Best family beach holidays in Europe?

May 24, 2006 1:48 AM

Where to go for a family beach holiday in Europe this summer?

I live in UK and would like to take my family on a beach holiday in Europe this summer. We have two kids (age 7 and 2) so would prefer some activities for them. However, they both love swimming so the most important thing is a nice beach and ideally a pool along with some local sites. Oh, and we also need it to be relatively inexpensive.

We're leaning towards Majorca and found some good prices on flights. Can anyone recommend a nice place to stay there? Or other destination alternatives in Europe?

Thanks.

posted by gfrobe to travel & transportation (10 comments total)

Are you committed to leaving the country? If not I will heartily recommend Cornwall, lots of choices of accommodation, lots of gorgeous beaches, beautful coast, long cliff walks, quite a few kiddie theme parks, buckets of history, decent food and plenty of the locals speak English understandably. I am happy to make a stack of recommendations across these categories if you're interested. (For the record I'm not in the Cornish tourist industry, I just moved down here 18 months ago and love it.)

Plus you don't have to fly so will keep your CO2 emissions down!
posted by biffa at 2:15 AM on May 24, 2006

As an alternative to Majorca, I suggest Turkey. It is inexpensive and beautiful. There are resorts that are all inclusive (food+alcohol) with beaches and pools. In a lot of them, they do have kid specific activities. Particular places to visit are Bodrum, Fethiye , Marmaris and places near Antalya. Unfortunately, from UK (as opposed to from within Turkey), you are almost certainly stuck with agencies, which might drive the price up a bit. But I think it is worth a try and see what kind of deals you are offered.
posted by eebs at 2:19 AM on May 24, 2006

I recommend a small town called Nerja in the south of Spain. Perfect weather year-round, tons of English families vacation there. The beaches are sandy and nice, and there are a lot of family friendly restaurants. I think the easiest way to get there is to fly to Malaga, but I took a train from Madrid so I'm not sure.

St. Sebastian in Spain is also really nice. It's on the north coast in the Basque region. Beautiful sandy beaches, fewer tourists, cute old town, best Tapas I had in Spain, and fairly cheap.
posted by Packy_1962 at 2:56 AM on May 24, 2006

Cyprus has a huge british presence, both in tourism and politically. Althought it is a bit touristy, a package holiday can be had for very little money.

Also take into consideration what is going to be one of the EU's hottest tourist destinations in future years - that is, as soon as they join the EU: Croatia! Poles have been visitng there for years, and the croatians have been busy gearing up for their accession by builidng up their tourism industry. There are many great places to visit, loads of coastline, great scuba diving and, best of all, it is SUPER CHEAP.
posted by jedrek at 3:19 AM on May 24, 2006

Another vote for Croatia here - super cheap, white SANDY beaches, lots of islands and fun things to explore. I'm planning on going back in September.
posted by goo at 3:34 AM on May 24, 2006

Puerto Pollensa in Majorca is nice, as is Cala D'or. Both have beautiful beaches, a long stretch at Pollensa and seven coves at Cala D'or. Haven't been to either in years, but neither were too overdeveloped or tacky last time I went, and both are definitely family orientated rather than clubby.
posted by fire&wings at 3:34 AM on May 24, 2006

Being half Croatian, I spent many summers on the Croatian seacoast and loved it. I recommend Dubrovnik and Hvar. However, I don't recall many of the beaches I visited there being sandy...
posted by Lillitatiana at 7:59 AM on May 24, 2006

>>Puerto Pollensa in Majorca is nice, as is Cala D'or. Both >>have beautiful beaches.

The MD of First Choice holidays spends his holidays in
Puerto Pollensa...
posted by jacobean at 9:35 AM on May 24, 2006

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I'll look into all of them.

Biffa, I did consider Cornwall but have heard that the weather can be very unpredictable. Would like to lower my risk on that front by heading somewhere in Southern Europe.
posted by gfrobe at 12:47 PM on May 24, 2006

Croatia! Affordable and beautiful. (But I don't remember many white, sandy beaches either.)
posted by Amizu at 6:23 PM on May 24, 2006