murphy89

Hey guys,

Curious to hear your opinions. February/March are not ideal months to travel weather wise, but I may have no other choice - where would you go in Europe? I would like to see the Alps and Croatia - but neither seem appropriate for these months? Hm. What to do...

Any inspiring ideas?

Cheers,

Murphy

JerseySue

How about Portugal - a friend of mine used to go there at that time and loved it - he went several times.

Graziella5b

Last February we went to the South of Spain and were blessed with amazingly mild weather. I guess we were lucky but had a ball enjoying special rates at some Paradores and great rates at four stars hotels.
With breakfast we paid an average that a little over 100 euros per night which was great considering the quality of the paradores and hotels. It was really wonderful.
We stayed in Seville, Cordoba, Ubeda, Baeza,Carmona, Jaen, and Osuna. Good luck.

Leely

I've been to Italy that time of year and it was great. Fewer crowds and a good shot at decent weather.

FainaAgain

I am waiting for spring river cruises to be posted, some of them are there already, how about a Holland cruise to see the blooming tulips?

OK, it's my dream, but everybody's allowed to dream with me

Sure it's not 6-7 weeks, but you can start with a river cruise and plan around it. Just a thought.

murphy89

Happy to hear about some good travel experiences in the bleak post-winter months I don't know. It is frustrating because I know what trip I <font color="blue">want</font> to do and I just might have a rare window of opprotunity if I really apply myself.

Fly to Milan - Lake Como region - skirt along the Alps to Venice - Trieste then cut south along Croatian Coast to Dubrovnick.

That is what I <font color="blue">want</font> to do. I can't imagine sloshing through Lake the Alps in the snow when everything is closed though. The long stretch of Croatias coastline without the ability to go swimming or scuba diving is a bit depressing too . So I either need to accept the drawbacks and go anyway OR consider new unthought of destinations.

Portugal, Spain, Holland...all great suggestions thanks guys!

Leely - what part of Italy did you go to?

Keep em coming

Cheers,

Murphy

murphy89

Yikes, spelling Murphy, spelling! I meant the Lake Como region in the Alps - this is what a university degree gets you....

macanimals

We've travelled several times during this time period and learned that the major cities don't close but the rural areas are likely to be on holiday. This is true all over europe. That being said, we've recently investigated travel to Sicily at this time and feel it is an excellent time slot--not too hot, good value and mix of cities and rural ruins which don't close. Good luck. Paul

Leely

Murphy,
That trip was Rome, Assisi, Gubbio, Florence, and Venice. We had mostly sunny, bright weather (though still definitely wore coats) in Rome and Umbria. Overcast and cold in Florence and Venice, although Venice looked beautiful all misty.

I love winter travel because I'm not wild about crowds or heat, so maybe I'm not the right person to ask.

annhig

I would pick a country like spain, italy or portugal and work my way northwards from the south. [yes I know that the weather won't necessarily be that logical, but I reckon it gives the best chance of getting the most sun]. Or rent a house in a village in the south of France [provence?] and pretend you live there - quite a different experience to travel, but rarely do we get the opportunity to stay still for that long. Do let us know what you decide!

TylerTraveler

&quot;February/March are not ideal months to travel weather wise, but I may have no other choice - where would you go in Europe? I would like to see the Alps and Croatia - but neither seem appropriate for these months?&quot;


You can have fun in Europe no matter when you go. Just don't go to Helsinki in December *shudder* haha... you hardly see the sun!

Stay south as much as possible for milder weather unless of course you want to hop up to Switzerland/Austria and do some skiing in the alps! You can still find fantastic skiing in February.

I would embrace the cold weather, ski and see some snow in Feb, and then move on down to Dubrovnik or Barcelona or Turkey in March where you should find great weather. I was in Croatia near the end of March and found the weather to be beautiful! Of course I almost froze in Venice....

Dress warm and enjoy the absolute lack of crowds

TexasAggie

Hi murphy,

We spent several days in Germany in mid-February 2005. It was cold, yes, but it wasn't unbearable (and I am thin-skinned ;-)). Whenever we got too chilly we just stopped in cafe and ordered a hot chocolate or coffee to warm up. We encountered very few tourists and the small Bavarian/Franconian villages were magical with a light dusting of snow. The major downside is that most musuems/castles/etc have VERY restricted hours in February and March. Some close all together. On the other hand, we really enjoyed chatting with the locals at wine/cheese/craft shops and had some marvelous unhurried meals. We also loved walking around deserted medieval towns at night and feeling like we were the only people there.

