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[Travel] NSC hive-mind – holiday destination!



MJsGhost

Oooh Matron, I'm an
NSC Patron
Jun 26, 2009
4,501
East
We’re looking to book our first holiday since 2018 (pre kids!) so our requirements are a little different now with a 1yr old and a 3yr old. To make it more complicated, we’re joining forces with my sister-in-law and her 2 teenage kids...

It’s a tricky task to find someone suitable for everyone’s different requirements and I hoped that NSC might come up trumps with some suggestions of destinations (the more specific the better i.e. towns/villages to target, or even better an actual property they have stayed in).

We'll be going late June / early July and have an accommodation budget of £3500 (max) for a week. The requirements are:

Detached house / villa with 4+ bedrooms and a pool.
Decent garden - BBQ / outdoor kitchen & dining area.
Needs to be walking distance (15-20 mins, so about a mile) of:
  • A nice beach
  • Restaurant(s)
  • A nice little town / village to mooch about in (so not one of the many lovely, huge villas that have been built up in the hills of, say Crete, but are a car journey to get ANYWHERE)
General location:
Somewhere with a bit of history – a quaint old town nearby, or a picturesque fishing village etc. Interesting sightseeing further afield (the older the better, we do like a dusty old ruin)

Enough tourism in the area for there to be stuff for teenage kids to do, but nothing too built up & busy (NOT a concrete jungle with an English pub on every corner). Nightclubs not required. A waterpark that’s a reasonable drive away would be ideal though.

The Mrs is doing the sensible thing of contacting travel companies, but if anyone can recommend a company that might be able to help with this above, I will pass it on to her.

We are thinking Greek islands, but I am keen to hear alternative suggestions too. Thus far, it’s proving tricky as the space we want/need doesn’t necessarily lend itself to being as close to a nice town/village as we’d like (unless we up the budget, which we aren’t able to do).

Thanks very much in advance! (even for the "Google is your friend" comment coming my way :))
 




Greavsey

Well-known member
Jul 4, 2007
1,133
Somewhere in the Algarve would have all that you're looking for. But budget is obviously the big unknown. We've stayed near Carvoeiro a few times, which is a great town grown from a fishing village, and not too spoilt by English tourists yet.
 




Questions

Habitual User
Oct 18, 2006
24,896
Worthing
Near Cuitadella in Menorca. Went there a few times with our kids. Not flash.
 














Tom Hark Preston Park

Will Post For Cash
Jul 6, 2003
70,250
Skiathos, somewhere near Koukounaries end of the island. TUI have had a near-monopoly of the Brit market up to now, but Easyjet are doing holidays and flights this Summer. Myrtia Summer Village might be a good choice if you have little kids to cater for
 


Milano

Well-known member
Aug 15, 2012
3,376
Sussex but not by the sea
Chalet on a French camp site; they’re nothing like UK camp sites, they are more like affordable CentreParcs. There are dozens to choose from. If you pick one in Normandy or Brittany then you’ve the beach day out option too.
 


Papa Lazarou

Living in a De Zerbi wonderland
Jul 7, 2003
18,872
Worthing
We spent a lovely week in a coastal family villa in Pisak on the Croatian coast. Not too far from Dubrovnik and the local scenery is stunning.

We were about 10 mins walk along the coastal path from the town, with a lovely fishing village vibe, and some lovely restaurants.

Omis is about 30 mins drive along the coast, with a castle and some fantastic water-based activities.

If it helps, this is the villa we stayed at https://www.booking.com/hotel/hr/villa-nora-pisak.en-gb.html?
 
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Cordwainer

Well-known member
Jul 30, 2023
338
Another vote for Menorca
Stayed in Binibeca a couple of times..loads of Villas to choose from.
 


McTavish

Well-known member
Nov 5, 2014
1,562
Try Croatia.

Somewhere near Trogir might suit you.

Trogir itself is a fascinating Venetian walled town with lots of restaurants and bars. Not far from Split - home of Diocletian's palace for your dustiness. The sea is very calm and there are lots of boats available for hire. Only possible omission from your list is a nice beach - there are beaches but they are made largely of shingle rather than sand so take some beach shoes!

