Where to go for sun & relaxation in late Oct/early Nov

De Hipster

As the thread title suggests I am looking for a suitable destination for a couple late October,

• Approx 7-10 days
• Sunshine - approx 25-30 degrees
• Beaches with swimming & sunbathing potential
• Good native social scene - not rowdy, good selection of restaurants, bars, music, local culture
• Relatively affordable - i.e. not budget, not excessive luxury
• Not too lovey-dovey but suitable for a relaxing getaway

I have recently been to Malta, Salou - Spain, Umbria - Italy, Furteventura - particularly enjoyed both Italy & Malta, Spain was for a WRC Motorsport event & hol combined, Furteventura was last December, nicely quiet but windy on the coast & not much to see/do.

Thanks in advance.

Doirtybirdy

http://www.travel-in-portugal.com/Cascais/

Cascais,just a short half hour drive from Lisbon.
It's beautifull.

What I would do as a compromise for the week is spend 5 days there in one of their reasonably priced hotels,there are many 3 and 4 star properties.

Then for the last 2 days,the weekend part of the trip,I'd add a touch more bling and spend 2 nights at the Ritz carlton less than half an hour up the road in the country side.It's also beautifull and very relaxing They're currently in or about €200 a night which for what you get is good value!

bamboozle

i'm hitting the Algarve in Portugal the last week in Oct. Weather should be nice. By the sounds of what you're after maybe head to either Tavira or Carrapateira in west algarve, beautiful isolated surfy chill out spot, Tavira is called the venice of the algarve, beautiful town split by a river.

if you havent been to Portugal, one thing it is is cheap & the folk are lovely.

De Hipster

bamboozle wrote: »

i'm hitting the Algarve in Portugal the last week in Oct. Weather should be nice. By the sounds of what you're after maybe head to either Tavira or Carrapateira in west algarve, beautiful isolated surfy chill out spot, Tavira is called the venice of the algarve, beautiful town split by a river.

if you havent been to Portugal, one thing it is is cheap & the folk are lovely.

Thanks Bamboozle. Have been to the Algarve before, can't remember exactly which part or what time of year.

I really thought it needed a serious facelift - think it was mainly down to the travel agent sending 3 twenty-somethings to her preferred OAP area though.

The beaches were amazing, about 100 steps down but not a problem, water was absolutely incredible & calm for swimming & lounging on.

My biggest problem was the local bars and restaurants were all Irish/British/German themed, very little local cuisine & the bars, pubs and clubs were Irish/English with Paddy (from Morocco) singing Danny boy on repeat – badly!

Will have a look again though - I had kinda written it off based on previous experience.

Anywhere further afield? Had liked the idea of Cape Verde or similar but thinking the flight may eat much of the holiday time in a 5/7/10 day trip.

Pythia

I always suggest Egypt. It's still hot there, cheaper than most places and not too far away.

Doirtybirdy

There are some good five star hotel bundles including flights to sharm el sheikh including the ritz carlton and the radisson there.
We've been to the four seasons sharm el sheikh a few times,it's the best in the area by a country mile,so so relaxing but treble the price of the others.Worth it though! (Have a look on ebookers.ie or club travel for packages on those 3)

All three of those are a good ten minute drive out of Naama bay the main hub of the area with all the bars etc but all have good taxi access.
All of those hotels will have beach bars,pool bars and nice restaurants and beaches.

Getting there will be either one of the charters direct from Dublin but these don't run that often now sadly.
Then theres Easyjet from Gatwick or Egypt air from heathrow with a connection in Cairo.
Easy is probably your best bet,though the irish sites above will show availability on direct charters if there is any.
If you choose sharm,it's a 4.5hr direct flight from Dublin.It's also the same time from London plus the connection time wait.
Don't take anything other than 5 star there as they are cheap in the bundles and lower stars do mean lower quality everything in North Africa,it's like falling off a cliff in terms of standards!

I'd still vote for cascais though,probably a nice low 20's in November.

bamboozle

De Hipster wrote: »

Thanks Bamboozle. Have been to the Algarve before, can't remember exactly which part or what time of year.

I really thought it needed a serious facelift - think it was mainly down to the travel agent sending 3 twenty-somethings to her preferred OAP area though.

The beaches were amazing, about 100 steps down but not a problem, water was absolutely incredible & calm for swimming & lounging on.

My biggest problem was the local bars and restaurants were all Irish/British/German themed, very little local cuisine & the bars, pubs and clubs were Irish/English with Paddy (from Morocco) singing Danny boy on repeat – badly!

Will have a look again though - I had kinda written it off based on previous experience.

Anywhere further afield? Had liked the idea of Cape Verde or similar but thinking the flight may eat much of the holiday time in a 5/7/10 day trip.

the rule of thumb i'd apply to the Algarve is the further away you go from Faro (with exception of Tavira) the less 'budget package' & high rise you'll get, if you go as far west as Lagos, Sagres or Carrapateria you'll be miles removed from the algarve you previously experienced.

My favourite area is around Porches/Silves/Benagil/Carvoeiro beautiful area, great restaurants, beaches & golf courses.

Pythia

Lagos is lovely and not like how you describe the Algarve you visited. My only worry would be that you might not get the temperatures you are looking for. Areas like that are on the Atlantic so less hot than other areas and not as far south as Egypt and the Canaries. Halloween time is getting quite near to winter.

We stayed in the Hyatt Regency in Sharm el Sheikh and really enjoyed it. We went with Falcon who do a direct flight. If you like diving, it has fantastic coral reef. Food can be expensive in the hotel but you can easily get to Naama Bay. I recommend Little Buddha, it's one of those trendy Asian restaurants.

bamboozle

Pythia wrote: »

Lagos is lovely and not like how you describe the Algarve you visited. My only worry would be that you might not get the temperatures you are looking for. Areas like that are on the Atlantic so less hot than other areas and not as far south as Egypt and the Canaries. Halloween time is getting quite near to winter.

We stayed in the Hyatt Regency in Sharm el Sheikh and really enjoyed it. We went with Falcon who do a direct flight. If you like diving, it has fantastic coral reef. Food can be expensive in the hotel but you can easily get to Naama Bay. I recommend Little Buddha, it's one of those trendy Asian restaurants.

true you take a small leap of faith with the algarve weather in october, oct average is 22/23 degrees, however if you're trying to avoid package holidays or real touristy areas i dont think egypt is the place to go...just my opinion though.

Doirtybirdy

I wouldn't agree with that.
Egypt is quiet at the moment but fully safe and open down Sharm way.
If you go to that Hyatt pythia mentions,the Radisson,the Ritz carlton or one of those,you are far from the chavvy holiday whilst dipping into it when you want.

11 years in the independent travel business speaking here

headmaster

What about Cyprus, i'm going at the beginning of October and am really looking forward to it. I've put up a post on it looking for more information, but i'm being told it's absolutely gorgeous at that time of year, hope so.:)

De Hipster

Egypt sounds like a viable option, need to do some additional research on where to stay & more importantly where to avoid.

Cyprus also sounds like an option (or the other Greek islands) not sure that the weather is a certainty at that time of year though.

I had been considering Cape Verde, I have had varying reports in relation to the experience as a whole, but also notably expensive. I will keep you posted...the research continues!

Savman

Cyprus isn't a Greek Island

De Hipster

Savman wrote: »

Cyprus isn't a Greek Island

Thanks for the geography lesson - wasn't my point though. To be pedantic (not political) it's an island & half Greek!
Maybe Cyprus or Crete ...or other Greek islands.