Please help a very stressed lady!

[janeite]

Work is hideous at the moment for various reasons and I am beyond exhausted. I still haven't booked a Summer holiday because I can barely decide what to wear/eat everyday let alone where to go on holiday.

Last year we went to Kalamaki on Zakinthos which was nice but maybe a bit too touristy. Can anybody suggest somewhere lovely, that won't be too horribly expensive in August for two adults and a 12 and 14 year old. Deffo no kids' clubs, teen clubs, karaoke etc - just good food, hot weather, maybe some culture. No huge hotel complexes - self catering apartments best. Flying from Birmingham.

Thank you!

I'd look outside the Eurozone this year. Egypt, Morocco or Tunisia? Not sure how easy self catering would be - do you want to cook or eat out?

Thanks.

we'd eat out in the evenings - nice bread and stuff for lunch I guess. Egypt seems a bit beyond oour budget from what I've seen so far. Any particular recs for resorts?

We stayed at Dassia in Corfu which we really liked. It wasn't far from Corfu Town for culture and there were plenty of restaurants etc locally. The hotel we stayed at was the Chandris Dassia and we had the half board option. The beaches were grey sand and the beaches at Palaeokatritsa (sp) were much more beautiful though.

I quite fancy Sunny Beach resort in Bulgaria, supposed to be nice

Malta or Mallorca? both nice, Malta very hot, lots of culture and cheap days out around island (as long as you don't go for expensive tourist trips). Could get cheap flights from Birmingham?

Mallorca very quiet, go to tiny villages on coast for amazing food and lovely people. Rent a car for a week (no public transport!) and explore island - not too big.

Turkey? Obviously not big resorts but some places can be very green and pretty.
Or Polis / Latchi in Cyprus? In fact, definately there, but not Paphos!!

Pefkos in Rhodes, Near lindos for culture, good hotels not too expensive.

Thanks. Will google all of these. We don't drive, so can't go anywhere reliant on car-hire.

Any more?

Okay - have googled Sunny Beach and it looks far too touristy, sorry. Don't want fairgrounds, nightclubs, huge hotels, anything like that. thanks for help though; don't want to sound ungrateful (even though I almost certainly do, sorry).

would you be happy to say what your budget is? We were just outside Barcelona last year and there was a good train line which would allow you to stay in one of the many resorts on the train line and use public transport to get out and about to e.g. Tarragona/Sitges. We were with Eurocamp which wouldn't be "your thing" it sounds like (although at 12 and 14 your DCs might enjoy something like that)

Budget up to 2400 not including spending money there (although cheaper would obviously be better). DCs would not like Euro Camp I think.

Basically we would like some lazy beach days (well, lots of lazy beach days!), some cultural-ish days out en famille, nice restaurants that aren't hideously expensive and cocktails at sundown. Happy to stay together as a family and the girls won't want kids' clubs, entertainment or anything like that.

Barcelona - off to google!

We've used Owners Direct a few times for accomodation, usually very reasonable but we tend to use them at Easter so likely more expensive in the summer. But worth a look once you've decided roughly where you want to go. The apartments are basically let out by their owners, tend to be very well equipped plus you can talk to the owners before booking to get the low down on where they are, public transport, restaurants etc

Thanks. Think I'd prefer to book through a travel agent though tbh.

Evening bump? Polis looks nice.

No offence taken, i've not been, my brother has stayed there with his partner who comes from Bulgaria so they were probably out of the resort staying with friends.

The southern half of Corsica is gerogeous. Desperate to go back.

Thanks both. Will look at Corsica and perhaps quieter bits of Bulgaria, as well continuing to look at Greece.

Parga on mainland Greece is good, has a small town beach, and you can walk over the two headlands to some breathtaking bays with white sand beaches.

The resort itself is really just a few old streets and a line of lovely tavernas along the waterfront. There is a little island with a tiny whitewashed church in the bay and you can kayak out to it.

You can catch a boat over to Paxos and Anti-Paxos which are idyllic, and also go on "excursions" (if you don't want to hire a car) to Igumenitsa (home of the tyrant Ali Pasha), to the river styx (seat of the underworld) and to the ancient oracle of ? Zeus, (think I must have had a hangover that day, think it was Zeus!).

If you walk up into the mountains the wildlife is stunning, we saw pelicans, loads of raptors, snakes, lizards and even wild tortoises.

Not a burger joint in sight.

Also, I hope work picks up for you.

What about Croatia? I think there may even be direct flights from Birmingham

Holiday Options go to places like Sardinia, Corsica and Croatia.

We went Cannigione, Sardinia with them for our honeymoon. It was truly lovely.

Some piccies

Thanks again all - and thanks Serin re: work: it's half-term now so I can relax for a few days!

Folegandros

Italy? Sorrento or Lake Garda maybe (can do day trip to Verona ampitheatre and Venice from there by train).

Ryanair to Girona. Bus services in region excellent. Girona lovely and historical and beautiful towns/resorts all the way up the coast e.g. Palafrugell, St Feliu, Tamariu, Llafranc, L'Escala.
I second Owners Direct for accomodation.

Janeite, did you decide on anywhere?