Holiday inspo as a couple - Sicily, Croatia, elsewhere in Italy

[Chocolatey1234]

Looking for holiday inspiration for a week or 10 days mid May/early June time. Thinking about the above places or anywhere we have missed or any recommendations of places or hotels. We did think about a med cruise (haven’t done one before) but unsure and feel it maybe too hectic with too many people. We don’t need high temps we would be happiest with a day time temp between 18 to 24.

We love Italian food, way of life, scenery, strolling (not after anything too strenuous) maybe somewhere to visit for one or two days. Budget ideally just under 3K for flight and hotel (obviously eating and drinking cost on top of this).

Alghero in Sardinia is lovely - little port - beautiful beaches nearby - Italian and Spanish influenced food

We loved our cruise with Tui around the Adriatic, not crazy busy and very relaxed. We also then spent a week on Kolocep island loafing about as we needed 100% rest after a troubled few years.

I'm going back to Croatia when I can - Split was absolutely gorgeous, and we barely scratch the surface of there and Dubrovnik. Just a stunning country from everywhere we saw. The next holiday will be a hiking up hills and round every corner trip, the last one was pure rest!

My top picks (and often recommended by me on here):

Hotel Vis a Vis - Sestri Levante - fly to Genoa or Pisa and use train to visit Ligurian riviera and the Cinque Terre.

Ischia Blu resort - Ischia - fly to Naples and get the hydrofoil. Castello, botanical gardens, thermal springs to visit.

Hotel La Palma - Stresa - Lake Maggiore - roof top bar to die for - lovely food in town, boat trips to the islands, day trip to Milan

Cala di Falco - Sardinia - beautiful beaches, boat trips, day trip to Corsica

Sicily - Taormina and Ortigia - stunning scenery- we rented apartments in both places. Lots of lovely food and greek and roman ruins.

Puglia - Monopoli / Ostuni - beautiful white washed towns - lots of lovely villages to visit - beautiful coast line.

This year we are doing Tropea and Pizzo Calabria in May so hope to also recommend later ;)

All above done with no car - just public transport and the odd transfer.

You sound similar to DH and myself. We life food/drink, trying local foods, walking around, exploring etc and also can't stand it too hot. These trips were pre-covid, so hotels etc might have changed.

Sicily- I think we went in Oct, but May/Jun likely wouldn't be horrendously hot. We had 2 weeks, but in 10days you'd certainly get to travel about without being rushed.

We flew in Palermo and stayed here https://extra-bed-and-breakfast.hotel-palermo-it.com/en/#main It was across the road from the airport bus stop, so very easy to get to/from. Its run by a retired couple and breakfast included the most delicious home made jams, cakes among other things.

We then got a train to Agrigento. There are massive, acropolis type ruins there, but majority of the artifacts are in the museum. We only stayed 2 days here and that was enough to see what we wanted. We stayed here, and it was about 30m from the train station, so again, very easy to get to. https://www.agoda.com/b-b-la-dolce-vita-luxury-house/hotel/agrigento-it.html?cid=1844104&ds=lSqZnvb%2BgT29oeWw It had the most ornate, over the top room decor I've ever seen. Breakfast was delicious and we'd sit on the balcony having it.

We then caught a bus to Catania. I wouldn't recommend the hotel we stayed in, as it was right next to an all night, nightclub! We did a day trip via bus to Syracuse which we enjoyed. We would have gone to Taormina, but Etna was rumbling and it was advised not to travel there.

We then caught a bus back to Palermo, but you can fly out of Catania too.

Mainland Italy
Depending what you want to see do, we flew into Naples and stayed here https://www.correra.it/en/ Caught the circumvesuvian train to both Pompeii and Herculaneum. Went to the museum in Naples where all the artifacts are. I think we stayed 3 days, then caught a fast train to Rome for the rest of the time we were there.

Northern Spain won't be too hot at that time.
We flew into Barcelona and stayed about 3 days. Then got a train to Zaragoza and stayed here www.hotelsauce.com/en/
DH had a conference there, otherwise, I'd never heard of it. There is a river, massive basilica, lots of quirky museums and things to see/do. We then got a train to Madrid.

