Greece - where's best for fam hol?

mutley74

Due to flight availability, looks like Crete maybe out option for Late September time. Can anyone recommend a nice area on Crete which is near plenty of shops, cafes etc and near the beach, which is child friendly.

creased-leach

We're off to Paleo, Corfu in a couple of days. It's our first time without the kids- but I'll be doing a kid-friendly assesment nontheless!

We've taken them to Thassos before, and they loved it. It was a beautiful Island- but I think Corfu might be better for them now they're a little older as if you avoid the egg & chips, it has a little of everything.

Magnolia

Mutley - we love Stalis on Crete - nice beach and gently shelving water. You have to walk out more than several yards before it starts to get too deep.

This year we are going to Pefkos on Rhodes. We like a good beach holiday.

BettySpaghetti_2

The weather in the Ionian islands (Corfu, Kefalonia, Zante) will cool and turn more unsettled from Sept onwards so the best times to go are mid-June to early Sept. I've been for 2 weeks in Sept and had 7 days of rain and my sister in law had 12 days of really heavy rain late Sept/early Oct. You might get lucky but I really wouldn't chance it, especially with children. There is just nothing to do if it rains! Crete might be ok as it's so much further south. Another option is Cyprus, although it is more expensive.

I would thoroughly recommend Corfu for a holiday mid-June to early-Sept, but don't go HB! The food may well not be great and there are lots of tavernas, with something for everyone.

The west and north of the island have sandy beaches while the east coast has pebbly beaches. Resort wise, there's something for everyone. Unless you fall into the 18-30 age group, avoid Kavos like the plague. Lots of families go to Sidari (on the north coast) and have a great time, but for some it's a little too like a Greek version of Blackpool. San Stephanos and Arillas (on the West coast) are both lovely. Arillas is my personal favourite - a couple of bars, lots of nice tavernas and wonderful sandy beach but quite quiet. St George South is also very nice - busier than San Stephanos and Arillas with a great beach too. Had a couple of lovely holidays there.

Most resorts have hotels (B&B mainly) and lots of self catering accomodation. Thomson seem to have the monopoly on the good accomodation (from my experience) and are competitive pricewise. We've gone with them for the past 5 years, though are going independently next year.

I've also been to Zante/Zakynthos many times. As has been mentioned, avoid Lagana (it used to be great, 19 years ago!!) unless you are 18-30 and do nights rather than days! Tsilivi is nice but quite busy (catching up with Lagana) while Alikanas and Alikes are nice resorts with good, sandy beaches.