Enthuse me for Summer 2009

Old Jul 27th, 2008, 02:17 PM
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Enthuse me for Summer 2009

Hi All,

We are planning a trip for July 2009. We will have 4 weeks. My daughter will be studying in Malaga Spain so some time will be spent there.We will probably visit Spain at Christmas 2009 also so we do not have to spend all our time in Spain. I am looking for suggestions about favourite places to visit in summer in Europe ideally outside of major cities. It can be anywhere in Schengen countries. We will have 4 weeks in total.

We have travelled in Europe quite a bit and seen many of the major cities and sites but never in summer. Top places on the consideration list so far are: Dordogne, France, Sicily, Northern Italy (Lakes and Cinque Terre) Riviera and Provence, Basque country.

We will be happy to fly, drive or train (or all of the above) depending on the final itinerary.

Would love all your valuable opinions to help with this early stage of planning.

Angela
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Old Jul 27th, 2008, 02:41 PM
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i could get really, really enthusiastic about a 4-week trip that went through the basque country and the dordogne.

really enthusiastic!

every place else you name is too hotn and the food isn't as good, with the exception of Liguria -- and I already live there!
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Old Jul 27th, 2008, 03:22 PM
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When you say too hot, is it humidity that is the killer or high temperatures.

I am really attracted by the idea of Dordogne and Basque country. I neglected to say that I will have a teenager (15 yo son)in tow. Do you think this area will be fun for him?
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Old Jul 27th, 2008, 03:54 PM
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The Dordogne area has great food, beautiful scenary, many old castles and uncomparable prehistoric sites (cave paintings), as well as lots of outdoor activities, such as canoeing. We've visited the area twice, the second time with our then-12yo son, who very much enjoyed the area. On that trip, we also spent several days in the Languedoc (generally southwest of the Dordogne), and visited other old castles in that area. If your son (and you) like history, old castles, and the rest of what I mentioned above, then yes, it would be fun for him.

I haven't been to the Basque region (yet), so can't comment on that. But the whole area of the Pyrenees, which span the border between France and Spain, sounds interesting to me, too. We hope to go there some time, and do a lot of hiking. If you like that sort of thing, look into that area as well.

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Old Jul 27th, 2008, 04:01 PM
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I think a 15 year old would be fine. Does he do any surfing? Have you ever looked at pictures of San Sebastian? It's such a paradise.

In Dordogne, think he would be impressed with the all the caves? Nice and cool. Likewise, canoeing down the Dordogne river?

Another idea might be to plot a purely Mediterranean vacation that took advantage of the many ferries between Spain, France and Italy, which could get you as far as Genova (Cinque Terre) or Sicily's Aeolian Islands, with Stromboli for a blast! That would be a real adventure, and I don't know anyone who's done it, but I could get enthused about that, too, in the middle of July.
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Old Jul 27th, 2008, 04:09 PM
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ps, aussiefive,

it is humid in the lakes in Italy, too stifling hot for me in Provence in July, scorching in Sicily
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Old Jul 27th, 2008, 04:46 PM
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Basque and Dordogne looks wonderful and yes we have a surfer so that could well be a sood option to include.

But zeppole your idea of Mediterranean ferry hopping does sound fascinating too.

Would we waste too much time on boats do you think or would that be an experinece in itself?

Now more to read and ivestigate - what fun.
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Old Jul 27th, 2008, 05:07 PM
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I got so enthused about ferry-hopping on the Med (with or without you, aussie5!) that I started looking up ferry routes.

Alas, it seems there is a real paucity of ferries connecting Spain and France. Leaving from Malaga, one would need to do a lot of hopscotching between the Canaries and along the coast of Africa toward Palermo to make any real progress.

Were I planning a family trip along those lines, I think I would rent a car in Malaga, go to the Alhambra, make my way to Barcelona, and then take the ferry from Barcelona to Genova. A few days off the boat for Le Cinque Terre or some other nearby Riviera destination, then back on the boat for the overnight to Palermo and the Aeolian Islands, with the nighttime tour of Stromboli.

Ferry back to Salerno, then up the Amalfi Coast for the views, Pompeii and Napoli, then back to Genova via ferry.

I'd dearly love to figure out how to get to Marseille in this trip (via Sardenga? Corsica?) but the ferries map I was looking out didn't indicated it was possible.

Having never taken these overnight ferries, I really don't know if it's a pleasure or steerage-conditions. And I'd want to know before I set off on that trip -- and even with all those sea breezes, I'd be braced for very, very hot weather in most of those places save Liguria.
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Old Jul 27th, 2008, 05:25 PM
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You have given me a lot to think abnout zeppole. And I like the way you think.

