Where Is Good For A Beach Holiday?

April 19, 2009 1:47 PM

Can Anyone Recommend a Good Beach Holiday?

Looking for sun, sea, sand and peace and quiet. Somewhere fairly secluded that myself and my partner can chill out for a fortnight without having lots of other people around. Ideally, we want to rent a beach hut next to the ocean, doesn't matter how basic, be able to swim in the sea during the day and be able to eat amazing seafood at night. Looking for recommendations for travel companies/locations/anything really!

TIA!

posted by Ruby Tuesday to travel & transportation (17 comments total)

Sandys Parish, Bermuda.
posted by jgirl at 1:52 PM on April 19

Where are you currently and do you have a budget?
posted by triggerfinger at 1:55 PM on April 19

Vieques Island.
An island-municipality of Puerto Rico in the northeastern Caribbean (short plane ride from PR).
I LOVE it there!
posted by StUdIoGeEk at 1:57 PM on April 19

Hi, triggerfinger, currently in Scotland. We have a budget of about £2000 all in.
posted by Ruby Tuesday at 1:58 PM on April 19

Noosa, Australia; York Beach, Maine. Seconding Vieques.
posted by ads at 2:03 PM on April 19

Agonda Beach, Goa, India. Absolute bliss, unless you mind having cows hanging out on the beach with you. I recommend staying at the MahnaMahnas beach huts.
posted by noom at 2:10 PM on April 19

Costa Rica, specifically Malpais.
posted by Houstonian at 2:18 PM on April 19

Tulum, Mexico should fit the bill. Two hours easy drive south of Cancun airport, beautiful beach, friendly atmosphere.
posted by shothotbot at 2:23 PM on April 19

The first places that immediately come to mind are Mauritius, Barbados or the Maldives. I also am a huge fan of Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. Absolutely gorgeous.

A good site to check prices is Travel.co.uk. I like it because you can be vague about where you want to go and it will still do searches for you - unlike a lot of sites which make you specify a destination. Have fun!
posted by triggerfinger at 2:28 PM on April 19

From my experience the most beautiful white beaches in the world
posted by freddymetz at 2:38 PM on April 19

Holguin, Cuba, has great beaches and doesn't attract as many people as Veradero does. Food could be a bit better (it's Cuba!) but we had excellent rock lobster while we were there.
posted by furtive at 2:59 PM on April 19

Consider Nuweiba, in the Sinai on the Red Sea, if you're comfortably with the notion of vacationing in Egypt. Grass huts, mango pancakes, grilled fish caught just off shore. Reggae-loving bedouins. A markedly-mellow vibe. Terribly inexpensive, so something of a backpacker's paradise.

Also, two weeks is an awful long time in a hut. You could taxi down to St. Catherine's monastery, or hop a ferry over to Jordan and take in Petra and whatnot, for slightly more cerebral activity.
posted by mumkin at 4:24 PM on April 19

If you're looking for beaches - Sri Lanka. You can probably get there for around £400 each return. The trains run along the coast, but finish up around the southern tip. It takes no time to get anywhere, especially since you'd be avoiding the problems in the north, and you simply want beach.

On your way down, there are some popular surfer towns i.e. Unawatuna and Hikkaduwa - don't even bother - just stop in the latter if you're looking for partyables. Some nice beaches - Mirissa-- get off the train at Weligama and hop on a bus for another 4 kms. Or take a rickshaw for next to nothing. From Koggala to Weligama, there are stilt fishermen - pretty cool. Tangalle is really pretty, but the beaches are rocky. All down in that area are stunning beaches, and amazing/cheap seafood.

When I was there in 99/2000, it was like 85 rupees to the USD. Awesome bungalows could be had for 250 - 300 r. for a double. Don't let anyone pressure you into eating in their establishment simply because you are staying there. So yeah, the flight is sorta pricey, but once you get there, you're living on next to nothing, and you'll have the beaches to yourself.

Curd and trickle, thalis, and seafood galore.
posted by gman at 5:26 PM on April 19

I recommend Isla Mujeres, Mexico. It is a small island right across the bay from Cancun. My girlfriend and I recently stayed at the Mar y Sol studio apartments, which were only $45US per night. There are 2 buildings, one is a bit older with 4 studio apartments, and one is newer with either 2 or 4 apartments (can't remember which). We stayed in the older building, which is located right on a very nice, private beach overlooking the bay. I think we saw fewer than 5 people on or around our beach the entire time we were there.

The location was ideal for us, as we were looking for inexpensive, secluded accommodations near 1) a nice, calm, white sand beach, 2) a short trip to civilization when the urge arose, 3) a variety of restaurants/shopping/attractions within walking distance, and 4) easy access to an international airport. With its proximity to Cancun (yet being separated by a body of water), you really get the best of all worlds with Isla Mujeres: tons of beaches (some sandy, some rocky; some calm, some a little more rough) a charming downtown area full of quaint restaurants and shops, lots of winding roads and jungle to explore, the possibility of utter seclusion (depending on which part of the small island you choose to stay at), yet it's just a quick ferry ride over to Cancun, with its airport and transportation to other places in the Yucatan (Mayan ruins at Tulum, Chitzen Itza, and Coba; eco-parks Xcaret and Xel-Ha; etc.).

Where we were staying, we were about a mile or so from downtown Isla Town and had fantastic seafood restaurants within walking distance in either direction, yet there was no other lodging in sight. Though we felt like we were in complete seclusion, we also felt very safe, no matter what time of the day or night. The atmosphere on the island is in general extremely laid back, with people walking or riding golf carts around.
posted by worpet at 6:40 PM on April 19 [3 favorites has favorites]

Sun, sea, sand, peace and quiet, and good food - I think you might enjoy Anguilla. A fortnight might be too much peace and quiet though, but if that's what you are looking for, Anguilla is great.
posted by Dragonness at 7:59 AM on April 20

As long as you bring a fleece and a Gore Tex jacket, just in case you understand, then Scotland has the most marvellous golden sandy beaches, rollers coming in from the Atlantic and seals / dolphins / basking sharks et al to spot.

And if the sun shines it is pure heaven...
posted by cameronfromedinburgh at 11:44 AM on April 20

cameronfromedinburgh, you recommend that they stay home for their holiday?
posted by Houstonian at 12:59 PM on April 20