In May we had a great trip to Campania, including the Amalfi Coast, Benevento, Capri, and Naples. Last year we went to Greece - Santorini, Naxos, Athens, Nafplio. Year before that, South Island New Zealand and Sydney. Before that, Provence, I think.

We love Italy, have been there 3 times, we love France, have been there twice. We've been to parts of Britain, Ireland, China, .... But there are SO many places we haven't been. We like a mix of cities (museums, history etc.) and more active pursuits (hiking, biking etc.). We generally plan a 2 week trip, and almost always get a car.

So right now I'm contemplating
1) Portugal - seems lovely, small enough to be manageable.
2) Switzerland and Austria - my only worry is the food, and whether it will be too heavy for us. We found that in the Dolomites, in Northern Italy - all of a sudden it went from pasta to potatoes.
3) Something completely different - maybe South Africa. Some friends were there for the World Cup and had a great time.

So what do you think among these 3? Or do you have another suggestion? We've never been to Spain, or Scandinavia,or South America for that matter.

Thanks as always for your help.
Alice

I do like Portugal and have done 2 trips there in the Spring.
But, when I think of May I think of Sicily--here are some reasons why:
http://www.slowphotos.com/photo/show...y.php?cat=3828

A friend of mine was in South Africa for the World Cup and he was just raving about how beautiful the country is. And he has travelled a great deal. So that'd be my pick = )

Oh my, what choices, isn't it great? If this is a summer trip, remember it will be cool in South Africa.

And hot in southern Portugal. The northern part, the area where I have spent time, on the other hand, has lovely weather in summer. So I would vote for that. We spent a week in Porto and the area to the north. Very nice. Food there can be heavy, but lots of seafood. Portions are huge, so just remember you can probably share an entree.

I've only been in Austria and alpine Italy in winter, so can't comment there much, but it sounds great too.

Well, I would definitely time the trip according to the location. I was thinking spring for Portugal (April or May). Later for Switzerland, I don't want snow problems, so I have to see if early June would work. South Africa I have to investigate as to the best time to go. We're pretty flexible, I general like shoulder season.

Sicily is defiitely on my list, but not for next year - gorgeous photos, though, Bob!

Alice

Well, if you like the Mediterranean culture, you'll love Croatia: Dubrovnik, Split, the (1800) islands, the hilltowns of Istria, the national parks (we loved Plitvice). Google images of these destinations. Rick Steves and Rudy Maxa both rave about the Dalmatian coast. It's very beautiful, less touristed, less built up. Like Italy 30 years ago. And everybody speaks English.

Best time is late spring or early fall. We did a combination of driving and boating. Click on my name to see my trip report.

How about Turkey? We spent 10 days there in the early spring and found it offered a nice mix of history and more active possibilities (e.g., hiking in Cappadocia). Great food! Later spring should be even better.

South Africa in a heartbeat-scenery,food,people,wine,etc! Although I absolutely love Sicily,Argentina is wonderful and Turkey is great-SA is magical. I fly there for work every month and did a two week vacation last August there which was perfect for the weather.Cape Town and the wine country is a vacation that will be remembered for many years.
When were you planning on going and for how long-how many people and their ages? We all would love to help you plan!

So many choices! Just me and my husband, late 50's, independent travelers. We like a mix of city and scenic, prefer driving to buses or trains.

Since we were in Greece last year (and loved it), we though a second Greece/Turkey trip would be good in a few years. Croatia/Dalmatian coast is enticing. And August is a good time for South Africa?

What about a Switzerland/Austria trip? Vienna, Salzburg... What about my worries about the food? I'm not a schnitzel sort of girl. We adore the food in Greece, Italy, France.

And we usually plan a 2 week trip, generally staying at 4 locations 3 nights each (or variations on that theme). I don't like to move around too much, or to spend all my time traveling.

Thanks for all the good ideas so far!

Alice

Been to Cape Town three times in the last six years. Will definitely be going back again sometime - it is a fantastic place. Been twice in February and once in November and had great weather the whole time bar half a day of drizzle.

We've mainly stayed in and around Cape Town so we still have both the Garden Route and a safari to experience.

I'd say August is probably a bit early for Cape Town - not sure about the rest of SA tho.

You can get some great food in Cape Town.

I only know the French-speaking part of Switzerland, but did not find the food "heavy" there at all. I have never even seen a schnitzel on the menu in that region. I love the Lac Leman area outside Geneva. It's beautiful and interesting. Towns like Lausanne, Vevey, and Montreux.

South Africa, by a mile!

