Travel gurus! Spent days looking for a last minute holiday, please can you help?

[LeithWalk]

Thank you for reading on.

I'm looking for a restful break for my partner and I for a week or so from around the 1st of August.
Travelling from the north of England.

I've looked at parts of France but flights are limited from here.
Don't like the typical Spanish 'costa's'.
Happy to be in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland or Europe.

Would like some sun but realise we need to travel further for that. Would like something interesting. I wouldn't like all inclusive or a hotel miles from anywhere.

Don't want to spend a fortune, a bit shocked that some of the hotels in nice parts of Majorca are over £5,000 for the two of us for a week.

Anyone able to put a holiday together for me would be my absolute hero!

TIA

www.onthebeach.co.uk/deal_searches/show/1935485697?ordering=popularity&pagination%5Bpage%5D=1&filters%5Bnumber_of_bags%5D=0&filters%5Bresorts%5D%5B%5D=95&filters%5Bresorts%5D%5B%5D=240&filters%5Bresorts%5D%5B%5D=164&filters%5Bresorts%5D%5B%5D=400&filters%5Bresorts%5D%5B%5D=364&filters%5Btrip_advisor_score%5D%5B%5D=5.0&filters%5Btrip_advisor_score%5D%5B%5D=4.5&filters%5Bthemes%5D%5B%5D=adult_only&deal_price_display_preference=total_price

Long URL but the first offering is Lindos for £1400 B&B

www.jet2holidays.com/beach/italy/lake-garda/gardone-riviera/grand-hotel-gardone-riviera?holiday=6&duration=7&airport=3&date=03-08-2019&occupancy=r2c&board=1&iflight=592092&oflight=592089&rooms=55396&gtmsearchtype=Search+Results

Watching with interest, have looked and failed so far. Done Lake Garda, Late deal last year, and would recommend.

www.jet2holidays.com/beach/greece/kefalonia/agia-efimia/kefalonia-bay-palace?holiday=12&duration=7&airport=3&date=03-08-2019&occupancy=r2c&board=1&iflight=588886&oflight=588883&rooms=60792&gtmsearchtype=Search+Results

I know you said no AI but this is adults only www.jet2holidays.com/beach/balearics/ibiza/santa-eulalia/palladium-hotel-don-carlos?holiday=167&duration=7&airport=3&date=02-08-2019&occupancy=r2c&board=8&iflight=594938&oflight=595121&rooms=37769&gtmsearchtype=Search+Results

Jet2 only fly from limited airports, no good for us sadly.

Thank you will take a look. We've also been to Lake Garda so somewhere different to that is great.

Mmmm! Looking through the 'On the Beach' website I'm not sure a package is for us, or not this type of package. I feel 'institutionalised' in these sorts of resorts. Laughed at one of the TripAdviser reviews which describes the outside of the hotel in Rhodes as similar to Beirut!

Any ideas other than a typical 'med' ( I know some aren't) package? DP getting a little huffy that I haven't found anything I like ( though TBF he is super stressed at work and in need of a holiday!).

If you can keep drip feeding information I'm sure someone will strike gold eventually.

there is scant information about what you actually want. Onthebeach aren't package holidays, just flights with a choice of hotels at the other end

Otherwise use skyscanner and look at what flights are cheap from your local airports(again "The North" covers from Newcastle to Hull and across to Liverpool and Manchester so no idea which airports are actually best placed or you are willing to travel anywhere)

Have you looked at Alps? Can you fly to North of Italy/Austria?

Have to agree that knowing your budget and which airports are closest would be useful! Of the top of my head, come up with the following;

Flights from Manchester/Newcastle/Liverpool to Nice going on or around the 31st & flying back a week later for either under £400 for both of you or just over. Decent looking AirBnB apartments in the old town from about £80 a night - appears to be quite a bit of availability. Yes it’s the Med but not on the package holiday circuit. It’s beautiful, the food is great, the atmosphere is good & there’s lots of towns in easy easy travelling reach on the train network that connects up the Riviera (Monaco, Cannes etc) If you don’t fancy self catering you wouldn’t find it hard to find a different restaurant for every meal. There are art museums a plenty, beautiful gardens and lovely sea swimming at Villefranche.

Flights from Manchester to Split - just under £500 for both of you on EasyJet. Again not your typical Med kind of holiday. The old town is a great hot pitch of history with an old Roman palace at the centre. The harbour front is very picturesque & great for a meal out in the evening. You can catch the ferry over to the great islands like Brac & Hvar (take a google). We also found small little private coves if you walk along far enough. This hotel has availability for just over a grand & looks nice -www.booking.com/Share-NatdxG9

PS - Nice flights also Eadyjet

Or EasyJet even!!!

Look at the costa de la Luz in Spain, not typical of the Spanish costas
Fly to Faro in Portugal (from most airports) and it’s a 45 minute easy drive over the open border.
Alternatively fly to Geneva with easyJet from Liverpool and drive to the French alps
Another idea is to fly to Nuremberg from Manchester and find somewhere near there on a lake or river - leuterhausen area is lovely

Corfu from Manchester on the 2nd £296 each with TUI through skyscanner
Phone playing up and keeps freezing when I try to copy links but lots of lovely apartments in Kassiopi (lovely harbour town from £471 for 7 nights self catering. Booking.com
Don't book the mare blue as that's out in the sticks!
Other resorts you may like are Arillas, Roda, Barbara, Benitses, Messonghi, Moriatika, St George s, Paleokastritsa but paleo is very busy in August.

Channel Islands? Fly to Jersey from Birmingham/Liverpool/Doncaster etc on Flybe and then island hop? Flights seem to be around £200 return pp which seems pretty reasonable.

From Jersey you could have a few days in St Malo via ferry.

Thanks again everyone. I will follow these up. Does need to be school holidays though, so not the 31st.

Interesting your thoughts given places we've already been to. We've spent amazing holidays in Croatia ( Istria) and San Lucca de Barrameda (near to?) the Costa de la Luz where we toured from right through Spain to Barcelona, a mix of seaside places, city breaks (Malaga, Barca) and villages. Your ideas are spot on!

Will have to send you a large combined MN postcard once we decide and arrive.