Thirtysomethings lads holiday ideas

supremenovice

Im wondering wheres a suitable location for a few lads (single) in early 30s to head off to for a week in the sun?
We dont want to go clubbing with teens/early 20s such as Magaluf or Ibiza. But at the same time we dont want to be surrounded by couples and families with small kids.
Ideally a place with lots of single girls around a similar age with some great bars and beaches. Hope its not too much to ask.
Suggestions?

The_fever

Bray

Wibbs

The_fever wrote: »

Bray

Lets dial back the "jokes" please.

Wibbs

Just going on personal experience I would suggest a general non touristy fun in the sun type holiday. Go off the beaten track. Id est if you go for Spain, avoid the Costa del Package tour and head for Madrid or Barcelona or the north of Spain, Bilbao and its environs. Go more "local". Its far more interesting for a start. "Bars and beaches" attract the usual vibe, so avoid them. In better times I would have suggested a road/ferry trip around the Greek islands. Hell, even now I would suggest that. Other places might be countries like Serbia, Poland, the Czech Republic and the like. Don't go looking for "lots of single girls around a similar age" or any of that stuff, just go to wander and explore and find and strike up convos with locals and other travellers and take it from there.

sheesh

I would say ski holiday but it is the middle of summer. So hiking holiday or some outdoors course.

HalloweenJack

The Adriatic coast in Croatia is supposed to be good and is becoming very tourist-oriented. I get the impression they want to avoid a "sand sea and sex" crowd, too.

There are some lovely beaches in the southwest of Spain down near Cadiz (fly to Seville, about an hour by train or bus) and they are definitely not for rowdy types. The vibe there is a lot calmer and there's very few foreign run bars or restaurants. There are some foreigners but it's mostly Spaniards and the foreigners that are there are a lot calmer than the ones you'd meet in the likes of Fuengirola. It's a fair bit cooler too because of the strong winds.

I was in a place called Conil a few weeks ago and couldn't recommend it enough. There's also places like Canas de Meca and Tarifa that are supposed to be very nice. The beaches around Huelva (about an hour north) are also supposed to very nice but I've never been.

tashiusclay

Thailand.

That is all.

Liam McPoyle

supremenovice wrote: »

Im wondering wheres a suitable location for a few lads (single) in early 30s to head off to for a week in the sun?
We dont want to go clubbing with teens/early 20s such as Magaluf or Ibiza. But at the same time we dont want to be surrounded by couples and families with small kids.
Ideally a place with lots of single girls around a similar age with some great bars and beaches. Hope its not too much to ask.
Suggestions?

Dubrovnik is gorgeous.

Beautiful scenery, nice restaurants and bars, friendly people and some beautiful ladies.

supremenovice

Thanks for the responses. I never thought of Croatia or Dubrovnik so ill take a look at for sure.
Dont think the others are up for a hiking trip, unless its hiking to the bar from the pool.
Someone else mentioned Nerja to me also which sounds like its more for 'grown-ups'.

hufpc8w3adnk65

Malia in crete (not at GCSE results time or leaving cert) or Hersonosis and head for the Dutch part. Lots of English Swedish Russian and Dutch older ladies there

mrcheez

Caye Caulker, Belize

the evasion_kid

tashiusclay wrote: »

Thailand.

That is all.

Id second that,I've been in a few places and nothing compares to it

MadYaker

Bangkok if you can afford it. I saw some things there ill never forget as long as I live....

Budapest is good too.

Jake The Fat Ma

supremenovice wrote: »

Im wondering wheres a suitable location for a few lads (single) in early 30s to head off to for a week in the sun?
We dont want to go clubbing with teens/early 20s such as Magaluf or Ibiza. But at the same time we dont want to be surrounded by couples and families with small kids.
Ideally a place with lots of single girls around a similar age with some great bars and beaches. Hope its not too much to ask.
Suggestions?

Are youse the Kerry football team from 7 years ago. All still single

arrowloopboy

Simples, Las Vegas ,Nevada ,Disneyland for grown ups (grown up men anyways):p:p:p.


