St. Ives or Skiathos,

[Naady]

Can you recommend one over the other.

Hubby, 20 month old DS and I are looking for a lovely beach destination at the end of April for a week. We never been to either but people keep saying how beautiful they both are. Ideally we would like a self catering break, close to a quiet sandy beach where DS can play and build sand castles etc. Also need to be close to shops, places of interest. Warm temperatures will be a bonus.
We are considering the sands apartments in carbis bay, st ives. If we did go to Skiathos, we would love some recommendations as have no idea at all.
We are not that keen on busy resorts or overly touristy places.
Please help. Thank you

If you are looking or a beach holiday in April, I would go for Skiathos. Cornwall is beautiful but I wouldn't visit for guaranteed sunshine until late May early June.

Skiathos is supposed to be beautiful. Go on Trip Advisor and put in self catering Skiathos, it has never failed me with it's honest reviews of hotels and accommodation.

Have never been to St. Ives, but Skiathos is lovely, not everything will be open by the end of April though.

The temperature average is 15-19 in Skiathos at that time of year ,and I should imagine St Ives is even colder - not really beach weather in either place .

Usually the holiday season doesn't start until May. Weather is getting more unreliable these days, you can get rain until June, trust me it is torrential when it happens, and it won't be that warm. The sea will be very cold too, and swimming pools. Shops and restaurants won't all be open, so you may need to drive quite long distances just to get food shopping if you choose a small quiet place to stay self-catering.

Is end of April the only time you can go away?

Also you may struggle to find somewhere to stay if you're talking about this April. We are going to Skiathos this September and we booked last October, there were only 3 rooms left in our chosen hotel! Our friends were lucky to book a room in a resort just down from us in January for September as well.

Skiathos is too far north in Greece for reliable warmth at this time of year. I think you would be better on Crete.

thank you all. I think I'm leaning more to St Ives now. I'm also now considering Cesario del Mirador in Valencia. Any opinions?

You don't need sunshine to build sandcastles, just the right clothes.

St Ives where? Hayle is splendid, with golden beaches, paradise park and most importantly Philps Pasties on the quayside in Copperhouse.

There are two or three decent caravan parks all within walking distance of the beaches.

We had a weekend in Cornwall last end April, and the weather was shocking. If you want nice warm beach weather, you really need to delay. June in the Med would be better.

St ives is great but not sure I would go in April. If you do go I would consider staying in St Ives rather than Caribs bay that way you are only a short walk away from shops, beaches, harbour etc. Caribs bay is a bit far out IMO.

I agree, I would definitely go for St Ives rather than Carbis Bay etc, as you can walk everywhere, there are several lovely beaches (Porthmeor and Portgwidden being our favourites with small children) lots to see and lots of places to eat.
Have a lovely break.

I agree that Skaithos probably won't be the best place to go at that time of year, unless you stay in Skathos town, as most places don't open until the season starts in May.

Can I put a spanner in the works and suggest The Costa Del Sol or Algarve? We've been to both at Easter and although the weather isn't necessarily warm or dry, we had a lovely time and got to go to the beach each day even if it wasn't warm enough to paddle! we normally holiday in Greece and wouldn't chose to go to Spain or Portugal in high season, but in low season it's not too busy, but there are plenty of places open for the locals and ex-pats.

I wouldn't choose either Cornwall or Greek Islands in April.

How about one of the Canary Islands? Much more chance of a bit of sunshine there in April? Same flight time as getting to Skiathos.

As pp suggests Costa Del Sol may be nice enough. I went early May one year, and most days were nice enough.

Er it could snow in April in the UK.
Even Skiathos will be mild rather than hot as the summer season doesn't start until May.
You need to go much further south for hot weather in April.

You might be lucky in Valencia that time of year I second the canaries for guaranteed good weather but I've been to that part of Spain in spring and got temps in the Mid 20s.

you would be surprised how cold and rainy Greece can be in April - how about Southern Crete?

I would say st Ives. Very cute, lots of shops and places to go nearby. In England any sun is always a bonus, whereas if you go somewhere you expect to be sunny and it isnt(ie abroad) you will always be disappointed! Children seem happy to sit in the beach even if it's only about 15 degrees so you will be able to build sandcastles in Cornwall.

Thank you all, I've reserved the villa at Caseiro del mirador. Will do St Ives in early September.
Now I am wondering whether we should have chosen to stay in Valencia city itself. I am so indecisive when it comes to hols.
I really appreciate everyone's input. Thank you all

I haven't been to Valencia itself but my parents used to spend half the year in that part of Spain and always said the hotels seemed expensive for what they were in central. Valencia.if your villa isn't far you might be better hiring a car and driving around. There are some lovely towns to explore on that coastline. St Ives in September will be lovely too.