Purely a personal preference, but for me it would be Greece every time!

Thanks

Would you mind expanding on that please

have you tried Kefalonia, probably one of the cleanest and greenest of the islands, i was very impressed when we visited last month some views in HTTV

wizard

We've been to Kos twice, Santorini, Kephalonia, Crete and will be returning to Zante for the 3rd time this August. Although we've been to many parts of Spain, we've only been to Tenerife the once, and found it too comercialized. The Greeks love children and always go the extra mile for them, and in my opinion, the Islands are more picturesque with more opportunities for exploration. We love the people, the landscape, the music, the food - I could go on and on The minute we land on any of the Greek Islnds we can literally feel the stresses of everyday life slipping away. Their laid back attitude to life just rubs off

Thanks Helen,

Interesting, friends of ours mentioned Zante and they have two wee boys and said it is very peaceful. We don't mind going into town but really want to chill.

Where do you stay when are there?
Do you book a package deal or?

We would prefer self catering as my wife is on strict diet (organic) but even B & B. Like to have a pool at the accommodation but also like to swim in the ocean,

Do you need to rent a car there?

Many thanks for your input, really appreciate it as it is rather daunting booking a holiday over the internet. Had a holiday once in Vanuatu and it was a nightmare.

Thank you

OK - hubby reckons the whole island isn't much more than 21 x 10 miles .The 1st time we went, we stayed in the Admiral apartments in Argassi. It was a holiday planned by my dad and 14 of us went-the ages ranged from 8 to 60, and we all had a great time. The beach wasn't up to much but there were plenty of restauarants, and the resort was very central for travelling around the whole island. Car hire is easy and reasonable. Our 2nd visit was to the outskirts of Laganas with 2 teenagers. It was a different type of holiday, but just as enjoyable. This summer we are going to the Venus hotel in Kalamaki with my sister & hubby. Acording to Trip Advisor it's the no 1 hotel in the resort for B & B. My son is going to the same resort, but AI to the Caretta Beach Hotel. It's one of the largest hotels on the island but seems to have fantastic facilities for children. Each time we've been, we've either hired a car or motor bikes, and have been very impresssed with the whole island.

yes, just my opinion but I love the Greek islands more than anywhere else in the world. There isn't one thing I can put my finger on but a big plus for me is that mostly wherever you go they are so welcoming to children. Kefalonia is lovely, very clean and beautiful landscape and a big plus you can go to Ithaka but I did miss the old buildings you get on other islands.

Rhodes is a great family island, something for everyone, nice beaches, Rhodes old town is amazing, even a water park if you (or your children) like that kind of thing but it might not be quiet enough for you, the buses seemed to be quite good though whereas in Kefalonia I don't think I saw a bus the whole 2 weeks! We are off to Samos this summer and have heard great things about it

I'm Helen's sister and this is the link to the hotel we're staying at this summer

http://www.venushotel.gr/

You can book direct with them and get your own flight in which case the price of the air conditioning, fridge, safety deposit box is included in the price. However, it worked out cheaper for us to book a package and pay extra for those facilities mentioned, due to the cost of flight only from our local airport.

Have never been to Tenerife/Lanzarote but have been to other regions of Spain, after my first visit to a greek island thats all where i look now , have been to Rhodes and Crete going to znate this year and already looking for next years holiday (if i can have one ) to either Halkidiki or Corfu .

We are also very fond of the Greek islands, and also very keen amateur photographers of nature. I would recommend going when the weather is cooler though if nature photography is your thing. We always go in May, when the wild flowers are abundant and there is plenty of green about. Later on in the year, it is better to go after the first of the Autumn rains.

All the islands we have been to have their own particular beauty, as does the mainland. We have been to Samos (twice) Thassos, Kefalonia, Corfu, Crete and Parga on the mainland. We always go self catering, don't believe in cooking on holiday (used to be a chef!) and go to a quiet resort on a package.....as has been mentioned, the flights can be expensive unless you are going to somewhere the budget airlines go. This year, as we don't know when we will next get away, we splashed out on a villa in a wonderful wooded valley...great for photos...with a large pool, bliss! But expensive.

My MIL is a coeliac, and when she went to Thassos she printed a card, in Greek, explaining what she couldn't eat, and it was very helpful as there was no room for misunderstanding. A lot of Greek grown food is organic, but whether it's "certified" as such I don't know, on holiday I try not to worry too much (I'm a veggie) about tiny details, but if your wife's diet is very strict, a similar card might be a good idea so there are no misunderstandings.

Sorry to waffle! Enjoy your holiday.

If you don't want to be needing a car in Greece then you ideally need an island with a proper bus system,that tends to rule out the smaller and less developed islands,when i say 'developed' i dont mean in the same way spain is,i've lived on Rhodes since 2002 and while there are commercial resorts like Faliraki(where i work)it's easy to also be away from it all yet still have amenities and a bit of life,somewhere like Kiotari for instance is a very nice place,lovely beaches,easy access to the bus to Lindos,Pefkos and up the coast to Rhodes town but also a stone's throw from some really traditional mountain villages etc.
Other islands i've been to include zante,kefalonia,crete,kos,corfu,symi,tilos,delos,halki,nysiros,lefkas,karpathos,kassos,evia,aegina and a few others,and also a lot of places on the mainland,especially in and around athens and thessaloniki and i've got to say that despite many similarities every place is truly different. Crete is different in it's own way in as far as it's like it's own country.

