Southern Norway with children: a house on the water, not an activity programme.

Visit Sørlandet describes the region as a family destination with short distances between the zoo, water parks, museums and beach life. That is exactly how it feels. No day needs planning out, because the next thing is always within reach: the jetty, the woods, the beach, and failing that the water directly below the terrace.

Then there is the Norwegian right to roam, set out in the Friluftsloven of 1957. It lets anyone move on foot through open country, all year round, as long as it is done considerately. For families that means you never have to work out where you are allowed to picnic or scramble over the rocks. If you want to camp, stay more than 150 metres from inhabited houses and cabins.

And it means a house rather than a hotel room. Your own kitchen, your own bedrooms, your own rhythm. Final cleaning, bed linen, towels, Wi-Fi and parking at the house are included in our price, and check-in is contactless. Anyone arriving late with children after a long drive knows why that matters.

The classic costs nothing and keeps children busy for hours: crabbing. A mussel, a length of string, a clothes peg, that is all it takes. Visit Sørlandet lists it as children's favourite pastime in the skerries, and off your own jetty it works with no drive, no ticket and no fixed time.

Maritim 2, Ramsland 8a and Ramsland 2d each come with a motorboat included in the rent, ready from 22 March to 8 November. That turns an afternoon into an offshore island, an empty swimming bay, or simply a loop across the fjord.

The boat comes with clear rules, and they apply to the children directly. In recreational craft under eight metres, the Norwegian Maritime Authority requires everyone on board to wear suitable CE marked flotation equipment while the boat is under way, under section 23 a of the Småbåtloven. Separately, every recreational boat must carry flotation equipment for everyone on board. The person at the helm must be at least 16, and anyone born on or after 1 January 1980 needs the Norwegian båtførerbevis for boats over eight metres or with more than 25 hp. The test can be taken from the age of 14, but you still may not take the helm until 16.

Lomsesanden near Farsund is the Lista peninsula's family beach: sand, shallow water and shelter from westerly winds, which here is the difference between a lovely day and a blustery one. There is a kiosk selling ice cream in summer, a family campsite right beside it, and a dock where you can moor a boat.

A good hour's drive east lies Sjøsanden near Mandal, around 800 metres of sand in the Furulunden woods. The neighbouring Lillebanken beach has a playground in the water with a zipline, which Visit Norway calls the spot for families with children in the area.

One note for Lista: almost the whole coastline has been protected since 1987 as the Listastrendene landscape protection area, with individual stretches additionally designated bird sanctuaries carrying their own rules, some restricting access in the breeding season. The information boards at the access points tell you what applies. For children that is a gain rather than a limitation: where birds are protected, there are birds to watch.

It rains in southern Norway too, and with children you want a plan B. The biggest one is Dyreparken in Kristiansand, about an hour's drive from our houses. The park is open daily all year and holds over 100 animal species in themed worlds for Asia, Africa, the jungle and the Nordic wilderness. Alongside them are the places from Thorbjørn Egner's children's books: Kardemomme by with Aunt Sofie and Police Chief Bastian, and the Hakkebakkeskogen. Captain Sabertooth's World is the part children find hardest to leave.

The park also has Badelandet, with twelve water slides, the largest dropping around 14 metres. It opens seasonally in the summer half of the year and the dates shift from year to year, so check first.

Closer and reliable all year is Sørlandsbadet in Lyngdal, roughly halfway between our houses. The water sits at around 30 degrees year round, and there is a children's pool for the youngest, a wave pool with a current channel, two slides, a diving tower and an obstacle course. The outdoor bathing island opens in the summer half of the year. Opening hours vary by season and day of the week.

Not every day needs a destination with a ticket. In Spangereid, where Ramsland 8a and Ramsland 2d stand, the Lysløypa runs through easy terrain with sea views in several places. The path is lit, gravelled and, according to Visit Norway, manageable with a pushchair. Along the way there is a listening station where you look out at the horizon and hear what everyday life is like for children in Spangereid. It starts from the car park on county road 460, just before Vikingland Camping.

Right beside it is the Spangereid canal, around 930 metres long. It was reopened in 2007 as a copy of a canal from the Viking age, linking the Lehnefjord and the Njervefjord so boats can cross the neck of land instead of going round Lindesnes. For children it is a good story with visible proof.

About 15 minutes from Ramsland stands Lindesnes lighthouse, Norway's oldest light and the southernmost point of the mainland, 2,518 kilometres from the North Cape. On 27 February 1656, 30 tallow candles burned at the top of a three-storey tower here, a poor solution that went out again after only a few months. Continuous operation began in 1725. Today the tower is open to visitors, the rock beneath it holds a café, an exhibition and a film, and around it there are walking trails and old wartime installations to explore.

Maritim 2 in Borhaug is the house for big groups: five bedrooms, two bathrooms, room for up to nine guests, and a cot can be added. A grocer with a bakery and the harbour are within walking distance, the sand beach a few minutes away. From 150 euros per night.

Ramsland 8a in Spangereid has four bedrooms and room for up to eight guests, plus a new panorama sauna with a fjord view, shared with the neighbouring houses. From 110 euros per night. Ramsland 2d is the compact neighbour: three bedrooms, up to six guests, a barrel sauna looking out over the fjord, from 80 euros per night. The supermarket in Spangereid is three kilometres away and can even be reached by boat.

Our fourth house, Odrelia near Farsund, joins from spring 2027 with room for up to six guests and its own panorama sauna. There is a waiting list for it. Dogs are welcome for a small fee in the three existing houses, but not at Odrelia.

One last point for driving here: in Norway, children under 135 centimetres must travel in approved restraints matched to their weight and height, marked as approved under ECE R44.03, R44.04 or ECE R129. A rear-facing child seat must not go in the front passenger seat if there is an active airbag. For children between 135 and 150 centimetres, an approved restraint must be used if one is available in the car.