Cassis vs Crete for family vacation

Old Feb 15th, 2014, 07:30 AM
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Cassis vs Crete for family vacation

I'm planning a family vacation for this upcoming June. We have 2 daughters in their 20s. We typically go to the Caribbean when we are looking for a beach vacation, but this year we want to branch out. We prefer to stay away from crowded, tourist areas. Any thoughts on the South of France vs Greece?
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Old Feb 15th, 2014, 07:47 AM
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Thoughts of what kind? Both are worth visiting and you can find places 'away from crowded tourist areas' in both. Getting 5 responses saying, 'I prefer France' and 5 saying, 'I prefer Greece' won't tell you anything. You certainly aren't going to get 10 all saying they all prefer one over the other.

Greece will be cheaper this summer I'm sure. Other than that, I can't see any real criteria to base a decision on. You've given no indication of interests other than a beach.
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Old Feb 15th, 2014, 07:49 AM
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If you are looking for a sandy beach I would go with Greece. The south of France has more rocky beaches.
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Old Feb 15th, 2014, 07:57 AM
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Have you thought of Sardinia? Lots of good beaches there, less touristed than the South of France. Or Spain?
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Old Feb 15th, 2014, 08:34 AM
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dulciusexasperis - sorry about that. To be more clear:

We are really a 'lay by the beach' kind of family. Say we go on a ten day vacation, we will be hanging out on the beach seven out of those days on average. We really love to snorkel, swim in the ocean, take long walks on the beach, or just read a good book on the sand. We would love a cool city to explore, with a historic element. We are looking for a city to fall in love with. We absolutely love Barbados, but we have been there a lot and are looking for a new place to explore. After laying on the beach all day, we would like to go into town to a great restaurant. My husband and daughters love to go fishing. Renting a boat for the day would also be on our agenda. One of my daughters and husband enjoy scuba diving, but it is not a must. Even though we like to be away from the touristy areas, we still enjoy a good tourist attraction as well. For example in Costa Rica, we went zip lining and had a blast. In Turks and Caicos, we had a tour guide take us to go diving for shells.

Mimar: Sardinia looks gorgeous. Any recommendations on where to stay in Sardinia (cities or hotels)? We would preferable want a Villa in walking distance to the beach.
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Old Feb 15th, 2014, 08:44 AM
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If the beach is important to you then be sure you research what beaches are like in Europe. They may not be what you are expecting if you enjoy the Caribbean. You may want to look at Puglia in Italy.
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Old Feb 15th, 2014, 08:53 AM
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Cassis is a beautiful town but crowded and has a rocky beach. Also, if you are used to the Caribbean water temperature in the summer then the Med might seem cool. It's more like the Caribbean in the winter, which is still very nice. There are other towns not far from Cassis that are also good options. Bandol is a nice town with several beach areas, including some that are sandy beaches. Sanary sur Mer is another nice seaside town with a nice beach. Collioure, on the other side of France near Spain, is another great option and close enough for a side trip to Spain for the day. However, these are not like the resort areas of the Caribbean, where the resorts are right on the beach. Generally, the hotels are in town and the beach is nearby (in some cases very nearby and in others a 10 minute walk). Personally I think the Caribbean beaches are hard to beat. The Med beaches are nice, however, it's the other things about the area that make the Med (whether it's France, Spain, Italy or Greece) so special. The culture, food and history is amazing and you can't find that combination in the same way in the Caribbean.
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Old Feb 15th, 2014, 09:03 AM
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OK, now you are providing some information to help people make suggestions.

I can suggest a small village on the island of Rhodes for example that will meet ALL your criteia without difficulty. However, there are no doubt other places that will also meet your criteria.

Here is one choice. http://www.haraki.eu/

The village is car free along the beachfront promenade. A dozen or so restaurants, some bars for the evening, a couple of minimarkets for snacks, etc. Plenty of apartments with kitchen facilities to rent. A Byzantine castle on the hill overlooking the bay. One of the top seafood restaurants ($$$) on the island on the promotory.

Sand beach at the door plus others nearby. You can walk beach for miles and miles to the south of the village.

Plenty of day trip destinations if you want. Lot of sites to visit of historical signifigance. Rhodes Old Town is considered to be the best preserved Medieval walled town in Europe. Read more about things to see/do here:
http://www.greecetravel.com/rhodes/

You'll see people fishing from the rocks at both ends of the bay. Make friends, borrow a rod, get someone to take you out for a day on their boat. All doable if you try.

The Med is basically fished out. So snorkeling/diving will not produce the kind of spectacle that it will in Providencialles for example. Since you've been there and I have also, I can tell you straight up that that is the case. You can get clear, warm water for enjoying but don't expect a lot to see.

For a place to stay http://www.harakimare.gr/en/ might be a good choice. Take the '2 room' unit. You sleep upstairs and leave the downstairs beds for the girls when they come in late from the Haraki Dreams bar where Mike the owner will make sure no real harm comes to them. They can stagger along the promenade back to your apartment at 2-5am with no fear whatsoever, believe me.

