# Chill out break for 2 adults in October in Europe



## colin79ie (18 Jul 2019)

So, we finally get to drop the kids for s few days near the end of October and are hoping for a 5 night break somewhere in Europe, ie not too long a flight.

We're after a bit of complete relaxation and I was wondering if anyone could share any past experience on where to go or nice hotels where the weather will still be reasonable at that time of year ?


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## odyssey06 (18 Jul 2019)

Barcelona, Nice or Malta springs to mind re: ok weather & flight times, and somewhere you can get around mostly on foot \ public transport.
Beaches in Nice are shingly.
Malta would have better beaches but not in Valetta, need to go to St Julian's or somewhere more resort-y.


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## dereko1969 (18 Jul 2019)

End October is risky weather wise, so Malta as stated or the Canaries might be your best bet. Cyprus might be another. 
By 'reasonable" I'm taking you mean sunny rather than not raining.


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## noproblem (18 Jul 2019)

Cyprus is beautiful in October, you might get an odd sulky day, you'll be very unlucky though if that happens.  M any others like yourself will be there. Ryanair fly direct to Paphos, driving is the same side of the road as here and it won't cost you a fortune.


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## Sol28 (22 Jul 2019)

Love Lisbon for a city break, short flight, small walk able city, plenty of day trips if you want. Weather is pretty good there most of the year.


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## Peanuts20 (22 Jul 2019)

San Sebastian, fly into Bilbao and its an easy 45 minute bus journey from there.


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## galway_blow_in (22 Jul 2019)

Seville


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## noproblem (22 Jul 2019)

Where ever you go let us know here, it will help others.


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## Purple (23 Jul 2019)

I went to Malta once. By a fair distance the worst holiday I ever had.


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## odyssey06 (23 Jul 2019)

Purple said:


> I went to Malta once. By a fair distance the worst holiday I ever had.



What went wrong? The hotel? The food? The weather? 

I had a nice holiday there, was September time, although first night we arrived at hotel they shunted us to another hotel around the corner which was annoying though it was for just one night. Seems to be a trend there with hotel over-booking.


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## Purple (23 Jul 2019)

The Hotel, the food and the weather.

The food reminded me of being in Moscow in 1989.
It rained most of the time.
The hotel was dirty and shoddy.
The people were unfriendly.
I hated it.


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## Feemar5 (23 Jul 2019)

Was in Malta a couple of years ago - would not be rushing back.    It was o.k. but hotels are not great unless you pay for a 5 star.


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## Tintagel (23 Jul 2019)

Had a horrible holiday in Malta many many years ago. Shamrock Apartments....Buggibba. Never wanted to go back.


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## muinteoir (24 Jul 2019)

It depends what you are looking for. If you would like to wander around and see things Prague and Krakow are a nice size. Plenty of nice food in Krakow but I found it difficult to find nice food in Krakow though I'm sure there are places you could go. Both are interesting cities with things you can do with walking distance of the centre. Lots of little museums in both. Lots of music and other forms of entertainment in Prague.


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## Purple (24 Jul 2019)

I loved Krakow. We went to a fantastic Hungarian Restaurant (twice).
Great city, highly recommended. Do the free walking tours and don't be too upset when you learn that Schindler's List was almost total fantasy.


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## Bronte (24 Jul 2019)

Good to know that in Malta the food is terrible and the hotels not good to tourists.  It being an island means you're trapped.  

We stayed in Benalmedina, Spain,  in the Sunset Beach Club a couple of times.  The hotel is very English but we had lovely apartments. You don't need a car, it's right at the end of the beach and you can meander each day down to the main area which has loads of restaurants.  Best thing is you fly into Malaga and I think it was 20 minutes in a taxi.  I can't stand long transfer times or flights at unbearable house.  Particularly if it's a 5 night trip. You can also get a bus to other places.  We went to Marbella/Puerto Banous for a change of scene.  

We did one week all inclusive in Egypt in order to get good weather last February, it's a bit far but doable, not for 5 days though. You'd need 7.  

You really need to do your home work on that if you don't want to spend your holiday soaked like happened to me the only time I went to Barcelona.  And we were frozen in Prague one year, I should have packed ski clothes.  It was so bitter that we had to go into a shop to defrost with the kids walking down the main street.  Prague, Paris and London have way too many tourists if you ask me.

Maybe Morrocco is nice in October, that's very doable.


