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Holidays 2025

We’re off to Spain next week with our annual large golf group trip - always fun with the addition of the Ryder Cup this year. New resort which is always interesting with a mixed ability group.

In November were booked to go to San Diego and on to Palm Springs but not sure if the USA is the best place to go currently.
 
We had a weekend break in Bruges a couple of years ago in December highly recommended, last City break was Berlin one of the very few places I wouldn’t go back to.
 
Is it a Croatia thing with lack of beaches that make the locals sunbathe on rocks 🤔
We saw it at numerous places when we did the Adriatic cruise.Locals sunbathing on rocks.
 
Neilds said:
Just got back from 10 days in Dubrovnik. Stayed about 45 minutes walk form the Old Town in Lapad, lovely peninsula with cracking sea views. Strip just outside the hotel with lots of bars and restaurants and a promenade with more bars and restaurants along the sea edge to watch the sunsets. No sandy beaches but the locals love sea swimming and all along the peninsula their were steps down to the rocks and concrete had been poured to flatten out some of the rocky areas. They then had areas roped off for swimming and steps into the sea. Some of the rocky areas looked really uncomfy but the locals just put a towel down and lay down.
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We’re down that way at the moment. The discomfort of being on rocky beaches is more than offset by swimming in such beautiful surroundings - the snorkelling here is something else.
 
Tashyboy said:
Is it a Croatia thing with lack of beaches that make the locals sunbathe on rocks 🤔
We saw it at numerous places when we did the Adriatic cruise.Locals sunbathing on rocks.
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There are few sandy beaches here, Tash, if any. I think those which do exist are all man made - it’s not a sandy coastline.
 
New York booked for next year, fancied more of a doing holiday rather than a fly and flop. I'll be fine but the kids need to up their cardio beforehand.
 
Like th
Lord Tyrion said:
@Neilds we've been to Cavtat a couple of times and locals laying on the rocks blew my mind as well. So many do it, it must be horribly uncomfortable. Doesn't seem to bother them though 🤷
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Just back from a week in Madeira and same there. I’m guessing that that’s why Madeira was considered an ‘oldies’ holiday destination back 70s and 80s, maybe even more recently. No sandy beaches to get fried on; none for the kids to build sandcastles. Just coastal and mountain walking. The Med was where the young folk and families went for their sunny hols.

I can recall a bunch of mates heading to Dubrovnik coast for a hol back very early 1980s. They mentioned there were no beaches in the area but concrete platforms. Rest of us wondered at that, as it didn’t sound that attractive for young and largely unattached 20-something lads. They had a great time and went back the following year.

Anyway..me and mrs off to Paris on Friday (Eurostar) with five other couples - one of the girls having her 60th and it’s her wish. Four nights with us going to Longchamps on Sunday for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. Me and Mrs are not racing fans, but been assured we’ll enjoy it. Whatever…we’ll be with friends of 35 yrs.
 
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SwingsitlikeHogan said:
Like th

Just back from a week in Madeira and same there. I’m guessing that that’s why Madeira was considered an ‘oldies’ holiday destination back 70s and 80s, maybe even more recently. No sandy beaches to get fried on; none for the kids to build sandcastles. Just coastal and mountain walking. The Med was where the young folk and families went for their sunny hols.

I can recall a bunch of mates heading to Dubrovnik coast for a hol back very early 1980s. They mentioned there were no beaches in the area but concrete platforms. Rest of us wondered at that, as it didn’t sound that attractive for young and largely unattached 20-something lads. They had a great time and went back the following year.

Anyway..me and mrs off to Paris on Friday (Eurostar) with five other couples - one of the girls having her 60th and it’s her wish. Four nights with us going to Longchamps on Sunday for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. Me and Mrs are not racing fans, but been assured we’ll enjoy it. Whatever…we’ll be with friends of 35 yrs.
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What did you think of Madeira? Always been put off by the old fogies moniker it received. Even though I'm an old fogey myself now
 
Red devil said:
What did you think of Madeira? Always been put off by the old fogies moniker it received. Even though I'm an old fogey myself now
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Me and my Mrs have both come away feeling a bit ambivalent about Madeira - though that also feels a bit ‘ungrateful’.

It’s a beautiful mountainous island with staggering cliffs plunging down into the Atlantic. Almost half the island population live in Funchal…a city of 105,000. We stayed in the centre and old part of Funchal and it’s lovely.

The rest of the population is scattered around the coast in pretty villages and small towns - there is very little in the way of villages in the interior of the island - though there are some in the main ‘gorges’ that cut down and through the island.

When driving outside Funchal most of our driving between coastal villages and locations was through tunnels. It is an odd experience. The original coastal roads were very, very difficult - and so 150 tunnels and many connecting bridges have been constructed, and the old roads closed. The tunnels vary in length from a couple of hundred meters to numbers of kilometres. I liken it to driving a motorway at night - driving in the dark usually with a little bit of lighting (the tunnels) then into the bright light of a junction, then back into the dark. The bright bits are usually between tunnels where a roundabout junction gives options of heading inland to the mountains or down to the coast. You don’t get much coastal driving.

Driving inland there are a few roads up into the mountains. These going very high (over 4000 ft) - you get spectacular views. Driving can be scary due to the speed that locals drive the main roads and tunnels…the lanes are narrow (esp. the dual carriageway ones).

As it’s volcanic and given the nature of the coast, there are very few sandy ‘beaches’ - and those there are are black sand. Most of the small beaches are pebbly or small boulders. A few villages and small towns have sea water swimming pools - some natural (spectacular), some built, some have concrete platforms built for sunbathing. It’s not a beach holiday destination.

The main attraction for holidaymakers is walking in the mountains along well formed tracks many using the old water irrigation system (the levadas). There is some coastal walking with most of it being along the, now mostly closed to through traffic, old coastal roads. Due to the popularity of walking some of the walks can get very crowded. We didn’t do any walking…but we read there are less crowded walks for everyone.

There are a couple of golf courses that will be spectacular I'm sure, and a new Faldo-designed one at the very west end of the island that will be extraordinary - but not sure its what that part of the island needs (there have been many accusations of corruption related to getting development and planning permission for it).

The cable cars are astonishing…and most are fun. There are many around the island as the locals built them to move themselves and stuff up and down the very steep hillsides and cliffs. One is staggeringly steep…almost vertical down a 1000+ ft drop. It was closed for maintenance. We were relieved.

We had lovely Airbnb accommodation in a beautiful small village (Jardim do Mar) with a great view of cliffs and the next village. But my Mrs commented more than once that we’ve had similar accommodation and views in Cornwall - we’d have paid the same for the accommodation, but we would not have paid £600 for our flights and £300 for our car hire (pretty much essential if you want to get around).

The people are lovely and very friendly. Food and drink (Madeira wine and puncha the local specialities) is excellent and not expensive.

I’m not sure that the island can cope with the much increased volume of tourism that the improved roads have encouraged.

I’ve tried to be honest in this. We enjoyed our week….however 🤔 If you are keen walkers out for adventurous walks then great. We are mid-60s.
 
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Red devil said:
What did you think of Madeira? Always been put off by the old fogies moniker it received. Even though I'm an old fogey myself now
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For something different, go for NYE. We went a number of years ago and they have a spectacular firework display. Because of the shape of the bay, with mountains around, and also using boats they have a 360* display and it lasts a lot longer than the displays in London.
We didn't have a car so can't comment on the driving, but we did a levada walk to a waterfall which was amazing (if a little scary in some parts - long drop to one side!). Locals were friendly and food was amazing.
 
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