I haven't been, but planning a trip the Bilboa and San sebastian.

Lots of holiday inspiration here to keep me going. Thank you all that has replied so far.

I love Sicily but it might be a bit warm by that point and you couldn't cover very much in 7/10 days; the east coast with Taormina and Syracuse would be a good trip, though you can see more with a car. I'd probably recommend Sorrento, then you can easily do Capri, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Amalfi coast etc by public transport.

Thanks we visited Sorrento, Pompei
and Capri and on our honeymoon. Also visited Taormina, Ortigia and Syracuse previously. Absolutely loved the first two and would go back to Taormina. On previous visits many years ago I have also visited Capri, Lake Garda, Verona, Florence, Pisa, Sienna, Lake Como, Venice, Milan, Rome and Trieste.

Madeira is lovely, beautiful scenery, good food and friendly people. Lots of things to see and do.

Puglia is lovely, lots of places on the coast around Bari, not quite as hot as Sicily, nice beaches and secluded coves. You could pick one as a base and explore the area - plenty of castles and cathedrals and art galleries etc plus of course very decent food - then go by ferry across to Croatia - to Dubrovnik from Bari itself, or alternatively there are other ferries that go from other towns to one or other of the islands like Brac or Hvar - a different vibe from being on the Croatian mainland for sure, but beautiful nonetheless - a mix of fairly big hotels and also smaller mom&pop type places with home constructed barbecues and so on, very charming really.

Loving this list

Taormina in Sicily is perfect for a couple though I would also suggest looking at med cruises - TUI (Marella) does an itinerary that includes Taormina, Croatia and mainland Italy for instance. They have ones with even shorter distances too, very relaxing as the ships move at night, you have all day in port. As a couple you can probably leave it another month or two and get a better price for the cruise which will include all food and if Marella, drinks too.

You'd love Corsica.
South of France? Provence?
Tuscany, Umbria

That all sounds lovely can you recommend anywhere you have stayed?

Any other suggestions anyone good food, evening strolls, nice scenery, relaxing chilled out stay and a couple of doable day trips without a car for a week stay mid May to early June before the full extent of the heat and the hoards. Thanks

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/19184851?source_impression_id=p3_1739621998_P392lajYe-hmBwbY&_set_bev_on_new_domain=1739621997_EANjdiMWI0OTBmNj

Malta is lovely and the cuisine is very influenced by its proximity to Sicily. Stay in the area around Valetta and use the boats and buses to head out further into the island. SO much lovely scenery and history.

@Londonmummy66 How long would you recommend going for to see the sights in Malta? I know you can stay anywhere for any length, but some places, a week is sufficient whereas others you'd want much longer. Looking at options for a last minute march trip and have leave to us up.

A week in Malta should do although you could prioritise and stay for a shorter time. Could you stretch to April as the weather will be better?

@JC03745 We went for a long weekend and barely scratched the surface. You could easily do 3 days in Valetta if you like museums then a day in Mdina a day looking at prehistoric sites and a day in Gozo.

Another Italy fan here. I haven't yet visited Sicily but it's on my list. Some friends and I spent a week in Italy and visited Rome (3 days), Venice (2 days), Florence (2 days) Pisa (1 day). We stayed in apartments and split the cost (very reasonable) and used the efficient train service to get from one place to another. We watched to see where Italians were heading to eat and chose those restaurants (fantastic food and again reasonably priced.) I envy you. I hope you have a great trip wherever you choose to visit. 🇮🇹

Cefalu is a lovely seaside town accessible by train from Palermo in Sicily- you can do day trips by train into Palermo and to other towns and cities. It has a lovely beach and restaurants and is full of character.

Would you hire a car? I'd fly into Pula, Croatia for a few days in the city / on the peninsula resort (Verudela). Then drive up the costs to Rovinj for a few nights. Then drive up into Slovenia - Lake Bled.

Fly home from Slovenia

We did our honeymoon in Croatia early June. We stayed here

www.puteuspalace.com/

And it was lovely. Little port town, very very quiet but a few nice walks and a couple of decent restaurants. Local wine was good.
Followed by 2 days in Split, which is much busier but lots to see.

Temperatures were mid twenties.