Seduced by the thought of your own place in the sun but don’t want to be in the most touristy areas? Try these four spots, each in a popular destination but with a family friendly twist, away from the noisiest hot spots…
France – Lake Vassiviere
Splashing about in freshwater lakes, trekking through ancient woods, enjoying the earthy local cuisine and exploring sleepy farming villages – you could do all this every day as the owner of a second home in the Millevaches Natural Park area, east of Limoges in the Limousin. There, the vast Lake Vassiviere, with its own island, is stunning and fringed by a handful of manmade sandy beaches, giving access to swimming areas and all kinds of water sports, including sailing and kayaking. A smaller lake at Bujaleuf is equally popular with bathers. This area is a bit of a secret favourite with French holidaymakers, and when you visit you can soon see why. If you’re tempted, the villages of Eymoutiers, Bujaleuf, Nedde and Treignac, also with its own Lake Vezere, could be places to begin a property hunt for a characterful farmhouse or barn conversion.
Spain – Torre del Mar
If peaceful evening strolls do it for you, fly to Malaga but don’t follow the masses and head west towards Marbella and arguably Spain’s busiest stretch of coastline. Instead, head the other way, to the eastern corner of the Costa del Sol, where you’ll encounter Torre del Mar, a family friendly resort that is home to one of the longest – if not the longest – beach promenades in Europe. Torre retains an authentic Spanish feel, thanks to its roots being in fruit farming and it not being purpose-built for tourism. Small complexes with apartments and townhouses near the beachfront and detached villas a few minutes off the front are popular types of property here.
Turkey – Dalyan
Riverside town Dalyan has turtles to thank for never becoming over-developed. The resort sits in a delta, a couple of kilometres from where the River Dalyan meets the sea and where the stunning Iztuzu beach, a protected turtle breeding sanctuary also known as Turtle Beach, can be found. When plans to build tourism facilities there were thrown out to protect the loggerhead turtles in the late 1980s – campaigners included David Bellamy – the Turkish Government made the Köyceğiz-Dalyan region a Special Environmental Protection Area (SEPA). Not only does this protect the natural environment, but it also affects town planning in Dalyan, meaning there are tight building restrictions, including on the height of property. Dalyan’s appeal to British visitors and other foreigners lies in its stunning natural scenery, authentic Turkish character, low level of development and its proximity to Koycegiz lake, where you can spend the day at one of the beaches, or in thermal springs and mud baths!
Florida – Sarasota
Could you handle having a beach voted – on more than one occasion – best beach in the USA on your doorstep? Well, you’ll find it at Siesta Key, one of a string of Keys in Sarasota on Florida’s Gulf Coast. Here, you’re still just a couple of hours from Orlando and central Florida, so a second home here would deliver a fantastic, laid-back beach lifestyle with the excitement of being in a culturally rich city – and within striking distance of the bright lights of Disney. The lifestyle in Sarasota and Siesta Key is a truly outdoors one, whether you’re in the water or out!
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