Recommendations for a beach & city holiday combined

Daisy03

Hi,

We are starting looking into our summer holiday for 2015 and I am hoping to get some suggestions. It will be myself and a friend for two weeks and we have very differing opinions on what is a holiday and want to combine both if possible.

She wants somewhere with a pool and beach to lounge around. In the past we went on shorter trips and I was fine with staying by the pool all day but I think I would go mad if we did that for two weeks. I would like to somewhere with nice scenery, sights and things to do but still have somewhere with a pool and relax. It doesn't necessarily have to be a city.

We have been thinking of Lake Garda and maybe do day trips to Venice and Verona. I was also thinking of Croatia and Santorini but the latter seems very expensive and there are no direct flights from Ireland so may be a non runner. We haven't really set a budget but we would normally spend around €1500 to €2000 each and could push it for somewhere amazing.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks

FunkyDa2

The Cote d'Azur, from Nice out to Cannes?...

pjproby

Lake Garda and Nice are good options but Lisbon, Barcelona, Valencia, Gdansk, La Rochelle are also possibilities.

adocholiday

I spent a week in Barcelona in August and it was exactly what you're looking for. Weather was super, the city is lovely and the beaches are great, if a little busy.

If you do decide to go there I would recommend staying in a hotel near a beach and near a metro. We were in the Confortel Barcelona 15 minutes from the city center by metro and a 5 minute walk from the beach and it was ideal. If you want more info I'd be happy to oblige.

spurious

If you'd like something a little out of left field that certainly won't cost the earth, Sopot beside Gdansk.

pauliebdub

adocholiday wrote: »

I spent a week in Barcelona in August and it was exactly what you're looking for. Weather was super, the city is lovely and the beaches are great, if a little busy.

If you do decide to go there I would recommend staying in a hotel near a beach and near a metro. We were in the Confortel Barcelona 15 minutes from the city center by metro and a 5 minute walk from the beach and it was ideal. If you want more info I'd be happy to oblige.

Agree with Barcelona, it's a great combination of beach and city. There are also loads of excursions that can be done from the city as you'll be there for two weeks such as Sitges -lovely town and beaches, Tarragona - Roman ruins, Figueres - Salvador Dali stuff. Montserrat, Girona and Penedes wine making region are also possible.

Dunford

Split. Barcelona. Baleares. Sardinia.

zweton

Trying to plan the same kind of trip, some great spots mentioned.
Looking forward to hearing more, cote d' azur looks beautiful:)

Icepick

Lisbon, Valencia, Barcelona, Rome, Venice, Dubrovnik

That's strictly cities with good beaches.

If you don't mind traveling around, Costa Del Sol with Granada, Malaga, Ronda, Gibraltar and even Cadiz nearby is excellent.

piptypibe

Croatia without a shadow of a doubt!
Dubrovnik is FAB
but!
Istria is far nicer!! Rovinj, Poreč or Pula. Anywhere really!
Direct flights to Dubrovnik or Pula.
It's so relaxing. So beautiful! Fantastic food and wine!
Lots of things to do!
Beaches are pebble though not sand. Would that bother your friend?
Barcelona also really cool for city and beach idea.

Daisy03

Thanks for the suggestions. There is a load that I had never thought of.

Just today a travel agent suggested a cruise around France, Spain and Italy followed by a week in Majorca. It stops in at a couple of the places mentioned (Nice, Barcelona and a few others). It seems like a really good deal and would come in around the 2k mark for all inclusive. Has anyone ever done a Thomson cruise before?

grimm2005

Another +1 on Barcelona here. Great city with loads to do as well sun and beaches. I'd suggest going in May or September though, the weather will still be brilliant but flights and accommodation will be cheaper and more importantly the beaches shouldn't be too packed as you'd be travelling outside the peak summer holiday season. As others have said, there's plenty of places within easy travel distance to Barcelona also.

2 weeks is pretty long also, so one idea could be to stay in 2 or 3 places over the course of the trip and just train it between destinations and fly home from your final destination.

Trond

Cascais/Estoril and Lisbon.

Make sure to rent an apartment in Lisbon. So much to do and see there. Get one with a balcony. Far better than a hotel.

smalltalk

Malaga,easy to get to,great city centre with shopping bars and restaurants,it has a city beach and the Costa del sol beaches and resorts a short train ride away.

zweton

Thinking of going with barca myself, recommend any nice towns/villages where I could check out for 2/3 days?

dudara

We did Lisbon/setubal/Troia last year. Barcelona is also a great option. I also visited Gdansk for work last year with dinner in Sopot, lovely spot.

basbas

In my opinion a cruise ship can be quite limiting (I have worked on them) you have a certain length of time in each port and a certain time to be back onboard. Although you can get a really nice itinerary in the Med in the summer season, but do take a look at arrival times and departure times as what's counted as a day in a port might be 8am to 4pm. Good for your friend if she just wants to relax as you have the options of pools etc on board. Also the luxury ships will have a better itinerary many begin with a overnight in a port and end with one also

Dubrovnik and Croatia in general is a gorgeous place and easy to get around. As already mentioned Barcelona has everything you are looking for all within walking distance (20-25 mins) from each other. When you choose France it can be a little more expensive (St Tropez, Cannes etc). Also Bulgaria is very underrated and has amazing beaches and is becoming much more popular.

zweton

Would Dubrovnik be more expensive than Barcelona?