We really need some advice on the where we should go on the final leg of our 2020 summer vacation which my wife and I will be taking next July and August. We are planning to be away for about twenty five days (not including travel days) and are flying into Glasgow and plan on spending ten days in Scotland, then flying direct to Prague, where we will spend five days. What we want to do after Prague is fly somewhere south in Europe to enjoy warmth, the sea and a Mediterranean vibe and culture.

We are in both in our early fifties and we have travelled to some places in and near the Mediterranean, namely Andalusia, Sicily, Puglia and Rhodes, and now we are searching for a place to spend ten days after Scotland and Prague. No matter how many times we Google "most beautiful islands and beach vacations in the Mediterranean", we come up with the same choices and we just cannot decide.

If it were you, where would you go to have sun, sand, fascinating sites, good food and wine and a somewhat lively feel during the evening.

Your help will be most welcome.

Andrew Marks

I would narrow it down by checking which destinations have direct flights from Prague.

If you enjoyed Rhodes, you could try a different Greek island. Same-same, but different.

I would also recommend Turkey.

Having direct flights from Prague is very important but some of the Greek Islands do require a stopover in Athens for about an hour or so, which is not so bad. I did check out Cyprus and it does look very interesting and is a place I had not thought about (please note that the destination does not have to be an island).

Thank you very much.

If it were me, and it isn't, I'd flip the whole trip around and start off with the "south and Mediterranean vibe and culture" instead of leaving it to the massively crowded towns, painful traffic conditions, and scorching temperatures you're likely to encounter at the end of your trip. I live in the SW of France, where it's already hot and crowded enough at that time of year - IF we travel to the Med in July or August it's to the Languedoc-Roussillon coast between Narbonne and Collioure, and even that can be painful if you don't know the quiet spots.

We would rather leave the warmth, sea and sun, with some exploration, at the end of our trip, so we relax after 15 days of touring, We know some warmer, Mediterranean destinations can be very busy in summer, but that does not mean we will be surrounded by hoards of tourists on a daily basis. We will find a nice beach hotel to base ourselves at, preferably near a coastal town or village, and explore at our own leisure.

Please keep making suggestions as it just seems that every site recommends the same vacation spots, while we would like to find a less touristy, more off the beaten path, destination, if possible.

Thank you for your continued help.

Consider Mallorca. It's a lovely place away from the crowded bits of Magaluf, Palma Nova etc. and well worth the effort from Prague. I'd recommend staying in the north of the island, maybe Puerto Pollensa.

August is high season all over the Mediterranean Sea.
For less crowded places, you may check:

direct flight from Prague to either Samos (Pythagorio) or Kos, plus catamaran ride to Leros, Lipsos or Patmos. Patmos is the most scenic of the 3 Islands. Samos has many nice places too;:
direct flight from Prague to Almeria, plus bus to one of the small villages in the Cabo de Gata National Park: San Jose, Las Negras, Agua Amarga.
direct flight from Prague to either Valencia or Palma de Mallorca, plus ferry ride via Ibiza to Formentera.

Not crowded places in Cyprus (all in the Northern part):
Dipkarpaz, Bafra, Bogaz, Lapta,

If you want a Greek island you might consider Milos or Sifnos. While they will be crowded in August probably less so than some of the more popular ones. I was there in July a couple years ago and they were delightfully not crowded but people kept telling me I was lucky to be there then and not a couple weeks later when it gets 'really busy'. I understand your reasoning behind going to Scotland and Prague first and then wanting the 'relaxation' portion. Since you need to fly between those places perhaps you could put the relaxation part in the middle - do Scotland, island (or where ever), then Prague. Just a thought. I agree that in deciding where to go I'd look at flights between your destinations and for getting back home. For Milos and Sifnos you'd probably need to fly to Athens and take a ferry (or fly to Santorini and take a ferry).

You can easily reach Milos by plane, with a plane change at Athens.
Ferries from Piraeus (port of Athens) and Santorini to Milos are daily in August; those from Heraklion (Crete) run twice weekly.
Smaller Greek Islands are seldem crowded in the first 2 weeks of July or in the last week of August.

So many choices. I am starting to review them now. Thank you all very much. We have tons of energy at the start of a vacation so touring and sightseeing and moving about on the first part of a vacation works well for us, so then we can just relax and move at our own pace for the next part.

Here are a few I came up with: Menorca, The Aeolian Islands, Elba, Ischia, Hvar, Corfu. How would these compare to what has already been suggested?

"where would you go to have sun, sand, fascinating sites, good food and wine and a somewhat lively feel during the evening."

They all have plenty of sun in summer, they all have fascinating sights, they all have good food and lively feel during the evening(except some of the Aeolian Islands), but not all have sand. I know for sure that Hvar(like most Croatian islands) doesn't have sand. I think Ischia and most Aeolian Islands don't have sand either,

If that matters only Corfu and Menorca have direct flights from Prague, although all the others can be reached relatively easy from nearby airports with direct flights from Prague. Hvar from Split, Elba from Pisa, Ischia and the Aeolian Islands from Naples, and the Aeolian Islands from Catania.

Ok.

We have spent the last few hours reviewing all of our choices and with your help, we have narrowed the list down to these five:

1. Corfu, Greece
2. Menorca, Spain
3. Sardinia, Italy
4. Naxos and Mykynos or Samos and Kos, Greece
5. Halkidiki, Greece

We want the choice of many beautiful soft, sandy beaches, warm clear, turquoise waters, a laid back vibe, gorgeous small towns to stroll in the evening, great food and wine and interesting sites for those days we want to explore (the only thing we do not want is to have to move around from hotel to hotel while we are there).

Thank you very much.

Neither Corfu nor Menorca are big islands, so you could see all of either one over your 10 days. On Corfu I's stay on the east side from Gouvia upwards and on Menorca I'd stay at Ciutadella. Personally I'd choose Menorca for your chill out.

Thanks everyone and happy holidays!

We are still going over all of your different suggestions. What about Malta?