Does this holiday exist?

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Lovely Mumsnetters please tell me that what I'm looking for exists as I am going insane with constant searches.

Not sure if I am being too fussy, looking in the wrong places or just plain unlucky.

In brief DH and I would like:

Late to mid September holiday - just the two of us.

Needs to be within 3 hour flight of North West England (would compromise by up to 30 mins)

Resort or final destination needs to be within an hour of airport.

We have e looked at AI and B&Bs. We are fairly chilled about either but are leaning towards a B&B.

Must haves are a pool and close to beach (preferably sandy).

We could hire a car but mobility issues for DH mean most walks to bars or restaurants need to be pretty flat.

DH would sit for a week and read but I need to wander and if not doing AI need to be close to selection of restaurants and bars.

We prefer good local cuisine so not limited there.

Budget is healthy enough and we want to go for a week..

We enjoy history, cuisine, culture, cafe scene, beach (well I do!) and pottering around. Not fussed about spas or "fitness" or beauty treatments and not fans of shopping really.

So far we have looked at Ibiza, Majorca, Minorca, Croatia and Malta. Are familiar with France and Italy so would prefer somewhere different.

Does this holiday exist?!

What's your budget?

Ideally less than £3k but could stretch it

I'd go for Majorca. Loads of lovely beaches and then you've got Palma, a beautiful city with lots to do

Algarve? I think it would tick your boxes. I've also heard good things about Málaga.

You could have a look at Torrox Costa, just round the coast from Malaga but in the direction of Nerja.

Beach, plenty of bars and restaurants on a long stretch around the beach and easy reach of Nerja and Malaga if you want some culture.

Palma or Barcelona. Both lovely.
Further south in Spain?

Agadir, Morocco.

Crete, Madeira?

I don't understand the issue. There's loads of places you could go, too many to list really and that's a really healthy budget and the short notice wouldn't be an issue as it's outside the main season.

You've basically described the sort of holiday we have and I could find dozens of options that fit the brief for half that budget so on £3k there would be even more choice and nicer accommodation.

What's wrong with what you've looked at so far? As well as those places there's loads of options in mainland Spain and Portugal.

Anything here OP?

Plenty of these will be near the resort centre so easy access to bars and restaurants and probably a bus service to main historical sites/city centre.

south coast of spain. Near malaga. Beautiful scenery. Flat beaches for miles. Great buses to go to other local towns. Lots of tours to historic places. Food is good. Some nice markets.

Thank you all some great areas to consider - I hadn't really thought of mainland Spain. Algarve and Morocco may be worth a look too. I thought the Balearics would be easier to shortlist but am obviously being too fussy! Have done Crete (Chania) and Barcelona already. I really wish that websites had a filter for distance from airport though realise could probably reduce transfer time with private taxi or car hire. I think it's straightforward to narrow down countries but without experience it can be tricky to pinpoint exact resorts or hotels that fit the bill.

I'd go to Sicily, probably Taormina. Lovely little town, and September will be quieter and less insanely hot. The town itself is flat, and there's a cable car down to the beach. Stunning views of Etna if you just want to sit and read. But masses of history and culture if you want it (especially with a car), plus local food to die for. Less than an hour from Catania airport. You could also look at Syracuse (beautiful city but less of a resort). There's also Palermo and the west of Sicily, but I haven't been there so can't comment.

Montenegro?
can fly to Dubrovnik airport and transfer to say Herceg novi would be under an hour assuming border crossing is not busy. Not a sandy beach, but ticks a lot of your other boxes.

Taormina is flat!? Did you never wander off the main central street? It’s a gorgeous place but literally full of steps and hilly streets, not sure that’s what the OP is after.

I would go to the Peloponnese. You can fly direct to Kalamata from Manchester.

Costa del Sol, will still be warm in September. Marbella or Estepona

Maybe I'm misremembering!! Yes, we went all over. It's obviously steep down to the beach (but there's the cable car) or up to the square on the hill, but my memory is that the main central area of cafes and restaurants is fairly flat. Perhaps that's wrong though, sorry OP.

If you are still looking at Majorca, consider Cala Bona (flat, several AI hotels) or Portocolóm (pretty fishing village, not much AI), and make a couple of day trips to Palma for your history and culture. Or just stay in Palma and go to the beach from there if you want.

However, I agree with @Bjorkdidit that it's not clear what the problem is here. Nothing of what you wrote in the OP seems "fussy" to me, so maybe the fussiness is in rejecting places because of this or that detail. Perhaps you are trying to find somewhere "perfect" as opposed to "really good", but remember that you are only comparing marketing descriptions anyway, not the actual places. And as long as you have a brilliant holiday, the fact that you might have had an even more brilliant holiday shouldn't be a consideration. 🙏

We recently went to Javea (xavia) in Spain. Approx one hour from Alicante or Valencia. Lovely place. Made up of 3 parts - the old town which is very traditional, the Port and the main beach. We stayed in an Airbnb about 10 mins away so we did need a car. Rental car from Alicante was super easy to navigate out of. And Javea was very easy to drive around and park in. We did a day trip to Valencia too. We parked down by the aquarium and science museum and got a taxi into the city centre. Lovely part of Spain.

I was going to suggest Rethymon in Crete because the town is flat, there is a sandy beach and the hotel we stayed in had a pool. I see you have been to Chania though. I'm fairly sure the transfer from Heraklion airport was less than an hour too. We did a day trip on a coach to Knossos and the museum.

Malaga city. From the beach to the very back of the town is a very slight incline, but not enough to be hilly with lots of steps. The only high part is the castle on a hill. Also a beach and far less 'Brits Abroad' feel compared to the nearby coastal resorts. Pre-covid, you could get a bus for 3Euro from the airport to the town and it was about 15mins. 1 day trip with did on the train was to Ronda to see the famous bridge.

Cefalu in Sicily of often mentioned because its on the beach, but we didn't visit there so have no idea if its hilly.

Albir Spain, most places in Majorca

Santa Elulia, Ibiza

I love Albir. But it doesn’t have a sandy beach.

Thanks all - @tobyj Sicily was on shortlist so will take a look.

I think Kalamata is too far flight wise, the same as is Rethymnon but thanks for suggestions everyone. @Bjorkdidit - have been on Jet2 til blue in the face - some good ones there (Madeira less so because of the distance) but Ibiza was on list.

I get what you and @samarrange are saying though - I am perhaps overthinking and no holiday will tick every box. I am conscious that whilst I could fly any distance and climb any mountain (well almost!) DH is less able these days so do not want to make it difficult/awkward for him.

Now off to look at Montenegro too!

Thanks again