June sun in Europe?

[snowman99]

Any good ideas for places to go in June for some sunshine on a budget with two small children (2 and 4)? The younger one is not good with long drives.
I was thinking rural south of France maybe as I can find fairly inexpensive AirBnBs but then flight options are limited and car hire from smaller airports costs an arm and a leg. But it seems a good area for likely warmth and a bit of European/Mediterranean culture.
Thinking Cornwall etc is too far (6 hours drive) and may not be warm. Canaries an option but I’d prefer a shorter flight. Loire valley would be fine, think it is fairly warm? But how to get there without the long drive around?

Maybe Spain or Portugal will be better for sunshine and relatively regular/cheap flights etc. Not particularly keen on being stuck in a resort / hotel but if that’s the only cost effective way I may relent.

[NDA]

I was disabused of my views on Mallorca on this forum some years ago. I assumed it was some sort of Club 18-30 swamp full of yobs on a bender. Completely wrong.

Mallorca is a fabulous island - I went 3 years on the trot with a youngish family. Easy airport. Easy car hire. Easy villa hire. Great weather and beaches - and, lovely Spanish people who are superb hosts. Nothing too much trouble for them.

[nebpor]

Also Malaga - great airport, fine Spanish city itself (with a beach), lots of little resorts snuggled along the beautiful coast, no need to go anywhere near the Benelmadina/Torremolinos type places

[J8 SVG]

We've done three holidays in the south of france in the Draguignan area - Callas, Feyence, Figanières etc - it's around an hour from Nice Airport and there are lots of lovely rural airbnbs but you are likely to be quite remote so if you want lots of restaurants, beaches bars etc it wont be for you

[craig1912]

I’d go to one of the Greek islands

[vixen1700]

North West Corfu is a firm favourite for a quick gettaway.

[anonymous-user]

craig1912 said:

I’d go to one of the Greek islands

Was going to suggest this too

[elise2000]

If out of school holidays, then flights to Croatia are currently very cheap indeed.

[Gareth1974]

It's clearly not rural, but I've had a good family holiday by getting a decent apartment in Nice itself, which gives lots of options for evening meals etc, then just travelling around on the train or bus. This way you avoid needing to hire a car, and there are loads of good places for a day out just a few minutes away on the train - Antibes, Villefranche, Beaulieu sur Mer, Monaco (not to everybody's taste, but my son loved going in the famous swimming pool and walking the circuit, also a great aquarium there), Cannes, Menton, or a bus to lovely Eze in the hills.

[98elise]

craig1912 said:

I’d go to one of the Greek islands

Agreed. We loved both holidays we had in the Greek Islands, especially the food!

Edited by 98elise on Tuesday 15th March 09:54

[Bannock]

Sardinia is worth a look. Usually cheap flights, nice and warm in June, fairly easy to find cheap accomodation near a beach. Not very big so nothing's very far from an airport in driving terms.

[soxboy]

NDA said:

I was disabused of my views on Mallorca on this forum some years ago. I assumed it was some sort of Club 18-30 swamp full of yobs on a bender. Completely wrong.

Mallorca is a fabulous island - I went 3 years on the trot with a youngish family. Easy airport. Easy car hire. Easy villa hire. Great weather and beaches - and, lovely Spanish people who are superb hosts. Nothing too much trouble for them.

I would second this, some lovely places at decent value outside of school holidays.

Car hire is expensive this year everywhere, I assume stocks haven't been replenished following Covid and the operators can't get the bulk discounts they are used to, so high prices all round. We're off on a long weekend to Ibiza on June and it's the first time we've gone to the island without hiring a car.

[soxboy]

If you like the Loire Valley you could fly to Nantes, cheap Ryanair flights from the UK.

[LuS1fer]

Spain can still be very wet, even in June
Maybe Cyprus?

[Shnozz]

LuS1fer said:

Spain can still be very wet, even in June
Maybe Cyprus?

Eh? Unless you are talking the very North...

I have never had more than the odd random day of bad weather in June. Same for July and August (and May and September are usually perfect too). This time of year can be raining (as it has been a lot last few weeks and coming by the forecast) and I have known October to be either lovely or a lot of rain as the cold drops (gota fria) can bring storms as the country cools down.

Certainly wouldn't describe June as wet, let alone very.

You watch, will piss it down this June now.

[LuS1fer]

Shnozz said:

Eh? Unless you are talking the very North...

I have never had more than the odd random day of bad weather in June. Same for July and August (and May and September are usually perfect too). This time of year can be raining (as it has been a lot last few weeks and coming by the forecast) and I have known October to be either lovely or a lot of rain as the cold drops (gota fria) can bring storms as the country cools down.

Certainly wouldn't describe June as wet, let alone very.

You watch, will piss it down this June now.

It did, while I was there. In June. Maybe unlucky...

Edited to add it was May that was wet, twice.

Edited by LuS1fer on Tuesday 15th March 09:54

[NDA]

Worth adding that the south of France is buttock-clenchingly expensive. Unlike Mallorca or some of the non French destinations mentioned.

[Jaguar steve]

NDA said:

Worth adding that the south of France is buttock-clenchingly expensive. Unlike Mallorca or some of the non French destinations mentioned.

The Baleric islands and Croatia aren't cheap anymore but France doesn't have to be expensive. Two of us have done several extended road trips down the Atlantic coast and round the SoF for back of a fag packet under E200 a day including ferry crossings.

Stay out of the cities, go self catering using Air BNB, buy food and wine from markets, take picnics out for lunch and do the whole trip in a small diesel car and that's easily achievable.

[98elise]

NDA said:

I was disabused of my views on Mallorca on this forum some years ago. I assumed it was some sort of Club 18-30 swamp full of yobs on a bender. Completely wrong.

Mallorca is a fabulous island - I went 3 years on the trot with a youngish family. Easy airport. Easy car hire. Easy villa hire. Great weather and beaches - and, lovely Spanish people who are superb hosts. Nothing too much trouble for them.

Good to hear, I'll put Mallorca on my to do list.

I avoided Spain as a destination for decades because of the stereotype, but I've been pleasantly surprised by my Spanish holidays. We just aviod the obvious hotspots and try to explore the surrounding areas more. Renting a car and a Vila is a must for me.

[LuS1fer]

98elise said:

Good to hear, I'll put Mallorca on my to do list.

I avoided Spain as a destination for decades because of the stereotype, but I've been pleasantly surprised by my Spanish holidays. We just aviod the obvious hotspots and try to explore the surrounding areas more. Renting a car and a Vila is a must for me.

Avoiding the yob areas is key. Magaluf would be a no but the rest of the island is extremely nice and you can say the same about places like Ibiza.

I have been to some fabulous places in Spain like Ronda, Granada, Cabo de Nijar, Peniscola and Morella. The key is avoiding the tourist areas.