Now that we have a 6 month old daughter we thought this year we'd look at booking a villa holiday and take the baby-sitters, erh i mean, grandparents along with us. Does anyone have any recommendations on destinations and/or villas. Ideally we'd be looking to go for a week between June - Sept and have the following requirements:
- Destination: we would consider most of the popular destinations, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, etc but nothing more than a few hours flight time due to the little one.
- Location: we're looking a for seaside holiday and would prefer something more scenic rather than a built up/lively (ie: we're thinking more Kefalonia than Benidorm). Saying that a few bars, taverns and restaurants within walking distance would go a miss. We need to put those grandparents to use so we can have an occasional night out.
- Accomodation: looking for a 3 bedroom villa for two couples (one with a baby) and single adult. Aircon and private pool is a big must.
- Budget: looking to spend £2-£3k for villa & flights.
Any suggestions on a pretty scenic seaside villa/destination with some nearby amenities would be greatly appreciated.
Also, which travel/holiday agents would you recommend booking with?
The last 3 summers we have been to villas in various parts of Spain, all about a 2.5 hour flight.
The Nerja area (specifically Frigiliana), you defintely need a car for the village but if you were close to Nerja main town maybe not.
Minorca, resort of Cala Galdana, if you manage to pick the right villa here there are enough restaurants etc to manage for a week without a car & it has a nice beach. Minorca in general could be a good place to start looking, Binibeca, Punta Prima have villa communities.
Club la Manga, on the Costa Calida, this is also nice but very spread out & a long transfer from Alicante airport, it's made up of various different communities, some with private pools & some with communal pools, no beach to speak of. We are going back to Club la Manga this summer to a larger place with a private pool, only had a hot tub last year
, as booked last minuite.
1st two were booked with Cosmos Villas with Pools & the 2nd two with James Villas. I'd get these or something similar & look through them, to see what you are dealing with.
If you pick late June/early July or early Sept your budget should be fine, you might struggle to meet it during the main school hols. The more that stay in the villa generally the pro-rata price drops, so 6 in a 3 bed will be cheaper than 4 in a 3 bed.
Everybody's requirements for villas differ & you can't easily get reviews like you can for hotels, so the best thing is to get the brochures & read the villa blurbs in minute detail, how far from beach, if car is essential/non-essential, how near to shops/supermarkets, how far from airport, depth of pool, entry to pool, is there public transport..........
When you finally settle on a few, before booking, google the villa name & it's resort.
Generally if people have a bad villa holiday they plaster it anywhere on the net they can ! !
HTH's
Doe
The Nerja area (specifically Frigiliana), you defintely need a car for the village but if you were close to Nerja main town maybe not.
Minorca, resort of Cala Galdana, if you manage to pick the right villa here there are enough restaurants etc to manage for a week without a car & it has a nice beach. Minorca in general could be a good place to start looking, Binibeca, Punta Prima have villa communities.
Club la Manga, on the Costa Calida, this is also nice but very spread out & a long transfer from Alicante airport, it's made up of various different communities, some with private pools & some with communal pools, no beach to speak of. We are going back to Club la Manga this summer to a larger place with a private pool, only had a hot tub last year
, as booked last minuite.1st two were booked with Cosmos Villas with Pools & the 2nd two with James Villas. I'd get these or something similar & look through them, to see what you are dealing with.
If you pick late June/early July or early Sept your budget should be fine, you might struggle to meet it during the main school hols. The more that stay in the villa generally the pro-rata price drops, so 6 in a 3 bed will be cheaper than 4 in a 3 bed.
Everybody's requirements for villas differ & you can't easily get reviews like you can for hotels, so the best thing is to get the brochures & read the villa blurbs in minute detail, how far from beach, if car is essential/non-essential, how near to shops/supermarkets, how far from airport, depth of pool, entry to pool, is there public transport..........
When you finally settle on a few, before booking, google the villa name & it's resort.
Generally if people have a bad villa holiday they plaster it anywhere on the net they can ! !
HTH's
Doe
Alicante. About 2 hours flight from southern England, 3 hours from Scotland. Lots of villas and apartments within 30 minutes drive. Gran Alacant is a popular choice - 18km from Alicante city centre, 12km from the airport. On the coast, 60/70 bars restaurants, 5 supermarkets. Popular with the Spanish in August and northern Europeans throughout the year.
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