Looking for a week's break, just the missus and I, sometime during first fortnight in September.
Thinking of Portugal or maybe Italy (but not Rome).
We like beach places that there is lots of walking so loved Torremolinos where we could walk the prom for miles popping in to bars on the way. But hated the union jack bars, the all day English breakfast type places and clientele.
Absolutely loved Nerja in Costa Del Sol, nice walks, very Spanish, very few Union Jack places. Still an option to return there.
Someone has suggested Albufeira but make sure its the old town?
Anyone with suggestions?
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>>Menorca
Is that not fully Union jack type place now??
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>> >>Menorca
>> Is that not fully Union jack type place now??
It can feel like Britain, being green and quiet, but there's few yobbish places, unlike Ibiza Majorca.
>>On ho, we like to go self catering and eat out every night in a different restaurant and eat "local food" as much as possible.
Then it has to be Madeira and you'll have a big problem finding a sandy beach.
Last edited by: bathtub tom on Fri 9 Aug 19 at 09:33
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Do not, under any circumstances, go to Albufeira. In fact I did know, and love, it when it was a small fishing town but it's a b***** monstrosity now.
Do you def. want beaches, or it could be inland?
If def. beach, could it be one week later?
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Weirdly, maybe its a psychological thing, but I like to see a beach and the sea when I am on holiday. Kind of reinforces that I am away!
However, I never ever set foot on the sand! I hate sand!
Missus can only get the first 2 weeks in Sept unfortunately. Being currently unemployed I am a bit more flexible!
Actually didn't want to go on holiday, been off work since end of June, feel its a cheek to go on holiday whilst job hunting. But need to be mindful that my missus is still working and she deserves a holiday.
A distance relative is in Albufeira just now and loves it but he is a mile away from the "strip".
In Nerja, I had one of my favourite holiday memories. Sitting in a bar on the prom, guys made paella on a fire made up of old pallets. Heaven.
On ho, we like to go self catering and eat out every night in a different restaurant and eat "local food" as much as possible.
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Well what about up the west coast a bit. That might work quite well for you. Perhaps somewhere around Praia da Franquia.
Certainly less gringos, it's quite pretty, and ought to be pretty quiet in September.
Though do note it's probably 6 or 7 years since I've been down that way.
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"a fire made up of old pallets. Heaven."
That's our Bobby.
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A few years ago we went to the Adriatic coast of Italy, near to Rimini - Riccione or Cattolica. Very nice and just outside the season so quiet.
Fly to Bologna and drive for 90 minutes max. Also visit the Lamborghini factory and museum...
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Re Portugal... I found myself in Albufiera for a week last autumn, slightly later than you are looking. Undoubtedly is is full of rental properties and I'm not sure which bit of town we went to a couple of times, but it was full of restaurants and bars, some of which had fairly lairy Brits (and others) in as the evening wore on. But it really wasn't so bad, if you like to see a bit of life on your holiday rather than hiding away from it all. I like both, so some some nights we went there and others we went elsewhere, or nowhere...
Better would be somewhere further along the coast - the place I know quite well is Armacao da Pera. Again, full of rental properties but quite a pleasant "prom" and some nice and reasonable eateries. Other places I looked at were Quarteria & Vilamoura (pricey) and Portamiao, and the Alporchinhos area was recommenced to us. All are by the sea.
I think the first two weeks of Sept are still within their high season so car hire etc is not so cheap, but last year the weather was glorious right through till October.
I think that Portugal would be vastly cheaper (if that's important to you) than Italy but I may be wrong.
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You would like Alicante, has your promenades, beaches, bars, restaurants but no real Union Jack britpub mentality. (you can find it if you look for it, but its not in your face)
Or how about Sorento, Quite classy, beach of sorts you can get the train to Naples and Pompeii.
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Second Alicante. I spend a lot of time on the Costa Blanca and always enjoy my short visits to Alicante. Nice castle overlooking the town, Volvo Ocean Race Museum, Contemporary Art Museum and nice old quarter.
Great driving roads and mountain scenery a little further north inland. I’m back there late September for two weeks, and may even go again late October for a few weeks walking. Plenty of cheap flights and car hire options
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Not many travel agents go there, and I do not know your budget, but I can highly recommend Corsica.
Beautiful island with a great mix of sea and some beaches but with stunning in-land areas, with forests, old towns, citadels, etc, and in recent years the road quality much improved.
