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I'm looking for a very specific destination. Basically - as close to "tropical paradise" as possible, while still in continental Europe - flying is not an option, so aren't ships, but we can use ferries.

There is also more - the place I'm looking for has to have sandy beaches, and, what's more - it should be possible to rent a house (villa?) with such private beach.

Given that travel by car takes long(ish) time, I would prefer something close to me (Poland). Croatia would work great if it wasn't for the sandy-beach requirement, which is virtually impossible to match (from what I understand there are some such beaches, but all public, and filled with people, without any kind of privacy).

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closed as off-topic by Calchas, CGCampbell, Willeke♦, Gayot Fow, choster Aug 14 '15 at 22:58

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    Does it have to be a private beach? Or would a very quiet one with rarely anyone else on it work for you? And how about weather? Would a private or almost-private sandy beach somewhere sunny but cold work, or does it have to be hot + sandy + quiet? – Gagravarr Aug 14 '15 at 13:59
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    What's your definition of a tropical paradies (beside actually being in the tropics, which you apparently don't want)? – Relaxed Aug 14 '15 at 14:07
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    What's the budget? If you're rich enough, French public beaches can become private for the duration of your holiday.... ;-) – Gagravarr Aug 14 '15 at 14:40
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    @Gagravarr Actually, I don't think there was any payment made to the French state. You don't need a large budget, you need to be “important” (and perhaps ready to have your state buy some high-end weaponry). – Relaxed Aug 14 '15 at 14:55
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    Either climatalogically or geographically speaking, nowhere in Europe would remotely qualify as tropical; you might want to remove that word. If all you want is sun, sand, and seclusion, there are scores of resorts on Greek islands that would fit the bill. – choster Aug 14 '15 at 15:32
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If you're looking for warm weather, crystalline water and amazing scenery I would suggest either Corsica or Sardinia. Corsica has wonderful beaches in the north western and southern part of the island. In the north Ficajola comes to mind although the island is amazing all around. In Sardinia the Costa Smeralda in the north is famous for it's stunning emerald green waters: take Baja Sardinia as an example. Prices there will be on the high end though.

If you're looking for something that doesn't involve a ferry, the south western part of Puglia, namely Salento, has some pretty nice beaches too. Setting aside the natural parc of Porto Selvaggio, there's also a place called the Maldives of Salento which kinda lives up to its name water and sand wise. Finally there's a similar place in Liguria, namely the beaches in Spotorno just next to the Isola di Bergeggi where the water is crystal clear reminding you of the tropics.

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Plenty of places by the Mediterranean have sandy beaches. Northern Italy, near Venice, has some sandy beaches, and is even closer to you than Croatia. There will be villas for rent. However the area is fairly crowded, which may not satisfy your definition of 'tropical'.

The further south you go the more 'tropical' it gets. Greece is another good choice, and a boat ride will get you to an island where you can have a bit more privacy. Turkey is also an option if you don't mind going a bit further.

I believe the Russians find their tropical beaches on the Black Sea, but you may think of that as 'tropical' only if you're from Siberia.

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  • +1 for targeting Mediterranean countries. Greece, Italy, Spain, Croatia are all pretty nice. Then it just depends what food you love ;) – Adrien Be Aug 14 '15 at 17:52
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    I think you can add Portugal, Spain and France. On the French rivera, there are even palm trees (for the tropical spirit), even though beaches are tiny. – Vince Aug 14 '15 at 20:44
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    Black Sea is nice... And there are palm trees as well. – TT_ Aug 14 '15 at 23:02
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May I suggest Tropical Islands Resort, in Germany? This is an indoor tropical environment, with beach, rainforest and accommodation, just 60km from Berlin.

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I would assume "tropical beach" you mean tropical like beaches with warm sunny days?
Apparently the beaches near Catania, Sicily in Italy are very good and they are pretty warm during summer and some of them are long stretch and have private beaches too.

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    These look great, thanks. Anything worth recommending a bit to the north? (according to google maps, Sicily is 30 hour of car drive away) – user70436 Aug 14 '15 at 15:03
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The island of Rügen has very nice sand beaches, for example between Glowe and Altenkirchen. It's also very very close to Poland. Houses and appartments can easily be rented and the available infrastructure is splendid.

The only downside is that temperatures don't compare to tropical regions. We had weeks with 30°C and very sunny stretches in the summer, but it being an island in the Baltic Sea, the weather can act up. So you might study its weather reports before going there and possibly getting a rainy week.

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