Where might we choose to holiday if we like sunny old towns, cafe culture, markets and white beaches.

[LydiaLinus]

Looking for some inspiration please for two indecisive adults!

Sunshine a must.

Prefer a flight less than 3 hours.

Thanks so much!

Agreed, yes it will be packed in August. However with a car there are few nice old towns in Northern Majorca but for the beach I like Puerto Pollensa.

Antibes - South of France

Menorca. Mahon area.

Antibes, but I wouldn't go there in August. Puglia or Corsica or Sardinia. Woudn't go there in August either. Scheveningen in NL.

This sounds perfect for what I'm looking for. Do you stay in a villa or a hotel when you go?

It would be for me and 2 dc so I would rather quiet accommodation rather than all inclusive packed places.

Came on to say exactly this. Great food.

San Sebastian!

Caorle northern Italy. It’s about 40 mins drive from Venice Airport.

All of this. Love Estepona.

Not RTFT but Ibiza

Also love Estepona, we've stayed in a villa about 10 mins drive from the town twice on holiday and it was fab. Best chiringuito in our opinion is El Madero.

Can also recommend Croatia, though not so good for sandy beaches everything else suits you. Went 2 years ago to Cavtat just outside Dubrovnik with adult dc and partners and had a wonderful time, again in a villa with pool.

Nerja or Bardolino,

Puglia in Italy. Probably ridiculously hot at the moment though.

Corfu could give you all of that but maybe not all at once. It depends where yiou stay.

Old town and cafe culture - Corfu Town is a fantastic place.

Beautiful sandy beach - San Stefanos in the North West of the island

We usually stay in Kalami Bay ( north east ) as it's beautiful and quiet but the beach is pebbles. We hire a car and drive to Corfu Town and other places as we like to get around a bit. You can get water taxis to other nearby bays and restaurants too. Boat hire is easy and a must do. Agni Bay and Nissaki are nearby and also very nice.

Kassiopi ( in the north ) is also very nice if you want to be in a small town rather than a village. Also has pebble beach though.

Tavira in Portugal. Short commute from Faro airport, a new town and old town across the river from each other, and a cute taxi boat that takes you to the amazing beach with a scattering of beach bars along it.

Santa Eulalia in Ibiza, gorgeous beach, long promenade, loads of lovely bars and restaurants, can get ferry to Ibiza old town. It's laid back and relaxed, nothing like the party resorts

Corsica has lovely white sand. Ajaccio is the capital. I would suggest renting a car so you can visit various places on the island. Some lovely, old villages as well. Calvi is also very pretty. Avoid Bastia has the beaches are not as nice on that side of the island.

or Sardinia, Sicily.

Ile de Re. Not white sand but amazing beaches. La Flotte and Saint Martin are gorgeous towns, lots of lovely cafes. Best food markets I've ever seen. Nice boutiques, lovely restaurants.

I was coming to say Languedoc or Rousillion in France.

We went to Perpignan last year and that ticks all your boxes.

Old historic town - lots of winding streets and squares, a central food market, a mix of French and Catalan culture, cafe culture, easy reach of beautiful beaches by a short bus or train ride - St Cyprian, Collioure etc..

Weather very sunny and usually high 20s - mid 30s this time of year. We got the train but I think you can fly from London in well under 2 hours.

So many to follow up on. Thank you.

A couple of these we have visited or were on my list already. Rovinj is beautiful but not sandy beaches.

Scheveningen has fabulous white beaches and I love Den Hague, but not guaranteed good weather or long sunny days.

Tavira and Alvor sound great, we love Lagos which is nearby.

San Sebastian is also a place I'd like to visit, but not hot enough. It was 19 degrees and rain last week. Temperatures similar to here.

Ile De Re I had planned for last year. Loads of research, stops overnight through France planned, then the owner of the holiday let pulled the booking at the last minute. ☹️

I will keep coming back for more ideas. Actual towns are much better than a suggestion of a whole country. Suggesting ‘Crostia’ or ‘Ibiza’ doesn't really help as there are so many new resorts which don't fit the bill.

If possible we don't want to hire a car, so old towns without public transport to a beach too far away to walk to, wouldn't be great.

I will definitely go through the list and keep for future reference.

Thanks again.

Portugal
Lido di Jessolo/Venice
Greece

Cascais.

The weather can change rapidly in Northern Spain - cooler now doesn’t mean cool in a few weeks. Reliably hot is Mediterranean. Or Agean. That might be 40 degrees as it has been in Sicily in June. Corfu was 40 degrees last summer too. Weather is really going to be how you find it! However 40 degrees is too hot for sitting out for long. So nothing is reliable - just look at Paris on Friday. Bordeaux or Nice area (eg Menton) might work for you. Or Montpellier and Carcassonne.

Greece and Portugal are huge! Some of Greece is pebble and not sand. Some newer resorts in Portugal are not what I am looking for.

Anywhere in particular please?

Cadiz