Summer 2014: Island in sight!

Let us take you on a small island tour. Krk, Bornholm and Elba are the focus of this blog post, with which we open the booking season for the coming summer.

Holidaymakers who like to plan far in advance can especially enjoy an island holiday: Because of their naturally restricted size, the range of holiday homes on offer on most of the islands is more limited than at other travel destinations. It is already clear that the best accommodation will be quickly booked up. Those who make decisions early enough will be on the safe side when it comes to spending a summer holiday on the island of their choice.

The only question remains of which island to actually visit. We would therefore like to introduce you to some of the most popular holiday islands. Your advantage with our selection: Arrival is easily accomplished because the islands can be reached either by a regular ferry service or even via a bridge.

The island of Krk is located in the Kvarner Bay and is conveniently connected by bridge to the mainland. The way to the island holiday is therefore straightforward and also not very far. Once you reach the holiday home on Krk, you'll come to enjoy the Croatian sun and the shimmering blue Adriatic Sea. Logically, under these conditions, a beach holiday is on the cards for many holidaymakers. The island offers a picturesque rocky coast and a large number of idyllic and sometimes very well-developed gravel beaches where you can sunbathe according to your mood and cool down in the deep blue Mediterranean Sea (a tip, for example, the approximately two-kilometre long beach at Baška).

However, it is not only the beaches that make the largest Croatian island a worthwhile holiday destination. You should at least explore hinterland as the part of an excursion. Few other Mediterranean islands offer such colourful flora and fauna as Krk does - where over 1,300 different plant species are native here, and, among other things, a large number of butterflies and lizards have settled.

The crossing to Bornholm takes around three and a half hours, during which you can let go of the stress of everyday life and adjust mentally to being on holiday. Once you arrive on the island, it is then up to you to decide whether you want to continue by car or prefer to switch to a bike and explore the island landscape by cycling. All the beaches, places and attractions can be easily reached by bike and a good network of roads also makes travelling with young children safe. Incidentally, there is a lot to discover on the Danish island: For example, the four whitewashed round churches of Østerlars Kirke, Sankt Ols Kirke, Nylars Kirke and Ny Kirke or Hamershus, the oldest castle ruin in Europe, in the north of the island.

The Bornholm Art Museum is also worth a trip. In addition to its collection, it is a real eye-catcher purely in terms of its architecture. You should also visit beautiful places on the island such as Gudhjem with its narrow streets lined with half-timbered houses, or Dueodde where the tallest lighthouse in Denmark stretches 48 metres upwards, just behind one of finest sandy beaches on the entire Baltic coast. During the summer months you can enjoy a wonderful panorama here from the observation deck.

Well-kept sandy beaches, clear water and a more than idyllic island landscape make the island of Elba, which lies about 20 kilometres off Italy's west coast, a paradise for holidaymakers who are looking for peace and relaxation. In addition to spending a beach holiday in the many small bays that you will find around the island, individual trips into the hinterland are also on offer; for example, to Mount Capanne, which is over 1,000 metres high and rises out of the island’s interior. However, we advise against hiking on the peaks during the very hot summer months. Instead, it’s preferable to take the cable car, which runs regularly. Apart from the sun, beach and landscape, Elba also offers a rich cultural and historical heritage. For example, the banished French Emperor Napoleon once spent a few years here in exile. The Villa dei Mulini in Porteferraio, his home during this period, can still be visited today.

Speaking of homes: When searching for the right holiday home, you have the pick of an abundant selection on Elba: In addition to classic holiday homes you will find elegant pool villas, beach-front apartments or estates situated in the vineyards. The resorts of Capoliveri and Marina di Campo with the longest sandy beach on the island are especially popular.

We are currently able to expand our range on Elba with another partner, so at the moment you will be able to find some very nice additional accommodation which still has free travel dates for next summer!

Incidentally, Elba can be reached by ferry from the nearby ferry port of Piombino-Marittima on the coast of Tuscany. The crossing takes about an hour.