Croatia, Italy or Portugal

[Chester6]

Hi, we are thinking of booking a villa and pool next June with the in-laws and two babies. Where would you recommend please that is pretty, not more than a couple of hours from an airport and isn't majorly expensive? We are thinking somewhere in Croatia, Portugal or Italy. We don't need to be in a central town although it would be nice to have a few shops and restaurants within driving distance. Coastal would be great but not essential. Thanks in advance.

Croatia I believe has gone expensive. Portugal is nice and good value, Estoril is nice

Croatia is incredibly expensive and I have been everywhere and apart from iceland no place could top it
It is also incredibly beautiful and maybe if you go to an out of the way place it might be cheaper but we as a family of 4 eating in v normal places were burning through 300 euros a day there

Portugal will be the cheapest.
I was looking at Croatia- hotels etc are cheaper than Portugal but eating out and everything else is not.
Italy is expensive, especially in tourist areas.

I live in Italy

Cascais (Portugal). End of the train line from Lisbon. Great coast, lovely towns to visit, Lisbon c30 mins away - perfect.

Italy is my favourite place ever, but not done much coastal exploring there. Tuscany (and Umbria) is full of great Agroturismo options if that's your thing - everything from budget to luxury, and you can mix self catering with being cooked for in a family style. Nothing beats an Italian feast, lovingly prepared by 'mama', washed down with local wine, watching the sun set over the beautiful landscape... so many lovely towns and villages to explore too.

Ahhhh.... I'd usually start holiday planning around now (we always go in Sept/Oct), but there's no point planning anything right now.

Thanks all. We are thinking Croatia as we have always wanted to go (and have visited the others) but perhaps finding an Airbnb villa out of the way where we can mostly cook at home which will be easier with babies anyway and just go for a couple of meals out whilst we are there if there is a little town nearby. If anyone knows of any nice areas in Croatia we should look at that would be great. We are happy to be a couple of hours or so from an airport. Thanks :-)

Croatia is beautiful. We did a road trip from Zagreb to Cavtat this time last year. It can be expensive but nothing like parts of Italy IMO. In Croatia it's noticeable that it becomes more expensive the further south you go as it becomes more popular with international tourists. So Zagreb reasonable, Dubrovnik and Cavtat expensive. Cavtat was the only place we visited where all the menus were in English, you get my drift. Plitvic Lakes are amazing but get madly busy. I didnt like Split much but it was a means to an end as the ferries go from there to the stunning islands. Rovinj was a great resort.

Portugal is fabulous too, more expensive than Spain for the most part but still good value. Many beaches are stunning. We like the less developed western Algarve which is a bit wild and quieter but its further from the airport and has fewer facilities.

We've used Airbnb in both places and had excellent results. Choose carefully, plenty of reviews and a Superhost if you can. No guarantees but definitely helps.

Oh no has Croatia got expensive?? We went 3 years ago and noted how cheap it was!
I remember getting 6 pizzas and 2 drinks for everyone for about £30!

cheesegalore wow that looks amazing. How was it sleeping on the sofa beds? I've never gone for a studio as I've never fancied not sleeping in a proper bed, especially for several nights.