I've been to spain/canaries many times,including the costas blanca,del sol and brava,tenerife and last year lanzarote,if i'm honest the costa blanca has seemed the best of the lot and the only one i'd go out of my way to return to(going in september) you can avoid the madness of Benidorm and head for altea,albir,denia etc. Lanzarote was a bit run down and past it in my opinion,but not in that charming way like greece is,everything just seemed very 1970's,very concrete and brutal in design and a bit neglected,we went to PDC but also saw other resorts and it was much the same everywhere,almost every retaurant seemed exactly the same as the last apart from the higher end establishments,which were few and far between,it just lacked the charm and character of greece and mainland spain.

Tenerife was.....i can't really find any other word so i'll say it....a complete c*** hole.

I'ts many years since I was last in Greece but am hoping to visit later on this year and am leaning towards booking a holiday in Santorini. So I can't compare with the Canary Islands, almost all of which I have visited many times. I can't agree with Sambacasual's remarks about both Tenerife and Lanzarote, I regard myself as a somewhat discerning traveller and have had some super holidays in both of these islands. There are resorts that I wouldn't stay in but I have already read of resorts in Greece that are to be avoided but to say that Tenerife is a complete c*** hole is doing the island a real disservice. There are some super places to visit, the small resort of Garachico is one of my favourite places in all of the Canary Islands and I have had very enjoyable holidays staying in both Puerto Santiago and Los Gigantes. I find the contrast between the northern almost alpine scenery and the barren desert like appearance of the south gives the island a special feel and I would happily return for a holiday. I have only visited Lanzarote once, staying in Playa Blanca which I found to be a great destination for a laid back holiday, for both families and couples, I certainly didn't find the island run down andI found the architecture of some of the buildings very attractive especially the dazzling white of the village houses. I really didn't feel places I saw were back in the 1970's. Sambacasuals Lanzarote seems a lot different to the one I visited.

edited for grammatical mistake

i had high hopes for the place judith as i'd always dismissed the 'lanza-grotty' nickname that seems to get banded around a lot,we did have a brilliant holiday but from what we saw it was exactly as i say,PDC was really run down and tired looking,as was costa teguise,i dont mean run down iun that quaint old way you see in some places,i just mean run down as in built decades ago and never really touched since,but like i say it was a good holiday.
As for tenerife,las americas was always going to be rough and ready from the word go but from what we experienced los cristianos,costa adeje and somewhere else a few miles away that i cant remember the name of were sadly for much the same. never been to the north of the island,looked into it a couple of years ago but was told the weather is very hit and miss that end of the island.

gotta reiterate what i said before,mainland spain wins hands down over the canaries,but greece to me is number one,not just out of loyalty as it's home but also as a tourist.

horses for courses

I'm hoping to become a convert once again later on this year, it's thirty three years since I last visited Greece. My first visits were in 1963 (before I would guess many HT members were born)and a couple of years later when I spent 3 months on the mainland and the Ionian Islands.
I would imagine there's been a lot of changes in the last 33 years.

I would have chosen Greece. Definitely what you're looking to find there.

Have been to Lanzarote and hated the entire 2 weeks far too commercialised and the most boring scenery, for me it is Greece everytime and in particular Southern Crete, Kos, Kefalonia the Greeks are the most lovely people and will always go the extra mile to ensure you have a lovely holiday the Spanish Islands cater far too much for the English and the Germans, and as such are losing their Spanish identity, the Greeks still offer up traditional Greek food rather than burgers with chips, and full English.............my advice................GO GREEK!!!

Thank you all for your great input.

By coincidence I was chatting to my dentist today about Zante and he said it is very much a party island and that is what we are looking to avoid. Don't want to go on a holiday to be surrounded by youth that have no interest except booze.

I agree with the comments that the Greeks are great folks and I fell sad for them that they have to put up with a whole bunch of visitors that are only interested in boozing.
I also don't want to say that all the youth are bad but everything in moderation.

Now we need to decide - WHERE IN GREECE ? We have a wee lad so we don't want to be totally isolated. If he is swimming he's totally happy but we do want to explore too.

Thanks again for all the great input.

Have a great weekend.6

to be honest there are 'party' resorts on all islands and then 10 km down the road somewhere different entirely- don't be put off by one persons experience.
We have a 5 yr old and we always have a summer holiday in Greece in part because the people tend to be so lovely and are so welcoming to children, but there are many other reasons besides.
Our first Greek island experience was Rhodes and it does really offer something for everyone. The waterpark is great- we took our then 2 yr old there and the little childrens section is great. There are lots of safe beaches, historical sites. We stayed in Lindos but Pefkos might suit you. If you go to the other less touristy side of the island there are empty beaches and mountain villages, just beautiful

I think your dentist's view on Zante is very narrow and probably based on the one resort of Laganas, which is no worse than any of the "young party resorts" anywhere. There are some beautiful resorts on Zante, Kalmaki, Vasilikos, Argassi, Zante town itself. Having travelled all over the Island on a couple of occasions "party Island" would be my last description of the place - and I'm in my 50's!