Summer holidays advice?

bryan458 wrote:Off to Tenerife in 6 weeks anyone been?? cant wait!!!

Twice. Los Christianos and Playas Las Americas. I preferred Los Christianos of the two but Fuerteventura and Lanzarote are better imo.

For the first time in living memory I didn't go on a "beach" holiday this year. Kids are grown up so we escaped on our own. Rolled back the years and took a campervan around France it was absolutely brilliant and fun-packed. Year after year me and the missus have wanted nothing more than finding a nice hotel in a nice resort and chilling out - just trying not to think about work. We've predominantly stayed in Greece/Turkey/Egypt/Italy over the last 10 years - all good however... usually after about 10 days we feel we're ready to go home but this time we could have happily kept going for another month.
Sadly work demanded our return.
We had a couple of days in the Loire valley, Cahors, the south west coast, the Dordogne, the Pyrenees and finally Le Mans where we accidentally stumbled across the Le Mans Classic (didn't go to the races but our chateau campsite was rammed with Aston Martins, McLarens, Ferraris, Nobles etc) so two nights partying with petrolhead nerd engineers who were very interesting for the first hour or so. 
I'd forgotten about the simple pleasures of local wine, food etc. Takes some planning to get it right and a good command of French helps if not entirely necessary. It can be done on the cheap or if you want to pay say 20 euros a night for places with swimming pools, sports facilities and bars etc you can. Le Castel chateaux usually have fine dining so rates are >30 euros/night.
Will be doing it again to break up the pattern until retirement.

Off to Kefelonia in 10 days. Think the Mrs only chose it because she liked Captain Corellis Mandolin.  

Sounds brilliant, Lusty.

We met a retired couple in Greece a few years ago who were touring the Med in their motor-home.

It was October and they'd spent all Summer touring round, having started in northern France in June and then working their way through Spain, back into France, across to Italy and then down the Balkan coast and into Greece.

They were just about to embark upon the return journey and when I asked him how long it would take to get home to England, the guy just shrugged and said "Not sure. And don't really care...."

That is the life!

OneFinFreedman wrote:Off to Kefelonia in 10 days. Think the Mrs only chose it because she liked Captain Corellis Mandolin.  

We went to the memorial to the Italian soldiers who were killed during the war and it was quite an eerie experience.

It's surrounded by beautiful olive trees and it's quite sad to stand there in such a beautiful spot, listening to the crickets chirping away and reading all the names.

OneFinFreedman wrote:Off to Kefelonia in 10 days. Think the Mrs only chose it because she liked Captain Corellis Mandolin.  

One of the greener Greek islands is Cephalonia. Most of the wealthy Greeks from Athens go there for their family holiday. We went in 1990 and loved the place. It's probably built up quite a bit since then but the resort we stayed in, Poros, only had about a dozen tavernas and restaurants. I would definitely go back there again.

Breadman wrote:

OneFinFreedman wrote:Off to Kefelonia in 10 days. Think the Mrs only chose it because she liked Captain Corellis Mandolin.  

We went to the memorial to the Italian soldiers who were killed during the war and it was quite an eerie experience.

It's surrounded by beautiful olive trees and it's quite sad to stand there in such a beautiful spot, listening to the crickets chirping away and reading all the names.

We did as well Breaders. In fact we toured the whole island. Fiskardo is a very picturesque fisting village and the fish is fresh every day.

wanderlust wrote:For the first time in living memory I didn't go on a "beach" holiday this year. Kids are grown up so we escaped on our own. Rolled back the years and took a campervan around France it was absolutely brilliant and fun-packed. Year after year me and the missus have wanted nothing more than finding a nice hotel in a nice resort and chilling out - just trying not to think about work. We've predominantly stayed in Greece/Turkey/Egypt/Italy over the last 10 years - all good however... usually after about 10 days we feel we're ready to go home but this time we could have happily kept going for another month.
Sadly work demanded our return.
We had a couple of days in the Loire valley, Cahors, the south west coast, the Dordogne, the Pyrenees and finally Le Mans where we accidentally stumbled across the Le Mans Classic (didn't go to the races but our chateau campsite was rammed with Aston Martins, McLarens, Ferraris, Nobles etc) so two nights partying with petrolhead nerd engineers who were very interesting for the first hour or so. 
I'd forgotten about the simple pleasures of local wine, food etc. Takes some planning to get it right and a good command of French helps if not entirely necessary. It can be done on the cheap or if you want to pay say 20 euros a night for places with swimming pools, sports facilities and bars etc you can. Le Castel chateaux usually have fine dining so rates are >30 euros/night.
Will be doing it again to break up the pattern until retirement.

