European Holidays

[drathzel]

Hello everyone

I am looking for a little help.

Jake and are looking to book a short holiday for the summer (about 5 days long that coincides with one of my venues closing for a big tennis tournament)

We are looking to go to europe as its only a few hours on the plane and not too far that we would suffer jet lag and the like.

But i am stumped as to were to go. I fancied transylvania as you can go see wolves in the wild plus all the dracula stuff i think could be fun. But once you've done those two trips and done a bit of sightseeing you have 2 or 3 days of thumb twiddling on your hands. Now not saying we couldnt fill them but we want to go somewhere we can do stuff at night and during the day and as we are not big into drinking and jake doesnt like crowds we are really trying to find something that would suit us both and would be lots of fun.

Can anyone suggest somewhere that is fun and lots of stuff to do without it being like England abroad (see tv programme benidorm if you want to see what i mean)

Suggestions welcome.

Thanks

[RedFox]

Perhaps somewhere where you could join some kind of group activity? Mountain bikes / canoeing / rafting / horses / caving / or, err, dancing? It's a long time since I've done one but in addition to the activity in the day most people socialise in the evenings, without heavy drinking. Should be able to find something like this in Spain or France...

[drathzel]

Jake doesnt do much dancing so we will have to leave that one. We want to go somewhere that we can do our own thing but that there is plenty for us to do.

[David Franklin]

Slovenia? We went there for our 3rd wedding anniversary. It's a small country with caves, lakes, beach and city, which means you can do quite a lot without spending ages travelling.

[martingold]

it would be holland and amsterdam for me (not for the obvious reasons)
Theres a lot of sight seeing stuff and imho its one of the most beautiful citys in the world

[drathzel]

Originally Posted by martingold

it would be holland and amsterdam for me (not for the obvious reasons)
Theres a lot of sight seeing stuff and imho its one of the most beautiful citys in the world

just back from there which got us thinking of a longer city break rather than a big holiday!

[Dreadful Scathe]

Originally Posted by martingold

it would be holland and amsterdam for me (not for the obvious reasons)
Theres a lot of sight seeing stuff and imho its one of the most beautiful citys in the world

I was going to say exactly that but if Dee has been there - i suggest Paris or Rome as alternatives, both are fascinating cities with plenty to see and do.

[Lost Leader]

If you haven't been I would recommend Venice - even in the peak season it is easy to find quiet places - just a couple of streets away from St Marks Square you can be on your own, even in August and there's always the many islands of the lagoon to explore. Barcelona is great too as is Madrid. If they all sound too hot in mid summer how about Vienna or Brussels.

[John S]

My tip would be Gothenburg. I had a week there last autumn and it was a beautiful city (bit like Amsterdam with canals etc, it was built by Dutch engineers) with countryside and islands in easy reach, good hotels and a full social/cultural life in the evenings. And it's got Swedes.

To make it easy for you, try Gothenburg Tourism

[Twirly]

Drathzel, why don't you tell us what sort of activities you are looking for? Is it cultural stuff like galleries and concerts, or physical activities such as walking in the mountains? Might give people a better idea if what appeals.

Do you want hot weather? Do you want to see the sea, or is inland OK?

And are you likely to hire a car for all or part of it?

One place that I really want to go back to is Lanzarote, but not the touristy bits (so avoid the southern bit). It's got the most amazing scenery, wonderful beaches (totally undeveloped if you know where to go) and even some cultural stuff if you like architecture particularly. Would be pretty hot in the mid summer though... I went in March or April and it was wonderful.

[stewart38]

Originally Posted by drathzel

Hello everyone

I am looking for a little help.

Jake and are looking to book a short holiday for the summer (about 5 days long that coincides with one of my venues closing for a big tennis tournament)

We are looking to go to europe as its only a few hours on the plane and not too far that we would suffer jet lag and the like.

But i am stumped as to were to go. I fancied transylvania as you can go see wolves in the wild plus all the dracula stuff i think could be fun. But once you've done those two trips and done a bit of sightseeing you have 2 or 3 days of thumb twiddling on your hands. Now not saying we couldnt fill them but we want to go somewhere we can do stuff at night and during the day and as we are not big into drinking and jake doesnt like crowds we are really trying to find something that would suit us both and would be lots of fun.

Can anyone suggest somewhere that is fun and lots of stuff to do without it being like England abroad (see tv programme benidorm if you want to see what i mean)

Suggestions welcome.

Thanks

Went to Zakopane in Poland and it was great

Lots of bars/restaurants but not too touristy

If you get bored you can go to Krakow or visit Auschwitz which was very moving


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Zakopane, Poland's premier mountain resort, is one of the country's most popular holiday destinations, both in the winter for ski-ing, and in the summer, for hiking and camping. Until recently, Zakopane has been enjoyed primarily by Poles and travellers from Eastern Europe, but its splendid natural scenery, world-class ski slopes, and great value-for-money hotels and apartments, means that it is quickly becoming a popular spot for visitors from further afield. Check out our travel section for details of how to get to the town, the info section for a brief history of the town and Poland, as well as current weather details. Plus there's also a brief guide to the Polish language, Polish news, and a map of Zakopane to get you sorted. And don't forget our culture pages to explain all that thigh-slapping mountain music!

