Somewhere 'nice' to go abroad

tasha-debt

Crete is a beautiful country, I love the harbour, the back streets and the food : http://www.cretediscover.com/AboutCrete/Map-of-Crete/Rethymnon%20harbour%20-%20port%20Crete%20.jpg

victor2

Does it have to be Europe, or could you venture a bit further afield?
There are some fantastic places in the Caribbean, or going east, like Thailand or Malaysia can make for a memorable holiday.

olias

shrimper1 wrote: »

Puerto Pollensa in Majorca has alot going for it beaches ,great scenery, cafes etc

dondo wrote: »

Agree - Puerto Pollensa is very nice

Just shows how tastes differ! I went to Puerto Pollensa about 30 years ago and it was a lovely quiet fishing village.

I went again recently and thought it was hideous now. Chavsville - full of English bars doing egg and chips and all with huge televisions on showing the UK footie. Loads of men wandering around in the 'Brits abroad' uniform of fake replica nylon football shirts and 3/4 length shorts, with their women looking like Vicky Pollard. Shops along the seafront like Blackpool or Scarborough - all 'joke' sombreros and inflatables for the pool.

Olias

benjus

I loved Puglia, Italy (the part in the far South East that extends towards Greece) - relatively few foreign tourists, excellent food, beautiful weather, friendly people...

melb

we keep fancying going to that area Benjus but when we compare costs of flights and accommodation we get scared off and go back to spain again. Could you recommend a nice town/village to stay - on the coast with sandy beach and reasonably priced good restaurants for a family and also did you stay in a hotel or did you self-cater? thanks for any advice

Klug

We loved Menorca. Nice beaches, plenty of restaurants and the old town of Cieutadella is just beautiful. The resort of Cala Galdana is stunning.
Also, can recommend Nice and Monaco as previously mentioned. Easy to get to and get around by bus/train along the coast or into the mountains.
Good luck with your choice

Silaqui

victor2 wrote: »

Does it have to be Europe, or could you venture a bit further afield?
There are some fantastic places in the Caribbean, or going east, like Thailand or Malaysia can make for a memorable holiday.

The reason I've been thinking Europe is for cost reasons really - we have to go in the school holidays anyway as I'm a teacher, so the cost is high as it is - looking at places further afield seems to push the cost into the 2k and above territory

olias wrote: »

Just shows how tastes differ! I went to Puerto Pollensa about 30 years ago and it was a lovely quiet fishing village.

I went again recently and thought it was hideous now. Chavsville - full of English bars doing egg and chips and all with huge televisions on showing the UK footie. Loads of men wandering around in the 'Brits abroad' uniform of fake replica nylon football shirts and 3/4 length shorts, with their women looking like Vicky Pollard. Shops along the seafront like Blackpool or Scarborough - all 'joke' sombreros and inflatables for the pool.

Olias

That's what I want to avoid lol :rotfl:

I had never thought of the south of France for some reason, it comes to mind as the kind of place you have to have a yacht to go and stay there! :rotfl: But I shall look into it there as well!

Thanks again for all the ideas you've given us plenty to be thinking about! xx

victor2

Silaqui wrote: »

The reason I've been thinking Europe is for cost reasons really - we have to go in the school holidays anyway as I'm a teacher, so the cost is high as it is - looking at places further afield seems to push the cost into the 2k and above territory

What about Turkey? Had a very nice trip there a couple of years ago. There are excellent beaches if that is what you want as well as interesting and fun trips into the countryside. We found the locals to be friendly to us, although they seemed to have a different opinion of the Russian tourists, of which there were quite a few! Not too expensive either.

GlynD

Madiera is guaranteed relaxing. Reasonably priced.

We loved The Hotel Delfino at the village of Massalubrense just outside Sorrento (Neapolitan Riviera).

No lager louts in either of the two above but more sightseeing opportunities in Sorrento. Both are pool holidays because Madiera has only black sand or shingle beaches and the Neapolitan Riviera is on a 600' cliff. The views from the Hotel Delfino are spectacular though, right over Capri.

benjus

melb wrote: »

we keep fancying going to that area Benjus but when we compare costs of flights and accommodation we get scared off and go back to spain again. Could you recommend a nice town/village to stay - on the coast with sandy beach and reasonably priced good restaurants for a family and also did you stay in a hotel or did you self-cater? thanks for any advice

We stayed just outside a town called Locorotondo, self-catering in a Trullo house (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trullo) we found on Owners Direct. My OH speaks Italian which was useful, although the owner spoke good English.

If you want to be closer to the beach I'd probably head down towards Gallipoli.

Most places seem to have a good range of decent restaurants. I think the best food we had was at Trattoria del Porto, Monopoli and Cibus, Ceglie Messapica. Simple things like fresh octopus barbecued on the beach was lovely too.