Beach holiday without flying

[noflyholiday]

We really want a holiday.
AI, pools, lovely beach, warm but doesn't need to be super hot.

But I won't fly. It's not negotiable and I don't want to discuss it so if your suggestion is going to be take Valium or do a course, please don't. I know you mean well but it's not going to happen.

So where can we go that's not a silly driving distance if we get the ferry or eurotunnel to France.

What's northern Spain like? Am I going to get my AI beach holiday without driving for 3 days?

AI is really bad for the local economy. Just saying . . .

I’ve driven back from Faro and driven to Faro

the driving in U.K. is the worst part

The Spanish motorways are easy and pleasant to drive, possibly a tad boring. Faro to French boarder was easy to drive in 13/14 hours - especially if you stop for coffee, stop for lunch and swap driving. Empty motorways apart from around Seville

Spain's Costa Brava is not only lovely it very accessible. We used to go every year with the kids. We travelled on Eurostar to Avignon train station and from there picked up a hire car for the rest of the journey. We weren't the only people doing this - the race to be the first off the train to get to the front of the car hire queue was not dissimilar those youtube videos of the brits rushing to put towels on sunbeds. Tactics and pre-planning are definitely recommended if you take this route.
You have your pick of fabulous hotels - with the added bonus of a car to explore the area.
Our favourite seaside resort is Tossa de Mar. Sandy beach, cobbled streets and a castle thrown in for good measure.

Some more old fashioned French hotels do full board I think, but why would you want to where there is always an abundance of lovely restaurants and cafes in every small French town and resort.

Not much AI in France. You'd be better off driving or training to somewhere like salou but accept you you are going to lose 3 days holiday each way in travel.

Have a look at Club Med as they have some resorts in France which you could drive/train to

I loved the La Madraque bit of Saint-Cyr-Sur-Mere when we went one May half-term. We got the TGV from Paris to Marseilles, then a local train for 30 minutes.

Don’t go in August. A waiter told us it gets crazily busy then.

i was just coming on to say that. Plenty of cruises leaving from Southampton. You can go to a different beach every day

Thanks everyone, lots of ideas to look at. I'm thinking late summer but obviously that depends where we go.

Or we do a city break this year (which we usually prefer) and book a beach holiday for 2025.

If you wouldn’t mind doing one overnight on the way, what about Corsica? My friend who doesn’t fly goes there often. I’ve also been and it’s stunning - looks like Greece, ie a proper hot Med island holiday with beautiful beaches. Less sure about AI options there but worth checking.

If you want "traditional" all-inclusive, meaning full board, plus unlimited alcoholic drinks from 10am to midnight, plus pizza/hot dogs/ice cream available free between meals, plus a certain amount of English-speaking guests for DC to play with, then realistically your non-flying options are limited to the Costa Brava, within 100km or so of Barcelona. You will not find many holidays of this kind in France or Northern Spain (or if you do, they will be very expensive).

You asked about northern Spain. There are some lovely beaches around San Sebastian. I went there by train years ago but it could also be done by car and ferry

https://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/blog/article/the-best-beaches-to-visit-in-and-around-san-sebastian

@noflyholiday

Would somewhere in the UK be OK if there are nice beaches?

https://www.visitislesofscilly.com/

Could you do a cruise from Southampton? No flying and no long journeys - just cruising.

Not sure if cruises are done as All Inclusive from Southampton

https://www.rolcruise.co.uk/find-your-cruise?page=1&lineName%5B0%5D=P%26O%20Cruises&departurePort%5B0%5D=Southampton&sortBy=top%20picks&published=1&worldCruise=1&_gl=1lt7e6j_upMQ.._gaMTg2OTQyMjg3MS4xNzIxNTQzODY1_ga_91N2HP4PWP*MTcyMTU0Mzg2Mi4xLjAuMTcyMTU0Mzg2Mi4wLjAuMTAyNTI5MjY1MA..&gclid=Cj0KCQjwwO20BhCJARIsAAnTIVSW7oHeIusrqOyjjE2FF-Cr4ByyB5rbexH3R5OYqMj2dMnlXajOPooaAlT1EALw_wcB

Not for this trip no. We have lots of UK trips but want to go abroad.

Thanks but we don't want a cruise, we want a beach holiday.

As a child my mum would not fly so my dad (mum didn't learn to drive until her 40s) drove us to France or Spain or Italy.

We once did the train from Calais to Nice - put the car on the train but I don't know if that still runs.

My mum wasn't keen on ferries so we only ever did Dover - Calais or Ramsgate - Calais but if you are OK with ferries then you can get to Northern Spain and choose to drive further south if you want.

Not AI but Barcelona is a city with a beach.

Cruises are a great option for a beach holiday. The only difference being you get a different beach each day. There are some stunning beaches out there if you choose your itinerary carefully. And you won’t get more AI than a cruise.

Going on a cruise doesn’t mean boring endless days staring out to sea - you actually will spend very little time onboard. The only time you are on the ship is at night and for most of that time you are asleep.

It’s a great way to travel - beats train stations and airports any day.

Brittany, Normandy, German coast, Dutch coast.

I think the issue is unless you are prepared to travel for more than one day you can't really have tradional Tenerife/Turkey style AI resort holiday.

As people have said France and Northern Spain don't really offer those sorts of holidays, for me that is a bonus as AI/resorts are not my thing at all and those areas of France and Spain often have lovely historic towns, a wonderful food culture and gorgeous interesting coastlines - but they are villages and town that happen to have a beach rather tha "beach resorts" as such.

There are more traditional holiday resort style places like Marseillan Plage and St Cyprian Plage that have things like amusment arcades, ice cream parlours, water sports, water parks and holiday apartments - it often more aimed at young French families and not as set up for traditional English AI beach resort tastes (a bonus IMO).

@noflyholiday

Would Club Med be an option for you, OP?

https://www.clubmed.co.uk/d/europe/france

Good idea! I had forgotten about Club Med.

I've done the train and I've driven and the train is SO much easier and more enjoyable.

Take the Eurostar to Paris, change to a TGV there and head to the south coast! Or the Costa Brava in Spain is gorgeous - look at Begur, Roses, etc.