Where to go in Europe for a month in the summer?

[User900434556]

DH and I are in the fortunate position of being able to work anywhere with a decent internet connection. Next summer we’d like to take our three kids away for four of the six weeks of the summer school holidays (DH would work part of the time, I’d work part of the time, and we’d have some time off together).

The question is, where? It has to be sunny, with good food. Can be in the middle of nowhere as long as there is good internet, but ideally near a big village or small town where kids could take some language lessons.

The biggest question is cost, it’s high season in most places and we’d like to spend about £2000 on a three bed house/villa with a garden (and ideally pool).

Anyone have any bright ideas on where to look? We speak good French and passable Spanish, but happy to try anywhere. Has to be Europe as we may still need to travel back for meetings once or twice.

Thanks!

£2000 would be accommodation only, btw! Flights, car etc. on top.

My favourite place in the summer is Budapest. Loads to do and outdoor pools, thermal pools, museums, lots of stuff for kids, walking galore and fantastic food. Also very affordable- lots of short term lets.

^ although probably not what you had in mind.

My other suggestion would be the Italian lakes.

Not jealous at all (who am I kidding?!)

Ooh thanks blue! The Italian lakes would be a dream! Do you think it’d fit the budget?

Budapest is a cool idea, left field! I’ll look into it!!!!

Budapest sounds fab, I'd like to take mine just for about 4 nights, any idea for accommodation-sorry to thread hijack!

Bump! Any more ideas?

Cascais is a charming Portuguese town that has a delightful historic centre, with a range of interesting tourist attractions, while the surrounding coastline has beautiful sandy beaches. Cascais is ideal for day trips to Lisbon as it is connected by a regular and inexpensive railway. The train journey takes between 30-40 minutes depending on the number of stops, and during daylight hours there is a departure every 20 minutes. The train route follows the coastline and provides some great views over the sea. Lisbon is an incredibly child friendly city with masses to do. Another 'must' is a trip to the magical Sintra.
Along the waterfront is the fishing harbour, the marina, artisan shops and seafood restaurants. The food is great in Cascais because it is full of independent family-owned and run restaurants and cafes.
When travelling from Lisbon airport to Cascais you can use either the train or taxi. The ride costs approximately 40€ and takes around 35 minutes. The less expensive, but slower and indirect alternative is the train. The whole journey will cost only 6.20€, but the average travel time is 1 hour and 25 minutes.

Does it need to be in the same place for the whole time? We live in France and spend alot of time down in the pyrenees in the holidays. About 2 hours from spain, a town called Bagnères de bigorre which is, i think, authentic and has a spanish feel too. I wouldnt know about the language school element but imagine there are schools available. Our children range from 16 to 5 and we think it has everything. We almost moved there but life took over in northern france so we have never made it! But we spent the whole summer there last year and it was brilliant. We do have to work, but we have internet, and good internet, so it means my husband works most the day (sadly for him) on the computer and then takes time off.
Message me if you want any more details, if it might be a place to stay for a part of it? I can tell you where we stay and confirm the internet is good! Those kind of holidays make kids, and without worrying you, is what made us move to France after doing a similar long holiday. We never looked back....

So your budget is only £500 per week in the peak season and you want villa and pool I think this might be your sticking point - we have never found an apartment for 3 of us in school holidays for much less than £700.00 - our two week one bedroom apartment this year in a complex with a pool is €1300.

My favourite European place to chill out is on the Costa de la Luz in Southern Spain. The beaches are gorgeous golden sand and the villages and towns full of Spanish tourists from the cities and subsequently have a more authentically Spanish feel than the Costa del Sol or similar. It's in reach of great cities to explore - Seville, Cadiz and then Granada a little further away. But as pp said, I don't think you'll do it for anything like £2000. Our villa for 10 with pool rents for more than that per week in high season and I don't think 3 beds are that much cheaper, sorry.

I hadn’t stopped to think about your budget, but previous posters are correct- you’re going to struggle to find what you want in your budget in any of the places mentioned.

For the budget with a pool on site, you’re looking at Turkey, Bulgaria, Southern Spain (Andalusia), Slovenia.

