LG John

My g/f and I are planning to take a holiday in the sun abroad this year. We are thinking of going for two weeks in around May time. Neither of us has ever been abroad where we chose the place and made the arragements ourselves. We are therefore utterly clueless!

We'd like to:

* Go somewhere nice and hot
* Go somewhere with some activities to do (waterparks, watersports, trips/visits/site seeing/etc)
* Go somewhere that has life but isn't totally full of drunk British yobs
* Go somewhere relatively cheap (we aren't totally flush)
* Go somewhere safe

We really are clueless where to start looking and researching. We just want two weeks in the sun, probably self-catering and where we can enjoy some sites, some activities, have a romantic wander, enjoy mixed and varied food and be able to go to some bars, etc for a drink. The Costa Del Street Crime programme has put the sh*tters up us both

Where do we begin?

P.S. I realise this will seem so lame to many of you but this is how people that know absolutely NOTHING about cars must feel when they go to buy one!!

dpb

sandbanks..

Lee247

Lanzarote
Not as loutish as Tenerife

FlightMan

Budget?

paul-s

Tenerife aint loutish - i spent 9 months there last year

and it rained about 3 days during that !

paul-s

just avoid las americas

go to golf del sur, amarilla golf, or oop top of island

LG John

Budget I'm also not sure off? What would be 'dirt cheap' and what would be 'about right' and what would be 'expensive' in the world of fortnight long holidays?

Lee247

Don't laugh
Tesco.com are doing holidays, with a sale on at the mo'. Might be worth a look

pnbond007

iTrader: (1)

Goa - candolim, Bagga, Calangute absolute value for money.

Long flight but well worth it..

PNB

Neverguess

Goa, agree

Ninnybobs

FLORIDA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fuzz

Lanzarote has some stunning scenery although I've nev er booked a holiday to there myself.

However I did score brownie points with the ex when I booked a holiday to Gran Canaria, self catering, through the local travel agent (Going Places), it really isn't hard, they wont send you somewhere dodgy.
Once there, the rep told us of all the trips available and we booked a load up.
Offroad adventuring round the mountains was quite breath taking, then a sail round the coast on a Catamaran with Seafood lunch on board.
Tried a walk along a massive beach but it was a bit windy in January even though it was 22 degrees C.
Cheap as chips too as I think it was one of those last minute deals in the window type things £300 - £400 for the both of us.
Once you get some experience with the local travel agent and booking things the easy way (letting them do all the hard work), it's time to try someone like Courtney world travel who will get you individual flights, hotels, boats, cars etc to where ever you want to go and put it all together to make a truly tailor made holiday. £5K and Hop to Australia and back with everything in between... you get the picture.


Andy

dpb

Nice pitch..!..

Did g canaria last year - s'alright...

Deep Singh

Don't know your budget but I would consider Thailand/ East Coast Malaysia. Just check its not the rainy reason. Beautiful beaches and cheap but fantastic food. You also have the option of 'Ting Tong' type activities...

2000TLondon

I'd recommend Fuerteventura in the Canaries. Completely different to any of the others. The sand is blown straight from the Sahara, so it's fine and white, not like the volcanic sand / ash beaches of Tenereife. It's very quiet out of the towns, and the towns are small, but the towns in the north have a few touristy bars and clubs. There are towns in the middle of the island with hardly any tourist activity at all, and you can find a beach to yourself pretty much, with clean, clear, warm sea! There's windsurfing and all the water sports in the north.

It's cheap, quiet and a nice place. If I had to pick somewhere on a budget in Europe, this would be the place!

For bookings and whatnot, try www.expedia.co.uk or see if you can get a charter flight from someone like teletext or www.cooptravelcare.co.uk

http://www.spain.info/TourSpain/Dest...ra?language=en

Further a field, Florida is very cheap but has a lot to spend your money on, or head to the far east where your flight is the only real expense, accomodation (book yourself) and food are dirt cheap!

2000TLondon

Alicante on the Costa Blanca is also a great destination on a budget, some great coastline that you can drive and again find deserted beaches, but has the advantage of a fairly lively city. Also, the main beach is right in the heart of the city and has a great atmosphere. Although it's near Benidorm, it is very different!

http://www.spain.info/TourSpain/Dest...tm?Language=en

Probably cheaper and definetly easier to get to, too!

Reality

Come on Kenny - say what you mean.

Somewhere that isn't full of drunk Engerlish Yobs

Florida - two centres - Orlando followed by the Florida keys / Miami.

Should satisfy all requirements (although Miami can be a little dangerous).

Nearer to Home - Spain - Costa del Sol - but avoid the big places - still plenty of nice parts - say around Marbella / Puerto Banus / Estepona etc.

Alternatively - try the spanish Paradors - Old monastries / Castles converted to Hotels.

Here's some google Images
http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl...or&sa=N&tab=wi

fitzscoob

Completely agree with this, love fuerteventura, go there almost every year.

Quiet enough so you can relax, but there are enough places to go and things to see to keep you occupied should you wish.

If you are a golfer, take your sticks with you, cracking new course near caleta de fuste.

We found a "rock" bar with live performers this year, although it was a bit on the mancunian chav type set up, we still had a good time.

Loads of bars and restaurants to choose from - but a million miles away from the sort of atmosphere that you get from magaluf and the likes.

They do catamaran trips, fishing, scuba diving etc.

Not exactly state of the art but have a look at http://www.fuerteventura.com/

All the best.

If you change your mind on the type of holiday you want - go skiing