Anyway, if you have a longing to see the Alps and Bavaria (that is where we were), by all means do so. Don't let the chance of cold weather keep you further south if what you really want to see is north. Just plan a different sort of trip than you would in the summer. Research the opening hours in advance and plan to do most of your sightseeing /b/ 10am and 2 to 4pm, or risk everything being closed. Spend a week soaking the Alps into your system, then move south to somewhere warmer... I'm thinking Sicily perhaps?

TexasAggie

Oops, didn't see your last post where you mentioned the Italian/Swiss part of the Alps. I don't know about the open hours of things there in those months. Assuming you were to try to fit in a week in the mountains, I wonder if you might get some of the &quot;mud season&quot; in mid- or late March... here in Colorado, that is when the snow melts enough to turn to mud (and make walking/hiking almost impossible) and it is still pretty chilly outside. If it were me, I'd probably opt for February and Snowy over March and Muddy.

mileaday

I'd love to spend 6 weeks exploring Portugal at that time of year. Just curious - do you mind telling us what you do to be able to travel for such lengthy periods of time? So far, my boss and bank account only allow me to dream about trips longer than a month.

murphy89

TexasAggie you have a gift for description I am going to have to look at Bavaria! I hadn't really thought about it before - I am glad I posted the question. Good point about mud vs. snow too. I figured why leave snow in Canada for snow in Europe? - but I do like winter and I think if I plan it right I can catch some ok weather in the south. As long as I can get a few scuba dives in before I go home - I'll be a happy girl I think.

Ohhh whats that feeling....its the stirrings of travel excitment!

Thanks everyone for your ideas and feedback!

Good Travel,

Murphy

murphy89

Sorry mileaday, we cross posted.

Well, its kind of embarassing....I've sold my soul this last two winters - working as a Medic in the oil patch. Uninspiring work that allows for no personal life but it is good money. I am thinking of hanging on to the job just long enough to pay off a bit more of my student loan - and of course one more trip to Europe. We'll see if I can stand it that long (I have my doubts) - lol! As I write this I am sitting in a trailer in the middle of nowhere, my internet connection the only thing keeping me from clawing my eyes out. The things we do for travel

Cheers,

Murphy

TexasAggie

Take heart murphy, I am a tax accountant and I do it solely for the opportunity to travel (still not as much as I like), and hopefully the opportunity to retire young and then travel ALL the time. I feel your pain at the sheer boredom though!

I've visited Franconia and Bavaria both in August and in February and I have to confess that I actually preferred February! The towns and castles are so crowded during the nice weather months that they feel like a theme park... in the dead of winter, we saw them as preserved small villages and towns with locals functioning much as they have for hundreds of years in their centuries-old homes. We had the museums and palaces and castles almost entirely to ourselves. We were only there about a week so the quietness (is that a word?) might have gotten dull after a prolonged stay, but for a week it was perfect.

My Fodors email is herodotus02@yahoo. com if you want more specifics. I have to warn you in advance that I am not very good about checking it regularly but I promise to get back as soon as I can.

Pausanias

Are you stuck on Europe? Not a great time to be there. Here's a few other ideas:

Egypt

Take the freighter Aranui from Tahiti to the Marquesas.

Galapagos

Rio

India

Mayan ruins in southern Mexico -- Palenque, Bonampak, Yaxchilan then on to Guatemala and Belize.

It's such a nice chunk of time to travel -- whatever you do, enjoy!

murphy89

Thanks TexasAggie - I am going to do some research on Bavaria, Northern Italy and Croatia in particular. I will email you if I come up upon any questions about the area you visited. Now that I've seen Tyler's pictures I feel rear'in to travel ASAP!

Murphy C

murphy89

Sorry Pausanias - we must have posted at the same time. Some of your suggestions are interesting (Mmm Galapagos....) I guess Europe is just within my comfort zone....I should consider other possibilities too.

Thanks,

Murphy