Family trip to Europe
 

Hello - I would love some ideas on destinations in Europe for a multifamily trip during the summer. We are celebrating my mom's 70th birthday and we will have kids as young as 6 in our group of 10. We are looking for an area where we can rent a big and comfortable villa and use that as a base to explore nearby cities/towns. We spent the last two summers in France, first in Provence and then in Dordogne. We'd like something very similar as those areas had a bit of something for everyone and we had a pool for the kids. We are thinking of Tuscany but want to venture out and see what else we should be considering. Spain? Austria? Croatia? Is Turkey too difficult given the distances? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Sun

Catalunya would work, either on the Costa Brava, or inland. You would be able to tour most of the region on day trips, but venturing farther afield will require you to arrange overnight accommodations. If you do opt for Catalunya, you need to secure your villa as early as possible to get the best location and the size of the villa you need.

The Basque Country would be another good option during the summer months, where you can cover both the French and Spanish side as well as the Rioja. You could also venture further west into Cantabria and possibly Asturias, but would need to overnight somewhere.

You might want to consider skipping Greece, Croatia and Turkey next summer. The humanitarian crisis could be greater then it is today.

You might look into Umbria, next door to Tuscany. Same general countryside but a little more rural and definitely cheaper. And lots of nice little towns to visit.

It would also help us in advising if you'd say what you mean by "summer" -- that covers 4 months, and conditions can be VERY different, especially in places like Greece --- where late-May thru June 30, and after Sept 1, fine weather, not crowded. But July-Aug both VERY CROWDY and can be VERY HOT... this year in most of august, islands were 105-110°F much of time.

Another thing; for your group & travel wishes, I think N. Italy (Tuscany or Umbria) might work best. These places have the large villas that could accommodate entire group in one place, sometimes with a pool -- because in earlier times, Italy had the wealth that enabled building of such villas. Also, in the riht locale, you could drive 20 miles in a differnt direction on succeeding days, for different discoveries, yet return at night. In many Greek Isles, if you drove 20 miles in ANY direction you would drown (LOL). Also, Greece does not have the big supply of villas as Italy.

If in future you look at Greece, I would suggest researching family villas in WEST Crete, near the beautiful Old Town of Chania. Some site like this might have what you need: http://www.purecrete.com/groups-large-families/ NOTE: I would avoid seaside towns of Almirida & Kalives which have a big component of UK budget package-tour accommodations.

Take a look in and around San Sebastian in the Spanish Basque country (Euskadi), the culinary capital of Spain if not all of Europe, European capital of culture 2016, beautiful landscapes and some of the finest city beaches on the continent. http://www.euskoguide.com/places-bas...stian-tourism/
http://www.sansebastianturismo.com/en/

About the area, plenty of nearby villages, towns and cities: http://www.euskoguide.com/
http://tourism.euskadi.eus/en/

Perhaps this villa, just above the La Concha bay? http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/ren...astian/4935146

Plenty of options:
http://www.rentalscollection.com/en/
http://www.friendlyrentals.com/en/ap...modation-5.htm
http://www.villas.com/en-gb/spain/ba...sebastian.html