1st villa holiday - where?

[Nic-nfr74]

Looking to try something new this year - we all fancy a villa holiday.

No idea where to start considering - so after some recommendations and ideas please

ideally we would like a villa with a pool, walk into a nice town with a few nice bars, restaurants that's not to nightclub, piss up!!!! more upmarket

Close to a beach / coast would be nice too.

Either fly and hire a car or ferry and drive.

[mikef]

We usually do a villa every year. For a good choice of affordable villas that meet your criteria (although prob more of a short drive than a walk to town) you might look at Pollensa in eastern Majorca

[numtumfutunch]

mikef said:

We usually do a villa every year. For a good choice of affordable villas that meet your criteria (although prob more of a short drive than a walk to town) you might look at Pollensa in eastern Majorca

This

/endthread

Loads of flights
Loads of villa rentals
Loads of car rental
Loads of supermarkets
Loads of local shops
And its lovely

[Nic-nfr74]

That's both - going to have a look right now!!!!

[moffspeed]

Carvoeiro on the Algarve ticks all those boxes (but I m biased).

Are there (young) children in tow ?

Best advice I can give is to go with one of the established (bigger) Villa Agencies, they are more accountable & tend to have the better (if more expensive) Villas.

Edited by moffspeed on Wednesday 25th February 16:07

[Nic-nfr74]

No young ones anymore, just to 20s sons

[alscar]

When the children were younger we went to Portugal each year for a few years and always used Villa Plus.
Stayed in around 5 different places with the criteria being able to walk to different restaurants for dinner.
Relatively short flight and easy to get around.
Lots to do in terms of waterparks etc.

[037]

Someone beat me to it but again Puerto Pollenca.
Pine walk is amazing, but a villa there will be expensive for just one family, there are some lovely spacious garden apartments too.
Also had a great villa very close to Pollenca old town. Great for kids and familiys and never any idiots there

[Simbu]

Another vote for Puerto Pollenca!

Been several times with kids and friends. If you're lucky you will see the Spanish military sea planes landing out in the bay

[mikef]

037 said:

Someone beat me to it but again Puerto Pollenca.
Pine walk is amazing, but a villa there will be expensive for just one family, there are some lovely spacious garden apartments too.
Also had a great villa very close to Pollenca old town. Great for kids and familiys and never any idiots there

Didn't David Cameron always holiday there?

[craig1912]

Algarve. We always rented in Pria de Luz through Owners Direct

https://www.ownersdirectholidays.com/

[smifffymoto2]

Son Bou on Menorca fits the OP’s requirements.

[Rob 131 Sport]

Another vote for the Algarve. For Villa holidays based on my experience you really can’t beat it.

[037]

mikef said:

037 said:

Someone beat me to it but again Puerto Pollenca.
Pine walk is amazing, but a villa there will be expensive for just one family, there are some lovely spacious garden apartments too.
Also had a great villa very close to Pollenca old town. Great for kids and familiys and never any idiots there

Didn't David Cameron always holiday there?

Never bumped into him

[lufbramatt]

We did a villa near pollenca last year. Was stunning. Villa was on the road that goes up over the mountains to soller a couple of miles outside pollenca. Lovely and quiet, beautiful scenery. Pollenca itself has loads of restaurants in a big square.

[NDA]

mikef said:

We usually do a villa every year. For a good choice of affordable villas that meet your criteria (although prob more of a short drive than a walk to town) you might look at Pollensa in eastern Majorca

I've done Pollenca a few times - it's very easy. You need a car, which again is very easy. The airport works and the people are lovely - although one year we did have our villa burgled (which I'm told is a common problem) so be warned.

The old town is great (restaurants and bars) and the port (where the beach and more bars are) is a short drive away. There are a few off the beaten path beaches too.

In recent years we head to Provence in the south of France for a few weeks - but it's obviously a completely different sort of holiday...

[Ste-EVo]

Cala D'or Mallorca meets the OPs criteria.

Beautiful marina, some great old and working towns and villages near by. Has a bit more up market feel than some other Mallorquin resorts. A little more lively than Pollensa.

And being Mallorca, its easy to get to, has something for everyone and the people are lovely.

[CSR Performance]

mikef said:

We usually do a villa every year. For a good choice of affordable villas that meet your criteria (although prob more of a short drive than a walk to town) you might look at Pollença in eastern Majorca

Exactly where I was going to suggest for the criteria given.

[The Grouch]

Sorry to hijack the thread. Pollenca is known to be very popular with Brits. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I'm British myself but I've witnessed some embarrasing behaviour by Brits abroad.

[NDA]

The Grouch said:

Sorry to hijack the thread. Pollenca is known to be very popular with Brits. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I'm British myself but I've witnessed some embarrasing behaviour by Brits abroad.

There are two parts to Pollenca - the 'port' (looks nothing like a port really) and the 'old town'. They are some distance apart - you need a car.

The port is very touristy with 'British breakfasts' and beer with Sky football being shown - there are some nice parts, but it's very touristy. It has a huge, flat and sandy beach and you can get away from the tourists easily.

The old town is very different - medieval in feel, it seemed mostly full of locals when I was there (three holidays), lots of little restaurants and bars - a large town square with frequent markets.

I would definitely recommend Pollenca for a family holiday - it has most things to keep everyone amused.