Very few English voices heard whist visiting (the polar opposite to our last two trips to even quiet places in Mallorca)and they have a very distinct culture.
Whilst owned by France they are fiercely Corsican. Just google 'Corsican road signs' to see how they treat the French words for villages and towns that are added to all place names. The locals also use some signs for target practice, but tourists are very much welcomed.
We have used one of the main companies who go there beginning with an S who do villa holidays there and they sometimes have last minute deals (good company who I have no relationship with other than having been a customer).
Not sure of dates, places, style and costs would work for you, but worthy of consideration for the future if nothing available now.
A trip to Bonifacio is a must and Porto Vecchio also good, and the north of the island is also very nice (Calvi for example).
Went there as a kid and going back as an adult it was better than I had remembered.
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That is a good suggestion.
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Corsica is on my TD list, Can also heartily recommend Sicily
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For general information, prices are driven by the school holidays. Though of course out of season so much closes.
However, The first week of September is high season because of summer holidays and obviously quite busy. Week 2 September may or may not be depending on the actual dates that year. Also, the first 2 weeks of the holidays are where lots of people go on holiday thinking they'll miss the kids and crowds.
However, in October all the resorts expect to get busy for Autumn half term. So stuff stays open waiting for that last hurrah of the season. So the second half of September and the first week of October are quieter, cheaper and still sunny & open.
Then it's high season for the middle of October, and after that everything closes for the winter.
So, The second two weeks of September and the first week of October are almost always an excellent choice.
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Cheers for all the suggestions - plenty of food for thought there.
Will take a look over a few evenings .
Ryanair pilot strike at beginning of Sept isn't going to help matters!
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>> Ryanair pilot strike at beginning of Sept isn't going to help matters!
Its a blessing, you'll use a half decent airline instead
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>>you'll use a half decent airline instead
I'm not sure any of them are as good as "half decent" these days, but it'll be better than Ryanair, for sure.
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Yeah problem is a lot of the websites like Travel Republic use Ryanair. Also other airlines know that Ryanair are on strike so will hike up their prices!
All this is assuming that puppy is settled enough by then and in a routine that means we can leave with the designated people but not prepared to do that if he has not settled.
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"Yeah problem is a lot of the websites ......... but not prepared to do that if he has not settled.
In view of all this may I, in all seriousness, suggest Norfolk?
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>> In view of all this may I, in all seriousness, suggest Norfolk?
>>
Suffolk no good for dogs then?
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>> >> In view of all this may I, in all seriousness, suggest Norfolk?
>> >>
>>
>> Suffolk no good for dogs then?
Norfolk is better for a dog owning family.
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>> "Yeah problem is a lot of the websites ......... but not prepared to do that
>> if he has not settled.
>>
>> In view of all this may I, in all seriousness, suggest Norfolk?
And not such a silly idea, one of my fav largely ignored places. North Norfolk is fantastic for dogs with a great selection of boozers for food. Hire a cottage.
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Here's a thought, have you considered Barcelona? It's a great city, one of my favourites, and won't be too busy in September. It also has beaches/proms which may well suit; e.g. Castelldelfels.
And there are certainly cheap flights.
Last edited by: No FM2R on Mon 12 Aug 19 at 16:25
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>> Its a blessing, you'll use a half decent airline instead
Ryanair is airline of last resort for me. From GLA I'd choose Easy or Jet2.
Mrs B is going to a conference in Bologna later in month, excepting silly fares from BA Ryanair was only option.
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The company I alluded to for Corsica arranged flights with EasyJet the last few times we went from memory. One of the few companies that fly there, but because they arrange this for you as part of the package, you have the overall insurance of a package holiday rather than the less insured process of booking individual aspects such as flights, travel, and accommodation.
Each time they have a car included in the package too (which we normally cheaply upgraded to something a little bigger - think C4 rather than C1, Megane rather than Twingo).
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..excepting silly fares from BA Ryanair was only option.
Short haul BA is totally carp these days. Every aspect of their service is pure Ryanair. Their only advantage is that they invariably have the most convenient time slots for me flying from LHR or LGW.
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>> Short haul BA is totally carp these days. Every aspect of their service is pure
>> Ryanair. Their only advantage is that they invariably have the most convenient time slots for
>> me flying from LHR or LGW.