If you give it any serious thought, say so and I can provide plenty of additonal info of whatever kind you need.
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Old Feb 15th, 2014, 09:08 AM
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Another place to consider might be Roses in Spain. Here is a link about it. It is about an hour from Barcelona with a lovely beach and bay. Great walking town. Here is a link-scroll down and there are a couple of videos. We were there in early September so less crowded probably than June-we enjoyed it a lot.

If you prefer the French side, then Argeles sur Mer could be a good choice. Nice beach and nice smaller town:

http://www.destination360.com/europe...rgeles-sur-mer
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Old Feb 15th, 2014, 09:09 AM
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oops here is the link to Roses:

http://costabravatouristguide.com/143-roses-costa-brava
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Old Feb 15th, 2014, 09:19 AM
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The beach at Cassis is all sand. However, Cassis is quite small. You'll see everything there is to see in Cassis in about 1 hour. Lots of boat trips available along the Calenques (shore inlets). Your description of what you want to do doesn't fit Cassis, IMO. It is definitely not a Caribbean type "resort". It can get quite touristy at times also. In our "beach going" days, I would get bored stiff with 10 days in Cassis. We've spent a 2 week, 1 week, and another 1 week vacation in St Tropez - but that's a lot more touristy and the "famous" beach (Pampalonne) is not in town - but it is our favorite beache in France (quite decadent). There are actually hotel/resorts in the Pampalonne area - but it is a "drive" to St Tropez.

Here is just one of the many hotels.
http://www.booking.com/hotel/fr/la-f...e_back_to_sr=1

Here is where we spend out time at the Pampalonne beach - at the famous Tahiti Plage - which has a hotel associated with it.
http://www.tahiti-beach.com/en.php

Stu Dudley
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Old Feb 15th, 2014, 09:30 AM
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Genio, the place I have suggested above has a lot of accomodation (including the one suggested) right on the beach and it is a sand beach at one end and stone at the other. Best of both worlds depending on preference. Sand gets into everything. I prefer stone beaches myself.

Found a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHGFgc9UjwQ
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Old Feb 15th, 2014, 09:34 AM
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>>Cassis ...... has a rocky beach
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Old Feb 15th, 2014, 01:26 PM
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Shingle means stone StuDudley. Strictly speaking, 'shingle' defines the size of the stones.
https://www.google.ca/#q=shingle+beach+definition

Reminds me of the fact that a beach is not really a good place to camp because of how hard the ground is for sleeping on.

Sand is in fact hard. As hard as rock since that is what it is made from after all. As many a camper has discovered, sleeping on a beach is like sleeping on a rock. It just happens to be a rock that you can move around into piles and valleys. You can move those piles and valleys around over and over again all night long and still never get them all in the right places for comfortable sleep.

Get it just right for sleeping on your right side and when you roll over to your left side their a 'bump' sticking into your ribs. LOL
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Old Feb 15th, 2014, 04:12 PM
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Go to Crete. I've been to both and love both, but in my opinion Crete is a better fit.
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Old Feb 15th, 2014, 06:30 PM
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We were in Cassis in August and it was sandy and rocky. I should have been more specific about that. Not all stones like many beaches in the area but certainly not sand like one finds in the Caribbean either. The water was very clear and the scenery beautiful but it was quite crowded. However, June will not be as crowded as August anyway.
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Old Feb 17th, 2014, 08:43 AM
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Greece has by far the best beaches in the Mediterranean, if you are really into beaches visit Greece with no second thought. A great destination which match your criteria is Rhodes. It has great villages and an absolutely gorgeous City, the City of Rhodes which is protected by UNESCO. It is a really historic city, you will find Byzantine Churches, Ottoman Mosques, Hammams, and Fountains, Crusader Palaces, and castles, Medieval Synagogues and Libraries, all in one city. Don't forget that there stood one of the 7 wonders of the World, the Colossus of Rhodes. So here is a city which is really worth exploring. Then the beaches are very well organized, very clean and with sand. The food is very good also, and the Dodecanesians are very hospitable people. Lindos also is a very charming town, topped with an Ancient Acropolis complex. Then the Valley of the Butterflies is also a must. You can also make a day trip to Symi, its main town is like a painting, with Neoclassical colorful houses and churches, around the Harbor. Rhodes has also some of the best hotels in the Mediterranean.

Google Rhodes to see what I mean
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Old Feb 17th, 2014, 09:30 AM
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Sorry I don't know much about Sardinia in detail. Hopefully someone else here can help.
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Old Feb 22nd, 2014, 06:05 PM
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Thank you everyone for all of the help! I am looking forward to picking a place. Rhodes sounds excellent, but I will be looking into the other recommendations as well.
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Old Feb 22nd, 2014, 06:45 PM
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If you love looking at the water in the Carribean,you will love the Mediterranean. Loved Rhodes & loved Crete. Crete is so big we hardly scratched the surface in a week. The acient civilization of Knosos was facinating-we took a boat trip to the Samaria Gorge-wonderful day. The food is great-although after awhile you want a pizza or Chineese.
Weve had 2 trips to Greece & I'd go back in a heart beat
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