Naice beach holiday package holiday recommendations please

[JandLandG]

Hello there

My other half is determined to find us a sunny summer beach holiday somewhere in Europe this summer and am looking for some help please.

It's not normally our thing - we usually might do chambre d'hôte in SW France or hire a villa with friends - but we know enough I think, so we can probably safely manage to avoid Magaluff. Ha!

Children are 12/9/7 and will like a resort and hotel with pool type of set up but it would be nice to have a bit of added value in terms of extra pleasantness within reach.

Friends recently went to Turkey (Cirali) and had self catering chalet type things which sounded nice (naice!) and there were lovely ruins nearby and they swam with turtles etc.

That sounds terrific but is super pricey booking for late August.

So any other thoughts/ideas/suggestions please?

I'd love to snorkel with turtles of go to a secret cove on a boat and dive into turquoise waters if poss.

Anything else wonderful would be a bonus.

So any thoughts? We'd be really grateful. Budget? About £2k all in for a week for the five of us, I reckon.

Ok, I'll leave it with you but many thanks in advance.

I would suggest Croatia- can't remember turtles but snorkelling was really good as the sea is clear.
We also had great days out at Dubrovnik, which is stunning, boat trips to an island and a fab day out in Mostar, Bosnia- amonst other interesting things we watched the men dive off the bridge- spectacular!
Motenegro is also close for a trip.
We stayed in a hotel, half board with pool, near Cavtat and it was pretty cheap then (years ago before DC). It was a pretty little village with a tiny church and old ladies sitting outside, crocheting. The beach wasn't too crowded either and we went in August.
I've only swum with turtles once in Barbados- amazing.

flying from where?

I think Malta could work. I went on a boat trip there and swam in a cave which was all lit up blue from the sea, very magical. The architecture there is interesting too, quite Arabic looking and the people very friendly.

I also second Croatia. I stayed on Kolocep a tiny island you can canoe round and from there get a ferry to Dubrovnik.

Sorry I can't help with the turtles.

Are you talking about this summer??

Unfortunately all the naice places, free kids places etc will be bookedz. Ditto naice villas.

You may be left with the crap no one else wanted or overpriced.

Have you thought about Italy? We go to lake Garda, swim in the lake, tour by ferry, it's beautiful and not populated by English yobs.
I normally book a year ahead but you might be lucky

Hey, thanks so much for these...we've half looked at Croatia and Montenegro but seems v pricey to fly although it's cheaper when you're there as it's outside the euro.

Flying from Bristol, or London realistically.

Come on, give me your naice recommendations Mozz, don't keep em secret!

In a couple of weeks time? I don't think you will have a great choice. Turkey is fab although I'm surprised you can swim with turtles I thought they were a protected species there? Can't you just put your dates in and see what comes up and then decide?

The flights normally creep up in value. When we went we booked 11 months ahead and flew with BA out there and easy jet back. It's worth looking around for flights. Travel Republic is a good website.
Is the 2k for flights, hotel/apartment, transfers, food and drink and activities?

Travel Republic do good packages

I went to Croatia, but flew in to Trieste in Italy, Ryanair, very cheap flights. It's about an hours drive to Croatia. We hired a car for the week worked out much cheaper and can get round. You also dip your toe in to Slovenia, Lake Bled is worth a visit. We stayed in North Croatia.

Thnks Coco and Lihhthouse ...will check them. and could be a good shout that, AtSea...will look into it. I drove through Slovenia when it was stil Yugo in 89...wierd to remember now.

Ok, turtles aren't a must but where can we go in a boat and dive off the side into a quiet cove with beautiful clear wAter? Come on, spill the beans, would love to know the secrets of these summer beach hols...!

I think you might be asking a lot for £400 per head during the Summer holidays. You might be lucky maybe just search and search. I can recommend the Peloponnese in Southern Greek mainland. We booked flights and then private rental apartments. We stayed in Stoupa, lovely small town that had everything, bar turtles. Some of the package companies went there and they seemed better value than booking separately.
Please let us know if you find the holy grail - a naice, well priced package holiday.

Dalyan in Turkey. I've been afew times. It's on a river, you catch a boat to the beach, loads of interesting ruins, a turtle hospital and great restaurants and shopping.

www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Tourism-g311315-Dalyan_Mugla_Province_Turkish_Aegean_Coast-Vacations.html

Hey many thanks again...the search continues but ideas and thoughts still very welcome.

Oh. 5 of your for £2,000 for a week?

Dh and I have just booked a holiday. £1,000 for the villa only in SW France. And that was with a big discount because it was last minute.

We have to add flights and car hire, its going to come to a lot more than £2,000.

I would just look for the cheapest flights and focus your search around there. You might have to book out and return with different airlines and comprise on proximity to the coast. I found the cheapest properties tended to be ones in their first year of renting out as they needed the good reviews and the income

Swedish, that's a good thought... I'll peruse with that in mind. Croatia's the place I fancy after it mentioned on another thread, but we'll see.

Still another couple of weeks to sort and camping and a trip to The Fringe to do beforehand, so all good either way!

I would recommend looking on the Thomson website, you may get a late deal to Croatia. The thing with booking flights and accommodation separate at such short notice is often the flights that were around 200 return when they were released have now crept up to 400 each.
Having said that Swedish does have a good point by choosing somewhere that often has cheap flights such as Costa Brava/Dorada or Portugal and go from there.

There are some really good packages to Bulgaria. Loads of good trips to do when you get there and, it's very cheap to eat out.

travel.aol.co.uk/2014/07/25/cheap-holidays-sunny-beach-in-bulgaria-best-value/?ncid=comlnkuktrav00000001