Where to go this summer - PLEASE!

[Woofsaidtheladybird]

Right. Now that MN has solved my raincoat ishoo, and DH and DS's passports have arrived, I need to know where we can go. There will be myself, DH, 3 year old DD and 7 month old DS. Needs to:

• Be somewhere hot, most probably Mediterranean
• Walking distance to a beach
• Nice sleepy feel to it, with maybe a couple of restaurants, but happy to drive 1/2hr ish to 'stuff' (waterparks eg)
• Not be anywhere NEAR package-y type places, with blaring kids clubs, evening karaoke / bingo etc etc, and bars with football / sports on mahoosive screens, and teens tottering around getting pissed everywhere. This happened to us when we did a package trip to Menorca a few years ago (I love Menorca) and DH was a miserable sod all week. He pretty much hates sport. I swear he wants to live in 1950s Britain, and wear a bowler hat to work... anyway..

But I'm not being snobby, this is something we will probably do when the children are a bit older, but right now we need a peaceful-ish week away in the sun, with loads of charging about at the beach.

Will probably do an owners direct villa / apartment and sort own flights, but they will have to be from a London airport (inc Luton). Budget around £1500 MAX.

Anyone been to NE coast of Spain - never ventured there and wondered what its like. Or is any of Portugal like this? Or am I living in cloud cuckoo land and this will NOT happen? DH really wants to drive to Brittany and rent a cottage for a week but we would need a bigger and better car for such a drive and I don't want to, I want the Med I am happy to go next year

Phew. Any ideas? Ta in advance..

Oh - that was meant to say I don't want to, I want the Med - oops.

How about Costa de la Luz. Beautiful beaches and perhaps a day out in Seville.

Thanks Fluffy - is it quite chilled out? How about the sea - thick question but as its not the Med - ?Atlantic - is it warm and calmish? Once went to Tenerife and the sea was bonkersly rough! Never been to Seville, I've heard its lovely.

Croatia?... for some of the reasons you have given we are staying about 20 mins from the old town of Dubrovnik right on the beach but it is pebbly. You can sail to the old town or get a hotel shuttle bus - and you can also sail over to a couple of islands (15 mins) with sandy beaches.
Or maybe Tuscany in Italy?

Catalonia is nice.

Just got back from Costa de la Luz and it was excellent, best holiday in years. Big sandy beach, flat so big shallow water before the breakers (which were not that big or cold, I spent ages pootling in the sea). It was wall to wall sun but with a good enough breeze we didn't swelter and needed a cardi the odd evening on the balcony. I was just thinking I might start a thread to tell everyone about it

It was La Barrosa, not packagy, lots of Spanish families, only a few English and Germans. We ate loads of delicious food at the beach restaurants and . The strip of restaurants behind the beach was touristy so we didn't go there, except for Sunday brunch, all the Spanish were there.

We had a couple of morning/day trips, to Cadiz which is a lovely old town and to Vejer which is a small hill town of windy roads.

We stayed in a lovely apartment through owners direct, which has a shallow children's pool and a normal big pool. It was 15-20 mins walk / 5 mins drive and 1e to park at the beach. Area round Conil would be similar.

We flew Ryanair and that was fine and obv cheap, to Seville, then hour and a half easy drive.

Me, DP and 3 yr old DD btw.

Oh zoid that does sound fab!! Would you mind pm'ing me the link to the villa you stayed in? Even for just the pictures...

Off to get a book on Spain tomorrow! Olè!

Coral Bay, nr Paphos in Cyprus is a lovely small town/village. All the amenities but none of the liveliness tackiness of the big resorts. Also it is mainly villa rentals. Cyprus is very hot though at the height of summer.

I loved the Costa de la Luz and there are several airports not too far away (Jerez, Seville, Gibraltar). We stayed in Conil de la Frontera. It was several years ago, but lovely, big sandy beach, shallow water, no English people, and amazing seafood restaurants right on the beach. Very chilled out.

Brittany is suffering same jet stream probs as us, so don't go there if you want the sun.