Overseas travel plans

you can probably get an apartment in Malaga for about £50-60 a night and flights out there are usually pretty cheap. the old town there is really nice and the food is amazing

alternatively you can go to Google Flights, stick your departure airport and some dates in and see where takes your fancy based on your budget

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Seville is about as warm as Europe gets, cheap to eat and drink in and you can get a hotel room for ~£35 a night. 3-4 days is plenty to see the sights and have plenty of cafe/bar chill out time.

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Portugal tends to be reliably cheap and there are plenty of low cost carriers flying there…

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Depending on the time of year you’re looking to go, I would look at Valencia, Seville, Lisbon or Porto, maybe, although £300 is pushing it a bit these days for a city break.

If you don’t mind a resort package, then I think you could get something in Spain for about £250 out of the school holidays.

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Really enjoyed Malaga when I went

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Best friend and I are thinking of visiting Slovenia over the summer. For anyone who has been, is 5 nights a decent amount of time to spend there?

Plenty of time, it’s not a big country. It’s probably already on your list but go to Lake Bled and try and get there early in the day when it’s not blistering hot and rammed with tourists. Ljubljana is very walkable and has plenty of good galleries and museums.

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Thanks.

How’s the train network there? Have always found the Balkans to be very sketchy when it comes to train travel.

When part of Yugoslavia, Slovenia felt more kinship to Austria (being a former part of the Habsburg Monarchy) and Slovenes were referred to as “the Germans of Yugoslavia” whether this translates to an efficient rail network…

Not good, IIRC. There are buses that go from Ljubljana to a lot of the main sites that go at regular times.

Did you visit Piran?

It looks beautiful.

I didn’t. I wanted to go to some caves but I got an upset stomach.

Piran is utterly lovely! V small but super pretty and charming

I found Slovenia had far more in common with western European countries than the Balkans (where it’s great but can be a little more touch and go in terms of things working well). Buses were fine and it’s so tiny you can get from the mountains to the coast in a day no problem

When I was travelling through Bosnia I met a girl who had just spent time in Slovenia and, according to her, she found it to be a combination of Italy’s beauty and Germany’s efficiency.

Sold!

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Flights booked. Simply cannot wait to explore this beautiful country.

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We’ve decided to avoid treating Lake Bled as a daytrip and instead spend two nights there and then decamp to Ljubljana for three nights/four days. Lots of time to explore the capital and a couple of daytrips. Really looking forward to Piran. Looks stunning.

Just wondering, is it easy to get to any of the Levadas from Funchal? And do you need to go on a tour, or can you guide yourself? They look beautiful, but not sure of the practicalities (especially with kids in tow). Thanks

Yes, you can get to the Levadas from Funchal. You can access the Levada dos Tornos from the Botanical Gardens. When we did the walk it was genuinely terrifying in places with sheer drops and no barriers so perhaps not the best with kids in tow.

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Ah, thanks. Looking at that video I’d agree that’s not one for kids!

I’m sure we’ll find plenty else to do instead. Madeira looks beautiful.

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Had no idea the Stansted Express train from Liverpool St is now cheaper than the National Express coach from Stratford…

2 people open return:
Train = £48
Coach = £60