By Owe Carter
For those without young children, the time following the summer holiday is the ideal time to get away. It’s still generally pretty warm, and the crowds have dispersed.
If you’re looking to get away during this period, we’ve got some suggestions for dream destinations and great things to do:
Malcesine on Lake Garda, Italy
Italy’s largest lake is a stunning spot. Confused.com’s Zoë Stevens says it’s “probably the most relaxing place I’ve ever been”. But if you are feeling active, you can take a cable car up Monte Baldo and walk back down. Plus you can take a day trip to Venice, or Milan… Or both.
The nearest airport to Lake Garda is Verona, which is served by chartered flights. Alternatively, Marco Polo airport in Venice is about an hour and a half away by train. Train tickets can be booked here.
San Sebastián, Northern Spain
San Sebastián is a beach resort in the Basque Country, on the south coast of the Bay of Biscay. Our very own Matt Crole-Rees says: “this place is amazing, and is the tapas capital of Spain”. And who doesn’t love tapas?
The closest airport is Biarritz in France, which is about 40 minutes away. Bilbao is also an hour away, and – if you’re in no particular rush – you can take the cruise ferry down from Portsmouth.
Granada, Southern Spain
Staff member Ian Clarke rhapsodised about Grenada. Take it away, Ian!: “My favourite city. Free tapas in every bar, very few tourists, beautiful architecture and steeped in history. Skiing is within half an hour, even though the city is warm. There’s a hot spa just outside the city for some naked bathing*! Everyone eats and makes merry out on the streets and in the parks (botellón); there’s plenty of Spanish guitar, singing and clapping watching the sunset from Church of San Nicolas with a view of l’Alhambra; Turkish baths; a mish-mash of Moorish/Spanish influences… It’s the best city in the world: FACT!”
*Perhaps not everyone’s cup of tea, this.
Zakynthos (Zante), Greece
According to our head of household services, Gareth Kloet: “This is an absolutely amazing place. It’s developing fast, but beautiful all the same. The beaches are clean, as are the seas with white sand and warm water.
“I know parts can be full of 18-30 revellers; but literally hundreds of metres away you can escape the masses. It’s the home of the loggerhead turtle. You can swim out to see them as they are only 15 to 50 metres from the shore. I came across two before wondering if they were carnivorous, as I spotted how large they really are –imagine the size of a small tractor tyre.”
Key West, Florida
Confused.com staff member Chris Smith is a big fan of Key West. He says: “Duval Street is very busy, but the rest of Key West is quiet and peaceful. Plus it’s one of the few places in the US where you can see the sun both rise and set over the ocean.”
It’s possible to go swimming with dolphins in the wild, and there are stunning coral reefs if you’re into diving.
Key West has its own airport, but Chris suggests an alternative: “The drive down from Miami is superb… Watch out for alligators on the side of the road!”
Other holiday ideas
We love our holidays at Confused.com, and we’ve put together several more articles jam-packed with ideas:
-
Our favourite city breaks article here recommends Tallinn, Bilbao and Kraków. Plus it includes Paris, Berlin and New York – obvious choices, but obvious for good reason.
- Fancy staying in the UK? Our article ‘The Great (Affordable) Escape’ covers Padstow in Cornwall, Conwy in North Wales and Liverpool. And there’s a whole load of recommendations in ‘The best British holidays you’ve never taken’, including The Peak District, Scottish west coast islands, Dorset and Gwent.
- For non-landlubbers, there’s our top five favourite cruise destinations, in which we talk about cruises around Panama, the Med, the Nile, South Africa and… er, Alaska. Brrr!
-
Our top ten tourist-free destinations has several interesting and adventurous recommendations.
