Thread: Holiday Destinations you really don't want to share but....!

Ok so I make it my business to go the extra mile when picking my holiday destination. I see it as an achievement if I spend a week (or two) somewhere I don't have to listen to english being spoken. Up to now I've jealously guarded my black book of names, but I'm feeling generous.....is there anyone else out there who wants to join me in spilling the beans on places they've visited and LOVED for being off the beaten track?

San Vito Lo Capo - Sicily, Italy.

Collioure - Languedoc Roussillon, France

San Jose - Almeria, Spain

I've started with three - over to you! :D

Must be a while since you went to San Jose in Almeria as it is now inundated with Brits due to some heavy building over the last few years.
Places off the beaten track
Roatan Island, Honduras. Best to fly there by island hopper as the road from Tegucigalpa is a bit hairy (potholed and bandit country) but the island is a great getaway when you get there.
Also Costa Rica. Down to Manuel Antonio National Park to get away from the Americans and Germans. San Jose is full of them. Recommend the Si como No hotel as it is the only one in the area with hot water. Great fun on a huge beach with no-one else there watching the monkeys swinging through the trees and the Scarlet Macaws hopping across the outside bar being fed nuts by the barman.
Closer to home, the Amalfi coast of Italy has some great hideaways and secluded coves.

Kanchanaburi, North of Bangkok. Site of the River Kwai Bridge, but also a stunning area with lots to see. The train ride from BK takes about 2 hrs, a fascinating experience if you've never travelled in SE Asia before. Not to far from the Burmese border if you fancy nipping over for shufti.

Stayed at a small resort camp owned and run by a Dutch/Thai and his Dutch wife. Highly recommend it www.orientalkwai.com

Alghero - Sardinia
Kerry - S.Ireland (Before I was married to Mr Samm1551)
Moutier D'Ahun - France

There is a beautiful, understated and very private resort in Mallorca. Undiscovered, relaxing and very peaceful, with magnificent beaches, superb resteraunts which can surprise you with their subtle and exotic culinary delights. Small and very authentic local bars, where the finest wines can be had very cheaply. It's hard to find, but if you search for a local who knows the area they may take you there, under a vow of secrecy. It's called Magaluf.

Kos-Kefalos

Friendly Greeks and not as expensive as the rest of Kos and great beaches a couple of cliks up the coast.

Prachuap Khiri Khan in Thailand. Just north of Pattaya. Wonderful beach, cheap and clean local hotels and no tourists. It's where Thais go for holidays, and does welcome Brits, especially if they are moderate and well-behaved. Watch out for a 'hotel' on right as you go along from beach. It has wooden huts on stilts, and is rather like being in 'Tenko'. Not my favourite place, there are nicer there.

Heron Island on the barrier reef, great waters and no riff raff
Diego Garcia, water is clearest I've ever seen and if you get into the off-limits areas (accessible under license) you really are in unspoilt paradise.

Originally Posted by elovabloke

Kos-Kefalos

Friendly Greeks and not as expensive as the rest of Kos and great beaches a couple of cliks up the coast.

Kos is great, just dont go to Kardamena!

Originally Posted by GoodIdeaAtTheTime

Heron Island on the barrier reef, great waters and no riff raff
Diego Garcia, water is clearest I've ever seen and if you get into the off-limits areas (accessible under license) you really are in unspoilt paradise.

Couldn't agree more, back to Kamarie Bay a week Saturday.

Platamonas/Larissa on mainland Greece
Miles and miles of beeches etc and in the middle between Athens and Thessaloniki and the Olympus range is just up the road along with all reachable sites
Absolutely stunning area

WOW!! I wish I had your mapreading skills :P Prachuap Kirikan is a province on Southern thai coast while pattaya is on the eastern thai coast, prachuap province has some nice beaches but is being built up rapidly, someof the best golf courses in thailand are situated in the the Cha am and Hua hin area, pretty goodnightlife and Bars but not as seedy as Pattaya. Some one else mentioned Kanchanaburi a really nice rural area on the kwai river and burmese border, travel north of kanchanburi, to Sai Yok or Mae Noi there are some beautiful riverside resorts in this area, great areas for families no bargirls or drunks, take the to the tiger temple near Nam Tok noi , take a full grown tiger for a walk or play with cubs, the temple is a popular tourist attraction these days , be prepared for crowds, By the way I,m not a thai travel agent used to live there and we still try to get back for at 4 months every year

Punta Del Esta - Uruguay

Uruguay has some really nice resorts, lovely beaches, good for exploring.
Not too much English spoken and hardly any Brit 'tourists'.

Also a great platform to invade the Argies should the need arise ha ha.

Originally Posted by Nignoy

WOW!! I wish I had your mapreading skills :P Prachuap Kirikan is a province on Southern thai coast while pattaya is on the eastern thai coast, prachuap province has some nice beaches but is being built up rapidly, someof the best golf courses in thailand are situated in the the Cha am and Hua hin area, pretty goodnightlife and Bars but not as seedy as Pattaya. Some one else mentioned Kanchanaburi a really nice rural area on the kwai river and burmese border, travel north of kanchanburi, to Sai Yok or Mae Noi there are some beautiful riverside resorts in this area, great areas for families no bargirls or drunks, take the to the tiger temple near Nam Tok noi , take a full grown tiger for a walk or play with cubs, the temple is a popular tourist attraction these days , be prepared for crowds, By the way I,m not a thai travel agent used to live there and we still try to get back for at 4 months every year

Probably more my memory skills than map reading. I was taken there by my best mate who lives in Lop Buri. I may have got the name of the place wrong. In fact, it's quite likely I have, on reflection, although having just looked on multi-map, it does seem to be north of Pattaya.

http://www.multimap.com/maps/?qs=pattaya&countryCode=TH#map=11.70172,99.59509|1 0|4&bd=useful_information&loc=TH:10.7106:99.317:14 |pattaya|Pathiu,%20Chumphon,%20Thailand%20Chumphon

Bolton.

Very underated as a holiday destination. There's even a statue of Fred Dibnah near the town hall.

One other location...Ideal if your looking for a break on the Canaries...Puerto de Mogán, on Gran Canaria http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_de_Mog%C3%A1n

Its basically a small cove which backs onto a village. The whole of the cove is surrounded by restaurants, it also has a very busy marina. The beach is good, and the breakers mean that it is very safe for swimming.

No Timeshare Touts....No lookie lookie men. A mixture of nationalities visit, brits are not the dominant customer......a great place for 7/10 day break. If your happy to mong on the beach all day, and eat well at night.

Originally Posted by Jimmy_Kranke

One other location...Ideal if your looking for a break on the Canaries...Puerto de Mogán, on Gran Canaria

If you're heading to the canaries, La Palma is absolutely beautiful. Far enough off the beaten track (ie no direct flights from england) to keep the riff raff out, it's got plenty of locally owned + run cottages out in the small villages. Walking on the volcanoes is very nice, especially if you're sad and like geology (sorry no explosions since 1971). They're used to tourists, just not the type who think "La palma" is something you sit under to keep your can of strongbow cold.