Mallorca or Madeira in November
#1
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Mallorca or Madeira in November
My fiance and I are planning our 7-10 day honeymoon for the end of October/beginning of November 2013. We are considering 2 different trips: 1) Portugal, basing ourselves in Lisbon (with day trips up the coast) and Madeira or 2) Spain, basing ourselves in Barcelona and Mallorca.
We do not want to move around too much in our limited time, would love to stay in higher-end, luxury hotels (though not huge resorts), and would like a mix of beaches - if possible that time of year - and culture. I am nervous that hotels and restaurants in Madeira and Mallorca will be closed so late in the fall.
Do either of these itineraries sound like good trips, and if so, which would you recommend? Any other suggestions? This will be both of our first trips to Spain or Portugal. Thank you!
We do not want to move around too much in our limited time, would love to stay in higher-end, luxury hotels (though not huge resorts), and would like a mix of beaches - if possible that time of year - and culture. I am nervous that hotels and restaurants in Madeira and Mallorca will be closed so late in the fall.
Do either of these itineraries sound like good trips, and if so, which would you recommend? Any other suggestions? This will be both of our first trips to Spain or Portugal. Thank you!
#2
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I flew to Madeira on the 17th November 2012 and stayed five days. It was significantly warmer than the U.K. and some days I fell asleep by the pool. I didn't swim but there were people swimming. It was wonderful to get out of the British winter and the weather was just what we had hoped for.
Madeira was open for business. It is a major tourist destination in winter and I cannot remember anything that was closed. It is also a cruise destination and some days there were four cruise ships in bringing thousands of visitors.I had the impression that many visitors came here annually in the winter.
As for a destination I really enjoyed my stay. The island is beautiful and has copious numbers of hotels at every level. The food was not as good generally as you would have thought but we had some very good meals indeed.
There is a lot to do and public transport was well organised and readily available.
We didn't make it to a beach- this island is quite big and we left without having seen everything there was to see.
Combining this with Lisbon would be really interesting-but I'm not sure what the weather is like on the mainland October/November.
Similarly Barcelona/ Majorca- an interesting combination within the same country.
When I visited Majorca it was the beginning of May and again- significantly warmer than the U.K. We stayed in Fornalutx in the mountains which was quite gorgeous. We hired a car to drive around which was easy.
I'm not sure how many hotels and restaurants will be closed but I can tell you that sun-seekers in the winter tend to head further south in Europe.
Madeira was open for business. It is a major tourist destination in winter and I cannot remember anything that was closed. It is also a cruise destination and some days there were four cruise ships in bringing thousands of visitors.I had the impression that many visitors came here annually in the winter.
As for a destination I really enjoyed my stay. The island is beautiful and has copious numbers of hotels at every level. The food was not as good generally as you would have thought but we had some very good meals indeed.
There is a lot to do and public transport was well organised and readily available.
We didn't make it to a beach- this island is quite big and we left without having seen everything there was to see.
Combining this with Lisbon would be really interesting-but I'm not sure what the weather is like on the mainland October/November.
Similarly Barcelona/ Majorca- an interesting combination within the same country.
When I visited Majorca it was the beginning of May and again- significantly warmer than the U.K. We stayed in Fornalutx in the mountains which was quite gorgeous. We hired a car to drive around which was easy.
I'm not sure how many hotels and restaurants will be closed but I can tell you that sun-seekers in the winter tend to head further south in Europe.
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Ditto what Frances said about Madeira - for years it's been one of the major "winter sun" destinations for northern Europeans. We've been there around 10 times in January/February, and everything is open throughout the year. There's a great selection of high-end hotels and nice restaurants and plenty to do and see, particularly if you rent a car and get up into the mountains, or along the spectacular coastline. There are no natural sandy beaches on Madeira, but there are a couple of facilities with imported sand (from North Africs believe it or not). All major hotels have swimming pools, often set in beautiful gardens with views of the ocean.
Let us know if you need any further tips/recommendations - Madeira would be an excellent choice for a honeymoon.
Let us know if you need any further tips/recommendations - Madeira would be an excellent choice for a honeymoon.
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It is very beautiful Place!
Mallorca is the largest of the group of Balearic Islands which include the islands of Menorca and Ibiza. It is situated in the Mediterranean Sea off the south-east coast of mainland Spain. More than 15 million tourists visit Mallorca every year as it has plenty of fantastic beach resorts with many winter break villa holiday rentals and self catering apartments to rent in Spain available.
Mallorca is the largest of the group of Balearic Islands which include the islands of Menorca and Ibiza. It is situated in the Mediterranean Sea off the south-east coast of mainland Spain. More than 15 million tourists visit Mallorca every year as it has plenty of fantastic beach resorts with many winter break villa holiday rentals and self catering apartments to rent in Spain available.
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If its beach then Majorca would be too cold in November. Madeira is much more south, - as is the Canaries where you will be more or less guaranteed sun in November, but I guess not as pretty as Madeira.