Choices for April
 

Trying to decide based on which areas are least likely to have rain.

Looking at Andalusia, Croatia, possibly Corsica and some time between Cap Martin and Menton. Also possibly Calabria.

Of these, Croatia and Calabria would be new. Been a long time since I've been to Andalusia and there are places where I've never spent time, such as Ronda or the coastal areas, Cadiz as well as around Malaga. Been awhile since I've been to Corsica, only been there once. Have passed through Cap Martin and Menton area recently but never spent time there.

I guess many of these places, even with good weather, would not really open up until after Easter?

Go with the new or re-visit some old favorites?

DH and I made Menton and Lyon bases. An old TR but fyi for ideas:

https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...d-lyon-832984/

scrb11
For Andalucía, you would have these new places to explore--

to the east-
Cádiz, one of the oldest cities in Europe founded by the Phoenicians and often a stand-in for Old Havana in films,
the expansive, golden beaches of the Costa de la Luz in the Cádiz province (some travel writers are calling it "Cádizfornia")
Vejer de la Frontera, the charming, blindingly white, pristine town above the coast,
the other white towns (Ronda, Arcos, Grazalema, Zahara de la Sierra, the cave homes of Setenil de las Bodegas, the leather town of Ubrique)
the vibrant, highly pedestrianized and always sunny Málaga, which has become a city of museums
the Caminito del Rey walk

in the middle-
the Ruta del Califato between Córdoba & Granada with the towns of Zuheros, Cabra, Carcabuey and pretty, whitewashed Priego de Córdoba (one of my favorites)
the Subbética mountain range for hiking

on the western side, above Granada-
the beautiful Renaissance architecture towns of Ubeda and Baeza, with monumental works of Andrés de Valdevira
Jaén, surrounded by miles and miles of olive groves
the Cazorla Nature Park

below Granada on and off the coast-
the rugged Alpujarras
the white towns of Frigiliana and others in the Axarquía

Lots of new exploration to do here, if you're interested in a return trip to Andalucía
But, depending on your tolerance for crowds and elevated lodging prices, you might want (or not...) to avoid Holy Week, April 2-9.

Andalusia in April would be beautiful and would be my first choice.

I would be surprised if any of the places you mention close down as people live there all the time.

Thanks for the suggestions, keep them coming.

I mean certain services, like ferries and so forth.

scrb11,
I plan to spend 4 weeks in Andalucía next February-March, and nothing will be shut down in cities or towns except for the beach bars (chiringuitos) on the coast. In April you should have mostly lovely weather.

One of my previous trips was in February I believe. I stayed at an apartment in the Albycin with direct views of the Alhambra just outside the door. I remember the tile floors being so cold.

But got some great photos of the Alhambra, including at night.

I think Sevilla was pretty cold too but not as much as Granada.

On our last February trip the nights yes, were chilly in Granada, but during the day I needed only a sweater, no coat. Sevilla for me is warm and beautiful in April. I've had some rain in late March but generally didn't need a coat except for at night.
Southern Spain is really warming up. It reached 91 degrees in Seville on Oct. 5 and 92 on October 1.

I love Andalucia, and April would be a beautiful time to visit. However, if it were me, I would choose a place I have never been. So I would choose Croatia. Haven't been to Calabria. Croatia is beautiful! I think April would be a nice time to visit Croatia. You can research some weather websites.

How long is your trip?

Friends of ours did visit Croatia in April several years ago. I think it was late April into early May. We were supposed to go with them but then I had to cancel because I needed hip replacement surgery. They started in Dubrovnik, spent a day around the Bay of Kotor, then made their way to Split, Plitvice, Zagreb, and ended in Ljubljana. They told us it was mostly warm and sunny in Croatia, but they had rainy and chilly weather in Ljubljana. So, based on their experience, Croatia should be nice in April, but obviously weather is never the same from year to year.

We were in Croatia the following September and the weather was gorgeous.

I'd like to keep it to about two weeks.

Seems like Croatia couldn't be covered, unless I'm willing to move like every day or every other day and have as long as 5 hour drives, which would be the case if I wanted to add Istria.

I could limit the scope just Split to Dubrovnik. Weather certainly seems to be better for April than up in the north.

Also possible that the ferry services may not be operating fully or as frequently as they would during the summer?

I spent the month of April (2022) in Croatia and the weather was perfect. Rained for 3 hrs the only day I was traveling by bus for 3 hrs. Rained a few nights while I was asleep but only knew about it in the AM when I got up. April was spring, Easter, and the country was awash in tulips. That sprung me into scheduling a trip to Amsterdam for April 2023 for tulip season.

Cities are clean, people are friendly, I loved it.

This is a likely possibility. There are ferry services, sure, but are not fully operational until May/June. Some areas may be all but closed down for tourists with many/most restaurants closed (Korcula is likely along with some other islands) and possible ferry limitations to islands such as one or 2 days a week rather than daily, for instance.

You could do Split and Dubrovnik, sure, but not sure you would need the 2 weeks.

If it were me, I'd choose Andalucia. But its your trip.

Regarding ferries and the islands, I know our friends took the ferry from Split to Hvar Town for the day in April. You could check the ferry websites to find out the schedules.
https://www.jadrolinija.hr/

Are you interested in visiting Portugal? Portugal would be perfect in April weather-wise. We were in Lisbon and Sintra in April 2018, and we had sunny weather with temps in the 70's. No rain. Perfect for sightseeing.

Thanks, that web site though doesn't show any schedules for 2023 as far as I can see. I tried the Dubrovnik to Hvar line, plenty of times this month but go out to April and even into the summer and it returns no results.

Presumably it will run.

I went to Portugal in April this year. Will go back some day but maybe not so soon.

Sort of thinking of combining a few days in Madrid, visiting Avila, Segovia and definitely Toledo, with a week or so to Andalusia.

More likely to be colder and wet up north but I had researched a possible trip in the fall. Been a long time since Madrid and I've been to these nearby cities only as day trips and part of tours.

But my previous visits to Castillian places were in February and March so maybe would be nice to visit when it's warmer with longer days.

scrb11,
It will be better to visit Avila and Segovia in April, as both cities can be very chilly in winter. We were in Segovia this March (mid March) and the highs were in the mid 50s F. It got down to the low 40s at night.

Hmm, I was thinking fly into Madrid and possibly fly out of Malaga but may be better to reverse it.

You may want to reverse it. And flying out of Malaga to return to the US (we return to the West Coast), if connecting in Madrid may mean a very early morning departure. But we're tied to One World.

Weather is totally unpredictable. We pay millions fora service who cannot even or out what will happen 3 days in in advance.
https://murciatoday.com/the_rain_wil...1759815-a.html
https://www.thelocal.es/20180322/eas...n-the-parades/
In the past Easter parades in southern Spain have been cancelled because of the rain.
Easter week is in very early April https://www.cuandopasa.com/index.php?v=v31415g

scrb11,
Out of curiosity, I checked matrix.itasoftware, for the Málaga-Madrid non-stops (for us going back). The earliest Iberia flight doesn't depart until 9:15 am, arriving in Madrid at 10:30 am---so not enough time for us to make a connection to the West Coast, US.

In theory flying into MAD and flying out of Málaga or Sevilla or Jerez would be ideal, but in practice, for us, at least, it just doesn't work from any of the 3 airports. That's why we reverse it and fly into the furthest Spanish city, given that it's a lost day anyway, then back track to Madrid.