nikidi

Having only the options to travel in April and then Jul/August summer hols, we've decided to do our first trip to Europe in April.Trying to decide where to go.any advise re suitable destination in terms of weather will be much appreciated!

Want to explore the scenery, sights, food and culture of one country with 2 kids in tow.

looking at Spain at the moment .??!! is this a good option?

nytraveler

Spain will be probably the warmest place you can go. In late April southern Spain is beach weather (IMHO the most interesting part) - high in the 80s. be sure you get hotels with good AC and a pool.

You don;t say how old the kids are - so it;s hard to make specific recos. If you tell us that - and your interests - people can give you more info.

mamcalice

Southern Spain is great and will be nice in April but, if it were my first trip to Europe, I think I would go to Italy. There is so much to see and do in Italy and in April, perhaps Rome and the Amalfi Coast would be the balmiest.

nikidi

thnx for the advise!!pls keep it coming
will pick Italy OR France for summer hols, but will have 3 weeks then opposed to only 2 weeks now and i thought it may be better to have more time for italy?? vs spain. Have I got that right? or should we swap it around? tickets are quite pricey from HK, so dnt expect to repeat a visit to either country, so want to make the best of the time we have.

our girls are 3 and 5 but have traveled extensively in Asia/NZ since they were 6 mnths, without issues, happy to walk,see new places, try out new food and used to quite hectic schedules. we dnt go looking for kids activities..but of course if there is a must do activity for them,will definitely take them for those. if there is any fruit in season and could do some fruit picking,(apples?) that would be great!

but generally we base our itinerary around the highlights of each country..and our interests..love gorgeous scenery ,(i guess very diff to asia), architecture,food, local culture.. etc.

Robert2533

Actually, I would look towards visiting Sardinia (www.sarnow.com/sardinia/index.htm) in April, as well as the Costa del Sol (www.visitcostadelsol.com).

nikidi

looks like we will have a bout 18 days actually - pls help to decide between italy vs spain!! would like to see some pretty country side rather than spend lots of time in big cities as based in HK at the moment.

nikidi

thnx for feedback everyone, spain here we come

nikidi

however, would appreciate advise re fruit picking and some snow experience for the kids!!

Rubicund

There's no fruit picking in April in Europe. This is Springtime and fruit will hardly have set on trees and bushes. Harvest is autumn time.

Conversely it's a little late for decent snow unless you head higher into mountains. The Sierra Nevada in Spain might have some snow, but it depends on falls above lower levels. The area above Granada should have some snow but again, depends on the weather. If you want to ski etc rather than just let your kids see snow, you'd really have to head to Austria/Switzerland/Alps, or at a pinch the Pyrennees.

kimhe

Southern Spain (Andalucía) is perfect at this time of year. Spring is coming, but yet you can go skiing up in Sierra Nevada just outside Granada with the spectacular Moorish Alhambra.
Ski from December to April/May: http://granadamap.com/sn/
Alhambra in Granada: http://www.andalucia.com/cities/gran...hamhistory.htm

And Semana Santa/Holy week is the greatest annual celebration, this year between March 24 and 31. Fiesta, food, wine and devotion hand in hand almost 24/7 for a whole week. Could be an experience for å lifetime. http://www.andalucia.com/festival/easter/home.htm

nikidi

thnx so.. much for the info!!

may postpone the snow to another trip then and may be add some beach time for the kids.

we are flying in to Barcelona on 23rd March and out of Madrid on 9th APr , so in between in yet to be planned but were thinking of taking trains/bus.
(I was hoping to get to Andalucía for holy week but to do the tkts in the reverse, costs 1000USD extra, so decided to stick to current plan )

was thinking of visiting Granada,Malaga, Sevella, cCordoba?Ronda?, with some day trips thrown in. and may be a beach destination!. (still initial stages of planning the trip, so not sure of which beach destination to get to, Costa Brava?)

any ideas on how we could route it in order to be there for the celebrations on time?

kimhe

...and
Granada is not a very big city and lots of beautiful scenery, but if you want a close by village, take a look at the old SPA town Alhama de Granada (pop. 6000): http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/de...d-of-town.html

The spectacular Alpujarras mountain region (with several small villages) is also close to Granada and on the way down to the nearby Mediterranean. http://www.rusticblue.com/andalucia_...alpujarras.php

Go swimming in Almuñécar, little more than one hour drive from Granada down the scenic A4050: http://www.holavalencia.net/2010/02/...and-almunecar/

kimhe

March 28 and 29 are the most important days of Semana Santa, and it seems you could experience them in Andalucía. I would recommend Málaga by the sea. As genuine as it gets and much less tourists than in more famous Sevilla. Holy week in Málaga: http://www.semana-santa-malaga.com/e...ek-malaga.html

About Málaga:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalis...pleasures.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/200...el?INTCMP=SRCH

Málaga has got a huge international airport with lots of affordable daily flights from Barcelona. It's also only 2h 30 mins from Madrid city center with the high speed AVE train.

Lots of beaches (I use to go swimming here at this time of year, expect sea temp at about 65F). You have the city beach Malagueta and the very popular Las Acacias beaches just east of the city center in Pedregalaejo. Here you also find several great and affordable seafood restaurants along the beach promenade that also are very popular with locals.

A few kms west of town, you'll find the beach resort Torremolinos: http://www.andalucia.com/torremolinos/home.htm

Odin

"Spain will be probably the warmest place you can go. In late April southern Spain is beach weather (IMHO the most interesting part) - high in the 80s."5

I think you need to check the temps, high in the 80sF for April is very ambitious for Southern Spain.

http://www.holiday-weather.com/costa_del_sol/averages/

http://www.holiday-weather.com/malaga/averages/

I hope you can find somewhere better than Torremolinos for a beach resort.

kimhe

Past 16 years statistics for the first week of April in Málaga says daily highs 66-73F, average 8 hours sun/day and one day with rainfall. wetteronline.de

nikidi

thnx everyone..

Odin

<<Past 16 years statistics for the first week of April in Málaga says daily highs 66-73F> - Precisely, and they are the temps to be expected, however nytraveler stated that "late April southern Spain is beach weather (IMHO the most interesting part) - high in the 80s." firstly the travel dates are late March early April and secondly temps high in the 80s is not accurate, even for late April.

kimhe

Well, late April in Málaga region is beach weather to me for sure, highs in the shade 70-79F and average 9 hours sun pr. day according to the same statistics.

Had some great swims and a couple of hours with the newspaper on the beach for several days in late March last year without any exeptional weather, but I'm Norwegian...