European honeymoon suggestion- help?!

We're getting married in August of this year and are looking to spend a 10 day honeymoon somewhere in Europe.

Ideally we'd like :

a) warm weather, b) water (lake/ sea), c) culture d) 2 days in  a luxury hotel  followed by a week self catering, e) somewhere not completely overcrowded!

We've both slummed it travel-wise so far so we'd like something a little bit special this time!

Thanks for any suggestions.

Hi

Im going to Italy which has all the above - August/September is a lovely time to go weather wise and there is some stunning coastline such as the Amalfi Coast or if you want a lake - the famous Italian lakes! Plenty of culture - the lakes are nearish Florence so you could get your fill of museums and art there then chill out by the coast. If you go August most places are busy - peak season! But if you wait until September then its quieter as schools are back.

Other than that maybe somewhere on the French Riveria or off the beaten track as Slovakia - hire a log cabin, go walking and swim in the lakes. Alot of ski resorts do summer holidays too.

Good luck x

Thanks for the advice. Italy would be amazing - but I think those sorts of areas e.g. the lakes

are going to be packed!

Slovakia is a good idea tho! Thanks

My suggestion would be the greek islands, Santorini is beautiful and they have lots of luxury accomodation as well as lesser accomodation

Simon

We got married in Santorini....would highly recommend for a honeymoon x

Santorini- great tip! I'm looking into it now and it looks amazing!
Thank you!

Would avoid Italy in August if i were you - i was there last year, not for honeymoon, but visited a few different cities, it was a little bit too hot, and found it a bit of a shame that some of the shops and restaurants i'd read good reviews about, shut for a few weeks in the height of summer.

Yes alot of places in Italy close for the whole month of August!

We are getting married in Gozo (Malta) and staying in a luxury 16th century farmhouse with pool and rooftop garden for 10 days afterwards! Its very quiet there and gorgeous views/bays/sea etc. Very serene. We have been to Malta a couple of times and the main Island is obviously busier but nowhere near as busy as other European summer destinations.

x

CS Hotel Albufeira Portugal for your luxury - isn't actually in the busy town, but in the gorgeous village nearby).

There are lots of lovely self catering houses in Gale which are nice and close to the beach

It's never not been lovely and hot when we've been

Thank you for all your help! Great tips!x

We've also plumped for the Greek Islands for three weeks.

We're going to go to Crete for a week - staying near Rethymos by the beach.  Lots of culture there (The Palace of Knosso) and good food.  Then off to Athens for four days - we've found a 5 star hotel with a rooftop pool for only 100 EUR/night (The Classical Athens Imperial in case anyone is interested... No shortage of culture there!).  Then we island hop for the final week to Mykonos and also Santorini for some sun, sand and relaxation.

Some other ideas that might suit you:

Turkey - Istanbul + then down to the coast for some sea and sand?

Italy - the Italian lakes are beautiful.  The city of Verona is stunning, and would be a perfect spot for some culture (the open air Opera there is very famous).  You could then jump on a high speed train down from Milan to Rome and visit the Amalfi coast

France - What about Bordeaux?  This is one my favourite French cities, where you can enjoy the beach (go to Arcachon enjoy the beautiful sands), slurp on fresh oysters, tour the stunning vineyards.  I love the city of Bordeaux also... I need to go back!  (H2B studied there before we met and he has infected me with his love of the place).

Portugal - Lisbon + the Algarve.  We went there last spring with a villa from villaplus.co.uk to the town of Guia, and there is plenty to see and do.  There are so many beaches, it is easy to find one that isn't too crowded. I love it there.  Lisbon is an awesome capital city as also, and a short flight away. 

Switzerland - It's very expensive here, but I highly recommend Zurich for a city break.  There is a stunning lake to go swimming in, and plenty of nightlife/great restaurants/luxury.  You could use this as a stopover if you were to then jump on a train down to Italy. 

Croatia - Split & Dubrovnik are reportedly excellent - I've yet to go, but could be worth investigating.

wow... love Greek!