P.s ,their are a lot of single moms working their though ,but don't let that turn ya off.

mzungu

Head to Morocco and take in the sights and sounds. Istanbul would be another good place, plenty to do with the opportunity for side trips. Armenia and Georgia are meant to be decent this time of year also.

solerina

MrMac84 wrote: »

Malia in crete (not at GCSE results time or leaving cert) or Hersonosis and head for the Dutch part. Lots of English Swedish Russian and Dutch older ladies there

Good god no...unless it's changed in recent years. I was in Crete twice and visited Malia to sample the nite life, it was full of very, very drunk English louts. We saw a lot more than we bargained for, believe me. Magaluf girl would have fitted in well.....Stalis however was a nice spot both times I was in Crete with good nitelife and no loutish behaviour

am946745

Camino de Santiago in Spain, did it twice with friends. unforgettable and great craic.

Sleepy

Hvar off the coast of Split in Croatia. Absolutely beautiful spot.

Was there a few years back and the best description I could give you would be Ibiza for grown-ups. Plenty of good bars, some clubs that go until the small hours, beautiful location and while prepared for tourism, not completely destroyed by it. Most of the tourists we met there were late twenties to early forties so you avoid the "puking on their flipflops" brigade.

ancapailldorcha

Croatia seems great based on what people in general say about it.

clever user name

I would say Thailand too, but it's a long way to go for just a week. But if you don't mind that and you've never been here then I would recommend it. The most expensive thing will be your flights, the rest is cheap. If you want beaches (and women) go to Pattaya, not Bangkok. Or do both, only 2 hour drive between them. Hotels are cheap here!

mzungu

Sleepy wrote: »

Hvar off the coast of Split in Croatia. Absolutely beautiful spot.

Was there a few years back and the best description I could give you would be Ibiza for grown-ups. Plenty of good bars, some clubs that go until the small hours, beautiful location and while prepared for tourism, not completely destroyed by it. Most of the tourists we met there were late twenties to early forties so you avoid the "puking on their flipflops" brigade.

Getting some great ideas from this thread. Is Hvar in Croatia suited for outdoor activities such as trekking, biking etc and if not is there any Croatian hotspots for those activities?

Bored_lad

mzungu wrote: »

Head to Morocco and take in the sights and sounds. Istanbul would be another good place, plenty to do with the opportunity for side trips. Armenia and Georgia are meant to be decent this time of year also.

I'd second Morocco its definitely worth it an amazing place and its cheap too. Ryanair fly to Marrakech from Dublin and Aer Lingus to Agadir from Dublin also.

Also second Istanbul however be careful there have been bombings etc. in the last few months and Turkey also borders with Syria.

paulheu

supremenovice wrote: »

Im wondering wheres a suitable location for a few lads (single) in early 30s to head off to for a week in the sun?
We dont want to go clubbing with teens/early 20s such as Magaluf or Ibiza. But at the same time we dont want to be surrounded by couples and families with small kids.
Ideally a place with lots of single girls around a similar age with some great bars and beaches. Hope its not too much to ask.
Suggestions?

Las Vegas, Nevada USA.

1. Affordable
2. Plenty of clubs
3. Awesome pools
3. Great day trips (Skywalk, Hoover, Canyon, Disney LA, Universal Hollywood)
4. Play with bulldozers
5. shoot big guns
6. Excellent (fashion) outlets
6. Women
7. and oh yeah.. Gamble it up


Did I mention affordable?! ..

mzungu

Bored_lad wrote: »

I'd second Morocco its definitely worth it an amazing place and its cheap too. Ryanair fly to Marrakech from Dublin and Aer Lingus to Agadir from Dublin also.

Also second Istanbul however be careful there have been bombings etc. in the last few months and Turkey also borders with Syria.

I suppose given the events of recent weeks there would (hopefully) be increased security at main tourist areas and resorts in Turkey. It seems to be quite easy to cross from Iraq and Syria into Turkey, so id expect the authorities would be on high alert to the danger of Turkey being a potential target.

