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?

How about a city break in Marseille- then you get city and beach, plus it's easy to get to.

I hate to be arsey but I really don't want a cruise or a city break so please stop suggesting them. I have been really clear on what we want.

I want a beach holiday and am looking at trains now too as that seems a much better idea than driving so I'm grateful for that suggestion.

It means we can travel further so Costa Brava is looking like a winner. I'm also considering the train then hire a car solution but I don't think we'll get much use out of a car once we get there.

We do lots of holidays where we're exploring and travelling around and just want a flop on a sunbed and drink cocktails type break for something different to our norm.

Yes it's on the list now, thanks. 😊

Northern Spain is nice but the weather is not guaranteed; but it may suit you. Or as People say South of France.

Western coast of France. Arcachon, Soulac sur Mer, villages along the coast towards Biarritz.

If you don't want to drive, Arcachon can be done by train, as can much of the coastal south of France.

Whatever your reason for not flying, your decision should be 100% respected.

Begur area in Costa Brava is gorgeous OP with some beautiful beaches and lovely hotels.

If you’re thinking of Eurostar then TGV much better to go via Lille rather than Paris. Then you only have to change platforms. If you go to Paris you have to trek across the city from one station to another.

Good choice OP. Costa Brava is lovely. Well, the little places are anyway. I have no experience of the places that have big AI resorts.

San Sebastian is one of the nicest places I've been. Beautiful beach and amazing food. A longish and potentially rough ferry crossing though apparently.

I'm definitely being careful about what we're looking at. Don't want some mega complex with bad food etc

With the car thing OP , if you were to travel to say Figures on the train which is the first stop in the Costa Brava , I'd guess if you were going somewhere larger like Roses on the coast you could probably do without a car if you got a taxi from the train station to the town ,
We have been to a lovely town ( old fishing town ) called L'Escala which is a bit more down market than Roses but there's a tourist train that goes all round the very pretty coves and they have supermarkets in the towns .
So unless you want to pootle and especially if you are staying in a hotel , once you're at your destination you could definitely do without a car . Thing is it's such a pretty area you may want to end up exploring .
I'm off on train to Roses this year - can't wait ! Have fun !

We did train back from Salou recently, seamless journey.
Local train from Salou to Barcelona, TGV (high speed) Barcelona to Paris, overnight in Paris, Eurostar to London. A mini travel adventure tacked onto the end of our holiday. See the man in seat 61 website for advice on how to book European trains.