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## Slim (24 Jul 2019)

muinteoir said:


> Plenty of nice food in Krakow but I found it difficult to find nice food in Krakow....


Muinteoir. I suspect a mis-type. Could you clarify as both are in the running for a city break later in the year?


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## Purple (24 Jul 2019)

Forget Krakow if you are looking for complete relaxation.
It involves lots of walking (we averaged about 15Km per day).


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## Tintagel (24 Jul 2019)

Estepona is lovely. We had a week there last October. Got bus direct from airport. Mix of new promenade and old town behind.


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## Purple (24 Jul 2019)

Tintagel said:


> Estepona is lovely. We had a week there last October. Got bus direct from airport. Mix of new promenade and old town behind.


Are there Irish Bars?
I hate Irish bars and the people they attract. I won't say anywhere that has more than a couple of them.


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## Bronte (24 Jul 2019)

Purple said:


> Are there Irish Bars?
> I hate Irish bars and the people they attract. I won't say anywhere that has more than a couple of them.


There were quite a few in Benalmedina.  We never went inside them.


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## muinteoir (15 Aug 2019)

Slim said:


> Muinteoir. I suspect a mis-type. Could you clarify as both are in the running for a city break later in the year?


Sorry meant to say that I didn't really like the food in Prague. Lovely food in Poland.


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## muinteoir (15 Aug 2019)

Purple said:


> Forget Krakow if you are looking for complete relaxation.
> It involves lots of walking (we averaged about 15Km per day).


Can't imagine walking 15km a day in Kraków. The centre of the town is very compact. Museums are very small so you can pick and choose the ones you want to visit. Can't remember how far away the castle is. You'd need to visit the mines by bus because it's not in the centre.


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## Gordon Gekko (15 Aug 2019)

colin79ie said:


> So, we finally get to drop the kids for s few days near the end of October and are hoping for a 5 night break somewhere in Europe, ie not too long a flight.
> 
> We're after a bit of complete relaxation and I was wondering if anyone could share any past experience on where to go or nice hotels where the weather will still be reasonable at that time of year ?



Not exactly within the brief, but given most of your requirements, I would recommend Dubai.

5 nights is perfect, the weather is almost guaranteed to be perfect, the hotels are superb, and the flight isn’t too bad at all (7 hours but the times are user friendly).

For complete relaxation and guaranteed good weather in October, Dubai is hard to beat in my view.


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## xoxoxo (16 Aug 2019)

Dubrovnik, Zadar, Venice,  Verona, Lisbon, Kaashi or Barcelona would be my preference.


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## noproblem (16 Aug 2019)

Gordon Gekko said:


> Not exactly within the brief, but given most of your requirements, I would recommend Dubai.
> 
> 5 nights is perfect, the weather is almost guaranteed to be perfect, the hotels are superb, and the flight isn’t too bad at all (7 hours but the times are user friendly).
> 
> For complete relaxation and guaranteed good weather in October, Dubai is hard to beat in my view.



Gordon,
Might indeed be nice, but would flying for 7 hours to and fro not take 2 days away from the persons 5 night break?


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## Purple (16 Aug 2019)

muinteoir said:


> Can't imagine walking 15km a day in Kraków. The centre of the town is very compact. Museums are very small so you can pick and choose the ones you want to visit. Can't remember how far away the castle is. You'd need to visit the mines by bus because it's not in the centre.


And yet it happened... spookey!

We stayed just outside the Old City on the opposite side to the Jewish Quarter so a walk to there was 3.5K. We did a walking tour of the old town the first morning and a walking tour of the Jewish Quarter that afternoon. In total we clocked up 20km that day. 
The second day we did a day trip to Auschwitz which also involved quite a bit of walking as the main camp is massive.
The third day was back to the Jewish Quarter, over to the area that was the Ghetto, back to the Castle and back to where we were staying before going back into the old town for dinner. I think we did 18km that day.
We ate in the Balaton Hungarian Restaurant twice because it was superb.


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## Gordon Gekko (16 Aug 2019)

noproblem said:


> Gordon,
> Might indeed be nice, but would flying for 7 hours to and fro not take 2 days away from the persons 5 night break?



