This site has been developed for people who have not been abroad on holiday before
I remember the first time on holiday in a foreign country I was a bit nervous and that was just my wife and I (My parents had the kids)
Our first trip was to Rhodes, a greek island which boasts more sunshine than any other Greek destination. Please read my experiences abroad, I have listed chronologically the places that I have been to.
Rhodes (Greece) August 2002
(Flight time 4 Hours)
(Transfer Time 30 Minutes)
As this was our first time on holiday outside the UK, we were nervous and excited of holidaying in a different country. Upon arrival at Diagoras International Airport (RHO) Paranoia set in as i believed that if i stayed in the sun for more than 2 minutes I would start to burn (naive or what) I wore factor 50 cream and was white all week due to the thickness of the nivea suncream.Arriving at our apartments which were on the south side of Faliraki, we were a good 20 minute walk from the noise of Bar St & Club St, where the 18-30 epicentre is. Bar St is a narrow road with bars on both banging out music every night, during the day these bars serve food and it is quite pleasant.
During our stay we made 3 trips, these were, Rhodes Old Town, Lindos & Marmaris (Turkey)
Rhodes Old Town
This place is a fortress that was built by the English 800 years ago to defend against the invading turks.
It is a magical place that sends you back as though you were in the 12th century. The larger Rhodes
New Town lacks the character of the old town.
Lindos
Roughly 20-25 miles south of Faliraki, which is a small town with a market and a acropolis, you may well
be thinking thats boring, i will give that a miss, but it would be a crime to go to Rhodes and not to go to
Lindos as this is the most beautiful resort that i have ever been to. A local lady named Marietta told my
wife Lorraine "Every time that I go to Lindos its like going for the first time" enough said.
Marmaris (Turkey)
We took a catamaran to nearby Marmaris which took an hour to get to from Rhodes Old Town. upon arrival we
were offered free travel to the town as long as we went on a free tour of the turkish jewellary trade, fine if you want
to buy jewellary at discount prices (suppossedly) or you could get a taxi for 5 Euro's.
We went to marmais after our jewellary tour and venture through the bazaars, where many a bargain can be
found. the day was very good and we stayed for about 8 hours before we made our way back to Rhodes. If
you intend to buy lots of cheap goods while in Greece, it would probably be cheaper to go to Turkey and the
savings you make would cover the cost of the catamaran trip to Turkey.
Salou (North East Spain) May 2003
(Flight Time 2 Hours)
(Transfer Time 20 Minutes)
This time we took the kids (Damn) upon arrival at Reus Airport at 0900 in the morning (best flight time we have ever had) it was somewhat overcast, which really did not bother us, however the second day it poured down and did so on the morning of the third day, after which the sun came out and stayed for the rest of the week.We went to a theme park called Portaventura which is Spains answer to Disneyland Paris, except it is a lot cheaper. The park is split into 5 different worlds which are Mediterranea, Far West, China, Mexico & Polynesia, they have 6 major rollercoasters including Dragon Khan which has a 150ft loop (mind blowing) and puts any uk rollercoaster to shame (and that includes Blackpool) There is also a water park here which you will have to pay seperate for.
Salou is roughly the size of Great Yarmouth and is just over an hours train ride from Barcelona, which is well worth a visit for its magnificient structures which includes the greatest football stadium in the world the Nou Camp. Also a short train ride from Salou is the town of Tarragona.
The resort of Salou is one of two resorts I know of that have theme parks, this may well spoil your children as on that basis other resorts do not compare.
Lanzarote (Canary Islands) June 2004
(Flight Time 4 Hours)
(Transfer Time 30 Minutes)
This was our first 2 week holiday and we stayed in the resort of Costa Teguise which is located on the North East of the island. Lanzarote although Spanish is outside of the EU, so you can buy cheap items at UK airports for dirt cheap (subject to producing your boarding pass when purchasing).Upon arrival at our apartments "Molinos De Guatiza" we were welcomed for the two weeks by cool breezes, this resort being a family resort which is also an haven for windsurfers, dont be fooled by the cool breezes, remember the sun in the canary islands burn through 30% more than they do on mainland Spain, so use plenty of Nivea Suncream.