Sleepy

mzungu wrote: »

Getting some great ideas from this thread. Is Hvar in Croatia suited for outdoor activities such as trekking, biking etc and if not is there any Croatian hotspots for those activities?

It's certainly good for watersports, renting a small motorboat for an afternoon only cost us about €40 and there's a lovely walk from the port up to an old castle that took about 2 hours which was great for working up an appetite for dinner.

I didn't do any trekking / biking but a quick google shows plenty of options for either activity.

tom tit tot

Greece

paulheu

tom tit tot wrote: »

Greece

You mean the German provence formerly known as Greece??

seamus

The best party destination IMO for men in their 30s is a German beer festival. At a clubbing beach town you're going to be surrounded by early twenty somethings. While that may appeal to you, you will be the creepy old dudes hanging around the young women.

Beer festivals are full of families up until the early evening, but do become party central with plenty of women around after that.

For something more conventional there are plenty of spots along on the Costa Del Sol around Marbella that tend to be more focussed on people in their 30s. Beware though if you go to somewhere like Puerto Banus, you may end up feeling woefully inadequate surrounded by million-euro cars and yachts twice the size of your house.

cson

paulheu wrote: »

Las Vegas, Nevada USA.

1. Affordable
2. Plenty of clubs
3. Awesome pools
3. Great day trips (Skywalk, Hoover, Canyon, Disney LA, Universal Hollywood)
4. Play with bulldozers
5. shoot big guns
6. Excellent (fashion) outlets
6. Women
7. and oh yeah.. Gamble it up


Did I mention affordable?! ..

Vegas is not an affordable holiday. Unbelieveable 'Merica experience for sure but you'd want minimum $200 (€182) a day to properly experience it imo.

SpaceTime

I know you mentioned sun, but if it's more atmosphere, mind blowing scenery, hiking and amazing music-oriented nightlife you're after (and you don't mind a bit of rain) it's hard to beat Iceland.

Other slight downside is they use natural hot spring water in a lot of showers - smells a bit like farts or rotten eggs. That was the one major downside. Even washing the dishes in the apartment smelled awful and that was in central Reykjavik!!

paulheu

cson wrote: »

Vegas is not an affordable holiday. Unbelieveable 'Merica experience for sure but you'd want minimum $200 (€182) a day to properly experience it imo.

Sorry, but if you spend $200 a day pp in Vegas on anything you certainly are not doing something right.. I've been there every year now for the past 8 or so years and it's a challenge to spend over €150/day unless I go play poker and run bad.. Almost none of any of the activities in and around Vegas cost what they are advertised for and discounts are to be had all over the place.

For a 10 day trip, flight and decent hotel should not be more than $1200 pp or so. I bring $250/day spending money and always come back home with $$ left.

Most of the time I actually come back with at least close to what I left with plus what I paid to get and stay there. Free rolling Vegas is sweet..

wijam

another suggestion - haven't done it myself, but one of the lads in work did and says it isn't that dear - but I haven't priced it myself

http://www.theyachtweek.com/croatia/

you and friends rent out a yacht for a week, they provide a skipper - I'd say it would be a great laugh, but don't think I'd get enough friends to be up for it to try it myself

ongarboy

supremenovice wrote: »

Im wondering wheres a suitable location for a few lads (single) in early 30s to head off to for a week in the sun?
We dont want to go clubbing with teens/early 20s such as Magaluf or Ibiza. But at the same time we dont want to be surrounded by couples and families with small kids.
Ideally a place with lots of single girls around a similar age with some great bars and beaches. Hope its not too much to ask.
Suggestions?

I went to Ibiza a couple of years ago when I was about 33 and stayed near the old town/Playa D'en Bossa area. It was more late 20s to early 40s clientele unlike San Antonio that was more youth oriented. You still had the lively nightclubs (Bora Bora etc) but were within walking distance of the more laid back Old Town.

A lot of 90s heads were there (male and female) reliving their house music youth so I'd recommend it.