Not in my experience. If you get the 22.25 flight out on, say, Tuesday night, you can work Tuesday and get yourself organised in the evening. The traffic’s grand heading to the airport. You fly overnight so sleeping’s not a big deal. You don’t waste money on a hotel for the Tuesday night. You arrive in the morning but the decent hotels all have excellent facilities for guests who can’t get to their room yet. So you can shower, change, and head to the beach/pool and charge stuff to your room. You then have the full day. And then on the way back, Sunday maybe, you gain time and the flight times are good (leave at 2.30pm which is good check-out wise) and arrive in Dublin at 6.30pm-ish which is decent in terms of getting sorted for Monday morning.


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## muinteoir (20 Aug 2019)

xoxoxo said:


> Dubrovnik, Zadar, Venice,  Verona, Lisbon, Kaashi or Barcelona would be my preference.


Dubrovnik is an excellent choice. Little minibus runs from the areas outside the city where a lot of the hotels are. Beautiful weather and plenty of interesting things to see. 
Lisbon is quite hilly so you'd need to choose wisely for hotel but museums are close to each other and are in flat areas.


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## Kimmagegirl (20 Aug 2019)

We have a holiday every October in Spain. Last year we did Estepona. Rented an apartment overlooking the beach for a week. Lovely old town behind.
Heading to Girona and coast this October, hotel stay this time.  We have already booked a holiday apartment near Calpe for October 2020.


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## PMU (20 Aug 2019)

Naples. Try the Mercure Napoli Centro Angioino.


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## Pugmister (20 Aug 2019)

We have just retuned from Cyprus for the second year in a row.

We stayed in Park Lane this year and the Amathus Beach Hotel last year. I would highly recommend both. Speaking to members of staff in the hotel they said weather remains pretty good throughout most of the year so october should have nice temperatures.

Dubai as previously recommended would also be a good option


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## Gorteen (6 Sep 2019)

Lake Garda is awesome


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## EmmDee (10 Sep 2019)

Can someone explain the attraction of Dubai to me? Other than staying in a mad hotel? It's not exactly a place you're going to stroll around and see the sites. To my mind it is like Las Vegas rather than a city break or chill out spot.

I know it's popular but I just don't understand it (I've only been once btw - so not an expert)


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## Gorteen (17 Sep 2019)

October in the Algarve is really nice. Not too hot but still beach weather


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## Leper (17 Sep 2019)

Purple said:


> Are there Irish Bars?
> I hate Irish bars and the people they attract. I won't say anywhere that has more than a couple of them.



I wouldn't get hung up one way or the other about Irish Bars. Nobody was ever press-ganged to attending. In the south of Spain most Irish bars are about as Irish as Boris Johnson. Where we still are in Costa Almeria the two "Irish" bars failed to cover any of the Senior Hurling Championship in favour of Scalextric. For the record I saw all the championship hurling matches in July and August in an English bar. Mind you, it was different watching them in near 40 degrees of sunshine. Thank God for aircon.

Days before the All Ireland Hurling Final the proprietor of one "Irish" bar informed me that if I could muster up a few Paddys she would allocate a lesser television on the bar terrace for the occasion. I got a little bit of schadenfreude advising her that us Paddys were going to watch the final in a nearby English bar and on the main television screen. And on the big day about 40 spending Paddys waved back to her while about a half dozen Brexit Brits drank their "halfs" pedantically in her "Irish" bar.


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## noproblem (17 Sep 2019)

I'm off to La Pineda in the morning, staying half board in a new hotel almost on the beach. Called myself to trhe hotel just before it started taking guests last June and got a great deal. Weather is usually beautiful this time of the year in La Pineda but i'm hearing it might be iffy towards the end of the week. Let you know how it went when I get back


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## Gordon Gekko (17 Sep 2019)

EmmDee said:


> Can someone explain the attraction of Dubai to me? Other than staying in a mad hotel? It's not exactly a place you're going to stroll around and see the sites. To my mind it is like Las Vegas rather than a city break or chill out spot.
> 
> I know it's popular but I just don't understand it (I've only been once btw - so not an expert)



It mightn’t be everyone’s cup of tea. I like it mainly because you are almost guaranteed good weather whereas Spain/Portugal/the Canaries/etc can be dodgy weather-wise from October to March. The food and service in the hotels is great. There are good waterparks and kids’ clubs etc. The sea is warm. It’s less strict than other jurisdictions in the region but it’s safe relative to others.