The resort has a pool that is secluded from the ocean during low tide, this cove is safe for young children, the main beach is a bit too strong for young children and they may get knocked about a bit by the tide. On a friday night there is an African Market where you can buy your wares.
The island has two other resorts Puerto Del Carman & Playa Blanca
Puerto Del Carmen is the biggest resort on the island and does not have a breeze, so beware of the heat increase when you visit.
Playa Blanca is on the southern end of the island and is only a short boat ride away from neighbouring Fuerteventura.
A visit to Lanzarote would not be complete without a visit to the Timanfaya National Park, which has a lunar landscape due to a major volcanic activity in the 19th century, the film 2001 a space oddysey was filmed there.
Majorca (Spain) August 2004
(Flight Time 2 Hours)
(Transfer Time 2 Hours)
I know what your thinking, 2 holidays in the same year, trust me i am still paying for it, you only live once, If you are uncertain as to where to go for your first holiday abroad then this is the place, as many people would agree "you cant go wrong with Majorca" as it has something for everyone.
We stayed at the family resort of Alcudia which was a two hour transfer from the airport, a bit much travelling on a coach, but well worth the inconvenience. This is the only resort where I have walked into the sea without getting that initial shock from the water.
The beach is very children friendly with warm calm waters, you will have to go far out to get to the deep part. There is loads of entertainment in resort but there are a few places elsewhere on the island that are definatley worth visiting these are:
A visit to any of these will be most enjoyable and should not be missed. A holiday on the island of Majorca is I would say a "must" as most people who go there go back again and again.
Altinkum (Turkey) July 2005
(Flight Time 4 Hours)
(Transfer Time 2 Hours)
After flying into Bodrum Airport we had a painful 2 hour transfer to our resort Altinkum the resort was quite nice and although it is the place where turkish people go on holiday, it is still mostly british people who go there, there is a good market on a saturday. Outside the resort i would recommend Ephesus, Hire a car and go to bodrum, go to the waterpark as long as it is not the one just a few miles from Altinkum as this waterpark is quite dangerous as they have tiled floors and mixed with wet feet, is not too clever, the waterpark at Kusadasi is probably the biggest and best one to go to.
Turkish people are somewhat pushy and they have no reservations about showing an unhealthy interest in your 13 year old daughter. with this is mind you are in their country and when in rome etc etc. Ideally Turkey would not be an ideal place to go for a 1st holiday abroad, but it is without doubt a country with a lot of history.
Zante (Greece) August 2006
(Flight Time 3 Hours)
(Transfer Time 30 Minutes)
I grabbed this bargain from First Choices website as a late deal booked 5 days before we flew (£737) for a family of 4 for a week in august. As we were allocation on arrival I did not want to be in Laganas, as this is a 18-30 resort, when we arrived at Zante's Airport our fears were confirmed, which i thought oh well, but when we arrived at our apartments "Pythari" we were very happy as these were on the outskirts of the mad part of the resort and was quiet at night as it was set back a bit from the road.The resort of Laganas has a lot to offer by night and day, there are go karts, quad bikes for hire the beach is beautiful.
Other resorts worth a visit are Tsilivli, Zante Town & Kalamaki
Tsilivi is a family resort on the east side of the island with a beautiful beach and is located a few miles north of Zante Town.
Zante Town is the capital of the island and all sea traffic goes through here, this is the place you go to if you want to go on boat trips, we took a round the island tour which included Smugglers Cove which is beautiful.
Kalamki is situated about 2-3 miles from Laganas, the beach is famous for its loggerhead turtles that lay their eggs on the beach, the turtles are protected by Greek law and planes do not fly from the island after 10pm as a result of their conservation.
The island of Zante is beautiful is truly amazing and the resort of laganas is excellent although I would not recommend if you had small children.
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