I am getting rickets!

August 24, 2008 12:58 PM

The girlfriend and I cannot take another mm of rain in Scotland. We want to go somewhere hot (europe...anywhere!...hot!) for 4-5 nights (leaving tomorrow) but cannot find anywhere helpful to book a place to go. Please... help... somebody.... impulsive.. to find a website that'll help so WE CAN BE DRY!!

As we are Scots we are also cheap. So no Lear jet recommendations. Cheers.

posted by you're only jung once to travel & transportation (17 comments total)

If you don't already have websites in mind that you prefer to use, I respectfully suggest that you are adding a level of unnecessary hassle to your endeavor. If I were you, I would call a travel agent and simply say: "I want to go somewhere hot tomorrow, and I don't want to spend more than X". Call a few agents if you need to. You'll find something. I've done this in the UK to good effect when I was traveling around 2 years ago.

As for a destination, I would recommend Barcelona. I was there around this time one year and it was delightful and sunny and hot. It's a lot closer to the UK than it is to Canada, so I assume you can get there fairly cheap.
posted by chudmonkey at 1:12 PM on August 24, 2008

Don't come to Barcelona!
posted by benzo8 at 1:14 PM on August 24, 2008

Cheers to both of you. But mainly to Benzo8 for averting a raintype calamity. I'd love to call a travel agent but it's 2120 (BST) so can't find anyone who's open. the search continues..
posted by you're only jung once at 1:21 PM on August 24, 2008

I'm sure you've looked at lastminute.com?
posted by benzo8 at 1:32 PM on August 24, 2008

Yup - checked lastminute. Due to public sector employment.... 1000 pounds is too much and 7 nights is too long. May just buy a sunlamp instead....
posted by you're only jung once at 1:38 PM on August 24, 2008

It hasn't rained here - Washington, DC - for several weeks. And it's still hot.
posted by TheRaven at 2:05 PM on August 24, 2008

I looked on easyjet.com and I found flights to places like Amsterdam and Milan for ~150 pounds. If you left on Tuesday you could fly to Nice, France for 89 pounds. You could stay at the Hotel Busby which is 3 blocks from the gorgeous beach and is cheap in my experience.
posted by chudmonkey at 2:13 PM on August 24, 2008

Yikes, rickets.

Here are all the places you can fly non-stop from Edinburgh (I checked the map in your profile). Leave Tuesday and come back Saturday for cheaper flights. Pay a little more to fly somewhere you want to be rather than ending up in tourist-resort hell.

Jet2.com has a nonstop flight from Edinburgh to Avignon, leaving Tuesday and returning Saturday, for £300 for the both of you, round-trip, about £40 less if you carry-on only and don't get the travel insurance. There is A LOT to do in the area, you can muddle through tourist French on the plane ride over, it's going to be sunny all week, and there are a zillion places to stay: you'll probably have to call around on Monday this late; I'm having trouble finding any availability.

Berlin, if it's sunny, is also a very cool place to spend a few days relaxing, and is a very cheap corner of western Europe; probably the cheapest of all of its big cities - and easy to get to from Edinburgh or Glasgow.

And what about Paris? Everyone loves Paris - and if you wanted to go somewhere more relaxed in regional France, there's a station right in Charles de Gaulle Airport where you can connect to other big cities like Marseilles or Bordeaux without having to go into Paris itself.
posted by mdonley at 2:32 PM on August 24, 2008

Chudmonkey has the right idea - check easyjet for all destinations from Glasgow or Edinburgh, pick something and book it. We also ended up in Nice and had a great time.
posted by DarlingBri at 2:34 PM on August 24, 2008

Israel -- it's still off-season and there are some good deals out there.
posted by watercarrier at 2:34 PM on August 24, 2008

How about Saintes, France? You can fly Ryanair into La Rochelle and take the train (TER) down to Bordeaux and then a little train ride to Saintes.

I've stayed here twice-- I love the place and the proprietors are a young couple who both speak English and are extremely kind and accommodating. There's a fabulous creperie right outside the back door (which opens directly into the vehicle-free "Old Town") and countless other wonderful places to eat (and shop).

The city is near Bordeaux and Cognac, so the selection of libation is outstanding. The weather is warm and sunny. There are sights to see and a river to relax near. I think there's even a British pub by the cathedral of St. Pierre, IIRC. You can catch a local train cheaply and head over to Royan and hang out on the beach in less than a half hour if you need to stick your toes in the Atlantic.
posted by Heretic at 2:37 PM on August 24, 2008 [1 favorite]

these ideas are all fab! thanks...
posted by you're only jung once at 2:46 PM on August 24, 2008

I'm in Madrid. Easyjet flies here from Edinburgh. August is off-peak and not too many locals or tourists around if you just want to enjoy warm weather. As far away from a beach as is possible in Spain, but plenty of swimming pools, museums, bars, cafes & restaurants.

It's hot. But it's a dry heat.
posted by slimepuppy at 2:53 PM on August 24, 2008

We just got back from Portugal flying from Edinburgh, and it was gorgeous weather, a very welcome change! We were in the Algarve, and Flyglobespan has a direct flight. There are tons of cities we visited that i can recommend - Tavira is beautiful and the eastern part tends to be less touristy and more authentic, Lagos is well-known for its amazing beaches, the only place I wasn't really into was Faro itself, which was a bit too big and smelly for me. We got a villa through these people, i'm not sure if they have any at short-notice but they're nice and might be able to help you out.
posted by ukdanae at 3:25 PM on August 24, 2008

Sorry, i should have said that the Portugal flight is to Faro via Flyglobespan.
posted by ukdanae at 3:25 PM on August 24, 2008

Heh. I got back to Edinburgh from a 12-day trip to Portugal and Spain and I understand completely! Spain is like the Anti-Scotland- it was cloudless and stinking hot. I flew from Glasgow to Faro, and returned here from Madrid. Both Easyjet.
posted by the duck by the oboe at 3:45 PM on August 24, 2008

Hello, I don't know if you're away yet, but the Fare Buzz feature on Kayak.co.uk should find you some cheap flights from Edinburgh, it's amazing. Their general search feature is incredible for finding the lowest fares too.
posted by Happy Dave at 7:40 AM on August 25, 2008