Oh. Alice, I read your query again and saw that you've not been to Spain. So my revised opinion is: South Africa if you can manage the distance, flights, etc. Spain, if you decide to travel to Europe. No question!

I wrote a trip report about my own visit to Southern Africa, but sadly, or should I say, shamefully, I did not finish the end of the report, which would have covered two destinations in Botswana and couple of nights in Zambia, near Vic Falls. But you can read the SA portion if you like.. (I also did one report on a trip to Spain I took a few years ago..)

Spain, of course, can be a stellar food destination. And we ate very, very well in the Winelands, and in CapeTown, which is certainly one of the world's most beautiful cities.

A long time ago, DH and I traveled to Switzerland and Austria, and a little bit of Germany, several times. And to be honest, one of the reasons that we haven't been back YET, and instead have spent lots of time in Italy, France, Spain, etc., is the food. I really don't like most of Germanic cuisine. We eat meat, but not a lot, so a menu that has mostly "fried meats" (my ungenerous description of it) was not a thrill. To be somewhat fair, lots of menus also include fish (trout), the buttery little potatoes are great, and their desserts are wonderful. Hmm; I just realized that I'm speaking mostly of Austrian food. Swiss food I found worse; overpriced generally, and lots of bland sausages (though the French part was much better, as was the small Italian part of Switzerland). But the food just doesn't rate with me. So if food is a big part of your trip, take that into consideration.

Another thing to consider is that those areas excel in natural beauty, but have many fewer museum-type places than you'll find in Italy or France. So if you want a trip to mix natural beauty and museum time, maybe you can include a third place or city (though Vienna does have a lot of museums).

Re Croatia and the Dalmatian coast. We considered that very strongly for a trip two years ago. We ended up not going (and visiting the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary instead) because we really enjoy cultural sites, old castles and museums, and places like that on the Dalmatian coast were very spread apart. And we're not beach people at all. So for us to do what we enjoy the most would have involved more driving time than we wanted (we drive a lot on our vacations, too). Obviously, as we didn't go there, I don't have any knowledgeable advice; just wanted to chime in with factors that we considered.

Isn't it fun to decide on the next vacation location?

Oh, I am really enjoying this conversaton.

ekscrunchy, I always value your opinion. Spain HAS been on the list, but then what PART of Spain. Portugal seemed like less decisions involved... If we do consider Spain - what part? Remember, we only have two weeks.

Lexma90, you have confirmed my fear about food in Switzerland and Austria. Food is pretty important on our trips, but not the only factor.

There seem to be a lot of votes for South Africa. I'll do some reading of trip reports.

I've also thought about Scandinavia, but have heard that it's just about the THE most expensive place to travel. A friend did a cruise that began in Amsterdam (which we've never seen), so the lodging and meals are taken care of... but I'm not much of a cruiser.

Decisions, decisions.

Alice

I think South Africa is hard to beat as a destination (though I haven't been anywhere in Africa yet), but here's another thought, that includes Spain.

We took a trip that began in Barcelona. It was a great city, lots of cafe time, people-watching, fantastic art and architecture, and I really enjoyed the Catalonian cuisine, especially the seafood. Tapas originated more in other parts of Spain, but it was very big in Barcelona as well. We spent a day in Girona and Figueres (the Dali museum), then moved on to a week in the Languedoc and Dordogne regions in France. Great, great food, lots of history.

Ooh, combining some Spain with some parts of France we haven't seen - very tempting.

I've been reading some of the posts in the South Africa forum, I think it would be a harder trip to plan, but probably worth it. I'm still not clear when the best time to go would be. Fall is not good for us work-wise, so I'd probably want to do April or May, but can't tell if that's a good time.

Alice

Northern Spain. Haven't been but we have done lots of research. I think it is on our list for next year. The food looks very good as does the coastline.

Alice: As far as SA goes, you need to decide if you want to do the game parks. I highly recommend that you include these. If you do, you need to take a look at some of the climate charts that tell you which months are best for game watching; more about this on the Africa forum, but for now, take a look:

http://www.africa-adventure.com/best_time_to_go

I also love the idea of combining France and Spain--the Pays Basque, the spanish Basque country, etc.....

We've always liked the food in Switzerland as long as you're a little careful. We've found the fish to be consistently wonderful and many dishes that are not fried or heavy. Usually very fresh vegetables and fruit. And we love their wines, they export very little so very difficult to find in the US.

http://helveticabold.tv/wordpress/?p=334

I think it depends where you are staying and eating. I would just research some possible places to to eat ahead of time.

This year we will take our third trip to Switzerland in as many years. It is a beautiful, awe inspiring Country.