Hello,

I have 2 weeks holiday and i thought to visit Europe. I like outdoor activities and nature. I will be going with a friend of mine. We are 2 guys and 28 years old.

Searching online websites i found Spain, Portugal, Greece and Croatia interesting.

What do you recommend?

Thanks in advance ^_^

please note that a combination, more than one country, would be preferred.

Spain and Portugal are an obvious pairing, or Croatia and Slovenia. Greece, with its many islands might be thought of as many countries in one, so that could still fit the bill.

But you should remember that even what looks like a small country on a map compared to where you come from, [USA, Canada?] they are pretty big and take some getting around, with far more than you could possibly see in a week or two.

you also need to think of ease of getting there - you may be better off with a place that you can reach easily on a direct flight rather than having to do several changes of plane.

if you are going from one country to another, or even planning to visit two parts of one country [eg Andalusia and Barcelona] you might like to consider an "open jaw" flight [into one place and out of another] which should not be that much more than a return ticket - you need to use the "multi city" option on the airline website, you are not looking for 2 single tickets which would be much more expensive.

good luck! if this trip is going to be this year, you need to get your skates on.

Hi annhig,

Thanks for the quick guide. I will be travelling this year and my skates are on. I need some one to steer me to the right direction. I will be visiting from UAE. I guess this helps interms of flight time and country size. I am from lebanon which is already a small country. I do not mind commuting.

Based on your selection, which pair would you recommend? Spain+Portugal or Croatia+Slovenia?

no idea braheem - depends on what you like to do! Both would be lovely that time of year.

Croatia is mainly the coast and islands, plus Dubrovnik, whereas Slovenia is lakes and mountains.

Spain is [or could be] the historical cites of Andalusia, like Seville and Granada, with its strong moorish influences, plus the white towns, and the coast. Portugal [the neighbouring bit] is mainly the coast of the Algarve.

How are you planning to travel around? Are you going to pre-book accommodation or wing it?

you still need to do your own research on flights etc - to find the best deals you can get to both of these areas.

I will be doing the pre-book accomodation. I am mainly into trekking, raftying, climbing and other outdoor activities. I would enjoy a bit of beach too.

braheem - they are not the sorts of things that we do on our hols [or not for a long time, anyway]. i have a friend whose son has climbed a lot in Spain but you would have to do some research about the best places. ditto trekking and rafting.

you could ask the local tourist boards, or look at the on-line brochures for holiday companies which off that sort of thing, to see where they take people. That's not suggesting that you use them, but just to see what they suggest.

You could also start another thread - Where can I go climbing and rafting in Spain or Croatia/slovenia?

Why to you want to pair countries?

I would have thought Portugal perfect for a two week vacation. Spain is HUGE, so with only 2 weeks, you could (perhaps) visit Andalusia. One can see some of Croatia's highlights with only 2 weeks, but early May is early for parts of Croatia. I don't know about Greece....

Most Greek Islands offer watersports such as windsurfing, water skiing, kayaking, diving and the like. There is hiking on most location too. If you are experienced and serious into climbing you may want to google Nisyros island.
On Greek mainland there is lots of hiking and depening on location river rafting, kayaking, climbing etc too. Activities such as river rafting or climbing up to the mountains is very season and weather dependant of course.

Sorry, that was "If you are experienced and serious into climbing you may want to google KALYMNOS island"
Although Nissiros offers climbing up to the volcano crater too.

Thank you all for the replies. I decided on Spain and Portugal

good for you. sounds like a good plan.

The Rough guides are aimed at "younger folk" and should have some good ideas about how to do the things that you are interested in.

Hope you have a great trip.

"The Rough guides are aimed at "younger folk"" -- Part of what I like about the Rough Guides is that they can be useful to people of any age and with any budget.