Trogir itself can get very busy but we stayed in a village called Okrug Gornji which is on an island a couple of miles or so beyond Trogir (reached by a road bridge) where there were a few restaurants, beach bars and shops.
 


Snowflake

Active member
Jan 11, 2018
141
When my kids were young. Spent many Eurocamp holiday in France. Good value and easy when you have young ones. Normally good kids clubs and facilities as well. Off to Britanny with the grandkids in May.
 




Blue3

Well-known member
Jan 27, 2014
5,575
Lancing
Small town in Croatia called Porec it’s a short flight over France the alps the top of Italy and across the Adriatic then it’s about 30 minutes from the airport at Pula along a very pretty coast to Porec.
Porec is a lovely safe seaside town on the Istrian coast ideally located for trips as it’s very close to the boarders of Italy, Austria and Hungry and a short fast catamaran trip to Venice, the coast is rocky but the sea is nearly alway dead calm and warm being at the very top of the Adriatic the food is very Italian and history is everywhere Porec has a world heritage site with it’s Basilica which has some truly wonderful Byzantine mosaics from the time of Justinian 1.
The town is laid out as the Romans had it although most of the buildings are from the Middle Ages paved flagstones lots of charming restaurants absolutely nothing tacky
The town is very safe and child friendly plus it holds a music festival each year (think it’s May) that tanagers might enjoy lots of well pave paths along the waters edge under shade of pine trees right down to the water you can if you wish walk or cycle absolutely miles in either direction and jump on a water bus to get back, hotels are lovely all have pools kids clubs and all quite happy if you wonder from one hotel to the next as many are run by the same hotel chain Valimar the area is great if you like sports football waterpolo tennis cycling the opertunities are endless.
lots of little public parks to visit breaking up any walks a great bus service from the bus station all over croatia and beyond one place to visit is Pula with its Roman amphitheater the third largest ever built and every bit as impressive as the colosseum in Rome without the crowds.
Porec is our bolt hole and although we travel all over we alway return every few years
 
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Titanic

Super Moderator
Helpful Moderator
Jul 5, 2003
39,107
West Sussex
Small town in Croatia called Porec it’s about 30 minutes from the airport at Pula.
Porec is a lovely safe seaside town on the Istrian coast ideally located for trips as it’s very close to the boarders of Italy, Austria and Hungry and a short fast catamaran trip to Venice, the coast is rocky but the sea is nearly alway dead calm and warm being at the very top of the Adriatic the food is very Italian and history is everywhere Porec has a world heritage site with it’s Basilica which has some truly wonderful Byzantine mosaics from the time of Justinian 1.
The town is laid out as the Romans had it although most of the buildings are from the Middle Ages paved flagstones lots of charming restaurants absolutely nothing tacky
The town is very safe and child friendly plus it holds a music festival each year (think it’s May) that tanagers might enjoy lots of well pathed paths along the waters edge under shade of pine trees right down to the waters edge
lots of little public parks to visit breaking up any walks a great bus service from the bus station all over croatia and beyond one place to visit is Pula with its Roman amphitheater the third largest ever built and every bit as impressive as the colosseum in Rome without the crowds

:thumbsup: we stayed on the island opposite the port.... very good holiday!
 


Feb 23, 2009
23,040
Brighton factually.....
This was perfect for small kids without being weighed down by big hotels and the pressure of them wanting to hang out by the pool all day and making friends with some other kids from St Helens with parents you would not give the time of day to. We have been back a few times, car included and great off slightly off season as you intend to go.
Plenty for the kids to do, not overly busy - Lanzarote Eco Yurts

 








Eeyore

Colonel Hee-Haw of Queen's Park
NSC Patron
Apr 5, 2014
23,601
  • A nice beach
  • Restaurant(s)
  • A nice little town / village to mooch about in (so not one of the many lovely, huge villas that have been built up in the hills of, say Crete, but are a car journey to get ANYWHERE)
Shanklin or Torbay
 


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