Anyone else ever taken the night time ferries?
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Old Jul 28th, 2008, 02:41 AM
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Hi Aussiefive, just want to chime in with a slightly different trip in Spain, near to Malaga. My husband and I spent 10 fabulous days last summer based in Tarifa, which in on the Costa de la Luz, just past Gibraltar. Tarifa is known as the windsurf capital of Europe - loads of wind and kite surfers in the water. We did lots of day trips to Cadiz, Vejer de la Frontera, Seville, etc. We are planning to go back because you can get a ferry to Tangiers (you can see Morocco just across the Strait of Gibraltar). We will be booking this place: www.darcilla.com/aboutTarifa.html
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Old Jul 28th, 2008, 03:08 AM
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Wow - from Malaga to Palermo via the Canaries is a hell of a long way round - so, as Zeppole says, maybe not! But if you like the idea of travelling by boat (I'm a boat nut BTW!), you might like a website that tells you where you can go to from where that I found while reseaching a much more prosaic journey from the UK to continental Europe.

http://www.directferries.co.uk/routes.htm

My gut response to your question was something like this:

As you are in Malaga it would be a huge shame not to explore the south of Spain - Granada, Córdoba, Sevilla - maybe even Tarifa for windsurfing (don't know about surfing!). Say a week. Then take a ferry to Morocco for a completely different world - say a week. Fly to northern Italy - another week. Train it back through southern France (Milan to Barcelona or something similar) - stop on the way or do it overnight; spend some time in Barcelona and surrounds; and back to Malaga - or back to wherever it is you really started from.

Or you could boat it from Genoa to Barcelona (see earlier link).

No idea of frequency of services or prices on boat/train/plane.

For flights ex-Morocco check out:

http://www.airninja.com/

Re overnight ferry sailings - yes, done lots but mainly in the Eastern Med and cross-Channel. They are very up-market these days so can't imagine it being very different in the Western Med.

Hope this has been of some assistance and happy planning.

Cheers.
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Old Jul 28th, 2008, 03:28 AM
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>>Fly to northern Italy - another week. Train it back through southern France (Milan to Barcelona or something similar) - stop on the way or do it overnight; spend some time in Barcelona and surrounds; and back to Malaga.<<

Not sure what's being suggested here but Italy as far north as Milan is very muggy in July. The quickest route by train to Barcelona would take you through Genova, where you'd need to pick up the line that runs along the Mediterranean to France and Spain--and it is very slow. Unless you are planning to get off and stay a few days -- and the French Med and Costa Brava is jammed in July -- there's not a lot of reward doing the long train trip through France and Italy to get to Barcelona. One might as well take an overnight ferry -- if they are comfy.

I still think I might prefer to be in the Basque country in July, but if the heat is tolerable, I would recommend that you see the Alhambra and Cordoba before leaving Andalucia.

If you were going to the Basque Country from Andalucia, I don't know the most enjoyable way to do it. Actually might be going up through Portugal -- although then I would think you'd have to drop Dordogne to avoid making it a gallop.
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Old Jul 28th, 2008, 03:55 AM
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The best ferry route I could find was:

1. Tarifa to Tangier

2. Tangier to Sete (France)

Short overland to Marseilles

3. Marseilles to Tunis

4. Tunis to Palermo

5. Palermo to Stromboli

6. Stromboli to Napoli

7. Napoli to Porto Vecchio (Sardegna)

Short overland to Bastia

8. Bastia to Genova

9. Genova to Barcelona

Needless to say, you'd want to include some stops, and rather than stay in Napoli, i'd opt for Sorrento to see Pompeii (or I might go back to Palermo from Stromboli just to catch the ferry to Salerno as a base for Pompeii.)

Were you to cut out Sicily, or begin the trip in Barcelona and make the focus the Riviera-Sardegna-the Amalfi-the Riviera, you could cut out Africa.

But I still might prefer the cool of the Basque country! (And there are very few outs on a trip like this if midway through, you don't like what you're doing.)





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Old Jul 28th, 2008, 03:57 AM
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PS: I also wanted to say that you'd need a high tolerance for gritty, chaotic Mediterranean port cities taking that route.
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Old Jul 28th, 2008, 04:12 AM
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Ferry user reports:

http://www.ballofdirt.com/entries/539/243962.html

http://www.dreamers1.com/africa/Africa-15.htm

http://www.businessweek.com/1998/13/b3571145.htm
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Old Jul 28th, 2008, 02:23 PM
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Thank you all for your suggestions and help with routes and web addresses. What wonderful people are on this board.

I have been reading about the Basque and it is quite tantalising.

But the Mediterranean ferry trip looks pretty good.

afterall- I will definitely spend some time in Andalucia - not sure if July or Christmas time though. My daughter may have her own plans to show us around.
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Old Jul 28th, 2008, 07:47 PM
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The reviews of the ferries are encouraging.

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