Please help me pick a holiday! Europe in September

[Nw34567]

It’s been a few years since I planned a holiday, pre covid I guess, and I feel like I’ve completely lost my ability to do so.

I’m looking to go away with my partner in September - ideally around 23rd-28th. We’d like to go somewhere in Europe that will be warm at that time. Ideally a small town or city with beaches, restaurants, a bit of life. Not keen on the idea of a large hotel/resort or all inclusive. Also hate driving so don’t want to be anywhere that requires this - needs to have good transportation or small enough to traverse on foot. A transfer from the airport is okay, so long as not ruinously expensive!

Our budget is small - ideally £1000 for flights and hotel for the two of us - am I dreaming that this is possible?

Thanks so much for any help!

How about Malta, and stay in main town Valetta?

Weather can be unpredictable in Spain at that time of year. I would be looking at where has good weather first to narrow down your search.

That's a very low budget for flights and hotel for two people for five days. I think I'd be looking on a big website e.g. Tui, lastminute.com, booking.com, etc and seeing what you can get for that budget. If I put those dates and 'Anywhere' into lastminute.com it brings up a few choices, so that would be my starting point - not thinking of the destination first - but what can you get for that budget.

Spain in September usually has glorious weather!

If you look at skyscanner you can search for flights and accommodation together. They’ve recently included some package destinations as well. You can select everywhere which will pull up the cheapest destinations for your dates. There’s a good filter system for reviews, price etc. a week is offen cheaper than five days in my experience for packages.

I saw Casa Elounda in Crete on Tui (B&B) for around £500 per person the other week. It has excellent reviews. It’s a sister hotel to the one we have been to which is consistently top of the ratings.
Have you had a look at Holiday Pirates?

Plenty of options under £1000 in Porto:

https://www.easyjet.com/en/holidays/mixedresultlist?ibf=true&to=28-09-2026&from=23-09-2026&dst=PTLI,PTPO&sAccId=&geog=PT,PTLI|PTPO&flex=0&org=LGW,LTN&aa=1&rooms=2&page=1&take=10&orderBy=price&orderDirection=asc&m=0

(I based the search on flying from any London airport)

Weather in September is lovely - temperature usually in the mid-20s.

Barcelona region, yes unpredictable sometimes but in Andalusia we’ve only ever known glorious weather in September. Barcelona area would be too pricey anyway, but the coast around Malaga or Cadiz is a lot more reasonable and you’d likely find an Airbnb within budget. The rail network is fantastic and Uber is popular and surprisingly cheap sometimes.