For me, convenient departure times from either LGW or LHR, and ideally more than one flight a day a, to an airport convenient to my destination trumps pretty much every other consideration when booking flights. I’ve never found BA to be particularly expensive, and whether it’s provided free or not I never eat on short haul flights so I’m not too fussed by the removal of free food in economy... though ‘business’ class is usually not much more than £50 extra when booked with a hotel.
BAs long haul service/product is a bigger bugbear for me, but then at least it’s usually priced competitively to compensate. I’d have more faith in BA sorting out IRROPS than I would Ryanair mind you, and having been badly burnt twice by Virgin in the past when their planes went tech I’d prefer a carrier with a few more options and a larger fleet! Even Norwegian has almost as many Dreamliners as Virgins entire wide-body fleet... and i imagine serves fewer destinations with them, so a more robust schedule...it’s probably about as financially stable as well ;)
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Don’t really subscribe to the anti Ryanair sentiment. They’re normally the cheapest, have a good punctuality record and have a modern fleet. OK they don’t give anything away but they’re pricing is clear enough. For a two or three hour flight across Europe who cares about cabin service.
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>Don’t really subscribe to the anti Ryanair sentiment.
Neither do I. You know exactly what to expect with Ryanair.
I am anti BA who provide exactly the same no frills service but try to present themselves as being somehow superior. That and the fact that I am still battling with them to reimburse the extra expense I incurred because my credit card was cancelled last year while in Spain for two months after their booking system was hacked.
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Living in Manchester our only BA option is to Heathrow. My last flight there was adequate at best. Worse seat pitch than easyJet, no food or drink (astonishing for the fare of £140) and Terminal 5 is a total pain to leave and also very expensive. I don't use BA at all if I have to go overseas.
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A musical take on the perils of cheap flights.
youtu.be/ZAg0lUYHHFc
Apologies if you have seen before but it always amuses me
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Bobby, if you like to look at beaches but want to avoid the sand a solution is the splendid long promenade that runs between Poole and Hengist Head, taking in Bournemouth en route. Travel is easy and I am told there are more bedspaces for hire in the area than in London.
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>> Anyone with suggestions?
Whitby.
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Whitby. Perfect for carnivores. You can get a great stake there.
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whitby is good, they even have their own Gin
www.whitbydistillery.com/welcome
Not sold in Spoons tho
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Southwold has its own distillery (and brewery). If their gin's half as bad as their 'single malt' whisky, I'd recommend you give it a miss.
I do like their beer.
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SWMBO is now talking about going to Turkey - any recommendations where to go / avoid?
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>> SWMBO is now talking about going to Turkey - any recommendations where to go /
>> avoid?
>>
GO Dalyan
AVOID Marmaris
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As an alternative to a hotel based holiday, have a look at Scic ( Sailing Cruises in Comfort). A small Dutch company whom I have travelled with....gulets that actually use their sails when conditions allow. I sailed with them two years ago...along the Turkish coast. Only 9 passengers, 2 Dutch girls, a South African couple, a German lady and a family of 3 Turks. Amazing food, the option to sleep on deck at night on a comfy mattress under the stars, all inclusive food and drink, fabulous smiley crew. Unlimited drink and snacks. The best bit was eating every delicious meal on deck and discussing with the Capt where you wanted to sail that day, or simply explore ashore.
I’m returning next year
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And what happens if you dont take to 2 or 3 of the folk on the boat!
Boats don't , well you know, float my boat!
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>> And what happens if you dont take to 2 or 3 of the folk on
>> the boat!
A b***** nightmare, I should think.
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Highly unlikely. When you go on a trip like that, knowing full well the routine, spending the day barefoot, chillin, chatting, and taking full advantage of the watersport activities available on the gulet like kayaking, paddle boarding, snorkelling , you anticipate meeting like minded people. And I especially wanted to meet with, and chat to, people from other countries.
Rather like my hut to hut linear walks in mountain areas. In 30+ years I’ve yet to meet any objectionable, gobby, stay up late potty mouthed cretins.
Unlike in certain ski hotels
Very niche market holidays admittedly!
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My secretary flies to Dalaman four times a year and 30 minutes away is Dalyan which she loves. She's not the stay up all night drinking type (60 years old). But neither is she the sit by the pool person.
If you don't want to swim in the sea, try Iceland. I'm here now and it is spectacular. Within fifteen minutes of Reykjavik there is a mountain with walking trails.
