Holidays

I go skiing in Whistler most years, and often stop off in Vancouver.

Very trendy and relaxed city with great restaurants and breweries. The sea to sky highway between Whistler and Vancouver is stunning and Vancouver Island is also worth a visit.

Probably where I’d chose to live if I left the UK.

 

Echo this. In fact it’s great to fly into Calgary, drive Banff to Jasper, then Jasper to Whistler, then the sea to sky highway and end with a relaxing few days whale watching from Vancouver Is.

 

Booked a week in and around Belgrade (including a floating house) at the start of the school holidays and am now looking a somewhere for a week at the end.

Was thinking Crete - any advice on where to go? Want somewhere that is relatively lively, but still Greek and not full of Brits on the p1ss. Would be flying in and out of Chania.

 

This year we're looking at doing a driving holiday through Europe, the general idea is to head in a south easterly direction from Calais and take in some scenery, I'm not overly interested in visiting any major cities however I will probably stop in Nuremberg at some point as I used to live there but haven't been back since 2000.

Has anyone got any tips or recommendations, ideally the trip mustn't exceed 14 days.

 

Just booked a couple of days in Brussels in June with a mate. Heard mixed reviews.

Anyone got any tips on things to do while there?

 

Drink Belgian beer.

 

I'm possibly off to Iceland in October with the wife and kids (13 and 11). Anybody been or have recommendations?

 

Been twice. Love the place. Are you doing the circuit round the island ? Def worth it if you have a week or more. Many miles each day but excellent roads and barely any traffic so really not tiring. The scenery/landscape is simply amazing.
October will be pretty cold and dark of course - guess you're going for the northern lights ? We go in June for better weather but no N lights....

 

It's actually my birthday while we're there, so I'm sure there'll be a strong gust of wind blowing me into some of Brussels' finest drinking holes.

 

Visit Bruges!!!

 

I love Nuremberg, particularly at Christmas. This place is one of my favourites for some hearty food and excellent beers.

 

I lived there for 14 months, I put on 2 stone.

 

We're not sure what to do or where to go as of yet. We only have a week

 

Impressive. It is a great place.

 

Early or late Oct ?
Winter is best for northern lights but cold (of course) and not much light. June is great weather (10-15) but almost no night time. You need to check how many hours of daylight and temp you'd get in Oct. Might be that driving round the island isn't a great idea if only a few hours of light and snow on the ground, but you might be just before the winter snow. Personally I'd either go for a week / 10 days and drive round the island June-Aug or go for a long weekend to Reykjavic in winter for northern lights and do the daytrip from R that encompasses the geysir/best waterfall and the tectonic plates / bog area Thingvellir. Not sure there's much to do for a full week with kids unless you're going to tour around.

 

We hired a guide to drive us about to see the northern lights and give us a general tour of the place. The kids will love the hot springs and whale watching. It's been about 10 years since we went so things may have changed, but food and booze was pricey. I agree with TUT that you'll find it hard work to keep the kids entertained for a week

 

Their satay chicken large skewers are great value and tasty. 4 for £2.

 

I'm looking to go somewhere for a week in June as a predominantly relaxing/sit by a pool based holiday, but want to go somewhere with a fair bit to do as well and really hate the resorts in places like Greece that are 90% Brits who like to make friends with all the other Brits in the resort.

I was thinking of a few options but wondered if anyone had any advice on them?

- Madeira. Looks lovely, seems to be loads to do, not super expensive.... but weather doesn't look great in June. Anyone been at that time of year? Could you spend a couple of days just on the beach if you wanted to?

EDIT - Also been looking at Lisbon, not sure if you would want to spend a week there though, or if the beaches are the best for this kind of holiday?

- Croatia. No idea where to go, anyone been and recommend somewhere I should research? Is Dubrovnik good for pool/beaches?

- South France. Again, not really sure where would be a good place to go and there are so many options it's a bit daunting trying to narrow it down.

 

I've been to Croatia about 10 times... Are you looking for a holiday park type place, hotel, villa? It's a great place and not many Brits, though numbers are rising.

 

Not fussy to be honest. Ideal would be a villa, but budget probably wouldn't allow!

 

Here?


https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/753/video/

Not shown on the film but plenty of sandy beach. Flights from Stansted twice a week

 

Croatian Islands are stunning and well served by ferries so easy to hop between and the locals rent out rooms very cheaply. I took 5 days going from Rijeka to Dubrovnik via Hvar and Korcula with a couple of days in Dubrovnik to finish. Beaches are nice but quite rocky. People very friendly.

 

I'm going to Lisbon in July, but only for three nights. Meant to be a great place to visit, but think a week there probably would be a bit excessive.

 

Get out of Brussels.
Go to Bruges. (Bruggse Zot is one of my favourite Belgian Beers. On the Halve Man brewery tour they sell a special unfiltered version you can't get elsewhere.)

Edit: Just seen TVOR has said the same.

 

I used to go to Georgioupolis village of which was lovely and chilled a good to few years ago. It's the Chania end of Crete so is convenient, but definitely check it out as worth considering.

 

Am now thinking we might go to Lisbon for 3 days, then Ericiera for 3 days. Looks pretty cool and I like Surfing and only 40 min drive from Lisbon!

 

Stayed in Villefranche sur Mer a few times, we like it a lot but like everything around there it's incredibly expensive. Good choice for avoiding Brits on the p1ss. Direct trains to Nice, Monaco, pop into Italy. Didn't think much of Cannes, Antibes.

 

How far is Nazare? Not suggesting for a second surfing there but have always wanted to just go and watch them.

 

I'm doing 10 days in April, working from Zadar, Split down to Dubrovnik and possibly into Podgorica in Montenegro for a night or two. Open to recommendations!

 

There's not a vast amount to say recommendation wise, other than all 3 are great cities to stay in and explore. Dubrovnik is very tourist heavy these days - to the point where it can be hard to get round. The place itself isn't very big too. Split is the biggest and is tourist heavy on the sea front and Diocletian's palace, but go a bit further back and it thins out. Hajduk stadium tour is worth doing.

The coastal drive is beautiful, but is obviously slower than the motorway.

Not been to Podgorica (or Titograd if you prefer), but have heard that it's pretty modern and concrete as it was flattened during the war. It's a long journey inland to Podgorica, but you can stop off in Cetinje, which is the medieval capital and / or Mount Lovcen, which gives an amazing view over the whole coastline - you can drive most of the way up.

 

From Split spend a couple of days on Hvar island - do a half day tour of the island.

 

We regularly go to the Balkans, and got myself back to Belgrade once I saw it was the Eternal Derby today whilst we were nearby in the hope of going (to see some fight and passion for once...), but it's behind closed doors!

 

We are currently on the Belgian coast (about 1.5 hours from Brussels) in De Panne at one end of what is apparently the longest tram line in the world, which goes all the way up to Knokke. As a result we shall be missing the game at Sunderland. Oh dear, what a pity, never mind.

 

Cheers Smudge.