HAL itinerary for a more beach european cruise?

[kaz828]

We are not big on sightseeing or museums/history, what would be a good itinerary for a more beach itinerary? 

[Mary229]

The Mediterranean.  Think the Riviera, Spain and the Greek Isles. 

[FlaMariner]

2 hours ago, kaz828 said:

We are not big on sightseeing or museums/history, what would be a good itinerary for a more beach itinerary? 

 

IMO......

 

@Mary229 stated.....Mediterranean is full of nice beaches.....

 

but....

 

If I wanted beaches and was not interested in the historic areas of Western Civilization....I'd not spend the $$$$ going to Europe (I think the Mediterranean beaches are nice but nothing like beaches in Florida or the Caribbean).

 

Instead, I'd spend my travel money cruising the Caribbean if beaches were my thing....

[Mary229]

Just now, FlaMariner said:

 

IMO......

 

@Mary229 stated.....Mediterranean is full of nice beaches.....

 

but....

 

If I wanted beaches and was not interested in the historic areas of Western Civilization....I'd not spend the $$$$ going to Europe (I think the Mediterranean beaches are nice but nothing like beaches in Florida or the Caribbean).

 

Instead, I'd spend my travel money cruising the Caribbean if beaches were my thing....

I agree. I assumed the OP might be from Europe

[Cruising-along]

1 minute ago, FlaMariner said:

Instead, I'd spend my travel money cruising the Caribbean if beaches were my thing

Exactly what I was thinking.  

[Sir PMP]

2 hours ago, kaz828 said:

We are not big on sightseeing or museums/history, what would be a good itinerary for a more beach itinerary? 

Iceland:

[VMax1700]

I don't think I would use a cruise for a beach itinerary.  Too many good beaches with great hotels accessed by cheap airfare to consider spending money on a cruise.

[albingirl]

The reason I would never use a cruise for a beach vacation is because of the limited time allowed ashore.  If you go on a vacation to a beach destination, you can spend all the time on the beach, rather than having to be onboard early.  

[Hampton99]

I actually prefer Mediterranean beaches to Carribean cruises, or Carribean all inclusive.  The food is better for one.  We have been to a few all inclusive throughout the Caribbean and get bored after a few days.  The benefit of beach cruise vacation is a different beach every day!  So back to the original question, most Greece ports have great beaches Rhodes, Corfu, Mykonos to name a few.  We have also been to Cannes in the fall and have had fabulous beach days.  Southern Spain Valencia, Malaga, are good as well.  Italy has nice beaches along the amalfi coast but is very crowded. I am sure there are many other but these are we have been.  Good luck.

[Hlitner]

One needs to be careful about European beach itineraries.  What Europeans call a "beach"  is often something that would not be considered a beach in other parts of the world.  As an example, we were just (last week) in Croatia where a concrete patio or a small rocky patch is called a "beach."  Some so-called European beaches require one to have acrobatic skills to simply get in/out of the water.  

 

As Americans, we think of beaches as having nice patches of soft sand and decent soft bottoms for the entry areas into the water.  One can find this in Europe, but must do some research to find these places.  Many of the Greek Islands have sandy beaches (i.e. Mykonos, Naxos, Paros, etc) while other islands have no sandy beaches.  On the French Riviera one can find some nice sandy beaches at some destinations (mostly towards the west of region) but might be surprised to find that even famous beaches (such as in Nice) have their share of pebbles, rocks, etc.  Spain (already mentioned) does have some fine beaches (by any standard) as does Portugal.  Just last week, while walking around Opataja, Croatia, we saw a place where one could climb down a ladder to a small patch of concrete where there were a few loungers for rent at 40 Euros per day.  Getting from those loungers into the water meant negotiating another ladder!  DW remarked that 2 loungers plus Umbrella was over 100 Euros...and that was just to lie on concrete (although they would call it a beach).  Hvar, Croatia is another beautiful place where the "beaches" are often small patches of concrete.

 

Hank

[WriterOnDeck]

Consider the Canary Islands

[cccole]

@kaz828  You asked about a beach cruise in Europe and have received some good suggestions.  If you can expand to the South Pacific there are some fabulous itineraries.  I'm also a beach person and can only enjoy so many museums.  If I was looking at Europe for beaches I would think Italy and Greece.  JMO. Cherie  

[VMax1700]

A lot of the Spanish beaches (esp in Andalucia) are man made, with the sand being trucked in.

[Mary229]

32 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

A lot of the Spanish beaches (esp in Andalucia) are man made, with the sand being trucked in.

Same world over 😉