Please help we are struggling to find a near beach holiday with a town we can visit

[cleo333]

Hi all we are really struggling to find an abroad holiday place near a beach and a pretty town or attractions we can get too ( we don’t lay on a beach all day ) . We are a tired middle age couple who need a rest but also want to get out and about but not to rowdy places . We’ve been looking for days and are now so muddled . Can you suggest places you liked a bit like that ???

I asked something similar recently. I will see if I can find the post. Barcelona and the coastline just outside it, Nice was another for Monaco and Cannes and I think Valencia was suggested too. There were others.

Valencia?
Rhodes Town?

We had a good holiday on Afytos in Greece last year. A beautiful Greek village, but miles away from anywhere. 2 hours to Thessaloniki, which we visited and enjoyed, but a long slog. So this year we have booked Cascais in Portugal. Half an hour on the train to Lisbon, Sintra equally close, so hopefully this will meet what we are looking for. The hotel is a converted from a citadel, so hopefully more interesting than a usual holiday hotel. We shall see. Go 2 weeks on Tuesday.

Palma, Mallorca would suit your needs or Malaga.

Yes Palma! It’s a great small city.

This with jolly big bells on. The trams in Nice are superb! Very relaxing and soundproof hotels too. I loved it so much we booked again

Estepona Southern Spain. I'm older than you and it is a lovely spot. Full working town, gorgeous little narrow streets full of flowers and restaurants, a superb paseo (beach paved walkway) that goes on for miles. Easy to get to from Malaga about an hour, and plenty of scope to go to places like the amazing Ronda on the scenic train from San Roque, or on the bus from San Pedro de Alcantara. A direct bus goes to La Linea which is just across the border from Gibraltar and you can walk over, if that's your thing! There are coaches from Estepona bus station to Malaga, Seville, Cordoba and Granada, connecting in Malaga. Long journeys though. You could also go to Malaga and get the train direct. There are so many options. Estepona is a very lively but not full of rowdy stuff at all, quite family orientated, and I haven't seen a full English breakfast yet!

On the other side of Malaga is Nerja, another lovely spot, similar but not the same as Estepona. You can get to the white villages easily like Frigiliana etc. A day trip to Malaga city itself is well worth it. Lovely place, has everything and more.

Still in Spain but up near Barcelona have a look at Tarragona. It's not right on the beach, but is a fabulous big town and very close to Reus airport. The beaches are nearby and include Mont Roig, Cambrils, Salou and La Pineda. You can get the train to Barcelona from Tarragona.

We have just had a child free mini break to Valletta in Malta - absolutely stunning place. So much culture, literally hundreds of amazing restaurants and bars, surrounded by water so very interesting - we did a 2 hour boat trip. Stayed at the Grand Hotel Excelsior which is a 10 minute walk from everything and has a lovely outdoor pool with sea swimming area plus large indoor pool. Whole break was super relaxed but we also saw loads in terms of art, churches, history. Will return as we only scratched the surface in 3 days!

How about Cadiz? It has a lovely beach and an old centre. You can get a boat to Puerto de Santa Maria and visit Jerez as well.

Santander?

I stayed at the Grand Hotel Excelsior in 2009, it was gorgeous! Great location for popping into the old city too.

I was in Valencia last month, loved the Arts and Sciences museum. A pretty city. Palma and Malaga are great options too.

Antibes, South of France, is lovely.

Second estepona, and it's close to marbella if you're into the Michelin type stuff and malaga as well for city break feels. Car rental is inexpensive for child free couple

I would recommend Menton over Nice.

I'm just not a Nice person (in fact I'm positively terrible 😆)- it's basically like a far right Brighton, but hotter. I also don't get the appeal of Monaco- it's a load of high rise buildings and super yachts full of some of the worst people on earth.

However, Menton is lovely, Antibes is nice, there's a train connecting all of the aforementioned and terminating over the border in Ventimiglia, from where you can take a trip further into Italy should you wish.

Bodrum in Turkey
Chania on Crete

Cannes in nice enough and easy to get to on the train from Nice. - Why do you want a beach if not for lying on? Cannes has sand but the coast is naturally stone/pebble so if you want to play volleyball on it go to Cannes but if you want to walk along the pavement next to it then there are other places in that coast. Palma is also nice as is Barcelona. Riga has a train that runs to the beach (colder though). I enjoyed Taormina but I haven't been for about 2 decades.

Antibes / Juan Les Pins - you can walk from one to the other but local public transport is excellent. Beach at Juan is particularly soft and shallow. Easy to get to train to Nice or Cannes for a change of scenery.

Begur, Spain. Surrounded by beautiful cove beaches and so many day trip to do.

Menton, South of France, is beautiful. It is right on the Italian border, which gives you loads of options for days out by car or train.

Second this. There is also Pals and Palamos on that stretch of coast which are also lovely. Girona is a short distance away and is a gorgeous smallish city.

Chania, Crete. Beautiful scenic old town and harbour. Also a great market. Beaches nearby.

Rethymnon, Crete. also has a lovely old town and a beach that leads right up to the old town/harbour too.

Its 1.5 hours on the bus between the 2, so can do both.

Mondelo (Europe's finest beach) and Palermo

Monaco And Nice - and beach in between them.

Venice and the lagoon