Sleepy

Looks great but they enforce a gender ratio that means your group has to be a minimum of 20% female! :eek:

Bored_lad

Sleepy wrote: »

Looks great but they enforce a gender ratio that means your group has to be a minimum of 20% female! :eek:

Don't look at their other destinations so British Virign Islands and Thailand is 40% and Greece is 30%. This is the first time I've ever seen anything like this but I can kind of see where their coming from considering all the parties are only with the people from the other boats in the flotilla as far as I can tell. Still very strange though.

seamus

Re: Vegas. You don't have to gamble.

Crazy, I know, but there is a surprisingly large amount of stuff to do that involves little or no gambling. Food is cheap, you can get stupidly large buffets, all you can eat for $10, and in reality if you eat heartily you only need two meals in a day.

You can also gamble smart. Go to a low-stakes poker table and give yourself a float, say $50. When your $50 is gone, it's gone and you're finished for that day. When you win, you pocket everything above $50 and keep following that same rule of never going above your float. After ten days, worst case scenario is that you're down $500. Most likely you'll only be down $300 or so because of what you've banked over the days.

You can probably agree this between the group of yourselves, but there are always one or two guys who'll go a bit nuts, so it's something you need to manage for yourself.

Wibbs

SpaceTime wrote: »

I know you mentioned sun, but if it's more atmosphere, mind blowing scenery, hiking and amazing music-oriented nightlife you're after (and you don't mind a bit of rain) it's hard to beat Iceland.

Other slight downside is they use natural hot spring water in a lot of showers - smells a bit like farts or rotten eggs. That was the one major downside. Even washing the dishes in the apartment smelled awful and that was in central Reykjavik!!

I'd second Iceland. Fantastic fishing too if that's your gig. Though if you're bringing your own kit then it needs to be sterilised and such, which can be a pain in the arse. Don't ask how I know this… Nightlife's pretty good too and the locals are sound IMH. But man do they get the drink in. The Irish are rank amateurs by comparison. The Swedes are the same actually. Mad for the grog, like lotsa peeps chugging to get wasted. Maybe a Scandinavian thing? I dunno about Norway or Finland etc, never visited. Not nearly so aggro when drunk mind you. Maybe I was hanging out and gravitating towards the dodgy types. Water finding its own level and all that. :D

ancapailldorcha

Wibbs wrote: »

I'd second Iceland. Fantastic fishing too if that's your gig. Though if you're bringing your own kit then it needs to be sterilised and such, which can be a pain in the arse. Don't ask how I know this… Nightlife's pretty good too and the locals are sound IMH. But man do they get the drink in. The Irish are rank amateurs by comparison. The Swedes are the same actually. Mad for the grog, like lotsa peeps chugging to get wasted. Maybe a Scandinavian thing? I dunno about Norway or Finland etc, never visited. Not nearly so aggro when drunk mind you. Maybe I was hanging out and gravitating towards the dodgy types. Water finding its own level and all that. :D

Iceland's fantastic. I'd chuck in a vote for it as well but with one caveat; it's very expensive. It's €6.50 or so for a pint and it's mostly light beer and Guinness. There's some gorgeous scenery around Reykjavik, whale watching and the world's only phallological museum (don't google that at work).

SpaceTime

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

Iceland's fantastic. I'd chuck in a vote for it as well but with one caveat; it's very expensive. It's €6.50 or so for a pint and it's mostly light beer and Guinness. There's some gorgeous scenery around Reykjavik, whale watching and the world's only phallological museum (don't google that at work).

Don't drink imported beer! It's much more expensive and much less tasty. Although there is a sheep dung smoked IPA which is a bit... different!

the whole year inn

cson wrote: »

Vegas is not an affordable holiday. Unbelieveable 'Merica experience for sure but you'd want minimum $200 (€182) a day to properly experience it imo.

Depends tho,drink is extremely cheap $1 tip for what ever you want,or just get one of those fat tuesday drinks and fill it up with your own booze. Theres all you cant eat buffets aswell.
If you gamble and lose you will spend alot,but you could walk around the hotels there all differnt and things to see for free, take in a show,play a small poker tournament.

Trond

Lisbon is a great spot. Has a bit of everything.

Wibbs

Porto too.