[Lory]

Originally Posted by Lost Leader

If you haven't been I would recommend Venice

Venice is WONDERFUL but IMO 5 days would be a bit long!

My recommendation would be Sicily

We stayed in Taormina, which is beautiful and also convenient for many day trips.

The hotels are mainly small and family run, so we just went B&B and ate out.

Mount Etna is a brilliant day out, you go from sunny beaches, to a snow covered black desert, which has one of the most spectacular views I've ever seen.
We travelled up in a kind of giant tractor but if your feeling fit, you can walk!

We also went on the 'Godfather trail', it was a guided tour (only about 10 people though) but i'm sure you could read about it and work out your own trip. But personally I really enjoyed the company of the tourguide and later than evening, her and her husband met us for dinner and then took us to a nightclub.

The Alcantara Gorge is well worth a visit too, its quite specacular. Set in a wood, the gorge looks like someones taken a huge axe to a mountain, to let the river run through. Its well worth taking your swimming gear but be warned, the water is like ice!

There's oodles of things to do, its just fitting them all in, thats the problem!

[drathzel]

HI Twirly

mmm what would we like to do, thats a hard one as we like a variety. In amsterdam we did the diamond museum and factory, a canal boat tour, walked a huge amount through the city, saw the red light district, went to the zoo and went to the flower market.

We love a lot of different things so having a choice of things in the one place would be great.

We arent in to pubs and nightlife but we love good food and relaxing strolls in the evenings after our meals (makes us feel less guilty about 3 course meals and coffee and biscuits)

My aunt lives in lanzerote in matagorda and runs a little pub out there.

[Twirly]

Originally Posted by drathzel

My aunt lives in lanzerote in matagorda and runs a little pub out there.

I shall find out exactly where next time I get out there then and go and say hello

Why not try and find an area (Italian lakes, Andalucia, etc.) and hire a car and move around, maybe having one central place to go back to?

[Recnad10]

One of the best locations in Europe for beauty and interest is Sorrento. This is a wonderful base for a vist to Pompei and Vesuvio as well as a vist to the Isle of Capri and Positano. The people are extremely friendly and the food is excellent. I would recommend La Lanterna for risotto to die for and the best dessert in the world - lemon profiterolles - made with limoncello. Da Gigino does a great pizza though, unlike the UK, it would be difficult to find a bad restaurant anywhere in Italy - especially the further south you go. The beach is not good there is so much more.

[Scotch Bonnet]

Why don't you do a 2-centre ,you could do your Bucharest,Dracula thingy etc,then carry onto say Hungary and do Budapest ,they say it's the 'Paris of Cenral Europe' with the beautiul River Danube.Many other lovely Eastern European countries nearby.You would need to do open jaw flights and either fly between the Eu cities or go by train.
Enjoy whatever you decide xx

[Lost Leader]

Originally Posted by Scotch Bonnet

Why don't you do a 2-centre ,you could do your Bucharest,Dracula thingy etc,then carry onto say Hungary and do Budapest ,they say it's the 'Paris of Cenral Europe' with the beautiul River Danube.Many other lovely Eastern European countries nearby.You would need to do open jaw flights and either fly between the Eu cities or go by train.
Enjoy whatever you decide xx

The 2 centre thing is a good one. Suggest taking the train between the two cities if possible - its cheap, especially if you book in advance and the scenery en-route can be fabulous. Possibilities include Madrid and Barcelona, Vienna plus Budapest, Munich and Venice, (train through the Alps), Venice and Verona......, the list of possibilities is endless.

[John S]

Originally Posted by drathzel

HI Twirly

In amsterdam we did the diamond museum and factory, a canal boat tour, walked a huge amount through the city, saw the red light district, went to the zoo and went to the flower market.

If you liked Amsterdam you could just go back there for a few days and not do ANY of these things. There are all the obvious things like the museums, churches, streetmarkets, Anne Frank House, Beguinhof etc, but for something different you could try:

a day in the Amsterdamse Bos (huge parkland area);
a day at Zaanse Schans (working windmill museums etc);
a train trip to Den Haag (Scheveningen seaside, Madurodam - miniature city);
a bus trip to Volendam and sail on the IJsselmmer to Marken (traditional village);
a Friday morning visit to the cheese auction at Alkmaar;
an organised bike tour (or hire bikes and DIY -I suggest taking the ferry across the IJ to visit Broek-in-Waterland);
a visit to whatever exhibition is on at the RAI;
a walk round the modern architecture on the northern islands

I could go on, but you'll probably finish up just going to Derry.

[drathzel]

Originally Posted by Scotch Bonnet

Why don't you do a 2-centre ,you could do your Bucharest,Dracula thingy etc,then carry onto say Hungary and do Budapest ,they say it's the 'Paris of Cenral Europe' with the beautiul River Danube.Many other lovely Eastern European countries nearby.You would need to do open jaw flights and either fly between the Eu cities or go by train.
Enjoy whatever you decide xx

jake has just been to hungary on work (btw budapest/hungary is where they filmed hellboy 2) so isnt too keen on going back to there so soon.

Twin centres sounds good tho.

I also like the idea of sorrento.

mmm lots of things to think about.

[Dreadful Scathe]

Originally Posted by drathzel

jake has just been to hungary on work (btw budapest/hungary is where they filmed hellboy 2) so isnt too keen on going back to there so soon.

Jake was in Hellboy 2 ? coooool