holiday advice please

WQuine · 18 May 2004 at 10:25PM

Was hoping for some advice -

Myself and my partner are hoping to go away for a couple of weeks. Due to various reasons we were unable to have a honeymoon when we were married two years ago, and this holiday would be a kind of honeymoon for us.

Neither of us has ever had a ‘holiday’ as such and therefore are quite naive as to where is nice etc. We only have a number of ‘wants’ to be somewhere hot, to be somewhere near water (preferably sea and pool) and not to be surrounded by lots of people. We are particularly interested in either all inclusive holidays (but advice as to whether these are best/most cost effective would be good) or villa with private pool (but this might be a bit pricey). We would be willing to spend up to around £800 (at a push £1000 if no extra costs whilst there).

Due to work commitments etc we both have from the 9th of July through to the 26th free. We would prefer to fly from Exeter or Bristol, and I am not the greatest fan of flying so not a too longer flight if possible.

We have searched various websites but don’t know who to trust or whether to wait till last minute etc - so any help suggestions would be great.

Thanks in advance

chalky_bertie · 18 May 2004 at 10:51PM

In my opinion "all-inclusive" is only good for people who drink alot of local beverages and eat loads - if this is not you then i would say don't bother. Not sure what other MSEs think?

On places to go not sure really but people have told me that Croatia is very nice and not too commercialised yet!

good luck!

TRAVELMAN_2 · 18 May 2004 at 11:13PM

Hello!

Some suggestions....as regards all-inclusives there are 2 schools of thought on this.

Chalky-bertie has a point in some respects-if you go to some main, busy commercial resorts such as Magaluff in Majorca, you WILL get those with the mentality of 'let's drink loads', etc...

The way I look at all-inclusive is that it's a 'cover' financially-all food/drinks/tea/coffee/mineral water/soft drinks (its amazing how much you can spend on that ice cold cooling bottle of mineral water & those coffees/teas.....!) are 'covered' but if you go with the mental attitude of 'hey'-it's all paid for but I can still eat our' then you'll really enjoy all-inclusive!

I'd say have a look at the quieter resorts in Greece on Islands such as Kos or Crete or Rhodes (Psalidi inCrete has some great value qulaity Hotels) or look at Tunisia. There are some great 4/5 star half-boards & superb value all-inclusives-all fairly new Hotels to a very high standard. If you like 'sun & pool & beach' in my opinion Tunisia can't be faulted. Many Hotels have private beaches & if the need takes you there are some wonderfull historical sites to see!

Also look at Turkey-the resort of OLU DENIZ. A simply stunning lagoon with some great quality Hotels-some on the beach-others in Hisaronu which is NOT on the beach (3 1/2 miles up the hill but cooler at night!) but is connected by the frequent 'dolmus' minibusses.

Very cheap to eat out in Turkey-in fact you could easily go bb/hb as meals are so cheap!

Villas will be very expensive-DON'T leave it as the prices for the villas can go UP!

I'd say start looking now with a view to book in the next few days.

Check out the hotels on https://www.medhotels.com for all the above detinations (some great deals) & we/or any agent of your choice (make sure they have an ATOL licence & number) can package it up with transfers/flights.

All those destinations would suit you but the 4/5 star Hotels in Tunisia are really 'wow'!

Please post again if you find some Hotels you like (or if you prefere e-mail me off board or send me a PM) & I'll let you know how much it'll cost.

Kind regards,

Chris

System · 19 May 2004 at 1:24AM

I do have a villa in the south of France, though it's outside your price range.
http://www.funtigo.com/hartleylee

Approx 2500 pounds a week inc.

Alternatively, if you are willing to drive abroad, it can make all the difference.
Spain and or Italy would make a good choice. Cheaper to get to, so you can spend your money on the good food and accommodation.

Some lovely, quiet and inexpensive places along the coasts of Spain and Italy, including the islands, Sardinia etc
If you like the idea, I'll see what I can dig out.

WQuine · 19 May 2004 at 9:39AM

Many thanks for all your advice

I will look at the site Travelman and get back to you.. am I right in assuming that we would have to fly from London if we went to the med?

TRAVELMAN_2 · 19 May 2004 at 11:58AM

Not at all! Allthough London will probably be slightly cheaper for you.

As a quick example there's the carribbean World in Tunisia, all-inclusive, Bristol, 11/7-£625 pp inc tfers (a bit over I know), Neptunia Hotel in Skanes-hb, same dates-£475pp, Pigale Hotel in kusadasi (Aegean Turkey) from gatwick, 9/7, £525 pp a/inclusive in tfers, Triton Hotel, Turkey (Altinkum)-£332 pp Gatwick, bb, 9/7, £407 pp Asena Village bb (Olu Deniz-lovely!), 9/7, lgw, bella Mare bb in Iclemer Turkey, £315 pp Lgw, 0r £370 pp hb, Pine Hill bb in Olu Deniz, Gatwick-£323 pp...

Great choices! Check out the medhotels web-site. For Turkey you'd pay an extra £50/£60 pp for Cardiff/Bristol.