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## daveb (17 Oct 2019)

noproblem said:


> I'm off to La Pineda in the morning, staying half board in a new hotel almost on the beach. Called myself to trhe hotel just before it started taking guests last June and got a great deal. Weather is usually beautiful this time of the year in La Pineda but i'm hearing it might be iffy towards the end of the week. Let you know how it went when I get back


Hi would be delighted to know how you got on. Looking for a similar short break myself to somewhere relatively close, warm and just chillax for a few days.


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## noproblem (17 Oct 2019)

Morning daveb,
Sorry, I did mean to report back but of course life takes twists and turns and all that. Spent 10 days in mostly beautiful weather averaging 25 deg. Stayed half board in Golden Costa Salou almost on the beach, had stayed in a sister hotel  Golden Donaire 100 meters away before and that is on the beach. Breakfasts were good and evening meal was grand but nothing special. These half boards follow a pattern in most 4 star hotels and one gets used to them. The hotel had a fabulous spa and fitness room which was included in the price along with steam room, sauna, and hot stone beds, all included in the price. Very good sun bathing facilities on 2 floors with nice background music on the top floor one inc a full bed choice for people who liked the heat but couldn't take the sun. Guests were mostly in the older age group and it was adults only. Rooms had fabulous showers, a coffee pod machine with 2 pods supplied each day along with 2 free bottles of water. Some might like the next offering which was a 40 inch television with lots of english choices and a facility on it to get Nedtflix and movies, this Netflix and movie choice incurred a cost. There's a very long soft sand beach right beside the hotel, sunbeds cost €5 per day and little coffe huts are all along the beach at reasonable cost. The town itself is typical Spanish, cafe's, restaurants, to suit all tastes, plenty of shops and a market around 500 meter walk from your hotel every Friday (I think) Yes, it's worth going to, handbags, T shirts, shoes, runners, belts, etc, etc, etc.  Buses available 100 meters from hotel, guides on hand to tell you what you need to know about where to go, cost, etc, to Salou, Barcelona, and anywhere you might want to go to. I didn't hire a car but lots do, they're not expensive but drive on the right. Went with Ryanair and we were astonished with how parents take children out from school just as the new term begins, full of primary and secondary school kids and their parents. Rant over! We booked the hotel itself the last time we were in La Pineda, the hotel wasn't finished or open at the time but they were taking bookings and we got a great deal. I was told that a lot of La Pineda and Salou half closes from now on as they consider the season over so be careful if you're going there. We're in our 60's and enjoy this resort and also Salou. Sept and Oct are lovely times to go there as the very hot months are just over and will be going again. Hope to hit Fuerteventura before Xmas, with Corralejo our choice of resort, Hope this helps you daveb.


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## Leper (17 Oct 2019)

The price to rent property off season on the Spanish Costas has remained relatively low due to the happenings of Brexit. I'm not talking about the one/two week breaks. I'm referring to those who spend 3 or more weeks seeking some winter/spring sunshine, relaxation and quality time. Usually, these are people in their 60's and 70's. Retired Brits traditionally invade the Costas from mid October to mid April. Their numbers are reduced this year and there are bargains to be picked up for those Irish off season travellers. A centrally located, good apartment, 2 bedrooms, low rise can be got for less than €700 per four weeks including electricity cost with no hidden extras. You can get cheaper but . . .


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## daveb (17 Oct 2019)

noproblem said:


