Best Euro vacation spot for food, sun, & beaches.

[89coupe]

Thinking about finally doing a Europe trip next year, son is old enough now to handle the long flight.

Want somewhere close to the Mediterranean, want great restaurants/food, beaches, and nice accommodations.

Thinking about Amalfi Coast but curious to hear other people’s suggestions.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Sardinia/Italy, Croatia, Montenegro, Spain, France, Greece - there is no shortage of places that get you everything you're asking for that are all top-notch in terms of the requirements you listed.

[89coupe]

Sardinia/Italy, Croatia, Montenegro, Spain, France, Greece - there is no shortage of places that get you everything you're asking for that are all top-notch in terms of the requirements you listed.

Which place did you enjoy the most?

[Mitsu3000gt]

Which place did you enjoy the most?

Sardinia if you like it to be quieter, but there is a bigger language barrier than on mainland Italy. The Emerald Coast is one of the nicest in the Mediterranean IMHO, and littered with white sand beaches and turquoise water. You can get that at any of those destinations though really. Good food is so easy to find in Europe that it is a non issue, same with accommodation. One of the best things about Europe IMO is that you basically just need to pick where you want to go and the rest is the easy part. Hard to pick a favorite from that list to be honest, I'd just poll the family and go wherever seems the most popular because any of those places will be incredible.

[lasimmon]

Not as popular but very nice was Portugal. We had a great time. Rented a house by Lagos and toured around to all the beaches/Surfing.

[CompletelyNumb]

Greece was by far my favourite Mediterranean destination. I had a really good time on the south coast of Turkey as well (Antalya area)

[jltabot]

Absolutely loved Croatia. Everyone there is much more relaxed and super friendly compared to Italians. Italy and Greece was beautiful but also a tourist trap. They definitely expect tips now on top of the expensive ass food.

I took a scooter down to the Amalfi coast which was an awesome ride with all the switchbacks. Worth it if you like to ride.

Santorini had great views. Definitely more a romantic spot than anything else. The rest of the island had cool beaches but were mostly rocky..and you have to drive through the island which I found kind of dumpy if you weren't in the developed touristy areas.

My vote from my trip would be Croatia. Would definitely go back. This post was probably all over the place but if you have any questions, I'll be glad to provide some insight on the stuff we did.

[msommers]

Cinque Terre. Fantastic.

[90_Shelby]

Portofino Italian Riviera - Hotel Splendido

[Swank]

+1 for Croatia. Also my favorite spot in Spain was Almunecar, nice and toasty on the South coast.

[89coupe]

Portofino Italian Riviera - Hotel Splendido

Looks beautiful there, did you stay there? How was the hotel?

[flipstah]

Not as popular but very nice was Portugal. We had a great time. Rented a house by Lagos and toured around to all the beaches/Surfing.

I loved Portugal, especially Cascais. Beachfront town; 20 minutes from Lisbon.

I'd return there for sure.

[msommers]

I've heard that Portugal is quite a bit cheaper relative to the rest of western Europe. Any truth to that?

[flipstah]

I've heard that Portugal is quite a bit cheaper relative to the rest of western Europe. Any truth to that?

My comparison is between UK/Iceland/Italy (Vienna)/Austria/Germany/Portugal and yes, Portugal is the cheapest out of all of them.

[90_Shelby]

Looks beautiful there, did you stay there? How was the hotel?

No, we stumbled on Splendido accidentally, then drove down the road 10 minutes and stayed with the rest of the Plebs.

[Misterman]

I've heard that Portugal is quite a bit cheaper relative to the rest of western Europe. Any truth to that?


Lisbon, Portugal is literally listed as the cheapest beach destination to live in the world. Must be something to it.

[89coupe]

Any of you stay in Barcelona? Our friends mentioned that was their #1 go to place in Europe.

[killramos]

Spain in general is very good.

My vote would be go down south closer to Valencia for more authentic Spain and better beach/party scenes.

I like Barcelona, but I don’t pretend it is anywhere close to good value.

[g-m]

Crete

[Buster]

Monaco or bust.

[RX_EVOLV]

Greece is so beautiful. We would definitly love to go back to Santorini.

We are heading down to Barcelona in a couple of months with the baby, and all we going to do is cook, eat, and hang out at the beach. It's not the cheapest but it's got a bit of everything, and definitly way cheaper than places like France. We rented a beautiful AirBNB with a massive rooftop patio right across from a local food market. It's going to be so good...

[shakalaka]

We did Italy and Barcelona a few months ago. Both were amazing. Barcelona was great, however, not as "Europe'y" as I would have liked. Italy though was the complete opposite and exactly what I expected Europe to be like. I've been to France in the past but it wasn't my thing. Perhaps country-side would have been different but I never went. Italian country-side, Tuscany, Cinque-Terra, Amalfi Coast are absolutely breath taking.

Next year I want to go to Greece - Athens and Santorini for sure but depending on the time may add a place or two.

[taemo]

Greece is so beautiful. We would definitly love to go back to Santorini.

We are heading down to Barcelona in a couple of months with the baby, and all we going to do is cook, eat, and hang out at the beach. It's not the cheapest but it's got a bit of everything, and definitly way cheaper than places like France. We rented a beautiful AirBNB with a massive rooftop patio right across from a local food market. It's going to be so good...

pming you regarding the AirBNB.

we are also planning to do Barcelona & Sardegna with a toddler next year so I'm currently researching for places to stay.
I was hoping to go down to Malaga, Marbella and Valencia but don't really want to drive so might be staying mostly in Barcelona.

regarding the OP, you should go to the Amalfi coast if you've never been there.
From Positano, we also took a ferry and stayed in Capri for 2 nights and enjoyed it as well.
Cinque Terre is nice too and probably my favourite.
Piombino and Elba island, Portofino, Rimini are classic vacation places in Italy.

Can't go wrong anywhere along the Croatia coast either and cheaper than Italy.

Nice area is nice too.

[OTown]

Ibiza, if you're into dance music and dont mind overpriced drinks.

[Xtrema]

Cinque Terre. Fantastic.

Apparently overcrowded now.

[msommers]

Lots of people but I was just there about a month ago, stayed 3 nights in Manarola. Loved it.

Driving there was an absolute blast. My fiance nearly barfed too!

87007

[lasimmon]

Apparently overcrowded now.

Is this 2005 or something?

It’s the same as anywhere in Italy in the summer. We went end of September and it was fine.