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My secretary flies to Dalaman four times a year and 30 minutes away is Dalyan which she loves
Yes I'm sure Dalyan would suit. Its a small place on a river about a mile or so from the coast. The beach is protected from development because of the turtle population. I'm not a great sun worshipper myself and sitting on a sun lounger all day is not for me but its a lovely place for a stroll. You reach the beach by river boat through the papyrus lined banks. Think "African Queen". The town itself is small and there are no "All Included" mega hotels and development is low key. Lots of good restaurants though.
Last edited by: CGNorwich on Wed 21 Aug 19 at 22:41
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OK, have ended up in this place www.tui.co.uk/destinations/europe/turkey/turkey-dalaman/olu-deniz/hotels/hotel-karbel.html
Thanks for all suggestions many of which are noted for the next holiday which will have more time for planning!
Have kind of went full circle on this from my initial self catering apartment requirement to a TUI all inclusive! Something to be said for booking everything as a package in transfers, luggage etc so if anything goes wrong, TUI are responsible to fix it!
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I'm sure you'll enjoy it. I've never done a package holiday, and I've often quite fancied one. Seems like it should be a very stress free way of going on holiday.
I was in Turkey in 1980, or thereabouts. Apparently that year there were 1,000,000 visitors of which an estimated 300,000 were tourists. In 2014 there were 40,000,000 tourists!
So I rather suspect that the facilities will have improved somewhat since I was there. Which from memory is probably just as well.
Last edited by: No FM2R on Thu 22 Aug 19 at 14:54
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>> Have kind of went full circle on this from my initial self catering apartment requirement
>> to a TUI all inclusive! Something to be said for booking everything as a package
>> in transfers, luggage etc so if anything goes wrong, TUI are responsible to fix it!
The last time I used a Terribly Unique Inclusive company, they put me in a cockroach infested place. When I complained, they moved me to a bed-bugs infested place. Local rep was nowhere to be found, even after 'phoning UK.
No way I'll ever darken their doors again.
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Used TUI 6 times in the last 5 years, cruises and land based. Been nothing but very good.
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are OK. Have used them from time to time nd they have never been other than efficient and their property descriptions are pretty accurate. Their last minute deals can be really good value.
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On the other hand, I read this week, two of their clients died of legionnaires disease after a holiday in Turkey.
Just saying
8o)
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>> On the other hand, I read this week, two of their clients died of legionnaires
>> disease after a holiday in Turkey.
>>
>> Just saying
>>
>> 8o)
>>
I think you are referring to the Jet2 Holidays hotel in Bulgaria
www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/4632550/legionnaires-jet2-bulgaria-hotel-kalofer/
Unless of course I'm missing something on Google
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Yup! You're quite right. Sorry.
Funnily enough we were in Menorca last month with Jet2, and everything was fine.
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>> Yup! You're quite right. Sorry.
>> Funnily enough we were in Menorca last month with Jet2, and everything was fine.
There's a link in the Jet2 Bulgaria item to an earlier incident involving a TUI customer in Turkey.
www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/3370091/mans-tui-nightmare-after-getting-legionnaires-disease-during-luxury-turkey-trip/
Whether it's Jet2,TUI or A N Other holidays the risk of catching something like Legionnaires is present anywhere. More so though in places where controls are likely to be less effective than in UK.
Many of the hotels in popular resorts have allocations taken by more than one UK tour operator. At resorts like Sunny Beach people are also likely to visit a range of premises so no certainty where you caught it.
There's no room for complacency but......
Most people exposed do not suffer any ill-health and those that do tend to have some pre-existing lung issue - the original Legionnaires who gave the condition it's name were older ex-service people.
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Statistically by far the most likely way to die on holiday abroad is in a motor accident but such deaths seldom hit the headlines. Odd how we accept such incidents as part of our lives but worry about other ways of meeting our end which are far more unlikely.
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>> Odd how we accept such incidents
>> as part of our lives but worry about other ways of meeting our end which
>> are far more unlikely.
Its far more newsworthy to talk of spraying the walls yellow and the floor brown, than painting the road red.
To put it crudely.
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Indeed, and we do like to see people as poor victims of evil holiday/hotel companies.
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That sounds more like Noro Virus than Legionnaires disease.
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Holiday recommendation! - bathtub tom
