Struggling To Find A Holiday In / Around Europe

Hanley

I wonder if anyone can help with a holiday suggestion for the end of July.

Here's the scene:

We're lucky to travel a bit and have been to some great places in the last 12-18 months (paris / rome / barcelona / alvor / seville / london / marbella)

We want to get away for around 5 days to somewhere a bit different that has a city feel, but also beaches and resorts.

(if pushed, we'd take "beaches and resorts" as a preference this time around)

Basically, what we want is an bali / thailand holiday that's a 2-3hr flight away.

Tough ask, I know.

Barcelona woulda been the obvious choice but we were only there in September.

(..though still tempted to go back)

ANY suggestions / ideas / locations at all would be appreciated.

I know it's a really sh*t "gimme everything in one place" type Q.

mel.b

Not really a city feel but i loved the baech at San Vito Lo Capo in Sicily. Was there in July a few years ago and it was stinking hot. Actually thinking about it, i don't think it has any big resorts although there are some hotels right on the beach. The old town in Trapani is lovely and not too far away if you hire a car.

Also i've never been to the Greek Islands, but maybe somewhere there might fit the bill?

fm

Valencia or malaga,both cities with a beach

highlydebased

Málaga worth a go. Had a lovely city beach trip there myself last year

reap-a-rat

Venice ticks the city box and you can take a water taxi to Lido for a really nice beach. There are certainly some hotels on Lido but the water taxi is a nice way to get there and back and they run pretty late.

A smaller place is Giardini Naxos in Sicily. Nice beach and loads of restaurants and that. Also short bus ride up a mountain to Taormina which is a bigger town. Can do day excursions to Mt Etna and Alicantera. Would recommend this for a five day break.

uck51js9zml2yt

Going to olhao in Portugal this summer.

super_furry

Have you given Pula in Croatia any thought? Was there in September and absolutely loved it.

Spanish Eyes

San Sebastian in Spain. Was there recently it is amazing. Absolutely fabulous beach and great food and nightlife. So laid back really. Fly into Bilbao and see the Guggenheim if that's your thing, and get the express bus 1 hour to San Seb about a tenner.

I just loved the place. So much to see and do, a real beach vibe going on.

Then you could head up to Biarritz for a night, it's gorgeous too, but quite pricey if you don't watch where you have a coffee! The beach is fab, full of surfers and posers but a laugh to watch. Then a quick bus back to Biarritz airport for the flight home.

Just a suggestion for something a bit different, but ticks all your boxes, I think!!

Hanley

Wow. Thank you so much guys.

...now to spend the rest of the night googling.

Venice COULD be a winner.

Spanish Eyes

Hanley wrote: »

Wow. Thank you so much guys.

...now to spend the rest of the night googling.

Venice COULD be a winner.

Venice is great, but be very aware that it is VERY EXPENSIVE and I mean seriously so. Waiting for the boat back to the train we paid E18 for two little coffees. I know, I know, it was tourist trap but still. The day we spent in Venice was amazing but I will bring me sambos the next time!

That part of Italy is lovely but is packed out like sardines in the Summer especially the coastal resorts nearby as all the rich Italians go there and they can spend for their country!

I'm not trying to put you off, but just factor in the costs. They can be high. Having said all that Venice is one of the few cities that actually lived up to my expectations, it was exactly as I imagined it to be. One day is enough though IMO. Then off to the beach with you!

Enjoy wherever you go.

Hanley

Hanley wrote: »

Wow. Thank you so much guys.

...now to spend the rest of the night googling.

Venice COULD be a winner.

They also seem to have a lot of thunderstorms/ rain up that part of Italy.
Was in Venice last august & it was so miserable raining all day.

First Up

I'd go for Malaga or Lisbon.

r93kaey5p2izun

Cascais just outside Lisbon sounds ideal.

uck51js9zml2yt

Marcelo Mysterious Flake wrote: »

Cascais just outside Lisbon sounds ideal.

It's nice but full of tourists on holiday.
Try the likes of Costa da caparica or aroeira to get away from English speakers and some great beaches while being a stone's throw from Lisbon.

