To want to holiday like a normal person

[Bimgy85]

Popular places in Spain have been ruined and are now so tacky and commercial... Benalmadena, Salou, Benidorm is a no go completely.

Ruined by these typical lager lout holiday makers usually consisting of a large British family who drink cans of San Miguel beside the pool at 1 in the day smoking cigarettes and or drinking beer with their breakfast...

Aibu to want to relax by the pool like a regular person without taking over the entire place, reserving sunbeds, allowing my kids to scream their heads off from 9 am until 9 pm

Parts of Spain have been ruined and taken over by these type of people! Lager lout beer bellies up for a fight most of the time, poor fuckers

Can you recommend a nice spot in Spain that hasn't been ruined? And become tacky central?

KinkyAfro

Oh FFS why are people getting het up about ladies and calling the OP a 'nob'.

Clearly not a female engineer or you wouldn't even ask. It's hideous and insulting. You be a "lady" or a "mummy" if you like but dont saddle those of us with careers with your outdated bullshit.

Just back from Benidorm and didn't see any of the behaviour mentioned. Lots of French and German tourists and a few stag/hen parties but nothing out of control.

We had a lovely family holiday - kids from 13 up.

Oh and I am a normal person thank you!

I haven't been for 25 years, but Formentera was lovely when we used to go there for family holidays. Tiny island so small it doesn't have an airport (you have to get the ferry across from Ibiza), and pretty much everyone biked everywhere.

Private villa with pool. Problem solved. Nearly all of Catalonia bar Llorett de Mar.
Simple.
We are off there on Tuesday (Catalonia area, but not Llorett). Not sure why it’s so difficult if you know what you like and dislike?

I've been to Spain pretty much every year since I was a teenager. I've never been on a lager lout, oi oi, lads and party holiday in my life. I've been to Ibiza and it was beautiful. No one forces you to start drinking with breakfast and go clubbing every night.

I'm going to the Costa de la luz this week. I've seen outrage on TripAdvisor that its not busy with Brits and barely anyone speaks English. I can't wait. Spain isnt ruined OP. Like anywhere some parts are better than others.

Loads of beautiful areas in Spain which are a world away from what you describe-try Galicia in the north west for a start

Then just look at anywhere else in Europe! Croatia is stunning, Italy, Greece, Malta

The list goes on!

I've had three wonderful walking holidays in Andalucia.

I'd get bored rigid relaxing by a pool. But I imagine going to a travel agent - there are still some about - might help the OP to find the sort of holiday/holiday resort she wants.

I like Austria.

We used to go to Menorca every year, much quieter. We prefer villa holidays to hotels for more privacy and no there's no fighting to get a sun loungers.

I don’t holiday abroad because most of these places are filled by drunken English people

Really? Every bit of “abroad”

We love Spain. Estepona, Nerja, Marbella.... also Portugal, Sardinia, Fuerteventura or Lanzarote have been beautiful.

I can’t be doing with the whole Brits abroad, all day drinking, all inclusive, full to the brim pool party with entertainment vibe.

We choose quiet resorts or a private apartment/villa. Self catering, so that we can please ourselves when and where we eat/drink.

Isla Canela/Ayamonte area in Andalucia very close to the border with Portugal
We own a property there and in August it’s mostly well to do Spanish people from Madrid. The few Brits you meet are at the opposite end of the spectrum to ‘lager louts”
It’s also still pretty cheap

dona you will love it

YABU because Spain is a wonderful country, although, it's true that some parts are victims of their own success. My ex is Spanish (from Gijón in the North) and I traveled extensively in the country with him. There are some stunning parts and the cities are marvellous; Salamanca, León, Sevilla to name a few.

Inland Andalusia is wonderful; Granada and the Alhambra, Ronda, the Sierra Nevada. Too hot in summer for me though.

DH is French and from Provence - the Gorges du Verdon, and his parents' village becomes a tourist trap nightmare in summer. Beautiful though. The Côte D'Azur is also beautiful but way, way too crowded (mostly other French tourists) and this just spoils it the unfortunately. Menton in spring however, is a delight!

Anywhere with a "sunbed run" is out for me!

A bit on the golden oldie side now, but did the mad resorts when younger. Every dog has his day I suppose.

These days (agreeing with pp) we go to Estepona and surrounding areas. Absolutely beautiful. The beaches are manicured, lovely Spanish working town. Or San Pedro de Alcantara. Has a fab walkway along the beach all the way to Puerto Banus. But I prefer Estepona. Just a lovely spot.

Another vote for Cambrils or Javea on mainland Spain, pick hotels through trip advisor and avoid package holiday type resorts. Costa Adeje in Tenerife is also a favourite of ours

hopping I can't wait. I've been lucky enough to chat to a lovely lady from my home town who has an apartment out there and she's given me so many ideas of places to visit I don't think a week will be long enough.

Thanks for recommendations ladies, please don't think I was dissing Spain as a whole at all. I've been going there for years, but in the last few years have stuck to more residential areas such as calpe, la Cala, etc was just looking for more ideas similar.

The older parts of Benidorm are lovely yes but the rest is... as we call.. 'ballymun in the sun'

If you're OK with not being on the Med., OP, go anywhere from Fuenterrabia in the north east (on the French border) to Vigo in the (north) west, near the Portuguese border.

My personal recommendations would be Zarautz or San Sebastián in the Spanish Basque country (fly to Bilbao, Biarritz, or San Sebastián) and the Islas Ciés or Finisterre in Galicia (fly to Vigo - closest to the Islas Cies, or Santiago de la Compostela - closest to Finisterre, or A Coruña).

San Vicente de la Barquera, just west of Santander, in Cantabria is also beautiful. (Fly to Bilbao or Santander, or even Gijón or Oviedo).

My grandparents used to live near Nerja and I think it’s quite pleasant.

A couple of years ago I went to Sardinia as fancied something different - it was lovely. Last year my mum and I went to Lanzarote. Some of my colleagues were really snobby about it but we stayed in a beautiful beach hotel with a distinct lack of lager lout Brits!

This is why we always go to villas! (That and the fact that as a family of 5 hotel rooms are problematic) We went to a beautiful villa in Lanzarote a couple of months ago. Own pool, own sunbeds, own hot tub. No noise (apart from my own children!) Walk out to restaurants every night. It's a no brainer.

I hate other people around me on holiday.

Oh Ronda is spectacular. Having lunch at one of the restaurants overlooking the gorge, magic.

And we have been here for 12 weeks, number of drunken Brit louts we’ve seen? None.