October half term in the south of France

[FloraSpoke]

Looking for inspiration for sunshine in October half term without having a purely hotel pool and complex based holiday… DH, DS (5) and I are travelling. We would like to go somewhere that’s warm enough to paddle/play on the beach, where we can rent a 2 bed apartment, have shops and facilities near by and don’t have to hire a car. Which seems more difficult than you might think. I was wondering about staying in Nice, Antibes or that part of the Riviera as EasyJet have reasonable flights to Nice, and would love to hear thoughts/tips from any Mumsnetters who have stayed in that part of the world at that time.

Beware that Nice is a stoney beach.

Try a lot of the towns along the Med Coast. A lot of Occitanie has towns on the sea or are an easy public transport journey from the sea. October is off season so a lot of the more beach holiday focused seaside areas may be a bit dead or closed.

I would stay in town or city near sea and do a day or two by the beach.

Montpellier might be a good option as you can get the train to Sete in about 20 mins or Palavas les Flots or Le Grande Motte by tram and bus. Or perhaps stay in Sete full stop as the town is on canals and a harbour so is very watery and plenty of opportunities for boat trips and you can get a bus to the beaches on about 10 mins (or a 30/40 min stroll along a really easy and nice sea front footpath.)

And the benefit is these areas are a lot cheaper (and IME more fun) than the Cote D'Azur.

I think it might be too cold for what you are looking for there unless you are lucky.

We like Lanzarote for Oct half term. The sea is warm enough to swim, we hire bikes and cycle along the coast, visit the volcano, hiking…plenty to do. We hire an apartment and can walk to it plenty of facilities.

There is only one high rise building on the entire island, which has a restaurant at the top. The rest of the buildings are low rise. Cesar Manrique the architect has some interesting stuff across the island.

We went to Nice in October once. It rained every day and it was cold, definitely not beach weather. But if you’re lucky with the weather then Antibes is lovely.

If you want beach weather, you've a much better chance in southern Spain, eg the Malaga area. Loads of flights and choice of places to stay. The train goes as far as Fuengirola, so anywhere between there and the city, depending on what you want. You can then decide what to do depending on the weather - beach if hot, city or other attractions if not. Loads to do in the city and surrounding area.

Agree on Montpellier (and Sete or Marseillan) - accessible by plane or (very easy) train journey

i would say southern France is likely to be cold for what you are looking for (but then again with the summer we’ve had, who knows?). I live here and don’t swim in the sea past mid -sept.

We have had wonderful October half terms in the south of France, sunny, blue skies, nice for walking, sitting out for coffee / a drink but it is not warm enough for what you are looking for.