GatsbyGal

I believe Venice may be the place for you. We stayed in the international campsite at Lido di Jesolo. It has a very lively 7km strip which has a huge amount of restaurants /shopping and entertainment areas. It also has an outdoor water park which my kids enjoyed immensely. It even had a lidl on the outskirts for the thrifty tourists. The beach is enormous and off course no fighting for your sun lounge and umbrella as your resort or hotel will have one reserved for you. Venice is only a thirty minute boat ride away. I highly recommend this area.

naughtysmurf

Palma?

fdevine

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

Venice is great, but be very aware that it is VERY EXPENSIVE and I mean seriously so. Waiting for the boat back to the train we paid E18 for two little coffees. I know, I know, it was tourist trap but still. The day we spent in Venice was amazing but I will bring me sambos the next time!

That part of Italy is lovely but is packed out like sardines in the Summer especially the coastal resorts nearby as all the rich Italians go there and they can spend for their country!

I'm not trying to put you off, but just factor in the costs. They can be high. Having said all that Venice is one of the few cities that actually lived up to my expectations, it was exactly as I imagined it to be. One day is enough though IMO. Then off to the beach with you!

Enjoy wherever you go.

If you go two or three streets back from the main tourist trails in Venice you will find food & drink at reasonable prices. I would recommend trying to find somewhere on the Lido or possibly in Jessolo which is close enough to Venice. Real holiday resort feel in Jessolo and much less claustrophobic than Venice.

If going to Venice then visiting Burano, which is also in the lagoon, is a must. It is stunning.

Only word of advice for the Venice area is beware the Tiger mosquitoes.

NoCrackHaving

Split in Croatia would tick a lot of your boxes. You have the old city and then have all the beaches and islands to explore as well.

ncmc

I think at this stage you’re problem may be that end of July is going to be very crowded and expensive in the main holiday resorts. What about somewhere along Lake Garda? Beautiful scenery, lovely little towns and while not ‘beachy’ you can swim in the lake. Verona is a worthwhile city for a night or even a day trip if time permits.

One of my favourite placed I have ever visited is Annecy in the French Alps. It’s about 40 mins south of Geneva. The city itself is stunning (it’s called a city but it’s really a large town) with fab bars, cafes, shops and restaurants. It’s located right on Lac d’Annecy and the scenery over the lake and mountains just has to be seen to be believed. The lake is the cleanest in Europe and a lovely temperature for swimming. There are beach areas where you can pay to sunbathe, but most of the locals just lounge by the side of the lake. So it’s not a beach per say, but what it lacks in sand it makes up for in beautiful views and gorgeous clean water.



I recommend it to anyone looking for a holiday away from the traditional beach resorts. It really has a bit of everything, great food, nightlife, water sports, shopping, scenery, you name it.

ncmc

Wow, sorry about the giant pictures, I don't know how to reduce them :pac:

Bergmann

Lisbon or Croatia

mfceiling

ncmc wrote: »

I think at this stage you’re problem may be that end of July is going to be very crowded and expensive in the main holiday resorts. What about somewhere along Lake Garda? Beautiful scenery, lovely little towns and while not ‘beachy’ you can swim in the lake. Verona is a worthwhile city for a night or even a day trip if time permits.

One of my favourite placed I have ever visited is Annecy in the French Alps. It’s about 40 mins south of Geneva. The city itself is stunning (it’s called a city but it’s really a large town) with fab bars, cafes, shops and restaurants. It’s located right on Lac d’Annecy and the scenery over the lake and mountains just has to be seen to be believed. The lake is the cleanest in Europe and a lovely temperature for swimming. There are beach areas where you can pay to sunbathe, but most of the locals just lounge by the side of the lake. So it’s not a beach per say, but what it lacks in sand it makes up for in beautiful views and gorgeous clean water.



I recommend it to anyone looking for a holiday away from the traditional beach resorts. It really has a bit of everything, great food, nightlife, water sports, shopping, scenery, you name it.

Was there about 7 years ago. Absolutely beautiful part of the world.

jt_dublin

James, what about Sitges? Seeing as you like Barcelona, Sitges is only about 20 minutes south from Barcelona airport. I haven't been but I've heard great reports of the place from some people who have been. It's a good size beach resort and has a big town too... So you might get your city & beach holiday all in one.

Zaph

NoCrackHaving wrote: »

Split in Croatia would tick a lot of your boxes. You have the old city and then have all the beaches and islands to explore as well.