> Morning daveb,
> Sorry, I did mean to report back but of course life takes twists and turns and all that. Spent 10 days in mostly beautiful weather averaging 25 deg. Stayed half board in Golden Costa Salou almost on the beach, had stayed in a sister hotel  Golden Donaire 100 meters away before and that is on the beach. Breakfasts were good and evening meal was grand but nothing special. These half boards follow a pattern in most 4 star hotels and one gets used to them. The hotel had a fabulous spa and fitness room which was included in the price along with steam room, sauna, and hot stone beds, all included in the price. Very good sun bathing facilities on 2 floors with nice background music on the top floor one inc a full bed choice for people who liked the heat but couldn't take the sun. Guests were mostly in the older age group and it was adults only. Rooms had fabulous showers, a coffee pod machine with 2 pods supplied each day along with 2 free bottles of water. Some might like the next offering which was a 40 inch television with lots of english choices and a facility on it to get Nedtflix and movies, this Netflix and movie choice incurred a cost. There's a very long soft sand beach right beside the hotel, sunbeds cost €5 per day and little coffe huts are all along the beach at reasonable cost. The town itself is typical Spanish, cafe's, restaurants, to suit all tastes, plenty of shops and a market around 500 meter walk from your hotel every Friday (I think) Yes, it's worth going to, handbags, T shirts, shoes, runners, belts, etc, etc, etc.  Buses available 100 meters from hotel, guides on hand to tell you what you need to know about where to go, cost, etc, to Salou, Barcelona, and anywhere you might want to go to. I didn't hire a car but lots do, they're not expensive but drive on the right. Went with Ryanair and we were astonished with how parents take children out from school just as the new term begins, full of primary and secondary school kids and their parents. Rant over! We booked the hotel itself the last time we were in La Pineda, the hotel wasn't finished or open at the time but they were taking bookings and we got a great deal. I was told that a lot of La Pineda and Salou half closes from now on as they consider the season over so be careful if you're going there. We're in our 60's and enjoy this resort and also Salou. Sept and Oct are lovely times to go there as the very hot months are just over and will be going again. Hope to hit Fuerteventura before Xmas, with Corralejo our choice of resort, Hope this helps you daveb.


Great detail and extremely informative. Really appreciate you responding. Thanks a mill.


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## WaterWater (17 Oct 2019)

noproblem.....Do you fly to Reus?  Easy to get to from airport?  Thanks


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## noproblem (17 Oct 2019)

WaterWater said:


> noproblem.....Do you fly to Reus?  Easy to get to from airport?  Thanks


Oh gosh, featherhead. Yes, flew Dublin to Reus return and used Hoppa for transfer.  We very seldom rent an apartment in Spain as there are very good hotel deals if you stay alert and can fly when you want to. Renting an apt is grand for lots of people, but for me it would have to be close to town, near the beach and have a pool because if this is not the case you're confined a bit. I have an apartment myself in Ayia Napa, Cyprus, not far from Nissi beach and it's been an excellent investment property. I use an agent over there who does everything for us and it rents for most of the year. We ourselves go over usually end of April, beginning of May for a couple of weeks and to sort out any niggles, but the agent, who has become a friend, is really excellent and very few problems. All above board in the tax sense and happy with it for now. Cyprus is a fabulous place to go to, driving on the same side as ourselves, nice people, not expensive, great food, wonderful ancient sights, etc, but the summers are too hot for us, ie, middle of June to beginning of Sept. Ryanair fly direct to Paphos and renting a car is not expensive. Some say it's in the eye of a needle in the sense of wars in the middle east and all that, but in some ways, is anywhere 100% safe?


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## daveb (18 Oct 2019)

noproblem said:


> Oh gosh, featherhead. Yes, flew Dublin to Reus return and used Hoppa for transfer.


Noproblem - Doesn't look like Ryan Air fly to Reus from end of Oct which is a pity. 
As you clearly know Paphos, could you recommend a hotel for some R&R, in a district that isn't closed down in early November. I went to Portugal around this time last year and the Algarve had effectively closed down for the Winter.


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## noproblem (18 Oct 2019)

daveb said:


> Noproblem - Doesn't look like Ryan Air fly to Reus from end of Oct which is a pity.
> As you clearly know Paphos, could you recommend a hotel for some R&R, in a district that isn't closed down in early November. I went to Portugal around this time last year and the Algarve had effectively closed down for the Winter.



I didn't know they stopped at the end of Oct but not surprised as the weather does take a big turn according to the locals and a lot of places close for the winter. Sorry dave but I don't actually know Paphos as it's on the complete opposite side of the island to Ayia Napa. Go to Tripadvisor and go on  the Paphos travel forum, shouldn't be too difficult. A lot of Britts retired there so they might have an Ex Pats page to check out


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## SoylentGreen (19 Oct 2019)

Looking at the European weather forecast last night, I see that temperatures were still in the low 20's around Europe. We have enjoyed many a holiday in October in Spain.  Some of the smaller places/restaurants will close midweek and open up for the weekend.  We were in Northern Spain about 10 days ago and this is what happened.


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## Deiseblue (19 Oct 2019)

Off to Barcelona for a few days on 5/11 - taking in Barca v Slavia Prague & Espanyol v Ludogrets .
Should be exciting times with the continuing protests running into the General Election on the 10/11 !
Traveling down from Pamplona taking in Osasuna v Villarreal


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