Never been to France Wander but my missus has been to Paris and she loved it. I'd love to tour France so it's on my bucket list if I live long enough.

Reebok Trotter wrote:

Breadman wrote:

OneFinFreedman wrote:Off to Kefelonia in 10 days. Think the Mrs only chose it because she liked Captain Corellis Mandolin.  

We went to the memorial to the Italian soldiers who were killed during the war and it was quite an eerie experience.

It's surrounded by beautiful olive trees and it's quite sad to stand there in such a beautiful spot, listening to the crickets chirping away and reading all the names.

We did as well Breaders. In fact we toured the whole island. Fiskardo is a very picturesque fisting village and the fish is fresh every day.

Fiskardo's still beautiful.

We drove up there from Lassi and it was well worth it.

Although it wasn't cheap.

As soon as I saw the size of the yachts in the harbour, I knew our coffees and pastries weren't going to give us much change out of twenty Euros.

And they didn't......  

Would definitely go back though, stunning island.

Breadman wrote:

Reebok Trotter wrote:

Breadman wrote:

OneFinFreedman wrote:Off to Kefelonia in 10 days. Think the Mrs only chose it because she liked Captain Corellis Mandolin.  

We went to the memorial to the Italian soldiers who were killed during the war and it was quite an eerie experience.

It's surrounded by beautiful olive trees and it's quite sad to stand there in such a beautiful spot, listening to the crickets chirping away and reading all the names.

We did as well Breaders. In fact we toured the whole island. Fiskardo is a very picturesque fisting village and the fish is fresh every day.

Fiskardo's still beautiful.

We drove up there from Lassi and it was well worth it.

Although it wasn't cheap.

As soon as I saw the size of the yachts in the harbour, I knew our coffees and pastries weren't going to give us much change out of twenty Euros.

And they didn't......  

Would definitely go back though, stunning island.

Did you do the boat trip to Ithaca by any chance? It's where Charles and Di had their honeymoon. We booked the ferry for the last day of our holiday but the sea was too choppy and the ferry didn't sail. Normally the med is as flat as a fart so we were very unlucky although we did go there for the first two weeks in September which is coming to the end of their holiday season.

We didn't stop at Ithaca, we sailed up the channel past it but the boat did stop at Aristotle Onassis' personal island and we went snorkeling on the beach (as all beaches in Greece are publicly owned - the guide just said "Don't go into the bushes because the Onassis family guards can legally shoot you" - true story).

The next stop was Nidri on the main land and that was a lovely harbour.

We then sailed to a hidden cave in the rocks were some Greek fella hid his submarine during the war and waged a one-man campaign against the German Med Fleet - very interesting.

On the way back through the channel between Ithaca and Cephalonia, the tide runs like Usain Bolt and it was a brilliant white water ride.

Really enjoyed it and reminiscing like this is tempting me to see what late deals are on the Thomson website.... 

OneFinFreedman wrote:Off to Kefelonia in 10 days. Think the Mrs only chose it because she liked Captain Corellis Mandolin.  

OneF, if you are planning on doing a bit of sightseeing while you are there then I can recommend a trip to the underground lake. It wasn't discovered all that long ago until the roof collapsed. You go into a cave and then get on a boat. the lake is freshwater and freezing cold. Well worth a visit.

Reebok Trotter wrote:

OneFinFreedman wrote:Off to Kefelonia in 10 days. Think the Mrs only chose it because she liked Captain Corellis Mandolin.  

OneF, if you are planning on doing a bit of sightseeing while you are there then I can recommend a trip to the underground lake. It wasn't discovered all that long ago until the roof collapsed. You go into a cave and then get on a boat. the lake is freshwater and freezing cold. Well worth a visit.

