Best, cheapest Greek holiday destination?!

lea

Hello

Am looking to try and get a cheap deal on a week's holiday to Greece late June/early July. Me and my partner really need some sunshine and to unwind!

We have previously been to Lindos in Rhodes and Skiathos and really loved both. Can anyone recommend somewhere similar that we could get a cheap deal to (around £250 per person or less for flights and self catering accommodation would be great!)

Our only other requests would be a nice beach and places to eat and have a drink at in the evening. Want to try and avoid the 18-30 style destinations.

Suggestions very welcome!

Thanks

Lea

shudd1967

Look at Thassos. Cheaper than most islands once you are there as well

Isils

Hi Lea,

Look for budget flights with Ryanair & Easyjet for Corfu, or even late deal fares with Flythomascook, Thomsonfly, Monarch & Jet2. It pays sometimes to mix and match operators for each way journeys.

Then head for Arillas on the North West Coast. Arillas is a sleepy laid back little resort by the sea, tucked in and protected by two headlands. (Incidentally, there are a couple of excellent cafe bars on both headlands so it's well worth the walk for the views)

There are lots of locally owned apartments which are offering good deals. Some apartments can be basic but very clean with lovely owners... and none are very far from the beach.

There are lots of restaurants...too many to visit in one holiday unless you are staying a month!

The restaurants are all locally owned and offer both traditional Corfiot food and International food. There is one fish restaurant which is owned by Thomas..and yes he is a fisherman!

If you enjoy walking you won't be short of walks to the neighbouring resorts and villages. Only a couple of weeks ago a new trail was opened which is approximately 7km long (the guide wasn't printed when I did the walk so I kind of lost concept of distance ) and follows through the olive groves on tracks used by the farmers. It gets rather steep in places but is so worth it for the views over the Arillas valley and over to the sea with the Diapontian islands just off shore.

BTW...when dining on the seafront nothing can beat the sun setting behind the Diapontian islands.

There is an accommodation directory on Arillas.com, (sorry I don't seem to be able to post links) but please feel free to pm me for more ideas. I know one accommodation owner who is offering her very spacious apartments for 30euros per day, also a local hotel owner offering B&B for 20euros per day per person. This hotel is 1 minute from the beach and has a lovely pool.

Car hire is available from Arillas Cars and also Value Plus, airport pick up and drop off at no extra charge. Alternatively pre-ordered taxi cost approximately 55 euros each way.

Good luck.

Isils.

hamsterfan1

If you can find someone going there I cannot recomend Naxos highly enough - it's a major ferry port so festurants & bars are lively (but not loud) & open until ridiculously late - we got aff a ferry at 2 am & had a pizza - weren't the only ones in there by a long way - beaches are fantastic too

KonkyWonky

Have a look at Tsilvi, some fantastic restaurants and no 18-30 brigade. It's still a fairly large resort by Greek standards with plenty to do.

Kathy535

The bigger islands tend to be cheaper - I had a quick look on Direct Holidays (from Manchester) and Crete and Rhodes are coming up within your price range. For about £300 each you could get to Kefalonia or the Peloponese - both beautiful and fairly quiet. However, maybe you'd be better off waiting till nearer the time as I heard on the radio yesterday that there's lots of availability in Greece at the moment and that prices are falling.....

SaverSueG

I also loved Lindos and Skiathos. I would recommend Parga, Tingaki in Kos, Kassiopi in Corfu, Lassi in Kefalonia, or Chania in Crete which are resorts we have been to.

Corfu, Kos, Crete and Zante are likely to be cheapest but there's no reason you wouldn't get a good deal to other parts of Greece if you look carefully as you are out of school holidays.

Self-Catering packages are usually cheaper than DIY due to high flight costs - having said that we have booked Ryanair to Corfu this time and it was cheaper! Olympic Holidays are likely to offer the cheapest deals especially at short notice, but I don't think they have the best reputation, and they do tend to use some unusual flight operators!

lea

Thanks for all your replies, much appreciated! Am going to check out all your suggestions now.

Money I am afraid to say is the most important factor in this holiday so whilst I would love to return to Lindos or Skiathos, they will have to wait until we are feeling more flush!

Kos is coming up a lot in cheap deals from Stansted (our nearest airport)- Kos Town and Tingaki - has anyone been to either of these? Also tempted by Crete but there seems to be so many resorts to chose from, its a minefield!

Our main criteria is a good beach, and a destination with a 'nice' feel to it with some good places to eat in the evening and have a few drinks. Don't fancy somewhere with lots of British pubs and cafes - nowt wrong with that if that's your thing, but we like to feel like we're away from home!

Thanks again
Lea

Hobsons_Choice

Rethymnon (sp) in Crete is lovely and would fit all your requirements.
Also Chania.
Neither of which are 18-20 holidays iykwim, but lovely restaurants and good beaches...also some history for sightseeing.

Lisa0812

Don't have to give upon Lindos try next door resort Pefkos ( Some cheap stunning deals) and just a few minutes by bus from Lindos. Agree totally as well with previous poster about Rethymnon, we went last year and loved it enough to want to return next year ( stayed at Ideon Hotel). Have also stayed in Corfu at Arillas. We visited in august, i've never had any problem on any of my holidays with mossies, but this place was full of them and I had a very bad reaction to them. We also tried to book a couple of tours and were just left standing on our own waiting for the tour bus which never turned up. If you go to Arillas don't stay at the Marvel (ugh)

SaverSueG

Hi Lea,

We went to Tingaki 4 years ago now. I don't remember any "british" pubs, we only go to Greek tavernas to eat. I wouldn't say it is the most authentic Greek place I've ever been to, but it had a really lovely feel to it. I can't really put my finger on why. But we had one of our best ever holidays there.

It's fairly quiet - and probably quieter still these days - just one main street leading down to the beach and then tavernas etc along behind the beach. The beach is sandy - there was some seaweed around, so not the best ever beach in the world but certainly not the worst either!

We went into Kos town a few times, really liked it. There is a town beach but it's shingly. It's on a bus route from Tingaki or a lot of people hire push bikes - we did, it's flat and easy. The whole island is really small, easy to get around on public transport. We visited the volcano at Nissyros, the hot springs, lots of things to do if you feel that way inclined.

We will go back one day. It's just I like to go to different places, and we had such a great time there, part of me doesn't want to spoil the memories!

We've also been to Bali in Crete, lovely resort, 4 beaches, plenty of tavernas and a real Greek feel to it. Only thing against it, it is quite isolated and Crete is such a big island, if you want to do any sightseeing it takes forever!

If you ever get the chance and can afford it, go to Parga, from what you've written I'm sure you would love it there.

Have a great time whereever you go.