Please recommend short break locations

[ProfessionalWhimsicalSkidaddler]

DD (13)and I, are looking to go somewhere that’s either an extreme day trip or a one night stay trip somewhere warm and most importantly safe! Any recommendations or ideas at all please? Also recommendations of where to avoid. She’s obviously a troublesome teen at the minute so it would be great to have some bonding time and I could be seen a cool mum instead of the usual cruel one. So far we’ve found Dubrovnik but I was thinking somewhere closer.

she would like a beach but it would be great if we could see something culturally exciting as well. It will be the Tuesday and Wednesday after bank hol if that matters. £200pp max ish.

love holidays has Budapest for very cheap but any knowledge of what to do etc?

thank you so much.

1 day only seems very tight timewise for flying to somewhere warm. You'll spend more time in airport than on beach. I'd try cross my fingers and hope for good weather in England. Head to west wittering beach then Arundel for some castle culture. Otherwise I'd try to take more days to make flying worthwhile.

Paris? No beach but could not too far to do for 1/2 days. Or Barcelona? You'd get the beach there, but if I was flying for 2 hours + time in the airport I'd probably try and get another day in if possible

Is there no way that you can extend your stay? One night seems absolutely tiring.

If you have dates in mind start by looking on Skyscanner for where the flights go from your local airport on Tuesday morning, returning Wednesday evening for a sensible price as that's the limiting factor.

People can suggest all sorts of places but it's a waste of time if there's no flights or they're ££££s.

But Palma Mallorca, Malaga or Alicante have lots of flights from most airports.

Also look on the EDT FB group for your local airport with help from enthusiasts instead of derision from Mumsnetters who don't understand the concept.

What time of year?

Paris on Eurostar is a great option. For short flights, Marseilles is fab. You can get a boat trip out from the Vieux Port to the Calanques (the sea is a stunning colour) or the Chateau d’If (Count of Monte Christo fame).

Charming. At the risk of being derisive, I think the concept is not that difficult to comprehend. The concept of spending a minimum of £400 return and approx 6 hours in airports out of 24 h seems like poor value for money. Other options have been suggested to be helpful.

Another thought… Cagliari in Sardinia. Regular cheap train from airport to town (15 mins i think). Town is lovely and great for walking round. Or you can get a bus to the beach. Would recommend at least one night.

Thank you so much for these. I’m going to take a look. DD has no culture so says it absolutely must be a beach. Sigh.

I personally don’t like long holidays and don’t go anywhere longer than 5 days. The last one we went on was three full days and 2 nights. That was a little long in all honesty even though it was jampacked. It’s horses for courses. DH doesn’t like these either. That’s why he’s NFI. 🤣

Budapest is great for a short break. You can spend at least half a day at Gellert spa where you can sit outside so it’s almost like being at the beach.

I think you need to start looking at where you can get an early morning flight to on the day you want to go from your local airport, and then a return flight the following evening. See where you can go within a two hour flight, then have a check how far the airport is from the town you want to visit, eg can you get a train in, is it a 20 mins taxi ride or longer as you’ll want to make your journey the easiest you can.

Flights are likely to be more expensive if you are looking at the half term week, and morning flights tend to cost more than evening ones.

I’ve seen people doing this sort of thing on Instagram and they tend to visit Eastern European cities or places where you fly to a lesser known city in Spain or Italy eg Bergamo rather than Milan, presumably due to them being cheaper.

Malaga has a great vibe with a lovely beach , my dd and I went last year had a lovely time . Pd £280 each for 3 nights , flights inc with on the beach .

Missed your last update when I was posting previously, if it’s a warm beach you are looking for then I would probably look at one of the Spanish cities suggested earlier in the thread, Malaga, Alicante, Palma, Barcelona all have beaches and it shouldn’t take you long to get from the airport. Or if you only want a beach without any of the other things to do then Torremolinos is just 15 mins in a taxi from Malaga airport (same distance other direction from Malaga). Faro, possibly (Algarve). If people have suggested places in France, they will be a shorter flight but I’m not familiar.

Pula in Croatia? Couple of hours flight, interesting city and beaches in close vicinity.

I’m in Budapest at the moment, you could easily spend a whole day at a bigger spa for a beach alternative, but the weather is very changeable at the moment & it’s probably not quite warm enough. Weather aside beautiful city, highly recommend!

Taking a flight to sit on a beach for one day seems pretty pointless. Surely you could stretch to 2 nights and actually do a couple of different things?

For one night I think I may choose Alicante. There is a beach with a marina next to it, plenty of hotel choices a couple of roads back from the front and old town streets just behind it with some nice squares to sit out in to eat at night. There’s a castle too. Flight approx two and a half hours (depending on where you are flying from obvs).

And for easy sightseeing the second day, ride around on the hop-on-off bus, go over the river and up the hill for view over the city, then a boat trip. Loads of cultural heritage stuff to look at if you have the time too, and beautiful buildings. And cheap to eat out.

Perhaps not the ideal destination for someone looking for a beach and no culture though.

@ProfessionalWhimsicalSkidaddler
Where was your last holiday to where 3 days seemed too long? Or do you and / or your family just not like being away from home?

@ShinyAppleDreamingOfTheSea I don’t like being away from home as we have a dog. We went to Romania. Monday - therme Bucharest, Tuesday - sinaia mountain trek (don’t go on a Tuesday if you want the cable car tour) peştera ialomeței and a fancy meal, Wednesday peleș castle and home. Thoroughly recommend.

the no culture thing is so annoying. I’m hoping if I appease her every so often she’ll come with me and discover culture another time. One can only hope.

Which airport? You can get a day trip to Nice on the Wednesday from Luton for about £265 for two people. 20 minute tram to the beach for a few euros. Leaves enough for food.

The Hague (it's on the coast). Get the overnight ferry to the Hook of Holland.

Palma, Malaga, Alicante, Barcelona, Nice would all fit beach criterium. Nice is a good shout as such a short flight.

Carcassonne France.

Airport is right next to medieval city and I found it pretty impressive.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/Jr5kkHQSZf7XUnXk9