Spain?

Depends on budget, preferred method of travel and your attitude to sun. Also, you might have to be more specific in your question, given the incredible range of options. Spain has
- some of the best and highest mountain ranges, natural parks and wilderness areas in Europe - the Pyrenees, Picos de Europa, Sierra Nevada, with skiing, walking, canyoning, caving or sightseeing, to
- busy cultural cities like Barcelona and Madrid...
- Moorish heritage like the mediaeval cities of the south- the palaces, gardens, mosques and flamenco of Seville, Granada, Toledo, Ronda
-Costa's which are less visited by BritChavs; like
- the cooler northern "Costa Verde"; the jurassic limestone Bay of Biscay coast west from Santander' - the coves and beaches of Cantabria and Asturias (which is close to the Picos de Europa ),
- the "Costa de la Luz"- the windy undeveloped Atlantic south west beaches and dunes between Cadiz and Tarifa (ferries to Africa)
- or even some of the more "Spanish" bits of the north eastern "Costa Brava" like L'Escala; a predominantly locals' resort where kids play on the beach at midnight and which is a short drive from the budget airports of Girona and Barcelona and the Salvador Dali attractions of Cadaques and Figueres.

We've been visiting Spain for over 50 years. We can't stand the searing heat of the summer on the much maligned Costa del Sol near Malaga, but do visit Nerja- a nicer resort an hour east from there most Februaries; of ten twinning it with inland gems like Ronda.
We don't do beaches either, but we visit the Cantabria Coast; Llanes is a favourite before driving up into the Picos mountains for some gentle walking. That's particularly affordable via Brittany Ferries with you own car; book a few nights hotels with them and the 24-hour ferry crossing price tumbles; or fly-drive via Santander or Bilbao

And even package resorts can have original "Spanish" quarters or a lovely hinterland a bus ride away; we were always snobby about Marbella (an hour from Malaga) because of its "Costa del Crime" image, but when we actually visited and stayed in a hotel in the original old town, we were pleasantly surprised. And even Mallorca is an island of contrasts; avoid the south west coastal strip of drunks and it has mountains, plains, coves and quiet beaches; a microcosm of Spain in fact; and the little rattly "Tren de Soller" and tram on to Port Soller is a wonderful way to arrive from the capital, Palma.

Google image any of these 20-30 places to see if you fancy them , then look at the regional pages of Tripadvisor. The advantage of Spain is that compared with France and Italy, its incredibly cheap- maybe not quite as cheap as the Greek Islands, but with more budget flights.

Formentera, Costa de la Luz.

Ola!

Me and the cook are coming to the end of a 3 week stay in Andalusia, staying in a gorgeous coastal town called Nerja.

Nerja is about 40 miles east of Malaga, the beginning of the white villages, and is picture postcard perfect.

Perfect for mature folk wanting a good time without the place being 24/7 in your face.

Kit1 wrote: »

Thank you so much for your replies.

We don't mind the heat which is good as we go during school holidays (no children but l work in a school). We like to relax on holiday but also enjoy meeting and talking to locals and learning more about the country and what it has to offer.

Not into nightclubs, drinking too much or staying out until the early hours but we do like to hire a car and see as much as we can.

If you like hiring a car (personally, I don't - a holiday for me means no driving) then try the north Spanish coast - Bilbao, San Sebastian, Santander etc. Lots of good sights, excellent food and it isn't so hot as the rest of Spain. You'll have to brush up on your Spanish though as English isn't as widely spoken as elsewhere in the country as there are far fewer British tourists around.