Best couples destination(s) for a one week break

[AlanTheGoat]

It’s my 40th this year and my lovely MIL has offered to have the children for 7 days so that me and dh can have a week away.

I’ve been looking at holiday destinations ever since and am stuck, I’d love to hear your favourite places that are doable in a week.

Happy to fly longish haul if it’s worth it. Happy to do a twin centre also. Budget up to 4/5k. Probably planning to go in June but could also do September if needed.

We have been to Croatia twice recently so that is out, but we did love the combo of Cavtat and Dubrovnik as it was the perfect combination of relaxation and exploration.

Up for consideration so far: Costa Rica; Venice and Florence; Ibiza and Prague

Any ideas greatly appreciated 🙂

It was a number of years ago but I loved Kalkan in Turkey for an adults holiday.

The Amalfi Coast - Sorrento is my favourite town along there and you could combine it with a visit to Pompeii.

What time of year are you hoping to travel?

I'm a great fan of Italy especially around the lakes. You can get pure luxury in Bellagio or in any of the towns around Garda and Como. Then go to Venice for two days or vice versa. Fly into Milan for the lakes and out of Venice, or the other way around.

Edited, I see your dates now, I need glasses!

Meds perfect June and Sept. You don't want a long haul flight for a week. I'd start by checking where you can fly to from your nearest UK airport. Makes such a difference if you haven't got a long drive especially coming home.

People underestimate Mallorca but actually it's a stunning island. Palma is like a smaller Barcelona. Stay in the old city. The northern coast around Deia is spectacular with plenty of boutique places to stay

Sicily might be another option. Fab weather. Great food and culture. Some amazing hotels.

Third option get a flight to Mykonos and visit a couple of the Cyclades. The archetypal Greek islands. Santorini is amazing. A one off sight arriving from the sea.

Thank all for these ideas.

Kalkan we had considered, but we took the children to Olu Deniz several years ago and I wondered whether it would be quite similar.

We have never been to Italy - this is still very high on our potential list. For those who have been, is Venice an ‘older’ destination? I have always (probably wrongly) assumed that due to the high amount of cruise ships it would be tailored to an older clientele and also may have lost some of its charm. The way we managed this in Croatia is to stay outside of Dubrovnik and travel in on non-cruise days, If anyone has a recommendation of a nice town that is close enough to Venice to do the same, that could be a winner.

Amalfi looks stunning, it’s on the list!

The lakes we hadn’t considered, and I didn’t really consider travelling from the lakes to Venice, maybe this would answer my above question, we could travel in to Venice on a quieter day.

Mallorca we have been to a few times with the kids, saying that we do love it so did briefly consider but decided to try somewhere new. Our love of Mallorca (and a good party!) is why we had considered Ibiza.

We had looked at Mykonos but I hadn’t considered that it would be easy to island hop. I’m going to research this today as it could be perfect!

Thanks again all, lots of food for thought.

I’d go to the Amalfi or Santorini.

Santorini, Azores, Sicily, Corsica?

A week isn't enough for Costa Rica, you'd barely scratch the surface. If it were me I'd do Amalfi Coast and Pompeii as suggested above.

What do you like doing?

Both Venice and Florence get a lot of cruise ship people but they spend such a short time in the city they are all in the same places. It's very easy to avoid them. Arguably Venice 'lost it's charm' in about 1750 and it has been a tourist/party town ever since. It's not noticeably for older people but it isn't a late night place as all the staff have to get home to Mestre at night - so unlike the rest of Italy you aren't turning up for dinner at 9pm or later.

Venice is very beautiful, a bit harder to find nice food - there is amazing food but you have to find it. Florence also stunning, much easier for eating out. Florence probably you have to really really like art to spend a week there.

Both have options of going out into the countryside - there are loads of lovely towns around Florence for something a bit different like Fiesole or Settignano.

For Venice you could do a trip up the Brenta Canal to see the Palladian villas and stop in Padua which is also lovely.

I’d go to Lake Como or Lake Garda.

We first went to Lake Garda on our honeymoon. We’ve been back many times since. It’s stunningly beautiful, and the perfect base for day trips to places like Venice.

June or September are ideal times to visit. July and august are unbearably hot, and crowded.

Admittedly I’ve never been to Lake Como, but family rave about it