If you can give up the pool- bit stay somewhere with good swimming options such as Budapest with all its spas and outdoor water parks, then the budget should be fine if you’re not looking for luxury.

Slovenia is actually very nice. It’s between Italy and Croatia but much cheaper than its neighbours.

Also Italy- if you to more rural areas - Tuscany Marche Umbria - and off the beaten track - Puglia, parts of Sicily, Campania- you should be able to get a ‘villa’ with access to pool in your budget. But it will likely be fairly rustic and you’ll need a car.

(Sorry for my terrible grammar )

RiceKrispy and FrenchFamille thanks for the really specific, detailed suggestions! I’ll look at both!

Vilamoura I’m pretty alive to the cost of costal villas in tourist centres in high season, thanks. Pool ideal but by no means essential. The point of my question was to find alternatives we might not know about - in the Haute Savoie in France we can rent a nice house near some lovely villages for less than £1500 for the month, for example. I’m looking for comparable things...

casa yes we adore Southern Spain but most beaten-track areas too expensive for this time.

Blue thanks again, more interesting suggestions!

How about Slovenia? Lake Bled is lovely. You would be better off inland somewhere fairly remote from airports etc to try and get thr cheapness you require. I think youre going to have to drop the pool requirement as cheaper places dont have pools as standard.

I looked at Sopot in Poland, lovely seaside town but even then the apartments are out of your budget and dont have pools.

Why not try residential property letting agents to see if theyd do a short let in places youd like to go?

You can get some basic 2 bedroom cabins in complexes with shared pools in less touristy places in the italian lakes for 70 ish/night but wouldnt have the good wifi or space to work you require.

I flew to Gibraltar and stayed in a places called Zahara de los Atun in Spain (spelling?) Is a very spanish area and in May was absolutely dead. Things might pick up in August but there may be villa owners who want certain income at a discount.

Norther Cyprus is cheap and up and coming. Worth a look?

Definitely Slovenia. But if you've got a month (and a car) don't stay in Bled... head up into the mountains around Bohinj or Kranjska Gora down on the coast near Izola /Piran/ Portoroz -, much cheaper and more beautiful (and only a short drive from everywhere else including Salzburg, Venice, Trieste and Pula - Slovenia is tiny!!))

How about the Greek Islands or even Greek mainland? If you start your search soon, there will be deals to be had by booking direct with the owner & offering to pay in cash.

I'm extremely jealous of the idea of spending a whole month on a greek island...

what about a house swop? had you looked into this? it would certainly make it more cost effective.

if you are going to stay in one place for 4 - 6 weeks and good internet is essential then be absolutely sure that this is what you are getting. ask for the download speeds, what restrictions there are on data use during your stay etc.

on your budget I would be looking at Airbnb and making direct contact with owners.

Someone suggested Andalusia as cheaper but inland Andalusia will be blisteringly hot in July/August, better (but more expensive) by the coast. Worth also looking at northern Spain, and although I'm not sure on prices it'll definitely be cheaper than the south/islands. Oviedo for instance is a lovely small city.

What about Ohrid in Macedonia?

Disclaimer, I haven’t been but friends have and rate it. Lots of villas on the lake side with swimmining platforms on airb and b.

Well what language would you like your DC to learn? That might be a good starting point. Would you be happy for them to learn Serbo-Croat or Hungarian, or would Spanish or French be preferable?

It may be out of budget but I would try either the Ile de re - you can cycle everywhere/good buses so wouldnt really need to hire a car. Or northern spain - around san Sebastian.

Have you looked into Austria? They have a lot of hotel/chalet/villa accommodation but their main tourist season in the Alps is in Winter, so in summer you may find some good deals, especially if you book well ahead. The weather tends to be good, not as scorching as it can be in the south of Europe at the height of summer. Most places won’t have their own swimming pool but may well have an inbuilt sauna, and public swimming pools tend to be amazing and very clean, often with extensive spa facilities added on too. Great nature, hiking, and also culture, Vienna, Salzburg... depending on where you are day trips to Germany and Italy very doable too.

Island hopping in Greece.