...and it's the clearest water I've ever seen.

It's 70 feet deep and you can see straight down to the bottom.

Like RT says, well worth it, mate.

I like Kefalonia and most of the Greek Islands TBF - it's the food, the sea, the weather and the opaque light on balmy evenings that I love. If you don't go in high season try getting a flight to Athens then island hopping starting from Pyraeus. Basically pick an island and get a B&B when you get there - always somewhere available and usually v.cheap. Stay as long as you wish and jump on the next ferry to your next choice. Took the kids doing that when they were young and they loved it - especially not knowing whether or not we'd have to sleep on the beach that night - it was a big adventure for them.

wanderlust wrote:I like Kefalonia and most of the Greek Islands TBF - it's the food, the sea, the weather and the opaque light on balmy evenings that I love. If you don't go in high season try getting a flight to Athens then island hopping starting from Pyraeus. Basically pick an island and get a B&B when you get there - always somewhere available and usually v.cheap. Stay as long as you wish and jump on the next ferry to your next choice. Took the kids doing that when they were young and they loved it - especially not knowing whether or not we'd have to sleep on the beach that night - it was a big adventure for them.

That would be my idea of a perfect holiday but my other half would have none of it. Two bloody giant suitcases for two weeks, packing and unpacking clothes she is never going to bloody wear!

I could manage perfectly well with a backpack containing just a pair of jeans, a pair of shorts, flip flops, a couple of T shirts and the ubiquitous speedos. Heaven!

I know you said you want somewhere different to Spain, but me and our lass are off to Salou next month for 10 days, I've been to Salou 2 times before and loved it each time. I'm alot older now and I reckon i'll enjoy it even more being an adult. Thing about Salou is that it's great for all the family. They have a great town centre to have a mooch around. In addition to that, they isn't just one beach, they have a few so if you want to relax peacefully, you can go to one of the more secluded ones. From what I remember they have some really nice bars as well as a few night clubs. Not to mention to massive theme park they have there called Port Aventura which also has a water park joining on to it. As well as that there is also other water park in La Pineda which isn't that far from Salou. When I first went to Salou I went on the Barca tour which included a trip to a Zoo, a trip and a tour round the Nou Camp and then the afternoon in Barca town centre itself. There is so much that Salou has to offer but I'd be going on forever if I told you them. Here is a little bit more info on it. http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Travel-g562814-c116249/Salou:Spain:Salou.The.Main.Resort.html

Me and a couple of mates brought a 4 week train pass for Europe a couple of years ago, did 10 countries over 6 weeks, if anybody gets the chance to do it I'd highly recommend it amazing value for money and we found some gems along the way. Slovenia was a particular surprise, the capital Ljubljana is well worth a visit, we went from there to Lake Bled which is probably the most beautiful place I've ever seen, especially Vintgar Gorge which is in the mountains surrounding the lake. Since I've gone all my family have been on my recommendation and loved it. 

Reebok Trotter wrote:

wanderlust wrote:I like Kefalonia and most of the Greek Islands TBF - it's the food, the sea, the weather and the opaque light on balmy evenings that I love. If you don't go in high season try getting a flight to Athens then island hopping starting from Pyraeus. Basically pick an island and get a B&B when you get there - always somewhere available and usually v.cheap. Stay as long as you wish and jump on the next ferry to your next choice. Took the kids doing that when they were young and they loved it - especially not knowing whether or not we'd have to sleep on the beach that night - it was a big adventure for them.

That would be my idea of a perfect holiday but my other half would have none of it. Two bloody giant suitcases for two weeks, packing and unpacking clothes she is never going to bloody wear!

I could manage perfectly well with a backpack containing just a pair of jeans, a pair of shorts, flip flops, a couple of T shirts and the ubiquitous speedos. Heaven!

I know exactly what you mean. My suitcase is a repository for the missus' overflow.

Returned from Stoupa on the Peloponnese last Sunday. Fuck all to do but chillax, top drawer.

Soul Kitchen wrote:Returned from Stoupa on the Peloponnese last Sunday. Fuck all to do but chillax, top drawer.

Not been there but my folks went for a month a few years ago and absolutely loved the place.