Thinking of Croatia in September myself and Split would be the preferred destination, but there doesn't seem to be any direct flights from Dublin. Any suggestions on the best way to get there, or do you know any companies that do direct flights to there?

jt_dublin

Zaph wrote: »

Thinking of Croatia in September myself and Split would be the preferred destination, but there doesn't seem to be any direct flights from Dublin. Any suggestions on the best way to get there, or do you know any companies that do direct flights to there?

Ryanair fly to Zadar which is about 1.5 hrs away from Split.

NoCrackHaving

Zaph wrote: »

Thinking of Croatia in September myself and Split would be the preferred destination, but there doesn't seem to be any direct flights from Dublin. Any suggestions on the best way to get there, or do you know any companies that do direct flights to there?

I don't actually live in Ireland anymore so not really sure I'm afraid. You could try get a cheap flight to the UK and pick up a packagae deal from there I guess ? onthebeach.co.uk seems to be pretty good.

Zaph

Thanks guys, I'll have a look at Zadar and see what the story is getting from there to Split.

whomitconcerns

Bucharest,Romania and then take the train to Constanta/Mamaia on the Black Sea. Great beaches cheap drinks nice people generally. Been there many times

otnomart

I second Lisbon, and would add Malta.

northgirl

ncmc wrote: »

I think at this stage you’re problem may be that end of July is going to be very crowded and expensive in the main holiday resorts. What about somewhere along Lake Garda? Beautiful scenery, lovely little towns and while not ‘beachy’ you can swim in the lake. Verona is a worthwhile city for a night or even a day trip if time permits.

One of my favourite placed I have ever visited is Annecy in the French Alps. It’s about 40 mins south of Geneva. The city itself is stunning (it’s called a city but it’s really a large town) with fab bars, cafes, shops and restaurants. It’s located right on Lac d’Annecy and the scenery over the lake and mountains just has to be seen to be believed. The lake is the cleanest in Europe and a lovely temperature for swimming. There are beach areas where you can pay to sunbathe, but most of the locals just lounge by the side of the lake. So it’s not a beach per say, but what it lacks in sand it makes up for in beautiful views and gorgeous clean water.


I recommend it to anyone looking for a holiday away from the traditional beach resorts. It really has a bit of everything, great food, nightlife, water sports, shopping, scenery, you name it.

Beautiful pictures! Do you mind me asking where you flew to to go there - did you hire a car?

ncmc

northgirl wrote: »

Beautiful pictures! Do you mind me asking where you flew to to go there - did you hire a car?

The nearest airport is Geneva, it's about 40 mins away, however we flew to Lyon as it was a lot cheaper. Lyon is about 90 mins away. We did rent a car (it was actually the car hire that would have made Geneva very expensive) You could probably manage without a car, but we enjoy doing day trips. We went to Chamonix several times which is at the base of Mont Blanc and dos a beautiful drive into Switzerland and around Lake Geneva. I'm not sure how viable any of that would be without a car. Driving over there is easy peasy, albeit expensive with a lot of tolls on the motorways.

Bykobap

Easyjet from Belfast to Split

pjproby

Fly to Gdansk and stay in Sopot?

Hanley

** UPDATE - HERE'S WHAT WE DID **

So we ended up going a bit mad...

We spent 3 days in Athens (a day too many), 5 days in Santorini, 6 days in Ios and half day in Athens.

We were home for a day and then off to a 3 day wedding in Stresa in Italy after, via Milan.

Here's a quick summary of the places;

- athens is manky, one or two nice places to visit, some good restaurants but I wouldn't bother going back (we psuhed out an extra night in Ios to avoid Athens on the way home)

- Santorini is beautiful buuuuuut it's very crowded. We stayed in Fira and tripped up to Oia a few times. The sunsets and scenery are truly spectacular but sometimes it feels like you're getting the photos just to get the photos cos everyone else does

- Ios was a major surprise. Was expecting a lot of partying, but it was so quiet and beautiful. Stayed down at the port - great restaurants and places to hang out. The trip into the chora is short and super easy thanks to great buses.

The beaches are excellent

- The people and good in greece is amazing. They're so nice, and it's so healthy (if you want it to be that way)

- Stresa is insane. It's soooooooooo pretty. Totally different than anywhere we'd been before. Our friends got married on an island in the middle of a lake with some beautiful restaurants and bars. The general atmosphere over there was lovely - would recommend and go back

Thanks to everyone who gave us ideas. Turned out to be one of the best holidays we've had