other, so these skills improve quickly, almost as a side effect.
- Critical thinking: deciding how to tackle a climbing route, or how to divide tasks in a group challenge, asks campers to think through a problem rather than follow a fixed script.
- Confidence and self-expression: creative workshops give quieter campers a way to shine that has nothing to do with sport or academics.
- Independence: simply living alongside peers from dozens of different countries, day after day, without a parent nearby, builds independence and social skills that are hard to replicate at home.
- Leadership: older campers and teens are often given more responsibility within group activities, a first taste of leadership in a low-stakes environment.
Parents often notice the effect after camp ends rather than during it: children who arrived a little shy come home more confident; children who struggled with teamwork at school come home having led a group task for the first time. That combination — new skills, new friendships, and a genuine sense of achievement — is ultimately what a well-designed activity programme, and the camp experience as a whole, is for.
Frequently asked questions about summer camp activities
What activities are best for a first-time camper?
For a first summer, a mix of one or two familiar activities (a team sport, swimming) alongside one or two new ones (hiking, a creative workshop) tends to work best — enough familiarity to feel comfortable, enough novelty to make the experience memorable.
Are activities grouped by age?
Yes. Younger campers and teens generally follow separate activity schedules, since the right pace, level of independence, and type of challenge differ considerably between a 7-year-old and a 16-year-old.
Can a child request specific activities?
Most camps, including Les Elfes, build in some choice within the weekly schedule, alongside shared activities the whole group does together — a mix of guided variety and personal preference.
Ready to see the full activity schedule for this summer? Check availability and reserve your spot at Les Elfes International.