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Coastal Town in Europe
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Anonymous
| Taking the kids to Europe for 4 weeks in July. We are looking to rent a house in a coastal town... Would love to go to Italy but it's looking a little expensive. Any suggestions? |
Anonymous
| Croatia. |
Anonymous
| There are plenty of coastal towns along the mediterranean / adriatic coasts: in Italy, Greece (plenty of smaller islands - avoid the tourist crowds associated with the more famous and touristic islands), Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia, and Turkey which also has excellent resorts (marmaris, bodrum) though not sure about houses to rent. There is plenty to choose from... |
Anonymous
| Where in Europe will you be, and how long would you want to rent? What kind of coastal experience are you looking for? Europe has so much coast line, and so diverse in kinds of coastline, so please tell us more. You will have a very different exerience in Nice vs Aeroskobing vs Ravenna. Also, how old are your kids? Amalfi area is hilly and full of steps everywhere, so not great for little kids in strollers. Venice can be magical for kids if you want to be near (but not IN) the water. Tell us more about what you need. |
Anonymous
| I'd be tempted to divide up my time. Two weeks in Scandinavia, and two weeks somewhere warmer. Maybe Greece. |
Anonymous
Five kids will be coming with, ranging in age from 12 to 21, plus to adults. Other than taking four weeks to spend in Europe we haven't narrowed down our needs anymore than wanting to be in a coastal town. |
Anonymous
| Can I come with you? |
Anonymous
| Kinsale in Ireland is beautiful. Irish economy is hurting, so you could probably get a fairly good deal. That said, I would love to go to Croatia. |
Anonymous
| What about Spain or France? You can be on the Atlantic coast, like Hondarrabia near the french border, or you can go on the French side to St Jean de Luz. Or you can go on the Med side near Barcelona (although some of the resorts there aren't really family oriented), or Malaga or down near the Alhambra? |
Anonymous
| pp, i doubt that france and spain would be less costly than Italy which OP found to be on the expensive side. |
Anonymous
| Actually I have found spain to be quite inexpensive once you are outside Madrid and the major tourist areas. |
Anonymous
|
Ireland is very expensive and it rains every day. Not warm either.
Spain tends to be a little cheaper than Italy or France, but you would need to choose location carefully. A lot of the coast is pretty nasty with concrete high rises etc. Croatia is definitely the best for value. Turkey is good too. |
Anonymous
21:47 again. Here are some favorite combos: Venice and the Veneto (some neat places: Verona, Udina, Aquilea, a Roman fortification on the Adriatic), could ferry across Adriatic easily to Croatia (Hvar) for more coastal experiences. The ferry ride is short and the beaches in Croatia are lovely. Cinque Terre and the Italian Riviera (especially Santa Margherita), combined with Pisa, Lucca and possibly the Milanese lake region, and/or combined with a week in the French Riviera (Nice, Antibes, or a hill town like Vence)--this can be easily done by train, with trains from the Marseille-Nice line going into Italy and connections in La Spezia (Italy) you can rent vehicles as needed along the way--most train stations have a rental car station and it is very easy to cross borders. You could also work in Barcelona and Carcassone (Fr). I don't think you'll find Italy more expensive than other coastal places, with Croatia the exception (it is cheaper) and the kind of experience you want will drive your strategy. You can go "all in" for a certain region and either spend the whole month in that region, or you can do a sampler course, a week each in 4 regions, allowing for leisurely transitions between places. The ages of the kids you're taking make transitions easy, but the size of your group complicates matters in terms of getting around nimbly (unless there are a few "old hands" at European travel in the group). Either way, pick a well-located "home base" for each region and explore the region from that homebase (so, explore the entire French Riviera from your rented Villa in Nice--everything can be done as a day trip, keeping in mind that travel times within the region are pretty short). If I had a full month, I would probably try 4 different home bases: Venice and the Veneto, the Cinque Terre, the Amalfi Coast (I like Ravenna best, and don't miss the ruins in Paestum) and for something really wild, you could also spend a week in Sardinia where you can experience the all-natural Mediterranean (though be aware Sardinia is fairly remote). Or you could sub-out Sardinia for a week in Croatia (which was formerly allied with the Venetian empire before Italy was even Italy). Assuming you don't spend the whole month in a single region, I would also look into getting open jaw flights--into one airport and departing from a different one. You might fly into Venice and home from Rome or Naples. Also check out a website called SlowTrav which will have good tips on rentals (including reviews revealing good and bad villas). |
Anonymous
| It's small but CaisCais in Portugal. |
Anonymous
| Another vote for Croatia. If Italy though, we once stayed in Massa Lubrense (sp?) which was great. |