One of the best all-inclusives is the MARATHON HOTEL, Koymbia (Hotel not aimed at families!)- 10/7, gatwick, £527 pp.

You're just on the 'upper edge' for a/inclusives-have a look & see what you think.

Kind regards,

chris

WQuine · 19 May 2004 at 2:35PM

Thanks again for your advice -

I have just spent the last hour - dial up as broadband has not reached our village yet- or so looking through the website that was recommended (also the review site of Tunisia which was suggested on another topic). I am now more confused than before. As I said earlier this is our first holiday (as hubby american up till now it has been either visiting him or vice versa or visiting his family) and would really like it to be OK.

In addition to a load of practical questions (stupid things like how to get to hotel from airport etc, money changing, insurance cover), I also just cannot decide where to go.

A couple of queries (or points to narrow things down).

We live in mid cornwall and would really like to fly from the south west (getting to london a hassle and more expense)

Whilst the plan is to lay and relax I know that we would probably be 'bored' after a couple of days. Sightseeing would be good, but also a bit of fun (more in terms of activity rather than nightlife i.e. day time fun - really enjoyed myself at a water park as it brought out the child in me!).

English is our only language and whilst hoping not to go to a too touristy resort (dont mind children as much as I mind drunken adults) would probably struggle if had to use another language all the time.

We are not really fussy people - somewhere clean (shower working a must!) and friendly would be great. I am also a veggie (seen a couple of reviews re Tunisia not catering well for us!)

Whilst we said up to £1000 we really dont want to spend too much more if at all (saving to try and get a house but thats another story).

We are both however very indecisive people and will probably spend the next few weeks deliberating and never going anywhere (stay in Cornwall - which is obviously lovely but home).

I think that I am somewhat frightened that we will get it wrong and regret spending money which could go towards a house (although for reasons which I wont go into we both feel that some time away is really important for us).

Again anymore help would be great
Thanks

Lucie_2 · 20 May 2004 at 10:42AM

I'm a great fan of all inclusive holidays - on the basis that the holiday is budgeted & paid for before I go. We tend to take a credit card to pay for anything while we're out there. It completely avoids remembering to change money before you go, having to find a bank/ cash point on your first morning in resort, or spending your whole holiday worrying about losing your cash, travellers cheques etc. We've also been known to have NO MONEY AT ALL & it's not a problem!
We don't drink huge amounts but I reckon we get our money's worth in water/soft drinks during the day.

TRAVELMAN_2 · 20 May 2004 at 12:39PM

Hi-transfers from airport-a rep will meet you! Languages-not a problem-english is widely spoken!

Things to do in the day-golf/waterparks/excursions-plenty of these!

Vegetarian food-certainly in turkey & Tunisia there should not be any problem as food is buffet style.

South West airports-you WILL be paying £60/£70 pp MORE than Gatwick.

My advice (to try & keep budget down as £1000 for 2 weeks a/i in peak season is REALLY pushing it) is to try for 10 days-or why not go top quality (4*+/5*) 7 have a week??

About the indecisive bit (!) for the dates you want you can't afford to be indecisive as once the demand INCREASES for those dates prices will go UP & the early booking discounts for the Hotels will vanish.

Tour Operators never have a problem selling these dates so I'd think about tying it all up soon.

kind regards,

Chris

AS the below is an interesting topic I think I'll post it separately!

PS-Those b****y review sites-PLEASE take some of the reviews with a pinch of salt! The holidaysuncovered site is not moderated (ie no-one really checks what or WHO posts on there). From what I gather the guy who owns the site is a milionaire from all the links on there. We heard of several cases last yoear of other TRAVEL AGENTS deliberately posting bogus reviews to 'get one over' on rivals who got the Hotel cheaper!

Best site (which IS moderated!) is holidaytruths.

PLEASE don't fall in to the trap of not booking something if it's not on the review sites! No review DOES NOT mean the Hotel is bad. Think how many Hotels there are.... & it becomes obvious why all properties are not on.

I had a case recently where I got a FAB price for some apartments/flights in Fuerteventura-the apartments were on a 48 hour special & because it was NOT on holidaysuncovered or holidaytruths the customer decided NOT to book- & now has no holiday as everything else was way over budget.

A prime example of the Internet working against you.....

Chris

System · 5 June 2004 at 4:41PM

I went to kefalonia last year just me an my partner it hadnt got a pool but the beach was just a minute away it was the best holiday ive ever had it was peaceful and if you hire a car for a few days the island is beautifull. and its cheap to get there and the food and beer was cheap. The weather is boiling so take a high fact cream.

shazrazmataz · 5 June 2004 at 5:30PM

Majorca is really nice, we went there last year and had a fab time. I also recommend Halkidiki in Greece. We have been there 6 times, we have done all-inclusive & half board, all-inclusive is a good option especially with kids !, we have also done self-catering, what ever you decide, enjoy !

p.s. before you go, take a look at the Holidays uncovered web site. It tells you all about the resort & your hotel/appartments.

holiday advice please

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