I hope to go to Europe again mid-June next year. I haven't really been to that many different countries, but here's where I have been:

Greece: Athens, Mykonos, Santorini, Meteora, Corfu with a day trip to Albania

Italy: Venice, Rome, Calabria (to see family), Maratea, Sardinia with a day trip to Corsica and Sicily

I realize that I somewhat limit myself because I really like to have beautiful beaches nearby, especially when traveling in the summer.

The trip will probably have to include a week to see my family in Calabria, so we would be looking at most likely 7 days but I hope to try to extend it to at least 10 days somewhere else.

I was thinking Malta? Spain? Any comments to get my mind working on this would be appreciated.

That seems obvious to me--Sicily. We plan to spend 2 weeks there in May.

I spent 10 days there in March-April 2002. I know there is much more to be seen, and it's logical because of its proximity to Calabria. I'm trying to come up places that I haven't been to at all.

If I do only end up with 7 days, Sicily may end up being the place.

Malta is interesting, in a rather dull sort of way. Valletta, Mdina, the Roman villa, and that's about it. Gozo is pretty and, I'm told, has some nice beaches (I only saw the "capital," whose name I've forgotten). The beach at St. Paul's Bay, which is theoretically one of Malta's beach resorts, is not very impressive. And the food is absolutely dreadful.

My suggestion would be Andalusia; there's plenty to see and there are beaches nearby (I've never gone to the coast myself).

Bob: He has already been to Sicily. He's one of the frequent posters on Sicily, I think.

If you want to be within easy reach of Calabria, I'd suggest Basilicata, other than Maratea, which you've seen. (If there's a chance you might want to be in Basilicata 7 weeks after Easter, post conspicuously about it, and I can tell you about a very interesting ancient, traditional, part-pagan festival that you can visit and observe.) A lot of people recommend Puglia. (I've never been there.) Might that appeal to you? Or further north, how about le Marche? Or you could see parts pf Sicily you missed or that you want to re-visit.

If you want to go to a different country and don't mind taking a longer trip to get to Calabria, how about Portugal, Andalucia, Crete, Rhodes, Samos, Santorini? (Or how about Karpathos and then tell me what it's like because I have been curious about it for so long.)

I spent two weeks in Malta in 2003 and didn't find it dull at all. The thing is, you have to know what you're getting into. You mentioned that you like beautiful beaches. Malta does have a few sandy beaches, but they might not be up to your standards if your are used to beaches in Greece. I actually enjoyed the rocky beaches in Malta - the golden limestone crags are pretty impressive.

Malta also has a very rich and interesting history if you are into that kind of thing. The people are great and the diving is good, too.

O.K., the food is no big attraction in Malta, but I didn't think it was that bad and I had many good meals.

If budget matters to you, I also found Malta to be really affordable.

Sicily is on my personal list of future places to visit - you have already been there. If you got a good impression, maybe you should go back.

But I have been to Malta and I had a great time. Happy planning.

How about the Amalfi Coast, Naples and Capri? We'll be there in June...stop by and I'll buy you a limoncello!

Mr. Go, that's a very tempting offer! I find myself often being tempted by places that aren't super touristy, but I definitely want to see Capri and the surrounding area someday.

It's so easy to combine another region of Italy with seeing my family in Calabria, but I also feel like it may be time to explore other countries. I will definitely read up on Andalusia.

Is Palermo too hard to get to from where you are in Calabria? There are flights to lots of interesting places all over Europe from Palermo for cheap. Check them out at whichbudget.com.

Croatia has some great beaches. It's been increasing in popularity recently, but it's still not completely full of tourists in the summer like, for example, Spanish beaches.

If beaches are what you want, I would recommend the South of France - there are your places like Nice, Cannes and St. Tropez which are beautiful. I lived in Toulon for 6 months which was wonderful as well.